Matty's First Trip to Apple Mountain

We have been so looking forward to taking Matty to Apple Mountain since even before he was born. Momma and Daddy have owned their second home in Highlands, NC for just 5 years now, but that is hard to believe, for as special as this place as become to our family. It's so beautiful, quiet, and a much cooler place to unwind and relax than Macon or Atlanta. As stressful as life gets with work and obligations and everything we all juggle everyday, being in Highlands even for a few days does wonders for the soul.

Ben needed to go last weekend, for a meeting with a solar client. It went very well, he even managed to pick up another potential client while we were in town. And it was very lucky for us to be there on the 27th of June...it was Momma and Daddy's 40th wedding anniversary. Such an incredible thing to me! How many couple's make it to that milestone? And they are still in love and best friends after all that time...congratulations, Mom and Dad!

On Saturday, we took a hike up Whiteside Mountain which stands adjacent to our house there. I had imagined such an easy stroll, which really it was, but Mom and I still struggled! We blamed it on my just having given birth and her having just gone through cancer that we couldn't keep up with the men! But the view when we arrived at the top was well worth the sweat and huffing and puffing. While taking pictures, however some serious thunder started threatening so we only enjoyed the view for a second before high-tailing it back to the car!

It was a great weekend and it got us very excited about all the wonderful memories Matty will have spending time there growing up...fishing with his Daddy and Bop at Andy's trout farm, more hikes up Whiteside and exploring the woods around the house, canoeing in the lake, Bop is talking about building a great tree house just for the grand kids, and most of all as Mimi and Bop always tell Hudson, "there are no rules" here!

Ben's First Father's Day!

We had a wonderful first Father's Day with Ben. Saturday afternoon, Matty and I gave Ben a small Father's Day gift: grilling seasons from Williams Sonoma and Ben was fast to put them to good use and made steaks for us. (Matty decided not to partake this time!) The real gift is one we are giving to each other for our first Mother's Day / Father's Day: a professional photo session for our new little family in July.

Sunday morning, we decided to be brave and see how Matty would do sitting in church with us. Since the next day was my first day back at work, and I was already struggling with knowing I would be leaving him during the week now, I was not at all interested in leaving him in the nursery, as nice as the ladies there are! He did pretty okay, only fussed a little bit toward the end. It's hard being held when you're the wiggly worm Matty is, so the two of us watched the rest of Dr. Matthew's sermon on the TV near the front entrance of the church. It was a gorgeous day, breezy and not too hot, so after church the 3 of us strolled around Marietta Square, poked in some shops, had lunch and of course topped it off with some ice cream. Then went home, watched a movie and struggled not to fall asleep on the couch. Sounds like a very simple day, but it was perfect day, nothing to do but be a family.

This week has been a bit of an adjustment with me getting back to work and trying to adjust to a new routine with getting Matty up and off to Dunwoody Christian Academy every morning. But we have managed very well. Luckily for us, he is such a happy boy and adjusts very well to changes in his routine. Leaving him is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but the school where he is is wonderful and we know we are leaving him in excellent hands. My hours have changed at work now and I am able to leave at 4:30 which makes a huge difference with traffic in Atlanta. So far I have been able to have a bit of quality time in the afternoons before it's time to put him down for the night. I am also working on getting him to sleep through the night now, so hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will be able to remember what a full night's sleep is like! That will help make the 6 o'clock alarm a tad more bearable.

Right now we are very much looking forward to the weekend ahead and just soaking up family time together. Next weekend we head to Highlands, NC where Ben has a Georgia Solar meeting. We are so looking forward to getting away up there at Mom and Dad's house. It's been a year since I was there, since before I was even pregnant, and longer for Ben. And to make it even more special, it's Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary next Friday so it will be great to be able to spend that weekend with them! Hopefully Ben will get done with his meeting early enough that the 3 of us can hike up Whiteside. An easy hike we can do with him that we've never done before. I can see the picture of us up there in my head now!

Matty's Baptism

What a special weekend! On Sunday, Matty was baptized in Austin in the same church where Ben was baptized, oh just a few years ago :) Not only that, but the sign in the front of the church was given in Ben's grandfather's name many years ago. A small part of me was sort of dreading flying with such a young baby, who knew how that would go, and I didn't want to be "those people" on the plane! But it was so important to us that Ben's family get a chance to meet Matty when he was still so new. Luckily the flight was a breeze and Matty did beautifully! What an angel!

On Friday, Patsy hosted a lovely sip n' see at their house, and I got to get reacquainted with many of Patsy's wonderful friends whom I hadn't really seen since our wedding. And while Matty slept through most of the luncheon, he awoke in time to flirt with the ladies a bit before it was all said and done. With one lady, Ann, in particular, an expert Grandmother who is welcome in our home anytime with the magic she cast over Matty!

Saturday we, along with my parents and sister and Craig's brothers, had lunch at The Oasis on Lake Travis. It was a gorgeous day with an even more gorgeous view of the lake down below. Yummy margaritas always start a day of celebrating off right! Saturday night, Patsy and Craig hosted the most fun dinner at their home, and even more family was there: Robin and Emily, Mary K and her fiance Clifford, Ross IV, Caroline and Kate, Ted and Christen. Everything was perfect down to the last detail. All the food was awesome, cookies with Matty's initials that were so cute and delicious, too, lots of laughing and catching up, hilarious old stories (many from our wedding) and champagne flowing into the wee small hours of Sunday morning! Morning came early, since the baptism was at the early service, but regardless of the late night everyone was bright-eyed at 8:15. The sanctuary was so pretty, and the service was nice and intimate with the small crowd. Matty looked so precious in the suit Mom bought for him in Charleston and the beautiful sterling angel pin Robin and the girls brought back from the Vatican that had been blessed and dipped in holy water. Before the service began I got a bit choked up and teary eyed. Just looking at him, how sweet he looked with his Daddy holding him. How blessed we are sometimes still overwhelms me, and I suspect will it continue to! I couldn't have imagined a more special weekend with our families. I am always reminded how lucky I am that I married into this family! We were so touched by how many people took time out of their lives to celebrate with us!

The weekend ended a bit more rocky than it began with awful delays leaving Austin. Gotta love air travel! We were more than 3 hours delayed leaving. Jennifer just barely made her connection out of Cincinnati! And I somehow managed to get sick on the plane on the way home: an infection from nursing that has knocked me on my behind this week! Monday I ran a fever of over 102, I haven't run a fever like that since elementary school. Luckily since the antibiotics kicked in, I have felt much better. The time at home has been nice since we are coming off of a good bit of travel between Texas and Charleston. Matty and I have just caught up on our snuggle time a lot. And with me starting back to work on Monday, and not being terribly excited about not spending all my moments with him, it was probably a blessing in disguise!

Two Months Old!

Another day, another milestone in the life of a 9 week old!

Today Matty had his two month check-up at the pediatrician's office. That's right: SHOTS! I was so nervous for days, okay weeks. I knew for sure this would be a traumatic experience, and he would punish us with the worst blood curdling screams we had ever heard! And while yes he screamed like a champ when the shots were going in, he stopped right after and has been a gem all day long. Plenty of smiles all afternoon as usual, and also as usual he has hardly even been tired at all.

He is growing up and out right on target! 22 3/4 inches today which puts him still in the 25th percentile...not too shabby. And 10 pounds 11 ounces which puts him in the 30th percentile. Still eating good and doing great overall.

Ben is so happy to have his little boy home. They caught up Sunday in the hammock in the backyard a little bit and Matt showed his Daddy all the tricks he learned while he was at the beach, which while terribly cute and entertaining were rather similar to the tricks he had before the beach :)