Tennessee Fun

This weekend is Brent's cousin's wedding. When we first found out the date last year, our first thoughts were about how young our baby would be on the wedding day. It's hard to believe that we're here at this date with our sweet five week old. We weren't sure how easy travel would be with a baby this young, but Tristan was a champ. I woke him up midway through the trip, simply because we were already stopped and I wanted to nurse him then, rather than 30 minutes down the road. He went right back to sleep when we started up and never woke up until about ten minutes before we arrived. God has really blessed us with a good sleeper--we think! We're going to enjoy some fun and family time and a much needed break for me over the next few days. Nan and Poppa tend to take Maura when she wakes up in the morning, which gives Brent and I the opportunity to catch up on some sleep. I need the sleep so badly. I'm averaging about five hours of sleep a night, which isn't a terrible amount, it's just so broken up. Hopefully I'll be a much better rested mommy before too long.


Here's Dr. Evil(or else just a funny nose-picker) enjoying being held by his Nan. "I'm going to take over the world!"

Nan enjoying some cuddle time with her only grandson. Tristan, as you can see, is fascinated with the lights in the house. He doesn't know where to look first.

Nan's favorite baby holding position. He loves being able to look out at the world.

Maura has been so excited about coming to Nan and Poppa's. We told her WAY too early that we were coming and we've been dealing with explaining to her whenever we got into the car that we were not YET leaving for Nan and Poppa's. Every time she's talked about their house over the past week, she said, "I'm gonna go scoop ice! With the white shovel." They have an in-counter ice maker that's just the right height for a two-year-old to enjoy. So, despite all the other fun and exciting things we'll do here, that has been the most tantalizing for her. In spite of that, when we got here, she ran straight for the table and tea set and started having a tea party. Don't worry, she got to scoop ice a little later.

A daddy and his boy. Tristan is once again observing the architecture of the house.

Tristan meeting Patton(or maybe the other way around). Look at how fuzzy Tristan's hair was. It was standing straight up in the back where he moved his head in his car seat. Too funny!

Maura loves her Nan.

I put this picture on because of her characteristic stare. She inherited her stare from Brent. I catch her many times a day just staring off into space, oblivious to the rest of the world. I wonder what she's thinking about.

Maura was so excited to see her Poppa when he came home from work. She ran to meet him in the driveway. Nan showed her a little turtle they had in their pond. She loved it!

Awww, what a cute little guy!

Maura decided that she just HAD to put her feet in the water.

Poppa carrying her across the stream. None of the rest of us thought that this was a very good idea!

She looked like a little model. In fact, this would be a great place to have pictures taken. Her shirt looked adorable on her. My sister, Katie, brought it back from Turkey for her.

Maura could spend hours just throwing stones into the stream. Lucy enjoyed having Maura down on her level.

Maura loved that both the dogs were out with her, and she thought it was hilarious to watch Patton lap up the water.

Poppa enjoying some post-dinner cuddle time with Tristan.

Maura LOVES creamy(her word for whipped cream). Nan was happy to oblige and squirted a bunch in her hand. I remember that I acquired my love for whipped cream at my grandmother's house. She used to line up all the grandkids on Thanksgiving and squirt whipped cream into our mouths! Well, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. If I have a can of whipped cream in the refrigerator, Maura comes running with her mouth open every time I open the door! I have a two-year-old whipped cream addict. Well, if you can't eat it when you're two, when can you eat it?!? Stay tuned for more fun Tennessee pictures.