E's first trip!

4 generations! From left: Aunt Sue, Mema, Great-granmama, Emily, Me, Aunt Lauren

Gush. :-) Love this pic of Lauren cuddling with Emily

Happy to be in Mema's arms!

Practicing standing- E loves to bear weight on her legs.

Play time! She loves her giraffe (thanks, Taylor!) She is super happy on her back on the floor when she is awake. I just wish I could say the same for tummy time.

Captivated by Great-granmama. :-) They became best buds quickly.

Nap time with Mema! The best!

Yes, we start things early in this house! Emily and I traveled to Charlotte, NC last week to have a girl's weekend with my granmama, aunt, mom, and sister. It was so wonderful! And Emily did super with both plane trips!! I couldn't believe it. She's growing up. ;-) I decided to nurse her during take off and landing to help her ears stay unplugged. It was only the second time I had nursed in public. It was a little awkward, but really it wasn't that bad. The Lord was so good to seat me beside a kind lady on the trip over there. She is a speech pathologist for children birth through 3 years old. So she emphatically encouraged me that nothing (ie nursing, a crying baby, spit up, etc) was going to bother her. That helped me feel better. E nursed on the take-off and then conked out for the 1 hour flight and woke up with just enough time to nurse a little and take a pacifier on the way back down. It was tough carrying her in the carseat with the base attached, so next time I will definitely be lugging a stroller along with me. And next time I'll hopefully have Greg with me, too!

It was such a gift to see Emily with her Great-granmama. There was so much joy there. Granmama taught her how to stick out her tongue!!! I had been trying this trick a little the week before with no luck, but I guess she was ready last week. Granmama would tell her "Stick out that tongue!" and show E hers, and a few seconds later E would let hers slide out a little. It was adorable! She could tell that this was getting her lots of attention, because she would look around the room and smile when she was done.

Granmama also was able to get Emily to become completely relaxed by sticking her belly down across her legs and rocking her for a couple minutes. It was amazing. I have tried this a bunch at home now and it hasn't worked for me. I think my lap is too small or my chair doesn't have as smooth of a rocking motion. I'll keep trying, though.

Aunt Lauren and Mema were a huge help at night. Part of the reason for the trip was to give me a break at night and to give Greg a couple days at home alone to sleep. Unfortunately I couldn't seem to pump much out for bottles, so we only had one bottle for them to give her. But at least at night all I had to do was feed her around 1 and 5 and they both would take her when I was done and get her good and tired and put back to bed. That was sooo nice. I also got a few day naps in as well.

Everyone doted on Miss Emily for a couple of days, and it was a blessing to be around family again. She spends so many days alone with me, and I liked having more people and personalities for her to interact with. She really handled all the extra attention very well considering she's only 2 1/2 months old.

We also went clothes shopping for her while we were there. It wouldn't be a trip to Charlotte without some shopping! Her (great) Aunt Sue got her an adorable winter outfit with a jacket that has ears on top of the hood. I can't wait to get her in it when it gets cold!! Mema got her two cute headbands (so people will finally know without a doubt that she is a girl!), and a beautiful cherry colored flowery dress for next summer. Aunt Lauren got her an adorable dress with hand stitched fairy princesses on the smocking that will be good for the summer as well. And I picked out a few outfits myself. So fun!

I can't wait to make the trip again, and it already has me thinking about a spring trip to Texas.