Gayla lent us a pack 'n play for Astrid (since there's no crib at the condo). Thank you Gayla!We had it in a separate room for Astrid to sleep in during the night, and during the day we moved it to the front room for Astrid to play in.
Here she is clapping and playing in the pack 'n play, with her sleepy sheep sitting in the corner.
Behind her is a sliding glass door, that opens onto a balcony.
We've got the whole day to explore a new city (and state).
A view of downtown Atlanta.
Looking back at shutterbug mama.
I see you.
Holding on with one hand, and having the other in her mouth.
The view from above.
Uwe is in heaven with Starbucks being across the street. His signature drink, a nonfat decaf hazelnut latte, used to feel like a mouthful, but now after ordering it a dozen times it rolls right off my tongue. Recently he dropped the nonfat so that makes it easier to say.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. (The view from the front of the building.)
A view of the skyscrapers from my point of view walking down Peach Street.It's a nice day. It's warmer here in Atlanta than it was the last few days in Florida. People here are so happy to have sun this time of year.
The view behind the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.
Behind the Federal Reserve building there is a little wall with "Peachtree Walk" engraved into it. Since we are staying on Peachtree Street and taking a walk along the same street, I thought it would make a great photo and marker when I got home and started going through all my photos.
Astrid is wondering why the security guard is talking to mommy. The security guard came out and said I couldn't take photos of the building. Oops...too late. If I was scoping out the building to rob them I sure wouldn't be taking photos of this 3 foot wall with my kid in front of it. There's no security breech there. But the security guard was nice and apologized and smiled at Astrid.It reminded me of Peter Nacken who was told by an Ikea clerk in Italy that he could not take photos in the store; so whenever Peter goes there he always takes photos with his cell phone and the clerks working there have no idea. Then he posts the photos on his blog. It always cracks me up. Silly rules.
Sitting in Starbucks, reading a new book.This is the new "O" sound Astrid makes. Forming that sound with her mouth just happens to show off her adorable dimples.
Turning a page in her book. I remember when I used to have to turn the pages for her, but now Astrid can turn the pages on her own. 
I got this book at the pharmacy when I went to buy diapers this morning. It's waterproof with vinyl pages and made for reading in the bathtub. But at this age it's perfect for wet fingers, and slobber. It's very durable and basically baby indestructible. (Unlike paper pages of a book.)
Astrid loves this Care Bear "Colors" book. When we get home I want to get more of these vinyl books for her. She loves to hold the book and look at the pictures. The book captures her interest for much longer than toys do. And that's music to my "former teacher" ears.
We had planned to visit the Aquarium, but got there too late and they weren't letting anymore visitors in. So instead we went across the street to the Centennial Olympic Park which turned out to be a treat. It was built specifically for the 1996 Summer Olympic games.
The two things I know about Atlanta are:
1) The 1996 Summer Olympic games were held there.
2) CNN has their headquarters there (oh and a third related to CNN: Ted Turner has a home there.) 
Walking in Centennial Olympic Park.
Notice the individual bricks that make up the pathway. They are called the "Olympic Bricks" and each one is personalized. They were funded by individual contributions from all over the world, paving the park's walkways north to south, east to west, each bearing the name of a donor or someone donors sought to memorialize. 
Here's a close up shot. I thought the "Hi Up There" message was cute.
The CNN headquarters building is located next to the park. 
Here we are standing in front of the Olympic Rings Fountain.
This high-tech fountain, set into a plaza along International Boulevard, which bisects the park, is in the form of five interlocking rings and features a wide array of special effects: from fifty-foot "geyser" bursts to mist to colored lights. In addition, the fountain has been programmed to operate using a host of different patterns and these rotate on a constant basis, so the fountain is never boring.
Another feature that draws crowds are the four-times-daily fountain shows, which run all year except for a few months during the winter. During these 20-minute shows, the fountain demonstrates its amazing special effects to several pieces of popular music, including Tschaikowsky's "1812 Overture," Disney's "Under the Sea," and Neil Diamond's "Comin' to America."
We didn't see a choreographed show, but it was still a lot of fun to watch the water shooting up from the holes in the ground, and people running into and out of circles trying not to get wet. 
Astrid reaching out to touch the fountain water spray.
Thrilled to be in Papa's arms while watching the fountain.
Does she look like a Disney character to you? (Airport security guards thought so at the Tampa, Florida airport.)
Here we are standing in one of the circles with the water spraying up all around us.
While walking back through the park on our way out, Uwe reminded me that there was a bombing in the park during the 1996 Summer Olympic games.
It happened during a late night concert in the park, when a pipe bomb exploded killing 1 person and wounding around 100 other people. There was a 911 call, which came in to the Atlanta Police Department 22 minutes before the pipe bomb exploded in the park and the voice said, "There is a bomb in Centennial Park. You have 30 minutes."
It was an eerie feeling to be walking through that same park, but thankfully under different circumstances.
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