Back to our Southern home

We headed down 39...suitcase in the trunk, baby fast asleep in his car seat, Papa the chauffeur, McBaby kicking and flipping away, me thinking about all the fun stuff we did (and contemplating if I should drink the bottled water now and risk the bathroom break on the plane)...another successful trip back home! It's so nice to have the flexibility to spend so much time at our Northern home. Lane gets to spend loads of time with his family and I get a nice break from the everyday constants of taking care of a 2 year old. He's absolutely at home when we are in IL. It doesn't take him any time to adjust. In fact, this time, as we pulled into the driveway, he was bouncing and squealing away in his car seat of the familiarity of it all! The only downfall is not seeing Matt, in person, for such a long time. But on the upside of that, we get to anticipate the sweet reunion of our family! Lane was walking through the Atlanta airport, hanging onto my pinky, saying, "Da-ee!" the whole time. I think he was feeling the distance away from his Daddy too!



We've been flying direct from Bloomington to Atlanta to avoid a layover, another take-off and landing, and an extra 45 minutes of flight time with a toddler, that would put us in Charlotte. It's a lot easier for Matt to drive the extra 30 minutes to Atlanta versus Charlotte than for Lane and I to go through all that! So when we get to Atlanta we like to spend a couple hours there. That way, Lane can have a break from the travel and Matt can have a break from the drive. It kinda breaks it up and works out for all. Atlanta is a pretty neat city with tons of stuff to do!

We had plans to visit the big fountain in Centennial Park. Matt wore his swim trunks and I packed Lane's at the top of the suitcase for easy access.


Then we let him get out his travel bugs by running through the giant green patch right in the middle of the city!


It's a really great park!






After they cooled off in the fountain, we found a playground.




Peek-a-boo!


When we played enough to work up a good appetite, we headed to Taco Mac for something to eat. Then back on the road to Greenville. Lane was out within minutes of being in the car and we were home by 8:00 to spend a nice relaxing evening together again!

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A little back to normal

The past 2 months have been crazy! We have been back and forth to IL and the beach several times and we have also had a lot of visitors. We've been in cars, planes, buses, strollers, and honestly when Lane wakes up, I can't help but think that he is wondering just exactly which state he is in! And where the next place he will be in when he wakes up again.

I was going through my camera phone and found 3 pics that made me laugh. They were all of him sleeping in a car seat...one somewhere between Kentucky and IL, one in Atlanta, and one in Naperville.

And here's one from the airport at 4am having a snack of yogurt and Goldfish.

Good thing this little guy is good with change. Traveling so much was crazy, but he just goes with the flow! And while we all like routine, a change is good every now and again. But for now, it's back to normal... for a little while!

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Weekend Trip to Atlanta

The reason for our trip was to go watch Illinois play again. They played UGA which is in Athens, but the game itself was at the Gwinnett Center in Duluth. I would say 90% of the people there were Illinois fans. Lots of orange in the stands and we even got the I-L-L chant going a few times...and it was loud. Despite the huge amount of fans there cheering for the orange and blue, they lost and here are their losing faces.

Dinner after the game.

I swear I was there, I even had my orange on.

We stayed at a pretty nice hotel.

I picked it solely on the fact that it had this little extra sitting area.

It was seperate from our sleeping quarters so it helped in setting up the pnp.

Here was Lane on his nap I blogged about here.

After a nap and some lunch we headed into downtown Atlanta to the Children's Museum.

He absolutely loved this shopping cart.

He is SO my son. While he does look like he's enjoying this tractor ride, he did not. He was a little cautious and afraid of it.

Taking a ride in the grocery truck.

Working the fork lift.

This was another favorite of his.

Back to the shopping cart. He pushed that thing all over the museum!

Sitting in the pig pen, in between some chicken coups.

The sand area.

(In case you are wondering if I was at the museum...proof=those are my legs right there.)

He is not a fan of slides.

Working in his organic garden.

Playing with the giant train village.

When we got home we put one of his Christmas gifts on him.

An arts-n-crafts/baking apron.

It cracked me up!

Cheese!

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The park, a haircut, and some giggles

A little bit random, yes...but important none-the-less.

How do you keep a baby occupied at a house that's not so baby-friendly?!?! Take him outside! How do you let a baby be mobile who still cannot walk...let him crawl on the cement, of course!

And a walk in the stroller to the park is always a good idea too!

What are Aunts for...sliding down the slide!

How do you get rid of hair growing over the ears and a not-so-cute curly mullet...put some scissors in Papa's hand!
And of course, add cereal bar.
How do you keep Lane entertained for hours....invite Max over!

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