Whats up cuz?!

I had the privilege of hanging out with my sister and our babies this past Sunday. It is so very rare! We took them on a walk and hung out with them at the park and then ran back and let them share toys all while we got to talk. It was so nice...

FIVE months!!

Our boy is five months (and a few days because I am almost always late posting). There is not a check up for this month so I don't have any stats but I do have other news. He started eating solids as in baby cereal and vegetables (and I have some helpers for that). The doctor kind of gave me a heads up at our four month appt- he started getting frustrated and staring us down at meals. He was ready. He has been trying so hard to roll from his back to his front and he did it! On the kitchen floor none the less. We had him on a blanket in there and started talking about other things and not paying attention and then all of sudden there he was on his tummy! and happy! Now it is an everyday thing. He is generally all smiles especially when we are out and about. This month he got to take his first trip the mountains and he and Ava shared their first trip to Carowinds (in other posts). He and Ava have been spending a lot of time together so he is happily entertained by her. He is napping well these days but night time could be better. He is spending a lot of time in his jumpy and exersaucer & loving it!

Carowinds?

Carowinds is not my favorite place. I remember going to a theme park with my friends in college and we all agreed we would never take our kids. Ha! Then came my husband and we got season passes to Carowinds that we never used. Then came Disney (but does that count?) and then came this... I entered to win tickets to Carowinds for their Great Pumpkin Fest. And I won. It was so strange but I thought, for free? Yeah, we can do that. We took all the kids and got free pumpkins and a little bit of trick or treat candy. Most importantly, the kids had fun. We actually ended up seeing several people we knew there!

Disney!!

Our family loves Disney everything. I think it all happened on accident actually. The girls started liking certain characters and then it bloomed into an obsession and once we visited Disney World with Bella a few years ago we have all been in love. Before I had kids I thought the "Princess stuff" was tacky but I caved. Ava loves Minnie Mouse and Ariel (even though she hasn't ever seen the Little Mermaid- our copy quit working before she was old enough to watch it). Bella loves Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and all of the other princesses plus Doc and Sophia. Anyway, we have been blessed to be able to take Bella to Disney on Ice the last few years and this year Ava got to join us. Porter stayed home so it was a special treat for all of us and magical too. We surprised the girls and just told them to dress like princesses so Bella dressed like Aurora and then she dressed Ava like Rapunzel (insert hair extension). The theme this year was Princesses and Heroes and the show included Jasmine and Aladdin, Tinkerbell, all of the princesses and Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Mickey and Minnie. Our favorite parts were Cinderella's carriage and the fireworks at the end. The pictures are terrible but I had to document this especially after the first thing Bella said upon arriving was, "Take a picture so I don't ever forget this!"

Quick Trip

Quick Trip is the name of the gas station that has THE cheapest gas around. If you see a QT, you can bet you have found the best price for gas in the area but this post is not about gas. It is about our quick trip to the MOUNTAINS! I miss Boone so much it is not even funny. We rarely go and even when we do, it is not the same. It never will be BUT taking our kids to the mountains is something I want to do every year whether it be Boone, Blowing Rock (where we ended up), Asheville or somewhere else we've never been. When we went to family camp this year, Bella shrieked at the sight of a mountain and it wasn't even that big so I knew we could not miss out this year. She also has a fascination with leaves which makes this the perfect time of year. Fall is my absolute favorite and the mountains are my happy place. I can remember taking day trips all the time with my parents and grandmother. Anyway, this past weekend we drove on the Blue Ridge Parkway (referred to as just "the parkway" when I was in college) and stopped at several overlooks. Bella and I did a tiny hike around the Viaduct and she just wanted to keep going forever. I want to take her back one day without the littles so we can do something more intense. We did get to visit the Blowing Rock while they took a nap which was fun but she was freezing so we rushed through. One of the men working there asked her to "help him out" and feed the fish which she just thought was the most special thing ever. For lunch we stopped at the famous Woodlands which was of course crazy busy but surprisingly a short wait. The last stop was Kilwins so the girls had chocolate ice cream and we got fudge to take home. It was a good time and everybody was asleep shortly after we got down the mountain.