Are we the worst parents ever for taking our sick baby, still in her pjs, to stand in line at 7:30 a.m. for our free Steak 'n Shake for a year coupons? Maybe. Was it worth it? Most definitely. Look, she's smiling. I think it's the fries.

Month 1 of our free steak and shake for a year.

Here is part one in a twelve part series called FREE STEAK AND SHAKE FOR A YEAR.

Mike and Bob at the Turkish Cultural Celebration

Today Bob and I went to a celebration of Turkish culture with free kabobs, baklava, and tea. The tea was very strange. It was served in< little bags that you dipped in hot water and was made by a brand called something like Lipteen...no, Lipton? So bizarre! The food was great, and our host Alkan (shown here with Bob) was amazing. He taught us several words and phrases in Turkish (I've forgotten them all, of course) and even bought Turkish delights for us! Would it be possible to see the original animated Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and not crave Turkish Delights more than anything?

ALLISTER at the atlanta children's museum

There are some benefits to having a friend who is an amazing photographer. You can borrow money from him. No, wait! That's not right. You get amazing photos of your cute (and really sleepy) kid. William and Trey came up today and we met them at IMAGINE IT! The children's museum of Atlanta. See more photos and William's post here .

wait, what?

First off, as a reminder, Allister is only EIGHTEEN months old. She's not six. Keep that in mind when I tell you that today at the playground I saw her lift herself up on a chin up bar. She saw some older kid do it, so I walked her over to the shorter bar and told her to pull herself up. And she did.

Piedmont Park

Yesterday, while Rachel went to get her hair cut, Allister and I drove down to the Starlight Drive In Flea Market (we didn't find the synthesizers and keytars we were looking for). Since the weather was great, we met up with Rachel at Piedmont park (after a bit of phoned-in directions from the mom). Allister had a great time on their playground, even though one 3 year old did say "Hey! Get Away!" while she was trying to play with him.

After the park, we had smoothies at Arden's Garden and fish and chips from the Righteous Room. The smoothies were great, the fish and chips were not (Rachel loved both).