Mountain City, TN

I don't think I ever thought I would go to Mountain City, Tennessee on vacation, but I did. We just got back from a great trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We stayed in a cabin owned by a friend of my aunts and it was perfect. We loved it. The view from the cabin was great! Based on the cabin and the view, you would think you were somewhere much more exotic than Tennessee.

We left on Monday, late afternoon, when Mark got off from work, so we stopped for the night in Asheville, NC. We did a few things in Asheville on Tuesday before continuing on our trip. Asheville is a cute town, we really liked it!

One of our stops in Asheville was Double D's Coffee and Desserts. I have to say, the coffee wasn't anything to write home about, but the experience was worth it. Jonah thought it was soooo cool that we were eating in the bus.

Annabelle was excited to be in the bus :)

Jonah loving on his sister. <3 p="p">

On our way to the cabin, we stopped for dinner in Mountain City at a pizza place.... The pizza was mediocre. The main event at dinner was jonah losing his dinner at the table. At this point, day 1 of vacation, I thought we were in for at least a day or two of illness, but luckily, Jonah only threw up one more time and then he was over whatever bug he caught. Fortunately, no one else ever got sick. We made it to the cabin in time to watch the sunset -- the picture above is the view from the cabin at sunset and the picutre below is the early morning/sunrise view. It was gorgeous.

 

On Wednesday, we went to Linville Caverns. Jonah was pretty excited about seeing the inside of a mountain. The tour of the caverns was quite interesting. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

Here I am drinking 'cave water'. Apparently the water that runs through the caverns is purified by the limestone inside, so it is safe to drink... at least that is what the tour guide told us and for some reason, I trusted her. Tasted ok to me :)

The fam inside Linville Caverns

After the caverns we went to a little town called Blowing Rock. It was a very cute little town. We walked around and went in several of the shops. The time in Blowing Rock ended with playing in the park where we found this scarecrow and took a couple pictures of the kiddos.

After Blowing Rock, we went to a gem mine. Jonah was apprehensive at first - didn't want to get his hands dirty or wet... I know, what is wrong with him?? Anyways, he finally decided he wanted to do this and had a lot of fun doing it. He found several pretty rocks, the most notable was a fairly large amethyst gem. He is going to take it for 'show and tell' at school tomorrow. He's excited to tell his friends and teachers about his mountain vacation.

 

On Thursday, our first stop was Grandfather Mountain. It has a mile high suspension bridge. I was not too thrilled to walk over it, but I did it. Jonah thought it was pretty cool to be up so high. He and Mark 'explored' all around the top of the mountain (very carefully - at my request). Annabelle rode around on my back and was content most of the time. I have realized that because Annabelle is not a city baby, like Jonah was, she certainly isn't used to riding around in the carrier. Jonah was always content in the carrier, but he was used to it. I must admit I miss having the need to use the carrier. I enjoyed that part of city life -- always having the baby close and snuggly during transit.

 

On Friday we went to an Amusement Park called 'Tweensy Railroad'. It was perfect for Jonah. Of course, as most of you know, Jonah loves trains. There were many train themed rides and activities, so he was fully in his element.

 Tweensy had a little petting zoo where you could feed the animals. Jonah was really into this, he has been apprehensive with petting zoos before, so it was fun to see him really enjoying it. He got very tickled by the deer who were continually 'fighting' over the food. Annabelle seems to love animals. Anytime she sees an animal she starts shrieking and kicking her legs... its really quite cute. She was constantly reaching for the goats and wanted to be a part of the action.

 

Mark put some of the food up on Jonah's head and the llama ate right off the top of his head. It was quite amusing and Jonah thought it was great.

This is one of the rides Jonah finally decided to ride. We tried to convince him he would like it (although, I honestly wasn't sure he was). Well, once he got on it, he loved it and yelled to me the entire ride 'I told you it'd be fun mommy!' He would not let me correct him and tell him that I was the one who told him that he'd enjoy it. We rode it more than once :)

                                      

 

Here we are on the actual train. It was a short ride on a steam engine that included a cowboy and indian show. It was enjoyable but a bit hokey and possibly scary for younger kids. Jonah just enjoyed being on the train.

Here is another ride that we finally convinced Jonah to ride. He wasn't sure about riding something by himself, but once he finally got on, he liked it and I think he was pretty proud of himself for getting on it.

 

Me and Annabelle on another little train ride.

 

 

Another fall photo op :)

 

On Saturday morning, we packed our stuff up in the cabin and headed out. We had a hotel again in Asheville to break the drive up. We had a couple of planned stops along the way. The first stop was a hike at Linville Falls. This was probably my favorite part of the trip. It was about a 3 ish mile hike (round trip). Jonah walked some and rode in the pack some. Annabelle did better in the carrier on this hike as long as we kept moving.

                             You can't see it, but Linville Falls is in the picture behind us. :-)

 

Linville Falls

During the hike we found this tree stump and sat the kids on it to take a picture. I told Jonah to hold onto annabelle like he loved her and this is what he did. That boy loves his sister. Its so cute!

Here's one of the whole fam. Although the kids aren't looking at the camera, I think its pretty cute that they are looking at each other and smiling. <3 p="p">

 

After Linville Falls we drove to Mt. Mitchell state park in hopes of driving to the top of this mountain around sunset. Mt. Mitchell is the tallest mountain east of the Mississippi river. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get to the top of the mountain. There was a pretty bad accident that involved a SUV and a motorcycle with 2 people on it. The accident was blocking the road so that no one could come down or go up the mountain. The people involved in the accident were injured severely enough to necessitate a life flight to the hospital. We watched 2 helicopters land, load the injured people and then take off. We hope and pray that those injured are going to have a full recovery after this accident.

Here are a couple of shots of the sunset from close to the top of Mt. Mitchell

Another stop at a waterfall, 'Looking Glass Falls', that was close to the side a road, we didn't really have to hike to get to this one.

                                                

 

This was on the way home on Sunday. We wore Jonah out! :)

 

 

8 months

Annabelle turned 8 months old on September 14. The time is flying. I just love having a baby, so I am hanging on to every minute!

No Peds appt at 8 months, but I weighed her myself.
Weight: 15 lbs 2 oz.

Sleeping habits:
Annabelle is finally, solidly sleeping through the night! yay!! I am pretty happy about this. It has really helped to be in our own house and for her to have her own room. I bought a video monitor which I loooove. Its almost as comforting as having her right beside me. Because Annabelle is a second child, her napping schedule has been much more flexible and 'on the go' than Jonah's. She definitely is still napping about 2x's/day. She will usually take one long nap and one short nap each day. She is turning into a much better sleeper than she was the first 7 months!

Eating habits:
Annabelle is also becoming a better eater. She really doesn't care for baby food, meaning the blended up stuff, but she will eat pretty much anything that I give her that is soft and/or dissolvable. Puffs are her new favorite thing. She gets very excited when I pull them out of the pantry. She is also still nursing. She is nursing 4-5 times per day... we have a loose schedule we use, but she more or less nurses when she wants to. As much as I have tried to have her be a scheduled baby, she does not want to be. I didn't understand when moms would say that about their babies when I had Jonah and he was SO easy to get on a schedule, but now I fully understand this. Apparently it is just not her personality to be on a schedule. We will see how this plays out in her future :) She still won't take a bottle either, so she is pretty tied to Mommy.

New discoveries/development:
Annabelle has started waving and clapping this month. It is SO cute! I just love it. She is so proud of herself and she gives the biggest grin when she does it. She is not crawling yet, but when she does, which I don't think will be too long, I believe she is going to be into everything. Jonah was never really a baby that got into things he shouldn't, but I think Annabelle is really going to keep me on my toes. She already reaches and graps for anything that is in her sight. One morning I was holding her and eating a plain eggo waffle. I got distracted and before I knew it she had pulled that waffle out of my hand and stuffed half of it in her mouth. She had a big grin on her face about it too! ha!
. She can move across the floor by laying on her back and pushing with her feet or laying on her tummy and pushing with her arms. Annabelle is also eating puffs independently, so she is mastering the pincer grasp.

Places I went:
Just after Annabelle turned 7 months old (so btwn 7-8 months) her great grandmother, whom she is named after, Eulabelle Yvonne, passed away. Annabelle, Jonah and Mommy went down to Gordon, GA for a few days right after 'Mamaw's' passing to be with family, my parents. We then drove to Sandersville, GA, where my Grandmother lived a majority of her life, for the funeral. At the funeral, Annabelle was able to meet many great aunts, uncles, and cousins. As sad as a funeral is, it is always nice to get to see distant family. I personally wish it didn't take a funeral to get us all together.

Jonah started school during this month, so Annabelle has been toted to and from Jonah's school a lot this month. She is a trooper though, and goes with the flow pretty well. Aunt Susie came to visit us, which was a lot of fun for us all!

Annabelle is such a sweet, special little girl. It is so much fun to watch her personality develop. She is so loving and so much fun to be around. Thank you Jesus for our blessing!

7 months

August 14th, 2012, Annabelle turned 7 months old.
Weight: 14 pounds 6 ounces
Height: 26.5 inches

Sleeping habits: Not too much has changed since 6 months. Annabelle is still waking up in the night to nurse. We moved into our new house, shortly before Annabelle turned 7 months, so I think now that she has her own room things will change. I don't plan on letting Annabelle cry for long periods of time, but being able to let her fuss in the other room a little bit if she wakes up in the middle of the night will make a big difference in the quality of my sleep, I believe! She is still napping about 3 times a day. I think she will be giving up the last nap of the day soon, but she is still hanging onto it on most days. I guess she is making up for those sleepless nights. Wish I could join in on all the napping she does :)

Eating habits: We have continued on the adventure to solid foods. Annabelle is still not really a fan. She is picky, picky, picky! I made her a batch of homemade baby food, pears, squash, and peas and she wouldn't eat any of it. I think maybe it is the consistency, not thin enough for her, but still! She has her favorites, which are sweet potatoes and apples. We will continue to try new foods... I'm sure she'll give in at some point. She has started eating the dissovable puffs, which she seems to enjoy. She likes being able to feed these to herself.

New discoveries/development: Annabelle continues to sit on her own and is much more stable while sitting, not falling much at all. She is also starting to somehow move around a little bit while she is sitting. She will lean way forward for a toy she wants and pull herself a little bit with her arms. She has gotten in a crawling position a few times and she definitely wants to move herself, so we will see when that comes!

Places I went: The big trip Annabelle made between 6 & 7 months was from Tucker, GA to Marietta, GA. We moved into our own house! yay! She now has her own room. We are loving our house and are so excited to be in our own place. I will try to get around to posting pictures of the house soon.

Annabelle brings so much joy to our lives. She is starting to show her personality more and more. Such a sweet baby. She loves giving her Mommy, Daddy, and brother big wet kisses. We love you Annie!

6 months

I CANNOT believe that Annabelle is 1/2 a year old. Time has seriously flown. She has been quite a different baby from Jonah so far. She is much more high-maintenance than her brother, but I guess that goes with being a girl. She is sweet and squeezable. She can be quite fussy and loves to be held... and we love holding her.

At 6 months, we started with a new pediatrician in Atlanta, at East Cobb Pediatrics.
Annabelle's weight: 13 pounds 7 ounces (15th percentile)
height: 25.75 inches (70th percentile)
She is on the small side, but is growing on her own little curve, so the pediatrician was not concerned. She seems to be right on target for her age as far as development and she did well for the doctor. She did have to get several shots, so that was not fun :(

Sleeping habits: Annabelle is not sleeping through the night. We have been staying at my Aunt Katie's house and Annabelle has been in the same room with us, so I hear every little whimper and so I end up getting up and feeding her in the night. I must say, while those middle of the night feedings are exhausting, there is something that is so sweet about them, a sleepy baby, that is usually cuddly and just needs to nurse for a minute or two and be put back to bed. Something so sweet about the silence of the night and a cuddly baby. Yes, I would probably prefer to sleep straight through the night, and I know it will come, but those sweet cuddles in the night are something that oddly enough, I will miss. Annabelle is still napping about 3 times/day. She has a morning nap, an afternoon nap, and then a late afternoon quick nap. She just doesn't want to give that last nap up.

Eating habits: We saw the pediatrician for Annabelle's 6 month appointment a week before she actually turned 6 months. At the appt. the doctor said she could start on solids. We had held off a little longer than some babies because of the condition Annabelle was born with, called laryngomalacia. She basically has a 'soft' larynx that can be floppy and slightly block her airway causing her to sound wheezy. The doctors have said she should out grow it by 18 months. It seems better at times, but not better at other times. When we started baby food with Annabelle, she was not so thrilled with it. She would not eat it at all actually, she just spit everything back out. The very first time she tried it she ended up throwing it all up. Thankfully, it has gotten slightly better. The first thing she ate was oatmeal cereal... not such a fan! Annabelle is still nursing 5-6 times/day and she still will not take a bottle... she's a stubborn one!

New discoveries/development: Annabelle is rolling more and more. She is quickly becoming semi-mobile and will roll to get something that she wants when she sees it. A week before she turned 6 months, she started sitting on her own. I am excited about this milestone because this is something that seems to make her happy. She likes to be able to sit and play with a toy or just sit and look around at things. She loves playing with her hands and feet and is making more and more adorable baby sounds!

Places I went: Annabelle left for Indian Springs Campmeeting a few days before her 6 month birthday, so she actually spent her 1/2 birthday in Jackson, GA at the campmeeting. She had a great time down there with her family and meeting new friends. A family tradition that I hope she will grow to love.

Mamaw

As some of you know, my Grandmother, Mamaw passed away on August 15. Her death was expected, however, it is still very sad.The sadness I have felt has been overwhelming at times. It has made me realize that I just do not understand how people can deal with losing someone unexpectedly. I am comforted to know that she was a Christian and I can picture her in Heaven with so many of the family members that she loved so dearly. I was quite close to my Grandmother throughout my life. I am sad that she has passed away now that I am back in Georgia and would be able to see her more often, however, I am glad that she did not pass away while I was living in New York because it would have been quite hard on me to be so far from her and the rest of my family while she was going through so much at the end of her life. I am glad I got to see her as much as I did before she passed away.

Her death has had me thinking a lot about how short life really is; it just goes by so quickly. I hope that this realization can effect me positively. I hope that I can put into practice what I have learned from my Grandmother's life. She was a sweet, silly, love-filled person. At her funeral, I had the privilege of reading the following poem that I wrote.

A Grandmother's love cannot be explained.
It cannot be mistaken, forgotten, or tamed.

I am blessed to have known a love such as this;
Her name Yvonne Roughton Rustin, her love - a heaven-sent kiss.

So many memories flood my mind... A sleepover at Mamaw's, a fun summer swim,
She'd even give my hair the much needed trim.

My brother's and I were on a strict diet, you see...
Except for at Mamaw's, sugar and goodies it would be!

She was a teacher by trade, and no doubt, one at heart.
Phonics, language, and reading she would diligently impart.

Asbury College was so special to her,
She spoke highly of it and loved it, for sure.

She made it possible for my brothers and me
To attend this wonderful college of Asbury.

She loved her family, friends and her Saviour too.
Most diligently she worked, and His will she would do.

Through the years she shared nothing but love,
She continued to give and put others above.

She always put others first and would help out a friend.
She was concerned for the children, the hungry, the needy, even right up to the end.

My daughter is named with Belle after you.
My hope is that she's blessed with your sweet spirit too.

It is unbelievably hard to say goodbye to you today.
I wish and I yearn a few more years you could stay.

As I kiss your cheek one last time,
I will share a special memory of mine.

Its a memory so vivid I have of her,
As she stood right beside me, my hand in hers.

Indian Springs summer campmeeting is the setting, you see.
We sang with our hearts and our lips, verses one, two, and three.

If we were to sing the same song together today,
She'd wipe my tears and joyfully say:
"When the Roll is Called up Yonder, I'll be There!!"



She was a wonderful grandmother. I will miss her so so much. I love you Mamaw!!