As I sit here at the end of December trying to play catch up on the blog from the last 6 weeks so many memories are stirred up by looking through all of the many pictures. As Kevin will attest, I periodically tend to despise the effort it takes to put this blog together. It feels like a burden and another item on my list of chores or responsibilities that need to be done and it’s not often something I really want to spend my time on when I have a few moments to spare. Usually when I finally sit down to do it I run into some software or photo download or editing issue. And before I know it I’m 6 weeks behind, making the burden to catch up that much worse. I know it’s only pressure from myself and I’m the one who makes myself feel like it’s a chore. But in the end, I’m always so happy to have it to look back on. Even if in the midst I just want to give up.

This week we went on our annual vacation to Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Each year it really becomes more and more fun as Griffin remembers what we do and where we go and he gets excited to do it all again. He loves to stay in the cabin and does really well sleeping in his own room in an unfamiliar place each year. The smiles he has on his face throughout our vacation whether it be while we’re spending a lazy day at the cabin or a crazy busy day at Dollywood make it so much fun.

There are certainly many things I don’t remember from this week since I’m posting about it 6 weeks after the fact, but one thing I do recall are the struggles we had getting Reid to sleep! Hence the starting photo this week. He would sleep great in your arms, but not in his bed! He was a rock star in the car during our drive. We made it in decent time, having to stop for diaper changes and feedings, but overall we had a good trip down. We took the pack and play for him to sleep in our room and boy, was I not prepared for the sleepless nights! He is still sleeping in the cosleeper in our room at home at night and I still feed him once during the middle of the night. But man, in Tennessee he was up about 6 times a night! It was insane: 12:30 am, 2:30, 3:30, 4, 5:30, etc.  I was so exhausted that more than once I resorted to putting him next to me on the bed so I could get an hour or a bit more of uninterrupted sleep. I have no idea what the trouble is. I fed him one or more times during the nights on a few nights, it could be his tooth coming in, who knows – but I thought I might lose it! So much so, that at 3 am one night I was reading through Facebook and somehow came across Tulsa Pediatric Sleep Consulting FB page. I started perusing the questions people were asking about their kids and the sleep issues and I saw that every other Sunday they had a “FB Live” question and answer session for an hour. I went back through previous weeks posts and found several moms of babies around 6 months old asking similar questions to those I had. Why is my baby fighting naps? My baby won’t sleep through the night – what is a typical sleep schedule?  I read some good advice and signed up for their newsletter, which contained a free chapter of a sleep workbook. As I read through it I just kept thinking – this is so good! I have to have this book! So I got on Amazon at 3 in the morning and put the workbook in my cart. Then I started thinking, maybe I should buy the actual book that goes with the workbook. So I did just that. The Sleep Lady’s Good Night Sleep Tight has been a life saver. More to come on that in the upcoming posts though.

This guy is all football all the time. He chooses to wear his OSU summer outfit over top jeans and a long sleeve shirt on the regular. And here he is cradling Reid’s toy as if it were a football. Sports are in his blood. We really do not build up sports or talk about them much. Griffin regularly brings them up, often football, or he plays it by himself play calling and reenacting moves he’s seen on tv.  Each year Griffin gets to drive through the Smoky Mountain National Park when we visit Caed’s Cove. He loves it and it pretty good at steering :).  We ventured out on a half mile hike through the woods to see an old home (terrible but I can’t remember the name!). Griffin loves to run wild through the paths. It felt good to enjoy the fresh air though carrying Reid makes me realize how out of shape I remain!

Each year we take a photo of Griffin at this fence with the beautiful mountains in the background. We have him reenact his same pose and this year we had him hold Reid too. Afterward Finn and Kevin went down the path toward a stream and did some exploring. I stayed back in and fed Reid in the van. It was fun to watch them run through the fields and then see the photos Kevin took of their adventure. It was a beautiful and sunny day this year. It seems as though every year during our trip we have the perfect weather day to explore nature.  

Reid is quite the trooper. Just like Griffin at that age, we take him everywhere we go and he just rolls with it. He definitely seems to be more of a mama’s boy and has already started some separation anxiety or sadness. He certainly doesn’t like it when I pick him up and then shortly thereafter put him back down. He loves those snuggles! Thankfully we took our stationary play rocker for Reid to have some independent time in the cabin. He’s filling it out so well now it’s hard to believe just a short time ago we had to put a blanket behind and in front of him.  This year our cabin had a dart board which Griffin absolutely loved. He isn’t one to sit around unless there is a “show” on so he frequently was up in the loft playing darts. And he was quite good! He got several “bulls eyes” not long after he started. And this wasn’t the easiest dart board as there were little holes the dart had to fit into. He was so excited when he made hit the eye.  As I said earlier, Reid wasn’t a very happy sleeper in his pack and play. I don’t know if it is too hard, or too low to the floor and perhaps cooler there, or what the dealio was. A couple of times I laid him on the bed and then sat on the love seat in our room while he slept. He did take a couple of good naps that way!Each year we love spending time at The Island where there are plenty of outdoor games and rides as well as tasty restaurants. We had lunch at Poynor’s with tasty sausages and crispy fries and we enjoyed dinner at Paula Deen’s Restaurant one evening.  It is just SO GOOD! Just writing this post makes me want to go there again.  If there is ever a pretzel nearby – Finn will find it.  This year at the Dixie Stampede it was a special treat! We were in the first row of our section and not long after we sat down our server started talking to Griffin and asked how old he was. Then he asked him if he wanted to go down and chase chickens during the show! Wowzer, how cool! Griffin and Kevin went down and Griffin along with a few other kids got to chase chickens in the arena. They asked him his name with the microphone and everything 🙂  He and the kids on his team came in second place, but they each got medals and a book from Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. What a memorable night. 

Here is Griffin chasing chickens.

Reid rode in his first Ferris Wheel at The Island. It’s a pretty sight in the evening though he didn’t see much as he slept right through it!

For the first time this year we hit up the outlet malls. What a madhouse! The parking and traffic was insane. Kevin and Reid stayed in the car while Finn and I ran into a couple of stores. I was super excited as I quickly found outfits for Reid and Griffin and then headed to Gap where I found coordinating shirts for Kevin and me. I am NOT a fast shopper as I am terribly indecisive. So I felt pretty great about our coordinated duds that I pulled together in record time.  Here are a few photos from our week before we left on vacation. Debbie always does fun holiday crafts and this year for the thankful turkey Griffin wrote each feather himself! He’s growing up fast and is very curious lately about words and spelling. He regularly will say, “Momma, what does s-t-o-p spell” or whatever sign we pass by or something that catches his eye.  I love getting pictures like this from Debbie during the day in the app we use. They bring a smile to my face.
Griffin has been going to weekly soccer lessons at Locker Soccer in Powell. I’ve noticed he’s becoming more outgoing and a bit goofy from time to time. He really loves Coach Aaron and the Sharks and Minnows game.  On voting day we took Finn and Reid to the polls and then headed to Tim Horton’s for a very brief breakfast. There was a boil order in effect for areas of Powell Rd so we had to trek down Sawmill Parkway to the Hard Road area. It was raining and traffic was yucky. Blech! And in other news I finally made an appointment at a dental office in Powell. It’s the first time I’ve gone to anyone other than my Dad in all my life! I survived, though I did have two cavities. And here are a few from a facebook post that I shared about Debbie. We are grateful to have her in our family. An acquaintance recently told me how lucky we are to have her, how she loves my kids so much and hugs and kisses them and loves them well when I’m not around. It warmed my heart!