Twenty-Eight

Last Monday I celebrated my twenty-eighth birthday. Nothing too exciting about turning twenty-eight. But, this was the first birthday I have celebrated as a mom and that made the day pretty special.

The Saturday before we went downtown to spectate some of the Saint Patrick's Day shenanigans. It was far too cramped and full of crazies for us. We opted for an early dinner at The Draft House before meeting some friends at the dive bar, Around the Corner.

too cool for school

On Sunday we kept with my birthday tradition of eating Japanese steakhouse dinner, specifically Kanki. Fletcher was in complete awe and stared at the chef the whole time. The similar reaction he gave to Santa. Maybe its the overalls?

same Buddha, different belly

The evening of my actual birthday I requested Jared watch the finale of The Bachelor live with me. To my surprise, he agreed and brought me prosecco in bed. Mighty good man.

helping me open gifts

he secretly loves my reality TV drama

Last Thursday Jared left to go to Texas for his cousin, Jakie's, wedding. Fletcher and I were sad to be missing the wedding but couldn't figure out logistically how to make it work. Plus, this mama has zero PTO left. Jared being gone meant it was just Fletcher and I flying solo for four whole days. This was the most time we have spent alone together since my maternity leave. It also means I am now winning in the "nights alone with the baby" category. Not that its a competition. I think Jared still takes the cake since he had Fletcher in the hurricane alone. Mad props to single parents.

Fletcher and Mama Weekend Recap:

Thursday we made it to daycare and work on time

Had a buffalo wing Friday night date

Stuck to our Saturday tradition of bagels

Went to Myers' first birthday party at Umstead Park

Got some new plants for the front porch at Costco

Watched a crazy thunderstorm roll in

Sunday was spent organizing the house, laying grass seed, birthday party planning, and wagon riding

Our time together flew by and I will cherish those days we spent just the two of us, but we sure missed dad. You never realized how much your partner helps you until they aren't there. Again, single parents, you are amazing.

How are we celebrating this boy turning ONE year next week. ALL.THE.EMOTIONS. Yes, I frequently cry on the way to work after dropping him off at daycare now. Yes, I continue to hug him a little tighter. Yes, I am savoring every single moment, even the 6pm meltdowns.

First Parent Weekend Away

Last weekend Jared and I cashed in our Christmas gift from my mom, a weekend away in a cabin with babysitting included. This would our first time away together without Fletcher. His first time without one of us being home. Don't worry, I left my mom three pages worth of handwritten instructions notes to help her out.

We dropped Fletcher off at daycare on Friday like usual. I only shed a few tears. Mainly because we drove past the hospital and Jared pointed out the room I delivered Fletcher in. Then we went to the same Chick-fil-a that we ate breakfast at the morning we had Fletcher. It was far too sentimental for this constantly emotional mama.

After our super romantic breakfast of chicken minis we headed straight for Asheville.

Made a little detour in Winston-Salem to see the house we first lived in together, 5 years ago. It looks exactly the same. Still in the straight hood of downtown. The quick visit brought back a lot of memories for us. We were so young and living on just Jared's salary, but we had so much fun.

two bedrooms and one bathroom that hold oh so many memories

We were making really good time and hit Asheville at 11:30. We passed a State Trooper just a few miles after getting into the city and you could feel Jared's heart drop. He was coming for us. Jared's lead foots gets us in trouble again [funny, because he is the worlds safest and slowest driver...usually]. It was the quickest ticket that has ever been written. Not a great way to start the trip but, he really was a nice and we knew we were in the wrong. Luckily, it didn't delay us too much, just meant the beer would be well worth it.

We got to New Belgium with over an hour to spare before our tour which meant we had time to sample the beers we haven't tried before and enjoy a local food truck.

The tour was 90 minutes long and very informative. New Belgium seems like a great company to work for. The samples kept coming throughout the tour, which only made us like them even more. The facility is huge and equipped with a bottling plant onsite. It was the most beautiful brewery I have been to.

yes, that is a slide. yes, we did get to ride it. adults having fun. watch out.

After New Belgium we made our hour hike West to our cabin just outside of Bryson City, NC. We spent the evening attempting to make a fire for s'mores and failing at putting a puzzle together.

because FaceTiming your 11 month when you're in the hot tub is totally appropriate

don't drink and puzzle

Of course I would've loved to sleep in our trip, but my internal mama body clock woke me up at 7am sharp. We went back to sleep and had a lazy morning around the cabin before heading into Bryson City for brunch.

We ate at the cutest little place called Cork and Bean. Then we grabbed to go coffee from the local café and strolled the downtown area, which is only about two or three blocks in size. We got Fletcher a little keepsake.

bloody marys before coffee. delicious.

Bryson City is located on the Tuckasegee River

this is not the souvenir we brought back for Fletch

Up next, casino time! Cherokee was less than 30 minutes from Bryson City. Why not do some gambling on our parent weekend? Plus I had never been to a real casino before. Let me tell you, prime people watching. I played the slots for all of 20 minutes before losing interest. We didn't hit the jackpot but we also didn't spend more than we said we would. A really interesting and very eclectic place. Two hours was all we needed.

winning nothing.

good times at ol' Harrah's Cherokee Casino

We went back to Bryson City to try Nantahala Brewing Company. A cute little place in the heart of downtown with delicious brews. Something about beer freshly brewed in the mountains makes it taste so much better.

it is true, water is for quitters.

For lunch we ate the "famous" Filling Station. Ahh-mazing sandwiches and fries. We got two of their specialty homemade ice cream sandwiches that were out of this world delicious. They make the flavored frozen yogurt in house and bake the cookies fresh too.

Then it was back to our cabin for a hike to the "waterfall" that was on the resort grounds. We completely underestimated how intense the hike was going to be. The mountain is quite steep.

see that large waterfall...

We enjoyed or last evening with champagne in the hot tub and a nice steak dinner. 

this is the bottle we have been saving since before I gave birth to Fletcher

we realize how incredibly lucky we are.

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We took our time waking up and packing the car on Sunday, trying to enjoy the views before hitting the road. Brunch in Asheville seemed like a good idea, but after trying two different places that had ridiculous waits, we ended up at Waffle House near the outlet malls. Romantic way to end the weekend, huh? We stocked up on some 12 month clothes for Fletcher because my mom informed that his pants were too tight on his belly. Then we swung by the Biltmore gift shop to grab my mom some "Thank You Wine" before hitting the road.

Can't thank my mom enough for giving us one the best gifts. I didn't realize how much we took alone time for granted. Though, I know this was a little gift for her too. She had so much fun spending that quality time with her grandson. It was such a wonderful weekend. Nothing was scheduled which was a nice change of pace for us. It wasn't as hard to leave him as I thought, but we were definitely ready to get home to our boy. Highly recommend the area my mom chose, Watershed Resorts. We can't wait to go back again, with Fletcher [or friends] of course.

Fletcher 11 Months

We are less than a month away from having a ONE year old. Seriously, how is that even possible? Jared and I both agree, I was literally just pregnant.

ELEVEN MONTHS

This age is non stop and such a blast. He wears himself slap out which I think is why he has been napping so much harder at daycare and at home. He is legitimately always moving, unless he is asleep. His attention span is getting longer so we can actually play. He is figuring things out and putting pieces together, like when we hide something behind our backs he is actually looking for it.

We have one smart, sweet, gentle, mamas boy.

MONTH HIGHLIGHTS

This month brought us our first scheduled play date with a friend from birth class (Myers who is just 12 days older than Fletcher), a birthday party which resulted in a busted lip #bigheadedbabyproblems, Super Bowl and the Patriots ultimate comeback, still loving to open cabinets, pointing, calling everything "da" or "ba," swinging, first Valentine's Day, cutting of top front teeth, first PTs fry, discovering he can lift the toilet seat and put his hands in the water [disgusting, I know], Mama's work promotion, oyster roast, ate a little dirt, and FIRST STEPS!

these boys are far too cool to smile with their moms on their first play date tog

my sweet Valentine

brought Fletcher's wagon to the oyster roast. it was a hit with the ladies. we are in trouble.

FAVORITES

Activity: doing anything outside [swinging, walking, eating dirt, watching his dogs], dancing, playing in the toilet, pulling everything out from cabinets [kitchen and bathroom are the favorites]

Food: Hawaiian rolls [dang JuJu for introducing these], cheese, raspberries, blueberries, carbs

Toy: remote is still in first place, but also likes anything that is not intentionally a toy. Queue, bottle brush or toilet paper roll.

don't let this face fool you, he loves his swing

DISLIKES

Activity: being strapped in to anything [we still hate the car seat], being told "no," not being picked up while dinner is being made

Food: meat

crying for so many reasons: 6pm, being told no, wanting to be held, over the photoshoot, wanted to eat a leaf

TYPICAL DAY

Eating: down to 4 bottles per day (700, 1100, 1300, 1900) three meals and lots of snacks! Bottles are still a mix of breastmilk and formula. Meals at daycare are provided and are way fancier than anything we are eating. For example, spinach quiche, hummus roll up, and salmon burgers. At home the meals are really just whatever Jared and I are eating or berries.

Pumping: I have officially weaned from pumping! I slowly dropped a pumping session every few days and decreased the amount of time I was pumping per session. I dropped the final pump just in time to not have to pump on our first parental weekend away [more on that in a later post]

Sleeping: [knocking on wood as typing] we have turned a corner on nap time at day care, PRAISE! He has consistently been sleeping 1-2 hours everyday. Phew, only took 7 months...Night sleep still great. He had a pretty bad cold his last week of his 10th month and would cough so much in his sleep but it never seemed to bother him too much or wake him up. Just sounded pitiful.

PICTURES FROM THE MONTH

bruise on cheek and forehead and busted lip. poor child.

JuJu made slippers like my great grandmother used to knit

all.the.fruit.

still a fan even in a very disappointing season

the inherited "woman, why are you taking another picture" look

wild child

first PTs fry! with a side of blueberries of course

mamas boy

the toddler size hat is almost too small.

dirt is good for the immune system, right?

big ol' front chompers coming in big.

Fletcher James, you are keeping us on our toes. Everyday with you is better than the last. Thank you for being the sweetest and best challenge we have ever had. You are truly wonderful. We love you so much.