Wild, Wonderful West Virginia

A few weekends ago we went to West Virginia to my aunt and uncle's lake house. We left on Friday and came back Monday afternoon. It was nice to only do 4 workdays for two weeks coming right back to work off my maternity leave.  David, Carrie, Dylan and Dawson arrived late Friday night along with my cousin Bill and his fiance, Lauren.  The weather was amazing and the scenery was gorgeous...one of the many reasons I love fall!  We fished, took walks, played at the local playground, got in the paddleboat & canoe, made s'mores, ate Jeremy's ribs & chicken, played games and just relaxed.  The kids had a blast!  Unfortunately Kate's reflux was acting up and she was a little too overstimulated with all the people so she was fussy and wanted me to hold her often.  I hung out on the back porch a lot with her, but it was still nice to relax with the beautiful scenery.  It was our first trip to their lakehouse and I am sure not the last!  Thanks Aunt Cathy and Uncle Phil!

(Sorry, the format is messing up.)


On our walk I took this picture.  Enough said about the scenery, huh?

Kate enjoyed walks like this...

 The private lake had an area with a playground, dock, some sand, slides and a diving board.  The water was really cold, but come Sunday people got more adventurous.  This would be a great place to swim in the summer!

The kids playing at the "beach".  Yes, my kid can't keep clothes up because her tush is too little. :)

Jeremy took Dylan out on the canoe while the younger ones took a nap.

This is the view from their dock.  I think I would live on the dock if I could!

Addie showing off her worms

I love Addie's face in this picture.  She looks so surprised that she caught a fish!

Kate smiling and cooing at Carrie.

Love these pictures of Addie fishing.  She fishes at Lake Cumberland a lot, but Dylan had never been fishing before.  They both had fun!

Jeremy had to be a daredevil and go down the slide.  Soon all of the adult men turned into little boys and they all had to get in.  :)  It didn't last long because it was so cold!

Dylan jumped in too, but immediately swam for the ladder because of the cold.

Addie and Dylan playing in the water...such joy!
 



Lauren and Bill are getting married next May.  Dylan and Dawson are ring bearers and Addie is the flower girl.  Lauren made them cute t-shirts.  The boys' shirts say, "Ring Security".  Addie's says, "Flower girl" in rhinestones (even though you can't see it).  Kate's says, "My big sis is the flower girl" (so she wouldn't feel left out. Ha!).  Clearly, Kate was having a meltdown.  A little too much chaos for her!

Kate's dedication

On Sunday, October 2, we dedicated Kate to our church.  My parents came in town, both sets of Jeremy's parents were there and as well as David, Carrie and the boys. Kate was great!  She was really alert while Leigh, our minister, walked her down the aisle to meet the congregation.  After the service everyone came to our house for a brunch to celebrate. 

Kate's arm got stuck on Leigh's mic cord.  He joked that she already had something she wanted to say. :)

They presented us with a certificate, cradle cross and a rose.  They stuck another rose in for the big sister.  Too sweet.

Dawson acting silly at the brunch.

Later on that afternoon we went to Cherokee park while my parents were still in town along with David, Carrie and the boys.  As you can tell, it was gorgeous fall weather and we enjoyed our time together.

It was actually my final day of my maternity leave.  The whole day I definitely had mixed emotions.  It was hard going back to work and I was so sad that my time off was over.  That morning my colleagues had flowers, party hats and noise blowers when I entered the office so I definitely felt like I was missed.  Leaving my girls was tough and still is each morning!

Final days home...

I enjoyed my final days of my maternity leave. I was really trying to balance getting a lot of things done with enjoying sweet moments with Kate and Addie.  I really wanted to be "fully present" during my maternity leave, but especially the final days.  Addie was at daycare most days, but it was nice throughout my maternity leave to pick her up early or leave her home so we can enjoy some time together.  Kelly and I took the girls to "Lion King 3D" that last week.  Yes, Kate came along and slept most of the time.  I never did anything like that when Addie was a baby, but second time around one realizes how easy an infant can be compared to a busy preschooler.  Oh, the things you do with the second one. :)  There was great weather most of my final week home so we enjoyed a trip to the park as a family and making s'mores again.  Kelly and I took the girls to the zoo one day.  Enjoy the pics!

The zoo was setting us for their big Halloween trick-or-treating event so Addie was very excited about all the characters.


Pretending to be a flamingo...

Kate slept the whole time. :) 

Posing in front of the big jack-o-lantern

One of Addie's favorite people...

We took the sit-n-stand stroller with us.  I had only used it on walks around the neighborhood so it was my first time using it out and about.  Kelly and I could NOT figure out how to collapse it to put it back in the car.  I'm not kidding we were both sweating and getting very nervous about how we were going to get home without leaving it behind.  We were working on it for a good 15 minutes, trying to get a hold of Jeremy and looking for anyone to help us.  A mom parked next to us literally came over with one simple suggestion and it collapsed in seconds.  We felt so dumb and looked ridiculously!  I wish it were on camera.  When we got home Jeremy (who we all know is way too smart and handy for his own good sometimes) said it took him a while to figure it out.  We felt redeemed, but it was still pretty funny.

Picture catch-up

I'm trying to catch up on the blog with pictures of Kate over the past couple of months. Most of these were taken when Kate was about 6-8 weeks old in early/mid September and now she is almost 3 months old!  Yikes!  Where has the time gone? 

Such a peanut..about 6 weeks old here

 One of her first smiles on camera...

Such a happy girl... (And notice the sticker that Addie gave her. Ha!)

Cooing at dad...

A lot of people say she looks more like Jeremy.  I can see it in this picture.  I do need to upload a picture of Addie at the same age.  There is one that looks sooo much like Kate is crazy!

Kate looks so different than this now...

 So sleepy...

 Ha!  Had to have one of her crying...