Monday, July 6, 2015

Charleston Weekend!


I've gotten a little behind with blogging lately, so let's just pretend like it's last Monday and I'm writing about the weekend we JUST had, not the one we had a week ago, k?!

Matt, Ryan and I got to drive up to Charleston to visit two of my best friends and roommates from college and catch up with their sweet families. We were only there for one full day, but life with little ones has a way of making days seem longer in the best way, so we really feel like we maximized our short time there!

The start of our trip and Ryan's first time facing forward in the carseat. And if you look closely, you'll notice I have blueberries in my teeth from my breakfast smoothie. :)


Friday night, we got in with enough time to let Ryan crawl around for a few minutes before putting him to bed. And then Matt and I enjoyed an adults-only pizza dinner with Meagan and Chris. Goodness I wish we lived next to them! They are just some of our favorite people in the world. Time with them is never long enough!

Saturday morning, my friend Brittany and her family came over. She and her family have three precious kiddos. Being around her and Meagan and their larger-than-ours families made Matt and I excited to add to ours in the future. Kids are just fun! Not to mention watching Brittany and Caleb and Meagan and Chris parent so well had Matt and I on the verge on whipping out a notebook and jotting down tips for what to do in the future. They are just great.

Gotta love group pictures at this age- so great


The rest of Saturday was spend walking through Meagan's neighborhood, relaxing around the house while the kids napped, and eating out at a restaurant called Red's- right on the water- that night. If one day in a different city could make you want to move there, this was the day. Oh to drive 15 minutes and eat outside right along the water while the kids run and play in the grass. When a dinner out feels like vacationing, that's a pretty great thing.

Ryan's face- nap time?!

Geese!

Getting ready for dinner looks so different these days :)

If I could arrange their marriage, I would. ;)

Love this girl!

Saturday night, we introduced Meagan and Chris to the amazingness that is Friday Night Lights. If you've watched it, you know. That and Parenthood are my all-time favorite series ever. (I'll go on record and say that they were neck-and-neck until the last episode of Parenthood bumped it into the first-place position.) Needless to say, we got them hooked after the first episode and Matt and I left thinking we might need to re-watch the entire series. So if you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor and start it. You will not be disappointed!

Sunday morning we enjoyed coffee and breakfast and played for a few hours and were still on the road to home by 9:30. See, life with kids really does maximize your days. ;)


Other highlights from the trip include:
  • turning Ryan around to face forward in his carseat. I wish I had recorded his sweet face when we put him in for the first time. His eyebrows were lifted high and he had this little smirk on his face that showed how excited he was and how cool he felt. Gooooodness what a difference that forward facing thing makes. We have a little man who enjoys the car now. Like doesn't even need a toy kind of enjoyment. He'll just chill and look straight out the window like life is good. And I'll tell you, having a little one who enjoys the car does make life good. :)
  • watching Ryan interact with the Emerson and Riley. A lot of the time he would just stare at them like he really wanted to be a part of the action but wasn't sure how.
  • Ryan seeing the ducks at the lake in Meagan and Chris's neighborhood and crying when we turned the stroller around to head back home. Sweet buddy. He loves wildlife like his mama.
  • Spending time with Emerson and Riley. Emerson is at such a fun age where she loves to play with you and read books together. Matt got some quality time crafting with her with the gift we got her for her birthday while I got to snuggle up and read her the books we brought her. Bless Matt for being great about doing crafts- that will be much appreciated when our kids are older. Mama doesn't love crafts. Maybe that will change?!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July weekend! I'll be back tomorrow to share pictures from our 4th. 


Oh, and one last side-note... I'm changing my reading goal for this month. I've already started  Bread and Wine and am really enjoying it, but I decided I'm just not in the mood for the Elin Hilderbrand book I wrote about. I read more reviews and there were very mixed feelings about the book. Since my last month's read was such a fail, I can't afford to spend my time potentially reading another one- ha. SO, I'm going to finish Bread and Wine and may or may not read another after it.


Have a great week!

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11 comments:

  1. It is super unsafe not to mention illegal for him to be forward facing right now at not even one year old. Their necks are not strong enough yet and they are better off rear facing until 2. Please do some research on this.

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    1. We made sure to look this up before making the decision to turn him- it is a law to have children in rear-facing seats under 1 in 3/50 states, but ours is not one of those 3. Recommendations do suggest rear facing until 3 years old, but I'm not sure the people who wrote those recommendations ever had child passengers themselves! Our plan was to turn him at one, and after reading the laws, decided to make the switch a couple of weeks early. I appreciate your concern and don't expect everyone to agree with all of our parenting decisions.

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  2. Awww! Such a sweet baby crying over the ducks! My kiddos love animals too! Have a great day!

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  3. Heather, my doctor told me with both kids that they can be forward facing at one. Ryan is also a pretty tall boy so I'm sure you're fine (and he's more comfortable). Happy 1st birthday to Ryan as I know it's RIGHT around the corner!

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  4. Looks like a fun weekend! So many precious kiddos running around.

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  5. I'm sure he enjoys being forward facing but he is safer rear facing at his age. Please read some information and have a discussion with your husband.

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  6. This is a good video to watch to show why front facing is so dangerous. This little boy's story is so sad even though it seemed to end in a promising way. They show clips of safety car/car seat testing so you can see what happens in a car accident for both rear and forward facing. The grandpa has a website too. http://youtu.be/Q8gU9zzCGA8

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  7. This past spring I got hooked on a show called "Arranged" on the FYI network! There was a couple who were "arranged" from Anderson, but really it just meant that their parents introduced them at church. So, I say you can TOTALLY arrange Riley and Ryan! Just don't give them the choice ;)

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  8. His hair is so cute! And you can definitely arrange their marriage, haha.

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  9. I can't wait to turn Caleb around! I think he will enjoy it just as much as Ryan. He is constantly stretching his neck and head to try and see out the windows while we drive. I'm sure once we turn him he will be amazed with what life looks like from that direction. so exciting!!

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  10. Friday Night Lights is an AMAZING show! Charleston is one of my favorite places on Earth. Looks like you all had oodles of fun!

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