Dollywood and Virginia Creeper, Yes with a newborn.

So the first two weeks we took it easy around here, but now that I am feeling so much better and recovering so fast we have been out and about. We have to take advantage of our Dollywood passes before they expire so Shannon and Mom and I took the kids and went on a pretty day. That was like 3 weeks post-partum, then last week (4 1/2 weeks post-partum) we camped and biked the Virginia Creeper. Don't worry, we only did the first half which is all downhill. I will have to put a few pics up later of us biking the actual trail. I didn't think I had my camera on the trail but it turns out I did, it was just buried in my bag that had a million other things in it for Annie and Calvin. Hey I had to be prepared for anything, from hungry toddlers to blow outs from a newborn. So I took pics on Scotts phone but don't have those downloaded yet. The ride was awesome and we only had to stop once so I could nurse Calvin, so we stopped by a little creek and bridge so everyone hung out until we were finished.  Here are some pics to enjoy!

This was during recovery at home, I was bored one day so I thought I would see if I could take some cute newborn shots. Lets just say, I don't have quite the knack or equipment to take any good ones, but I love my little man and will always treasure these photos. 

 Here is where we were hitting up Dollywood, and Ty was being a little ham as always.

 This is pretty much what he did the whole time except when I had to feed him. Did you know that Dollywood has a nursing mothers room in the ladies restroom? Yeah, they do and I totally took advantage of it.

 One of Annies favorite rides, was the Car ride from the 50's section of the park. She loves driving those cars, and lets just pray that the driving she does in these will not play out to her teen years when she can drive a real car. She gets crazy and distracted too easily from focusing on keeping the car from bumping all over the place. Good thing I don't get car sick.

 Nana and her girls, enjoying the fall decorations at the park. Notice Libby doing a pretty pose. It looks like she might be starting to work towards being miss America.

 Mom loves those turkey legs.

 We also went to Rev's birthday party. He was born 3 weeks after Annie. His mommy did a wonderful job making a whole construction theme party, complete with a delicious dirt cake in a dump truck. So creative. I don't know why I didn't take pictures of all the creativity. You'll just have to take my word for it, it was awesome.

 And now the camping trip. The weather was perfect for camping, Upper 40's at night and upper 60's during the day. Here is Annie and Poppy enjoying the warmth of the camp fire our first evening there. She is a great camper, except the last night we were there I think she was not very tired when we put her to bed because when we went to check on her a little while later, it pretty much looked like a tornado had run through the pop-up camper we were staying in. No seriously it was bad, she completely emptied every bag she could get her hands on, including the diaper bag which is full of little knick knacks. Needless to say she got disciplined for that and then went right to bed.

 Sharing some hot cocoa cocoa with cousin Libby in the morning by the warm fire.

 After our bike ride we waited with the kids in Damascus for the guys to bring back the vehicles. Of course we had to pull out the ipads so the kids could watch The Lion King (Annies favorite movie right now). Don't ask me why she is wearing Libby's sunglasses, she just wanted to look cool I guess. Plus they were Dora the Explorer, and she loves Dora right now.

 Little Calvin in his abominable snowman suit. Hey at least it kept him warm.

 Annie and couz Hudson looking through a sticker book together. This lasted about five minutes.

 I know it looks like this baby was sleeping the whole time in all the pics, but trust me, he got a lot of crying out on this trip. Right around 6 every morning he tried to wake up the campground with his screaming, but luckily Peter and Bethany were the only ones nearby in a tent, and on that morning Calvin decided to let everyone sleep in until 7.

 This is what kids should be doing while camping, getting creative with the outdoors instead of watching movies or being distracted by some kind of media. I love when they have fun outside. Here they are using a log for a see-saw.

 My little Monk. Yes, he has gone bald on the top of his head, but kept the hair from his side burns back. He looks like a little monk. I'm thinking about using this googly-eyed picture for the baby dedications shot on Sunday. What do you think? At least he is awake and not crying.

 Or maybe this one would be better. Covering his little baldness. AWWW!!! Well maybe not, someone is picking his nose in the backround.

 Gorgeous mountains were full of colors. God is so creative and kind to give us different seasons to enjoy. Fall is my favorite. I wonder if he decided to give all trees different colors and beauty just for us to enjoy.

That's all for now
Yours Truly

Mr. Fussy Pants almost One month old.

Where has the time gone?
       I can't believe my little man will be 4 weeks old (aka 1 month!) tomorrow. Let's see, what have we accomplished thus far. Not much. Ever since he has been born he is pretty much either crying or sleeping. It has been pretty exhausting. The first two weeks we had no idea why he was crying so much, so when we asked the doctor at his check-up they said he could be swallowing too much air while eating (He is a very efficient aggressive eater) causing gas bubbles which can be pretty painful and his little gut just has to mature and get used to this new world and eating etc... So after trying to get him to slow down a little, it still seemed like he was either always fussy or sleeping. I then realized he may have thrush due to his little tongue being white and some of the sides of his mouth beginning to show white patches as well. I did some research and found that he had a lot of the symptoms for thrush so I called the doctor and they sent in a prescription for him, within a couple of days of treating it, he was eating better and was at least consolable while crying. Now we seem to be making some progress. I'm hoping so bad that he is over all this crying stuff by Wednesday because we are taking him camping and biking the Virginia Creeper. We took Annie on this same trip when she was only 5 weeks old as well and she did fine, from what I remember. I am praying that he will not scream his head off in the middle of the night to where we can't calm him down. When I say scream I mean scream. This little guys does not know what crying his. I have only heard him actually cry twice, all other times he screams. My biggest fear is disturbing the other campers since we will be in a pop-up. I have noticed a pattern now, usually around 5 or 6 am is when he has this random fussiness with no explanation, but other than that he seems to be doing much better through the night, and even right now it is daytime and he is in my lap not crying but awake and looking around. I can't believe it.

Whew! now that I got all that out of the way, I do want to remember that this is just a short season, and it will be gone before I know it. I love him so much and I am so blessed by the Lord to give me two children to love and cherish. They are a gift from him and I can't imagine not having either of them. God is kind to provide me with people to remind me of this, and to remember that my help comes from the Lord and he gives me strength each morning to face the day. His help also comes in the form of my husband, and family, and friends. Everyone is so willing to come help us out whenever we need something. In fact, my father-in-law has taken Annie almost this whole week since Scott was out of town for three days. That has given me some time to spend with Calvin, and get plenty of rest not having to take care of my two-year old. I do miss her, but I am so thankful for this time.

Alright people, I know I probably just put a lot of useless stuff up for you to read, but hey this blog is to update friends and family out of town mostly so I'm sure this boring stuff they want to read, (Ben and Bri):) Love you guys and hope I am keeping you informed enough.
     Now for some pics.....
So we went to dollywood just after he turned 3 weeks old. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I guess I feel like I have recovered so fast that I am back to normal, and can do all this stuff already, but I need to remember to still take it easy because I am in fact still recovering. We did fine though, and had a great time. Thanks to a friend I was able to use this sit-and-stand stroller for both the kiddos. It worked out great. (Thanks Allyson). Annie absolutely loves dollywood. When I told her we were going she started talking about elephant, and pig (oink oink) rides. Those are the ones she can ride at the park, she got so excited when we got there she was skipping and jumping around. It brought so much joy to my heart to see my little girl so excited. I think I have more fun watching my kids get excited than getting excited about things myself.

 My little man loves me. He sleeps next to my when daddy is away, only for naps though.

 Ahhhh!!!! Doesn't every mother of a little girl have a picture of their first experience with make-up? Annie found some make-up in the guest bathroom and decided to pretty herself up. She had the right idea though as you can see, she knows you put some stuff on your eyes, and some on your lips. I had to laugh when I saw her. I should have know that she was too quiet with the door closed in the bathroom. I love her so much.

 A rare pic of me with one of my kiddos. Don't see many, since I am usually the one snapping the photo. Love how peaceful he looks here.

That's all for now folks.
                                                                 Yours Truly