Video!

I wanted to post some video because I've figured out how to use it on my phone and have gotten some good stuff in the last couple days!

This one is of Nate enjoying the new hoodie his Aunt Katie got for him so he can feel brave at Pre-school (starting Monday)! Of course, I feel the downfall is going to be that he will just roar at people all day, but... I'm sure he'll be fine! My favorite part is when he wiggles his little bottom and says "I have a spiky tail. It scares off the meat eaters." Or something like that.

This one is what I think is Mia signing "more"! Now, it's not exactly right because it's supposed to be the tips of the fingers coming together, not what looks like clapping, but still! Given that it just so happens to take place when she's lunging for MORE... She's brilliant, just like her brother! ;)

And this is just one I took because I think she's so cute when she's eating. Like a little bird. She really has started eating like crazy the past week or so! For example today she had: 

Breakfast: two ice cubes each of green beans and plums.

Lunch: a full container of sweet potatoes and half a banana

Dinner: a full container of apple pear oatmeal, a full container of carrots and some banana flavored puffs

That is a lot of food!

We do a mix of stuff we've blended and frozen ourselves, and pre-packaged baby food. We try, but we only have so much frozen stuff, don't want her eating the same things for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and sometimes it's just easier!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the videos!

Little travelers

Our recent trip to Chicago made me realize how lucky my kids are! They have each traveled more in their first year (or three) of life than I had done in my first 18. Unlike Peter, who got to travel a lot as a kid, I pretty much stayed in California for family vacations. The only time I traveled outside of California was to go to Texas to visit my dad's family. So, I flew to Texas when I was about one, then drove there when I was about eight and again at 16.  So we drove through California, Arizona, New Mexico and A LOT of Texas. Twice. Good times! Since then (really, since meeting Peter) I have been able to check a lot more states off of my list. And luckily my kids have too! 

Part of it is that my family, and most of Peter's family live in other states, and have friends in other state. We also live in a state that is within close driving distance of others where we might want to go. This is very different  from California, where it's a full day from top to bottom or you can travel 5 hours to get to... the desert! Again... good times! We have had weddings, visited friends and family and just gone to baseball games, all in different states. Nate even got to go on a week long vacation to the north (or is it the Mid-West? That's always confused me) - to three states I had never been to (including two I still haven't visited), with his Nana and Grandpa. 

I don't know how other families are, but maybe some of it is just how things have changed in the last 30 years. The world is a smaller place, so why can't the country be? Some of my European friends travel between countries on long weekends. Some of my Southern friends have never been outside of NC, let alone the south! I do not want my kids to think Gastonia, NC is the world. Really.

So, we will all continue to increase our state count - and hopefully, eventually, our country count! Here is where we all stand right now:

Peter's state count: Obviously he has us all beat!
Best: Colorado
Worst: Kansas?

My count - Fairly respectable I think.
Best: California (duh),
Worst: Alabama?

Nate's count - Pretty good for a 3 year old!

Mia's count - She'll get there, but still pretty good for 7 months old!
Hopefully we can increase it with a holiday drive to NJ this fall/winter!

Chicago!

This past weekend we went to Chicago for the wedding of our nephew, John, the son of Peter's oldest sister, Beth. We booked our tickets and hotel back in May and were all set to go on this short Morris Family Vacation. Well, in July, right before we went to the beach, we found out that Peter was going to be heading to Virginia for his Store Manager Evaluation. He would be there from the Sunday to Friday - the day after we had originally planned on leaving. Unfortunately this was the only time in the next few months that this opportunity was going to be open for Peter, so he had to take it! We contemplated not going to the wedding, but really wanted to go, and didn't want to give up all that sunk cost. That means... I got to fly there with Nate and Mia (her first time on a plane!) by myself! Doesn't that sound fun?

First airplane ride! I tried to get Nate in the shot, but he didn't want to.

Checking out the amber waves of grain

 Well, it actually wasn't that bad. I think the stress of thinking about it was worse than anything else.  Mia did have a huge blowout from the newly introduced apples in her diet, but fortunately it happened before we left the house! I did everything I could to be prepared and everything went smoothly. Our shuttle dropped us right at our airline, so I was able to do curbside check-in. And I cannot sing the praises of the family security line more! I was able to wear Mia through in her Moby and get through in less than 5 minutes. If anything, I was probably a little too prepared because I got to the gate about an hour before boarding. I tried to plan on feeding her during take off, but she was a little too eager. Luckily I had a large stash of binkies on stand by! Our plane was full of business travelers, and one guy in front of me commented on how good they were, and how he didn't hear Mia cry at all, which surprised him a lot. She did cry out a couple times, but as soon as she got her binky back she was fine. She also really enjoyed flirting with the new military recruits sitting in the row behind us.

On Friday we headed to the beautiful Chicago Botanic Gardens. We went on a tram ride around the gardens while we were waiting for everyone else to show up, then went to the butterfly exhibit. That was amazing! It was a normal sized green house filled with hundreds of different species of butterflies. It is pretty amazing to be able to see them so closely for such long periods. They didn't seem to like me enough to land on me, which surprised me given how much mosquitoes seem to like me! After the butterfly exhibit we headed to see the model trains, which Nate just loved! Then we went back to the hotel for a nap before going to Beth's house for the rehearsal dinner.

This isn't California!

Pooped

Peter got into Chicago (after passing his evaluation! Yay!!!) late Friday night, so when we woke up on Saturday, he was there! He jumped right into the fun with a trip to the Shedd Aquarium. I think the best part of going to the aquarium was getting to drive through downtown Chicago, and then along Lake Michigan on the way home. Chicago is really a beautiful city! The downtown seemed so vibrant - nothing like Charlotte's "Uptown" that all but closes in the evenings and weekends, and the suburbs were beautifully green. I'm sure I'd have a very different opinion of it during the winter, but during the summer it is very charming.

After the aquarium we had a short time to get ready back at the hotel to get ready for the wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony even though it had to be moved inside because of rain. Good luck for them! They had a bag full of fun stuff for each of the kids - puzzles, crayons and a car for Nate, rattles and books for Mia.. This was great for the time between the ceremony, dinner and dancing when Nate got a little antsy. But once the dancing started there was no stopping him! He was one of the first out on the dance floor, and didn't want to get off. He danced with all of his cousins, then even got a group of the bride and grooms' female friends wrapped around his little finger with his debonair dancing and charm. Mia did not have as much fun, and was a little overstimulated once the music got started. I kept having to take her outside, and a lot of people offered (wanted) to hold her so I could dance, but she's in her Mama phase, so it wasn't even worth it. Unfortunately we don't have any pics from the wedding, unless we get some from the photographer they had.

Mia and Nate with Aunt Cathy and cousins Aaric and Lainey

After going back to the hotel and crashing, we basically had enough time to pack and eat breakfast before heading back to the airport. It was a whirlwind vacation, but definitely a lot of fun. Nate loves getting to see all of his cousins! Can't wait for the next family vacation!

Yes, this is what a family vacation looks like!