Pumpkin Carving

In case I haven't mentioned it enough, I love Fall. One of the sure signs of Fall is when you start seeing pumpkins popping up all around town. Gigi and Pop Pop (my parents) got Amelia Grace a mini pumpkin at the beginning of October, but it rotted in a few weeks. Why did it rot? Because our front porch gets direct sunlight all day. No pumpkin, plant, or flower is safe! Every Spring I try to plant flowers that the lovely people at Lowes assure me cannot be killed, yet every year they are dead in weeks. Too much sun. 

This year we waited until the very last minute to get our pumpkin. We decided to buy local and head over to our a cute farm stand near our house. We experienced bit of sticker shock when we saw that the medium pumpkins were $12.99 each! Maybe I'm a little naive, but that was pricey to me. The big ones were $35.99 each! After deciding that was too much for our budget we headed to Harris Teeter and got a pumpkin the size of the $35.99 ones for $4.99. They're local too, right? ;-)

David took the initiative on the design and carved it like a champ!

You mean you don't want a pumpkin UFO in your face?

She was less than enthused by this part. 

Amelia Grace enjoyed her job as spectator too!

3 Month Update!

Happy 3 months, little love!

Practicing her Heisman pose.

You want a knuckle sandwich?

My doll baby isn't very big anymore!

Height/Weight: Through my super scientific method of weighing myself holding her, then putting her down, then weighing myself I was able to determine she weighs about 14 pounds. My arm muscles are definitely feeling the weight of that!

Clothes: She is mainly wearing 3-6 months with some 6 month clothes. It's so heartbreaking packing up all her little clothes that she'll never wear again :-( But I am definitely glad she is healthy and growing!

Likes: Still loves her tummy time and now that her neck is stronger she picks her head up and swings it back and forth showing off-haha! She also loves when her daddy whistles to her. She is also a big fan of the baby in the mirror above her swing.

Dislikes: We are blessed that she is generally a happy baby! She is still not a fan of getting out of the bath, but who is? 

Milestones: She is cooing up a storm! She will also "talk" to her daddy every evening when he gets home from work. It is the sweetest.thing.ever. More purposeful smiling and giggles which melt our hearts.

A Blast From the Past

About a month ago I was going through my old Facebook messages and noticed that there is an "other" category. Yea, yea, yea, I know. Welcome to 2014, Lauren. Anywho, I saw that I had a message from some random person. I curiously clicked it to see what it was about and was shocked to see a picture of some of my stuff. Not just any stuff either, stuff from my past!

I read the message and learned that the woman found the stuff in an old dresser she and her daughter bought at Goodwill. The dresser was MY childhood dresser; the dresser that was in my room growing up. Turns out my parents donated the old clunker (this thing was insanely heavy) to Goodwill in an effort to declutter their house. Apparently they managed to crack open the painted top drawer and found a treasure trove of my old junk.

A few things they discovered:

A cord and instruction manual from my high school stereo system

A list of my favorite recipes my mom used to make

My high school license (hellooooooo over the top eyeliner)

An invitation to my high school graduation (class of 2006!)

A ticket stub from my senior prom

Some old class trinkets from Charleston, SC

A Brad Paisley concert ticket from 2005

A receipt for the final payment for a class trip to NYC

Some random pictures I hung onto from college

An empty bottle of Ralph Lauren's Lauren perfume

My very first pair of glasses!

 Scottish pup magnets from my grandparent's trip to Scotland 

Ironically enough they just returned from Scotland with a Scottish pup bib for AG!

Corsages from my junior and senior year proms

A marker thingy ma bobber for making the varsity swim team

Buttons, buttons, and more buttons!

How random are these things?? I love that the woman was kind enough to find me and let me know she had these trinkets. There are still good people out there :-)

Asheville Adventures Part 2

Missed the first part? Find it here!

After we left Sky Top Orchard we started down the road to Asheville. There was a nasty wreck on the interstate so David took us down the scenic route and it was beautiful! I love me some North Carolina in the Fall.

Our first stop needed to include food and it being Asheville we knew it had to include some yummy beer too. This lead us to Wicked Weed Brewery where we chowed down on homemade chips and a turkey cranberry panini while we sipped some delicious beers. A pumpkin for this girl and a sour pumpkin for the hubs.

A must-try next time you are in Asheville.


Hanging out enjoying the beautiful day!


These signs were every where-love it!

Afterwards we headed down the road a bit to Hi-Wire Brewery. David tried a brown ale while I tried a flight of their most popular brews. 

A fun new brewery in an old gym.

Amelia Grace was having a blast chatting with her owl.

Daddy and baby girl checking out the options.

 Daisy had a hard time with all the activity. Her ADD kicked into high gear!

It was getting to be supper time so we made our way to my sister and her new husband's house. They lucked out and found a precious duplex with incredible views of the mountains surrounding them. Mandy made us a delicious supper and we all sat around and caught up before we devoured the apple pie we picked up from Sky Top. The boys headed outside for a fire while Mandy and I curled up inside and kept gabbing before heading to bed.

View from the front.

View from the back

The next morning we went back downtown to wander around a bit before we headed back home. It was a great trip even if it was brief and Amelia Grace was such a trooper despite being completely thrown off her schedule. I can't wait to head back again soon!

Two very tired girls after a whirlwind trip!

Asheville Adventures Part 1

Have I mentioned how much I love North Carolina in the Fall?? There are so many wonderful things you can do here that really show you some of God's wonders, and we got to experience some of them! 

We kicked started our weekend a little early on Friday by heading to Sky Top Orchard in Flat Rock, NC about 45 minutes outside of Asheville. This was our second year venturing here after such a great experience last year. We were extra excited to bring Amelia Grace and Daisy this time around. We thought that by going on a Friday earlier in the season we wouldn't have to fight a big crowd, but we couldn't have been more wrong! Last year we parked in the front parking lot, walked right up, picked our apples, got our doughnuts, and headed home. That was definitely not the case this time!

As any parent knows, nothing is the same when you add a baby to the mix! We parked at the back of the orchard and started the march in. We weren't two minutes from the car when I felt something wet on my hand. You guessed it, little miss had exploded poop all over her precious Halloween outfit. Good thing I got a picture before we left the house;-) 

David and Daisy continued the march in to explore the situation while Amelia Grace and I went back to the car to clean up.  Once we were all set we met back up and decided to wander around. We didn't realize how much they had to offer! Daisy was a big fan of the farm animals while Amelia Grace decided that a nap was a bit more fun. 

We attempted to pick apples, but so many were already gone so we cheated a bit and bought some that had already been picked. We decided the hour-long wait for doughnuts was a bit much so we ended up with a delicious apple pie instead. A worthy trade if you ask me!

After we'd had enough of the orchards we decided it was time to head in the direction of Asheville. Part two coming later this week!

Newborn Photoshoot

A few weeks ago we were fortunate enough to have our sweet friend, Amaris, get behind her lens and capture some pictures of our little family. A wonderful thing about having her take the pictures was that she already knows us so well having gone to church with us in Raleigh, been part of the same community group, AND shot our wedding four years ago. We were so blessed to have her visit our home and capture some amazing images! Here are just a few. . .

Baby feet

*swoon*

Weekend Fun

Happy Monday, folks! If you're anything like us you did not want the weekend to end. We were fortunate enough to witness two of our greatest friends get married in one of the greatest cities this weekend and after the fun party they threw it was hard to come back to reality! Sweet baby snuggles certainly make it better though;-)

We have known the lovely Caroline and Steve since our college days and each were lucky enough to live with these cool kids for some time. Caroline and I lived together for one year but Steve and David lived together for three! You may even remember them from our Spring Break Cruise a few years ago? You know you're good friends when you can not only live with them, but still want to go on vacation with them afterwards! Haha. I think it's safe to say we know these kids pretty well and were excited to celebrate this amazing day with them! 

Caroline thought through every little detail and it showed at the venue. The centerpieces and wall decor were beautiful as was the bride! In fact one of her bridal portraits will officially be an ad in a magazine for the photographer! Fun fact-their photographer, Amaris, was our wedding photographer as well and she did our FANTASTIC newborn pictures last month. More to come on that later this week! 

If you know these two in any capacity you know that they like to have fun and what better way to have fun than to throw a great party?? After supper (which included asparagus-my fave!) we hit the dance floor and didn't really leave. My husband LOVES dancing at weddings and would make a career out of it if he could. In fact, a good chunk of the pictures from my sister's wedding are of him breaking it down. Steve and Caroline's big day was no exception!

We had a great time and can't wait to see these two cuties in a few weeks when David and Steve continue their tradition of completing the Tough Mudder. This year they'll be adding my brother, TJ, to the team. Should be fun times for all!

Renaissance Festival 2014!

It's that time of year again!! One of our favorite things about Fall is the Renaissance Festival. If you've never been, and there is one near you, then you need to get there as fast as you can! Between the food, the drinks, the shows, and the crazy people watching it is worth every penny. This year my brother, Harrison, and his lovely new wife, Ashley, joined us on our adventure. As did our very own renaissance princess, Amelia Grace;-)

We weren't even in the gate yet and she was already knocked off from excitement.

We're fortunate in that the festival is literally five minutes from our house, so we didn't have to do too much waiting to get there. We do know people who drive down from Greensboro and Raleigh to attend each year. Talk about dedication! We left our house around 10 (when they opened) and figured we'd be some of the first there. Wrong. Since they run an opening weekend special of buy one adult ticket, get one free it seems like the entire population of Huntersville, Concord, and Charlotte combined met us there. 

Ashley had never been so the first thing we did was hit up the Tortuga Twins show. This is always a favorite of ours, and pretty much anyone else who attends the festival! 

 Tortuga Twins!

After the show we grabbed some beers (a must-have when attending the festival and partaking in the extreme people-watching adventures) and started meandering. We went to a few shops before heading into the Dungeon. It's been years since I had been in so I was excited to be reminded of all the cuckoo things they did back in the day. Ashley and David entertained us by reading all the plaques in their best ghoulish voices. 

The dungeon, enter if you dare!

David's obligatory moment of debate as to whether or not he should purchase a sword. Spoiler alert, he didn't get one.

Little Miss let us know she was ready to eat so we all took her advice and enjoyed the annual turkey leg. Another must-have when attending the festival. After enjoying our snack we kept wandering before hitting up the petting zoo. What is it about getting to see farm animals up close that excites us all so much?? Haha.

Stoked around some farm animals.

It was about this time that the hypnosis show was getting started. We always seem to catch the tail end of this so David was excited to be there from the beginning. He made a joke that I should go up there if he asked for volunteers. I laughed it off, but a minute later when he did, I jumped up! If you know me at all you know that is SO not like me. I just figured, why not? 

Please take note of my latest accessory, the Ergo. Love it!

I can safely say he did his job and "hypnotized" me, for at least part of the time any way. I remember zoning off, but not much else after that until a little bit later when things started becoming clear again. I guess I woke up part of the way through? David, Ashley, and Harrison said they could all tell at a certain point I wasn't fully hypnotized any more. But I don't remember things super clearly either, so who knows? It was a neat experience for sure!

Getting in some AG snuggles!

After that we took in the afternoon jousting session before deciding we were ready to head home. We were all tired and had pups that needed to potty. Overall it was a great day and we're already looking forward to next year when Amelia Grace will actually be awake for some of it;-)

Oh, To Be a Baby. . .

Babies have the life! If only they could truly appreciate all the awesomeness that is being a precious little smash. Here are a few things that come to mind. . .

Being rocked to sleep

Who wouldn't love being rocked to sleep on a regular basis?

On that same note, being ENCOURAGED to sleep

I can't remember the last time I was actively encouraged to sleep. Probably since I was a baby!

Gaining weight = a good thing

I want someone to praise me for gaining weight and for all the rolls on my legs. Bonus points for requiring bigger clothes!

Constant entertainment

It only requires a bit of crying and fussiness before someone is fawning all over trying to entertain you.

Never having to worry about anything

Why worry, someone else is doing all of that for you!

Constant supply of food

It's the same deal as the entertainment-you need only mew and someone is there with pure yumminess. 

That smile makes me think she realizes her power;-)

2 Month Update

Happy 2 months to our little love! 

Happy 2 months baby girl!

 Compared to her doll baby.

All smiles

Dancing and playing

Are you sure you wanna make fun of all my rolls and chins?

Someone partied a little too hard at the photo shoot. 

Height/Weight: Amelia Grace clocked in at 22.25 inches and 11 lbs, 11oz at her two month appointment. That puts her in the 52% for height and 71% for weight. So right now we have a short porker:-)

Clothes: She wears mainly 3 months and some 3-6. Even though she doesn't seem very tall, all her 3 month footie pajamas squish her. 

Likes: tummy time, being outside, her playmat, ceiling fans, snuggling/falling asleep on our chest, sleeping in her crib, and her pacy.  

Dislikes: STILL hates sleeping on her back, spitting up while she sleeps (who wouldn't??), not being in her bed when she gets tired, getting out of the bath, and shots.

Milestones: Holds her head up for a while now! She's also smiling and cooing, and focusing more on different things as she sees them.