New Bern, NC or Bust!!

Another first for our family of FOUR......an eight hour road trip!!

Aaron's cousin, Kristin, got married and before the birth of Caroline we knew for certain he and Cannon would attend the wedding which was taking place in New Bern, North Carolina.  Soon after Caroline was born I made a VERY quick decision that we would all four pack up, buckle up and head north!  I say it was a quick decision because we had never gone on a road trip more than three hours with Cannon and now we have an additional child too....not to mention, she is a fresh out of the womb newborn!

Preparation for the trip was tense.  I had checklists in my head and checklists written down and finally I had to just take a deep breath and realize that if I forgot something then we would pick it up along the way or buy it when we got there.  To my amazement, I forgot nothing BUT that doesn't mean that I kept on schedule and did things exactly the way they would have been done if at home which is sometimes a problem with me.  I like my kids to sleep in their own beds for their naps and stay in their "comfort zone" plus having a schedule with the kids makes life a little (just little) bit easier.  Again I had to throw those schedules out the window and enjoy this new adventure we were about to be on and the moments we were about to have with Kristin and the family.

So come along and enjoy our trip!

We set out on Friday afternoon and hoping Cannon would enjoy the portable DVD player we bought for him.  This picture truly captures the amount of time he spent watching the movie Happy Feet.  The rest of the trip was spent looking out the window at the trees passing by, cows and horses in the pastures and big trucks next to us on the highway.  Cannon was a good passenger and we were so proud of him for enduring the long drive strapped down his car seat.  I think he enjoyed having Orie (his best buddy) make the trip with us!

First stop - BOJANGLES!!!  Yummy!!!

Aaron and I are obsessed with this place and since we don't have one in Bluffton we stopped the moment we saw the sign on the highway.

Cannon showed off  his driving skills while at the gas station.

And after eight hours, two eating/feeding/bathroom stops, we finally arrived at the hotel!!
Cannon made a bee-line for the room!
Little did we know that once in the room..........

....he was like a monkey jumping on the bed. 

Seriously?  Could this kid have this much energy at 8:00pm after the what I thought was forever drive from South Carolina to North Carolina.  But he did and we enjoyed seeing that smile and hearing him laugh the entire time he was getting out the last of his energy before going to bed.  What you don't see is Grandma having just has much fun with him!  He loves his Grandma W!!

Cousins, Luke and Lindsey hadn't seen Cannon since he was 4 months old so they didn't waste any time reintroducing themselves to him.  Cannon took his usual moment to warm up.

Miss Caroline got cozy in her pj's and said goodnight once arriving at the hotel, the trip wore this little one out.  It would me too if I was stuck in a car seat riding backwards for eight hours!  Hang in there girl, one day you will be calling "shotgun" in an attempt to gain front seat access from your big brother.

And look who was back at it on Saturday morning!! 

Cannon was up and VERY ready to be a monkey again jumping on the bed. 

No wonder there is a song about this!

Lindsey holding her new baby cousin for the first time.

Luke was waiting his turn to hold Caroline and sat "practicing" the baby hold.

The handoff was seamless.....

.....and baby Caroline now enjoyed being in the arms of her big cousin Luke.

Of course I didn't pass up a picture with my sweet baby girl before heading out to go shopping in downtown New Bern.

Cannon ran around the lobby like it was a new playground and tried to escape a couple of times.....

....but Luke and Lindsey were always there to corral him back!

We see you and those cheeks sweet Caroline!

Did you know New Bern, North Carolina was the birthplace of Pepsi? 

We didn't either until we saw this!

Time for the wedding and while waiting for the bride to walk down the isle, Daddy kept Cannon's attention with some yummy snacks.

It was a beautiful day at a beautiful place for two beautiful people named Kristin and Alan to get married!!!  We are so happy for them and pray for lots of love and happiness in their journey of marriage!

Look....more cousins!!! 

We loved being able to see Uncle Brian and cousins Jake, Megan, Kelly, Katie and Tracey.  They are all growing up so fast and are such good kids.  We miss them all so much.

Cannon takes any opportunity to help out with his baby sister these days.....but this time I wasn't sure if he was helping or pushing her back out to the car so HE could get all the attention?

Grandma was LOVING the time with her grand babies.

Cannon had a blast with Aunt Blanche.  

Who knew banging on chairs could be so much fun?

Caroline got to have a Kodak moment with the bride and groom.  I think she was telling Kristin that she wanted a baby cousin to play with! :)

By the end of Saturday, my little man was t-i-r-e-d!!

Sunday morning came and before we got back in our car seats and seat belts to head back home, Cannon got to be loved on one more time from his cousins......

......and Grandma of course!

Having fun with his Grandma, aunts, uncles and lots and lots of cousins is exhausting!  Can you tell?  We weren't even a couple of minutes on the highway before I looked back and noticed he was OUT!  Even Orie was put aside so he could settle in for a good car nap.

The only stop we made on the way home was for some good 'ol country cookin at Cracker Barrel....and of course some front porch rockin in the rocking chairs!

Well, I'm happy to report that our first long car trip as a family of four was a success!  It had it's moments where we thought we were driving to New York instead of North Carolina but I can honestly say it wasn't too bad.  I'm not scared to to it again. 

After all, a trip where you get to see the ones you love are the best trips of all!

I Want....

....lots and lots of fun toys!!

And when I get older, I want...

....lots and lots of cute clothes!!

....lots and lots of jewelry!!

....lots and lots of purses!!

....lots and lots of shoes!!

And I'm pretty sure that as your daddy's little girl, you will get it all and LOTS more! 

Maternity Leave Update

Maternity leave is becoming increasingly harder and harder for me.  After being together all weekend as a family Monday mornings come along and I am faced with having to say goodbye to Cannon.

Most mornings are routine and go off without any meltdowns.  Then there are some that don't go so well and that is when an extra cup of coffee is needed or just a good shopping trip with Caroline!

Last years maternity leave with Cannon proved that I was very much a first time parent and I didn't take advantage of the time off and enjoy all the days to the fullest.  This time is VERY different or should I say Caroline is a very different baby; therefore, I'm a much more relaxed parent enjoying each and every minute of each and every day (but I do miss the heck out of my job and my work family)!!!!!!

A typical good morning:

Bye mommy, big hug!

A meltdown morning:

No mommy, I don't want to go!

A typical day with Caroline......

.....always!

 

Sunday Fun

Being in a smaller city doesn't mean you can't have fun, it just means you have to travel sometimes to have MORE fun so we loaded up the cars and headed north on this Sunday morning.....Beaufort that is. 

Yes, Beaufort is only a short 30 minute drive but it is where we can get our favorite donuts for breakfast.... Dunkin Donuts!!!

The trip included Ben, Maddie and Isabella (Danielle was out of town) and it made it so much more fun for Cannon to have his favorite "girl" friend along for the adventure.

Cannon tried to hog all the munchkins but he eventually shared.

After breakfast we headed to the park to see the boats.....

......and swing on the big swing!

Caroline enjoyed the breeze.

And then there was the BIG open green space for lots of running BUT Cannon still is a little unsteady on grass so he didn't run for long......

....instead he found Maddie and a tree branch that was much more interesting.

Maddie's long (and fast) legs took her to places faster than Cannon.....

....and after running with Maddie for a while it was time for a drink!

I think there will be more Beaufort, or should I say Dunkin Donut, trips in our future with two kids now!  Of course, Aaron and I will make any excuse to eat donuts too!

First Family (of 4) Outing

The annual Bluffton MayFest was just two weeks after Caroline was born and I wasn't going to miss it.  Of course it was on the hottest day of the year so far and I really didn't need to be walking around downtown Bluffton in the condition I was in (Shrek legs & feet) but that wasn't going to stop us.  The festival began at 10:00am and I was determined to leave the house by 9:30.  Well, we left the house at 10:30 and we were just fine with it.  We parked the car at Town Hall, pulled out TWO strollers and headed down Calhoun Street.  Having been out of work since the birth of Caroline, I was eager to see co-workers and friends to show her off.   The outing for us was fun but we cut it short due to a sweet baby girl that needed to be feed, a one year-old little boy who desperately needed a nap and two exhausted parents from running around learning how our new lives were going to be from that point forward with family outings.

BUT WAIT!!!!

Not if that wasn't enough for us, we decided to hit the pool to meet up with the Snider's & Hoffman's only hours after getting home from the festival!!  So once again, the diaper bag got filled up with fresh bottles and diapers, the car was loaded with towels and sunscreen and we were off again!  Except we forgot one thing........clothes for Cannon to wear after he got out of the pool.  As you can see, he didn't mind the ride home in just a diaper!

Caroline enjoying the pool but in the shade with mama!

Old Things Become New Again

It seems as if I just put this bouncer away......oh wait....I did!  Less than a year ago!

Cannon is having flashbacks with all his old things coming out of storage and into the living room.  Since he can't talk just yet or atleast with the words we can all understand, I'm not sure if he gets that the things are for Caroline.

This next year will be interesting with all the toys and equipment being scattered all over our house to suit a newborn AND toddler.  Watch where you step!!

Cannon

Caroline

Guess Who?

These Days

Caroline is proving to be a great baby and great sleeper!  Apart from a few fussy moments here and there, she is your typical newborn who loves to eat and sleep.

We keep commenting to each other how different she is from Cannon just due to her weight.  It is amazing how 2 pounds can make a HUGE difference for a newborn but it does!  She is on a 3 to 4 hour feeding schedule and of course I jot down every sleeping, feeding and diaper change that occurs to see her growth and progress.  I did it with Cannon for months ( still have the 25 page records) and it's been fun to look back and see the little notes I made along the way like, "great poop" or "VERY FUSSY!"

These days will fly by so we are soaking up every minute and every moment of our precious daughters first days! 

Riley was her first visitor! :)

Saying her prayers.

Not sure who put who asleep?

One word.....precious!!!