Boonetown!!

OH MAN. What an awesome weekend. We left town late afternoon on Thursday to make the trek to Boone, with a stop in Durham on the way. We were able to meet up with Jon's parents, his sister, and our nieces and nephew for dinner before heading the rest of the way. It was fun for Kate to be able to meet her other aunt and her other 2 cousins. She'd already met her oldest cousin this summer and she LOVES her!! We didn't get to Boone until 11:30 or so on Thursday night, which is when the adventure began. I fed K and tried to put her down around midnight. That was not a part of her plan. She was awake (and super fussy) until 3 am!!!!!!! We decided that it was a combination of being super sleepy, a new place, and a new bed (pack n play). Then she slept for 2 hours and was up again. Heaven help us. Jon and I were crazy people at this point. By the time 8 am rolled around, we had all slept for about 3 1/2 hours. So, when she went down for a nap at 9:30, we did too!! Around noon, we started our day. Remaining true to Boone weather, it was raining and cold on Friday. We got Tucker's for lunch (praise God from whom all blessings flow), and went up to the outlets for a bit. Dinner was with Meridith (Daniel, it's true. Sometimes your family seems to like the person you're dating more than they like you.) at Woodlands- SO yummy!!!

Saturday and Sunday were spent with our favorite Hinch family!! Tucker's and Dos Amigos fed us on Saturday... Is it bad that much of our trips to Boone revolves around eating? Especially at Tucker's.... We went to the game (Black Saturday) in the afternoon and Kate slept until the first touchdown. Then she wanted to watch! Or entertain the people around us. Church on Sunday, of course, and we got to see our beloved Andrews family while we were there. Macado's for lunch after church, then quick goodbyes to our sweet friends so we could hit the road. Lots of fun to run into old friends unexpectedly- the whole Chasteen crew at our hotel, Lisa, Pat and Lucy, Candace, and more.

One last stop in Durham on the way home for some more family time and an awesome dinner made by my sweet mother in law. It was nice to sit on the couch and chat for awhile, and especially to break up that trip! Kate was glad to get out of her carseat too! Pictures of the weekend to come later. Thank you, Lord, for such a wonderful place to visit with such DEAR memories!!

http://jonandmollie.blogspot.com

Crisp weather and blog carnivals

It looks like it will be a pretty nice weekend in Boone... well, at least not as cold as last weekend. A late afternoon football game will still be pretty chilly, but Kate is in luck because she has this to wear:

She will be one snuggly girl, thanks to Gram!!

On another note, I've been thinking about Christmas gifts. Already. Mostly because I need to budget differently this year, now that I'm not teaching anymore. It won't work to cram in all of my shopping in the last 2 weeks before Christmas! I've had some pretty fun idea for gifts for my sweet hubby in the past, but I often get stumped on what to buy him. Men like the expensive toys and my creative juices get frozen in the winter. My dear friend Sheila is hosting a blog carnival for people to share gift ideas. During the week of Nov. 2-6, there will be different ideas for the different folks in your family. Check out her blog to learn more!




http://jonandmollie.blogspot.com

Blogs and numbers

I follow one particular blog because it's all about sweet stuff- cookies, cakes, breads, etc. YUM. Baking vs. cooking. The most recent post has 3800 comments. Ummmm, seriously?? I think I have 2 followers on my blog. Maybe. 3800 comments, though?! Holy smokes. Perhaps yummy desserts are more interesting than my subject matter. Oh well. I'm pretty okay with that. I love my cupcake who is taking her nap right now far more than a cupcake that will make me gain back this weight that is finally gone!!!!

Boone, NC

We leave in one week and 2 days for a long weekend at our favorite place on earth, and this time we get to introduce our favorite little girl on earth to God's country. I cannot wait!! Fall leaves and colors, Appalachian football, Valle Crucis Mast General Store, Tucker's, Alliance, and a weekend with Amy, Brian, and Noah. Here are some pictures that really capture what makes me excited...

What's next?

For the first 4 months of Kate's life, I must have been living in an alternate world. I was never the typical exhausted new mom and was ready to do anything at most any time! I was never sleepy during the day, therefore could not ever nap while Kate napped. I was certainly ready for bed when it was time, but I wasn't dying by the end of the day (as many of my friends have been). I didn't dread feedings every 3 hours- I didn't look forward to them either, but I didn't dread them. It just wasn't a big deal to get up and take care of my sweet girl. I got up each morning and worked out most days of the week for awhile. And then she started sleeping through the night at 4 months. Yes, I knew that this "simple" life of being a mom was too good to be true. I'm not stupid!

Now, it's all caught up to me. I feel like the dead walking. Maybe it was just adrenaline at the beginning. It's hit me like a truck now, though!! I have zero energy to go work out or anything! I'm happy to just sit around the entire day. Adding to the mix- Kate no longer sleeps through the night (this could be the reason for my zombie-like behavior). And she would like to eat at 1, 2, 3, or 4 am. And she eats a LOT then! Fortunately, Kate goes to sleep immediately after eating at one of these ungodly hours. Although it's been proven that babies don't wake up because of hunger, I still was convinced that it was time to start some rice cereal (pediatrician said to start around 5 months). What a disaster! See pictures below of first attempt... My list of things to attempt is turning out as follows:

Rice cereal with water (dumb idea to begin with, but didn't have milk ready)

Rice cereal with milk (from a spoon)

Rice cereal with milk (from a bottle- she's not a big fan of bottles PERIOD.)

Nursing right before bed (feeble attempt, though studies show that feeding before bed does not prolong sleep)

Add something w/ more flavor to the rice cereal (she's not old enough for anything else yet)

First bite and permanent reaction...

She doesn't actually wake up in the night- she just cries and cries with her eyes closed until she gets totally carried away. She can't be soothed by anything, and when we pick her up, she opens her eyes and we are greeted with enormous smiles.

So, any new ideas for me? What did you do to help your kids sleep through the night??

http://jonandmollie.blogspot.com

Weddings and such

This weekend seemed to be a weekend of weddings. We were fortunate enough to attend one of some sweet friends, Andrea and Ian. I've known Andrea almost my entire life, and we've LOVED getting to know Ian over the past several years. Both sets of their parents celebrated anniversaries this week, and they finished out the anniversary trend by getting married yesterday! What a sweet time to spend together! I've seen a "count up" ticker on someone's blog recently, and after the wedding yesterday evening, it got me thinking... How many days have WE been married? 1,954! Wow. How about my parents? 12,461. Amazing. And with that, I'm off to rescue the crying girl in her crib.