These shoes were made for walking.

Darren was recently promoted to the toddler room at school - where they require shoes. He's not walking yet - we're hoping the shoes serve as inspiration!

Rainy Day Activity.

Blueberries.

If Darren could only take one food to a deserted island, I'm pretty sure he would take blueberries (I would take peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in case you're wondering.) Fortunately, the old owners of our house left behind an enormous blueberry bush that is blossoming this summer - it's wonderful! If the previous owners had actually left the toilet flusher that goes in the guest bathroom, we'd be in good shape!

Spanos go South Park

If Gary, Darren and I were South Park characters, we would look like this.

Cone Head.

We discovered last week that poor Cloey has an ulcer in her eye. Fortunately, we caught it in time and she will hopefully not lose her eye sight. Since the vet has her wearing a cone (for almost 2 weeks now), I decided to decorate it.

She's a lady...oooh, ooooh, ooh, she's a lady....

It's Raining Men!

I'm so excited to announce that Danny and Cari will be the proud parents of 2 little boys!

July 4 Pics!

We had a great time at Lake Oconee last weekend!!! Darren and Jonah played liked crazy - activities included crawling races, bubble popping and fighting to win Baby Charlotte's love!

July 4 Sneak Peak

I promise to upload my pics tonight - I stole this one from Jamie. It was a great weekend at Lake Oconee with The Beales and The Riggsbys!

In Memory of Cocoa

I'm deeply sad to announce the passing of Cocoa - my canine nephew. He was loved by many. Craig and John said their goodbye's beautifully....


Craig and I are saddened that on Monday Cocoa lost his short fight with leukemia. We both held him and with his head on my arm he passed away peacefully.

This was our family and Cocoa was our little boy - so you know what a loss this is to us.

Cocoa was a gentle soul - with a big bark and even a bit of a bite. He had a lot of personality - and for Craig and I - a lot of love. Cocoa was happiest when he was together with Craig and I - and he would do everything with us if he could. He enjoyed his weekends in Maine - or just doing errands around the city - shopping at Duane Reade, or crowding into a dressing room while I tried on clothes. You will remember if you ever saw him give me a hug - with his paws on my shoulders and his nose pressed into the nook of my neck... and he was never more excited and grateful than when we would come home from a trip - long or short. Cocoa had a special place in his heart for by his Uncle Nat, who cared for him when his dads were away (...and truly regretted the one ugly incident).

He came a long way from his first Christmas sleep-over with his Fitzpatrick-grandparents - trying to take down my father like he was a playmate - to keeping a gentle watch at the side of his Spano-grandparents, with care and concern, during the time they spent with us in NYC.

As a rescue dog - Cocoa's time with us may have been short (we adopted him when he was 4) - but it was full. I know that in time - Cocoa has made room for another rescue in our home.

We're going to miss him - and we were lucky to have him.

Thank you all for the support and concern these last few months.

John and Craig

Sorry!!!!

I "misplaced" the memory card to my camera - hence no pictures nor updates. I know how my blog fans only like to read when pictures are involved.

It's been a busy month for Darren - he crawls SO fast, has 8 teeth, and holds up "1" with his finger when I ask him his age. And I can't leave out that he has a girlfriend at school. His teachers tell me that Darren has been caught kissing Kendell twice - frisky little man! They will soon be torn apart - Darren gets promoted to the toddler room at school starting July 17! My baby is a toddler!

Here are some new pics that I stole off of Ryan's blog - they were taken last weekend during a bbq at Henry's house!

My baby is 1!!!!!

What a difference a year makes.

New this week.

Darren knows how to sign the word "more." So far he has signed "more" for every food that comes his way - just like his mom.

Memorial Day Weekend Slideshow

http://www.webguide.com/DarrenOneYearOldHHI.mov

Happy Early Birthday at the Beach!

We decided that there was no better place to celebrate Darren's first birthday then at the beach with family! It was an amazing weekend and it truly was a celebration of life. Darren is blessed to have such a wonderful family who loves and cares about him and each other.

This has a lot to do with Darren.

For those of you out there who haven't heard the news yet - Darren is getting two little cousins next fall! His Aunt Cari and Uncle Danny are expecting twins!!! Darren can't wait to show them the ropes and hopefully pass along very helpful information like how to poop between the hours of 9 and 5 so their day care provider (and not mom and dad) has to clean the mess.

This has nothing to do with Darren.

Gary just launched the new site design for my mom's business - you can check it out at www.webguide.com.

On Your Mark. Get Set. Get Set. Get Set. Go....

After trying pretty much trying everything in the book (and on Google) to try and encourage Darren to crawl, he is finally on the go. What, you may be asking yourself, got his cute, little tushy off the ground? A cheeto that had fallen on the floor. Of course - why didn't we think of that earlier?

Looks like Google doesn't know everything.

Lady's Man.

Darren loves the ladies. Hailey may be playing hard to get - don't worry, Darren loves the chase.

Highlights.

Really the entire trip to Costa Rica was one big highlight. We had the best time.

Long time, no post.

Sorry. Between Costa Rica and moving we're crazy busy lately. To top it off, Darren had a 102 fever yesterday...poor little man. Fortunately he feels much better today - but we decided to keep him home from school just to make sure. He's having a blast skipping school today - we decided to take some pics with my computer to document.






Woohooo - high 5 for skipping school!

Bathing Beauties.

Darren and Julia spent some quality time together this weekend. After playing and eating, they got clean and we got pictures to embarrass them when they get older - it was a win-win situation all the way around.
On a related note, Darren and Julia will soon be sharing a new tub in our new home! We closed on Friday and will officially be in the home by May 3.

Sleep over!

Darren spent Saturday night with Grandma and Grandpa while Gary and I celebrated his birthday with a night at the Westin Buckhead. It was a much needed mini-vacation. The best part? Waking up at 11:00am. I don't really want to mention how old Gary is turning but lets just say that next year the second number will be "0" ...and it's not 30. Ouch.

Darren had a blast with the grandparents - besides having to wear that silly green hat again.

Runaway Bride Update.

I noticed the past few times I've taken Darren to the doctor's office that Jennifer Wilbanks has been absent from the front desk. So at Darren's 9-month checkup today, I finally worked up the nerve to ask the nurse about her. After all, inquiring minds and sick babies want to know!

I started off by joking around with the nurse for a few minutes. Once I could tell she had a good sense of humor, I casually asked "So where's the runaway bride?" The nurse thought it was hilarious. She said that she is now in nursing school but fills in at the front desk occasionally. I then decided to ask a little more, "So, does she date often?" The nurse responded that she does go out on some dates but hasn't been in a serious relationship since the whole running away and faking her kidnapping incident. Hmmm...I wonder why?

It's unfortunate she's no longer working the front desk. It made my waiting room experience infinitely more interesting and was pretty much the reason I chose this pediatric group in the first place. Who needs good doctors when you have the runaway bride?

Ft. Lauderdale

Last weekend, Darren visited his fourth state. He's well-travelled and makes friends wherever he goes. On the plane, one lady commented that all babies should be as well-behaved as Darren. This woman has a great point - can everyone with a baby that cries please stay at home at all times? Ummmm, right.

Quick Update.

Sorry I've been so terrible at updating the blog this month. I know that all of Darren's fans are anxiously awaiting an update (all 3 of you). It's been a crazy month - but a great one. Our house is finally under contract and we spent the past couple of weeks running around trying to find a new place to live. We close in 17 days...ahhhhh!!!!!
We flew down to Florida last weekend for a quick visit with Nana, Grampa and the uncles. Darren wowed everyone with his amazing waving and high-5 abilities. He can't get enough of table foods (he gets that from me) and now eats everything from fish to cheese to cheeseburgers.
I promise to upload pics soon.

Hellooooo Hailey.

Valentines Day may be over, but Darren continues to wine and dine the ladies. Don't hate the player - hate the game.