Anne Colins' Show

Hello Friends,

FYI Peeps: This is Anne Colins guest blogging on Cooper's blog. Cooper and Dad have been completely slack for months now on this blog, so I am taking the reins today. This is the Anne Colins show, and we are going to have a little fashion show on Big Bro's Blog (I'm sure he will love it if ever logs back in)....Let's do this thing.

Hold that thought, this is Mom and I. While quite fashionable and beautiful, this is just a good shot of Mommy time...I love you Mommy.

Fashion Show Time....What to wear: Pink. Look at this sweet little jumper/dress/skirt with tights and bow.

What not to wear: Your big bro in tighty-whities crowding you out on your changing pad...Dude Cooper, really?

What to Wear: Red and Black. Cooper and Daddy and I visiting my first bar in a wonderful fairytale land called Athens. I was 12 weeks old...Go Dawgs.

What to Wear: Red and Black; Where to wear it: Sanford Stadium...I hope this and the joint above are still around in 17.5 years.

Here are Big Bro and I posing for a photo for Mom in the "Chair for pre-departure picture posing" before leaving the house. This photo will not be possible for Big Bro after 2 hours of playing, running, wrestling, dirt digging, etc. He looks good here though -- 'pre-departure' is the operative word.

Hey, Happy Belated Easter everyone. We had a wild and fun filled weekend with family and friends. Cooper and Aunt Jennifer are looking terrific at the PRUMC Easter Egg Hunt Extravaganza.

Mom, Dad and I stop to pose for this pic while Aunt Jen tries to keep Cooper off the egg hunt field until the Easter Egg Hunt 2011 gun goes off.

What to Wear: a lovely pink sweater and matching hair bow.

What to Wear: Polk-a-Dots...Pink dress with chocolate dots -- c'mon, that plus the pouty lower lip? -- Priceless.

Bunny ears on my Mimi...fantastic.

Daddy and I...It's a moment.

Happy Easter Family.

Polk-a-Dots. Red dress with pink dots this time = What to Wear. You will not see the pouty lower lip in the pic because I save that for when Daddy is nearby.

Wow, Stripes that coordinate with my comfy blanket....I like to call this "What to Wear to a Picnic on Daddy's Surprisingly Lush Front Lawn".

...And I like to call this, "What not to wear: A Gigantic Stuffed Largemouth Bass."

I don't care who you are, this is a classic shot here. Daddy looks like Tom Cruise posing for a shot with a couple of extras on set between dogfight scenes.

Seriously...can't you see it? I am 4.5 months old....I can't make this stuff upI took my first airplane ride down to West Palm Beach to meet my Great Grandfather. I spent a couple of days with Great Grandfather, and we had a wonderful time. I chose a cute spring-y light green checked sun dress for the flight and our first meet.

Here we are hanging out and watching golf at Aunt Pat's house. Thanks for lettings us crash your pad Aunt Pat & Uncle Alex. It was soooo much fun.

Dad enjoyed a swim with Al, Uncle Alex's pet alligator....He was surprisingly friendly.

What Not to Wear: Eye liner on your face like warpaint. Cooper, we need to work on your facial expressions when you get caught...this one says: "Guilty as charged." Next time, let's try: "Looks great right, do you want me to paint your face Mom?"

What Not to Wear: Business casual to a pant-optional driving range. Loosen up Daddy.

Well, that wraps up my first official blog post. Memorial Day weekend is coming up, and Big Bro's last day of school is tomorrow -- woohoo, Summer Vacation dudes!

Talk to you later friends....ACM.

Anne Colins' Baptism

Hello All, and Happy First Day of Spring. The pollen has started coming hard and fast here in Atlanta, but we've enjoyed a couple of spectacular warm, pollen-free and bug-free weeks. March Madness has ended early with Georgia getting bounced in Round 2 (formerly Round 1) of the Big Dance, but the Masters and G-Day are coming into view.

Anne Colins was baptized a couple of Saturdays ago at the Cathedral of Christ the King. It was a beautiful ceremony, and Mom planned out a fun-filled weekend for the whole family. Fortunately for you, we peeled off about 900 photos and captured nearly every minute of the 48-hour extravaganza. For instance....

...Here are Mom and Anne Colins the morning of the Baptism looking lovely. In case you are keeping score, I did wear the same get-up for my baptism/christening in 2008. Were it not for this historically accurate Blog, I might be able to deny having worn what looks an awful lot like a dress.

3 generations of Lovely are on display here...

Father Frank performed the Baptism. I've included this photo because no matter how large a crowd, Mother's beauty always stand out from the rest....Love you Mom.

Uncle Ethan gave a splendid reading during the service...Nice job Evans!

Anne Colins, can you share with our friends, family and fans what was going through your mind in this scene?

AC: Well Cooper, I've been in this beautifully preserved (read uncomfortable) gown for 2 hours. We've been standing on the altar for 45 minutes, during which time Father Frank has rubbed an oil on my head and again on my chest, and I'm confident the oil's unique and pervasive odor will stay with me for days. Now here I am suspended over a bowl of chilled water displaying a sheen from what must be oil Father Frank has rinsed from my head....Notice the kung-fu grip I had on Father Frank....I was thinking that if I go in, your coming with me Father. Thankfully, it did not come to that, and it turned out to be a terrific Baptism.

Thank you Father Frank...Godparents Ethan and Megan were outstanding...

Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Godfather...

Uncle Skip and Aunt Jennifer have a two year head start as my spiritual guides.

Special thanks to the Bird's, Lawson's and Jeff and January for sharing the event with us.

Whoa, now here is a good one. This family is getting to be pretty darn impressive....(please exclude those to the right rear with backs to the camera -- that is another impressive family).

More parents and Godparents...

Murphy siblings + Anne Colins...good form Skip...

Hey, here is my pal Will and I. We had a blast. My other pal Michael was also there with his big sis Alexis. It was awesome...Will and I planned a dude's farm trip for the Spring.

Uncle Josh and Auntie Meg...looking good.

Pennington/Murphy/McDaniel ladies....beautiful smiles girls.

Finally some Dudes! Fist bump Uncle Jeff...NICE. Let's wrap this up and start the party...

Wow, our team pretty much dominated the altar for the better part of an hour...guess they didn't charge us by the hour or the photo, eh Dad? HA!

Ahhh, finally the party. Mom and Dad hosted a fantastic reception at Maggiano's -- I love family-style Italian.

Dad is chatting it up at the bar with family and friends, while I (not pictured here) am sprinting the halls of the other reception rooms and laughing and yelling. It was great.

Uncle Kevin is actually holding Michael (his son) and Dad (my Dad) at the same time...impressive, I don't care whose Baptism reception it is.
This cake actually tasted better than it looked, and yes, it looked incredible. I think Dad actually ate half.

Well, enough about Anne Colins. Let's talk about my Molly the cow dog. She is the best. She loves it when I ride her like a horse too. Molly had a birthday this week on St. Paddy's Day...HBD Molly!

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone, and we will blog at you later....CDM & ACM.

Spring Fever

Hello Friends. The Murphy's are back in action, all present and accounted for, and ready for Spring. If there is anything I've learned from my old man over the years (2.58 yrs to be exact), its that one should be careful when one makes bold statements. That said, I am prepared to make my first bold statement of the year: Spring 2011 is Here! I know what you are thinking...February? Well, it has been in the 60's (70's in some cases) for about a week now, and it looks like another beautiful week ahead. I am ready for it, and I have decided to declare Spring 2011 officially open for business. Dad - lay down the pine straw and grass seed, and let's get this yard in order.

With an early Spring declared, let's take a peek at the dearly departed Winter of 2011...

Anne Colins took her first trip to the Greasy-V at the tender age of 2.5 weeks -- impressive performance AC.


Hmmm, you may be wondering what I am up to in this next pic...A maglite, a 25' tape measure, and a pair of common kitchen tongs....oh and a resting Molly the Cow.

Yep, Doc Cooper is in, and its time for Molly's nightly check-up. This is a body fat test, and the results were not flattering...though a gentlemen does not share such personal details about his canine.

Dad's Day! It was Dad's Day at school a few weeks back. My pals and I hosted our Dads for coffee and play time at school. It was outstanding.

Uncle Ethan (soon to be Godfather Uncle Ethan to Anne Colins) came to town to meet his new niece. I'll admit, he displayed some pretty smooth infant holding technique...he's got her tucked safely under his arm like a Gordo High School football.

Bottle/Sippy cup break time at the Murphy house in this one....Cheeeeez

Oh Boy Dad....you are in trouble. Anne Colins is giving a little sneak preview of her soon to be patented and oft-displayed "Daddy, Pleeeeeaaaaseee can I have ." Looks pretty good, but it could use some polishing Sis.

We had a family Valentine's Day celebration. Anne Colins was dressed accordingly...

...Not dressed accordingly here, but looking pretty cute.

Pick a caption for this one: A) It takes two to tango, or B) Dad is an idiot.

Mom and I had a date last Sunday to the Circus. It was amazing, and I have requested a return visit each and every day (read hour) since. Fortunately, we discovered the Ringling website and a 3 minute circus video complete with singing clowns and elephants and a train. I like to play this very loud and 8-12 times in a row at 7am on Saturday.
I met up with some of my pals at the circus. Luke came to visit us at our seats....in Club Level. Evidently (as Dad ranted), if you wait until the day of the show, you cannot buy tix online, so you have to jump in the car, rush to the retail outlet at Publix and take whatever the lady behind the counter gives you. In this case, "best available" = expensive and Club Level. Oh well, worked for Mom and I.

Popcorn by the pound...
Mom and I went down onto the floor before the show...and stayed until they escorted us to our seats...that was a nice touch -- must have been Club Level treatment.

My pal MJ was at the circus too. He is a big kid and very cool.
When I am not operating on Molly, I enjoy building towers out of canned non-perishables. (No green beans were injured during shooting of this photo.)

.....and Winter 2011 is over (hopefully). It was a wild ride for the Murphys and we are stronger for it. We have Anne Colins' baptism next Saturday. I am looking forward to some quality time with both of my spiritual advisers. Aunt Jen heads over from B-ham, and Uncle Skip is jumping the red-eye from Vegas. It should be a great weekend.

I hope to see all of you dudes soon. Happy Spring.

CDM