It's really been 10 years?!?!

When my friends from high school started making posts on facebook about planning for our 10 year reunion, I couldn't believe it.  How has it already been a decade?  When I really think about it, so much has happened over the past 10 years, and I'm just not the same person I was then.  I'm pretty sure that's a good thing.  When I was 18, I was....well, a normal 18 year old.  Selfish, short-sighted, and (dare we say) with a tendency to make bad decisions.  The experiences I've been blessed enough to have over the past 10 years--college, getting married, working, becoming a mother--have shaped me into...well, into a grown up.  God has truly used the past decade to shape me into someone that I am much prouder to be, and He's continuing to work me into the woman that He wants me to be.  And I don't think you could pay me enough to go back and be 18 again (well, the flat tummy might be nice :).

Blast from the past!  My senior yearbook photo

At any rate, we jumped at the opportunity to take a road trip to NC to visit with old friends, and catch up with new ones (Collier-sized ones!) over the last weekend in October.

Ready for a road trip!

We stopped at Cracker Barrel (we made it an hour from the house.. :) where Collier was verrry popular. Fish fry night, plus small town equals a dining room full of Papas, Mimis, Grandmas, and Grandpas who were more than willing to make funny faces at Collier. We then did our modified bedtime routine (bath with a wipe, pajamas and nursing) in the parking lot, during which C decided to pee all over our front seat of the car, and laugh about it. ;)

Collier slept well in the car, and we arrived in Shelby around 2 am. Suffice it to say that we haven't stayed up that late on purpose in quite a while!! We had a great day on Saturday, and I got to catch up with some girlfriends from high school over lunch at Bridges BBQ (for those of you who aren't aware, BBQ is quite an art form in NC--there's "Lexington BBQ", with peppery vinegar-based sauce, "Shelby BBQ", with a sweeter vinegar-based sauce, and "Eastern NC BBQ", served with white cole slaw). I had a wonderful time catching up with Morgan, Lauren, Lindsey, and Maureen. Collier had a great time getting to know Miss Josie Kate--Lindsey's adorable daughter, who's exactly one month older than Collier is. We joked that they were on a date.

Lindsey and I, with Collier and Josie Kate

Some good lookin' Golden Lions:  Morgan, Lauren, Lindsey, me, and Maureen.  How I loved catching up with these ladies!  

On Saturday afternoon, after a nap with daddy, we met another sweet friend, Caroline, along with her hubby Andrew, and their 2 year old, Bradford. Caroline was my first friend in Shelby; we met at vacation Bible school the summer before 5th grade. It is so sweet to be able to see old friends and catch up!

Since the actual reunion party had been cancelled due to lack of participation (boo), we spent Saturday night with the Mullens, including a great dinner, and a rousing game of 5 crowns. I lost horribly (and was admittedly not the greatest sport about it), but we had a great time!

Maureen was one of my truest friends all throughout high school.  I can't count the number of hours I spend at the Mullen's house!

Collier loving on his Aunt Reen

On Sunday, we drove back as far as Knoxville. We had hoped to visit the zoo, but the weather didn't cooperate, so we just puttered around. We lived in Knoxville for 5 years, and it's strange how much it still feels like home. We spent Sunday night in a hotel--Collier's first time in a hotel room. He loved the mirrored closet doors and made lots of friends at the continental breakfast. Another bright spot is, after 7 months, we have finally figured out how to work our pack and play. :)

Enjoying some hotel-room cartoons

Guys!  We have got to get some of these for our house!

We loved taking our time getting back home, and were able to meet my grandparents, Collier's Great-Grandparents, for lunch on Monday.  

All bundled up for our lunch date!  It was cooold!

All in all, we had a wonderful road trip, and mini-vacation!  It was so great to catch up with old friends!

Happy Halloween!

Cutest sea turtle ever

We had a low-key Halloween, since the little man doesn't eat candy.  We went to a fall festival at my school on the 30th, and carved a pumpkin and handed out candy on the 31st.  Of course, we couldn't miss the opportunity to introduce Collier to some Halloween traditions, so I took the little sea turtle to "trick-or-treat" at Daddy's office, though.  He got some yummy baby snacks. :)

Halloween just isn't complete without some skeleton jammies.  If only they made them big enough for Chris too...

Pumpkins are delish, apparently

Collier was very interested in the pumpkin, and wanted to check it all out.

It was only a matter of time until he tried to eat the pumpkin goo.  Don't worry, we didn't let him.  Shortly after this photo, Collier realized that the pumpkin goo was cold, and he was covered in it, and he didn't want to be anymore.  So Chris finished the pumpkin solo. 

7th Months Old!

Better late than never I guess!  Trying to get caught up...

Collier,

You're over halfway to your first birthday!  Can you believe it?  Over the past month you have continued to grow and learn new things at an alarming rate.  Daddy and I are so proud of you, but sometimes just wish you would slow down!  We need to be intentional about making time to take it all in, and enjoy our precious baby boy.

Looking like a big dude in one of Daddy's hats

You're so proud of yourself

We visited Daddy at work over fall break.  You like that he has fun toys at work. :)

You also had your first trip to a wedding, as a guest of two of our friends.  You were thrilled, obviously. 

We also visited Grandpa and Nana to watch the Tennessee-Georgia game.  It wasn't the outcome we wanted, but you had fun with Grandpa anyway. 

This month you have mastered sitting up.  We can plop you down anywhere, and you're good.  In fact, you'd rather just sit on the floor than play in the fancy jumper toy that we bought you--a minimalist, I guess.  You've also started moving to your hands and knees from sitting, and we figure you'll be crawling around before we know it.  You can scoot and spin to get where you want to go, though, so we have to be careful to check what's around you.  You also turn to respond to your name, "sing" along when we sing, clap your hands, splash in the tub, give kisses, pet Avery, and knock over a stack of blocks.  You love to be tickled, play peek-a-boo, and when we throw you up in the air.  Your favorite toys are anything you can chew on; you also like to look at the pictures in your books, and sit very still when we read (most of the time).  You love to be outside, bathtime, and the VeggieTales CD (we frequently listen to "His Cheeseburger" on repeat in the car if you're upset or tired, because you always stop crying when we play it).

Professional Sitter-Upper

This month, we cleared out a corner of our bonus room to create a play space.  I think it's safe to say that you're enjoying it! :)

We took a trip to the park for some swinging and sliding fun.  You liked it, I think, but kept this serious look the whole time.  Trying to figure it out, I guess. 

You're still loving eating real food, and have gobbled up anything and everything--sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, peas, apples, pears, bananas, mango, zucchini, carrots...you come by your love of food honestly.  I think your high chair is your favorite place to be. :)  All that food must be doing you good, because you're quite the tall little man, and are wearing 12 month clothes.  You have started to sleep a little later in the morning (Thank you!  The 5 am wake-up was not so fun for mom and dad.), sleeping over 10 hours at night without a peep.  Your bedtime is between 7:30 and 8:00, and you take two naps every day.  You still seem to like being able to predict what's next, so we keep you pretty close to your routine every day.

Little bug, Daddy and I are loving this stage you are in!  You are so much fun, and we love how interactive you've become.  We are excited to see what's next for you--just don't get too big too fast, ok?

Love,
Mommy and Daddy