When I was young Uncle Ray would carry me around and place me in front of mirrors constantly. I do this to Austin occasionally but he hasn't seemed all that enamored until now. While we were in Charleston he found this full length mirror and gave himself countless kisses. It was so sweet. He would laugh so hard and kiss himself in the mirror. I guess Uncle Ray has rubbed off on him too! 

Every day is a new adventure! Such a fun boy :) 

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne. 

Charleston

This fall break we took our first family vacation to visit Ashley in Charleston. I admit I was so flipping scared about the whole flying aspect. I've been on a plane with a screaming baby and you feel for the parents, you really do, but after 20 minutes you're wondering why something hasn't been done. I've heard countless times, just do something... what that something is, nobody seems to know but people's good graces give up after a while and we all just want to sit in peace. I am so happy to report that Austin did SUCH a great job. I read countless articles for tips etc. and had bottles, pacifiers, toys, books, galore and he was so flipping happy. He loved seeing people and the change in pressure did not bother him at all. He loved looking out the window and seriously it was probably one of the happiest times he has ever been. I don't know which comes first, the chicken or the egg, but we did decorate his room with a lot of planes so maybe something has stuck. Who knows, but the kid loves to fly. 

Please notice he is wearing a shirt and shoes with a plane on them. Oh yeah, I'm that Mom. 

Anyway, we got to Charleston, Austin took a brief nap and we went to dinner. It was the first time we have gone to dinner out. I know...he's 8 months old and we've never been out for dinner together. The kid is tired and I mean tired at 6:30 and we are not 80 yet so we end up not eating with him. Something about that city made him happy chappy though because we went to dinner and he was all smiles, sat in a high chair and loved being the center of attention. 

The next day we went to Sullivan's Island. It was really quaint and pretty. The beach was so clean, not super busy and not overly developed. It was semi-warm so we decided to try the beach with him which was a huge failure. He hated the sound of waves and every time the waves would come up he would cry. After hours of coordination we were only there 45 minutes, but we tried!

Later, we went to the market downtown and to a rooftop bar for a snack and some drinks. He rallied here and was the life of the party. 

He is wearing one of Philip's outfits from when he was a baby. It's a little sailor uniform, really perfect for Charleston.

We came back to the hotel and Sharon stayed with Austin and Philip, Ashley and I went to dinner. It was delicious and a nice night out. 

Lastly Sunday Philip went on a fishing trip with a guide so it was a girl + Austin day. We were so excited to meet Aubrie and Sloan for brunch. The weather was perfect and it was so fun seeing our kids interact. They immediately began touching faces, taking toys, pacifiers, etc. Super cute. I had such a great time catching up with Aubrie and wished we lived closer to our babes could hang out more. Austin is only 2 days older than Sloan so Aubrie and I have really enjoyed comparing baby stories (at least I know I have). 

After walking around the battery, Sloan and Aubrie went home and we went back to the hotel so Austin could nap. We thought this might be it for the night but Austin rallied and went to Halls for dinner. Omg, the best fish umm ever. We didn't have a reservation so they could only seat us in the bar. They brought a highchair up and Austin was seriously a foot below us. I as about to say we couldn't stay with Philip put the highchair over a bar stool and tied it someway it would be (semi) safe. Again, he had so much fun and smiled at tons of people there and we kept wondering who this night owl baby was. I forgot to take any pictures, sorry.

Today, we took our time getting packed, went to lunch at Poe's tavern on Sullivan's Island, and then made the trip back to Nashville. He was again so sweet and fun on the plane. I'm so thankful that Austin enjoyed traveling so much because obviously we were able to have a lot of fun but more importantly, Philip will probably agree to go somewhere else now :) 

So happy on the plane!

We had an amazing trip, now I"m just exhausted and need a vacation to recover from fall break. 

Clearly Austin doesn't think I need to go to work tomorrow either! 

Such a fun weekend! Charleston was beautiful and I hope we are able to go back some day! For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne. 

Labor Day

P and I really enjoyed Labor Day this year. We hung out with friends Friday and Saturday nights and got a lot done around our house. A couple of weeks ago our dishwasher leaked and messed up the trim in our kitchen. Luckily, P found it pretty quickly and it did nothing to our floors, but the paint on our trim looked pretty bad. He painted it Monday morning and since the fumes were so bad, we decided to get out of the house.

We decided to take a scenic drive to Leiper's Fork and eat at Puckett's Grocery. The weather was kind of dreary but we still got out and walked in a lot of the shops and ate too much southern goodness.

Excited to see Noble Springs there. I always get excited when I see it, even though I don't like cheese. We were supposed to make a stop at the farm this weekend but the rain did not cooperate. I would like to submit a form complaint to the weather gods. You've got lots of other days to downpoor, please avoid holidays.

Happy Labor Day!

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.

Lindsay and Andrew's wedding weekend

I was so happy to celebrate my dear friend Lindsay's wedding to our favorite Canadian, Andrew. Philip and I left for Thursday for NYC. We were so excited to celebrate Lindsay and also happy to get away for a weekend. We were unable to take a vacation this year so a weekend away felt amazing!

Thursday we arrived in NYC around 3PM and checked in our hotel. Philip worked his magic and we were able to use points. Here is our view! Such a nice home for a long weekend!

We quickly met with our sweet friend Meagan and later walked around Little Italy and the East Village.

The last 2 times Philip and I went to NYC, he tore up Chinatown. I mean, spent hours, bought all things possible. This time surprisingly, I was the only one who spent anything. I talked this guy into selling me a bottle of my precious Dior for $20.00 Finally we left to the East Village on a huge pilgrimage to find one of the "best" crepes in the city. (the only one I had, but I would give a limb for it)

must be worth it, look at the huge lines

So delicious! I could have eaten 1,000 of these.

Friday I was finally able to see the beautiful bride and some more friends. Mollie planned a gorgeous brunch at The Train Bleu in Bloomingdales. It was inside an old train car and such a great location.

After lunch, Mollie, Nelson, P and I went on a long walk of 5th avenue and Central Park. After getting off the wrong subway station, and walking 30 extra blocks, we arrived at the rehearsal dinner at Dinosaur Barbecue in Harlem.

Of course we had to play some prom pictures.

PROM!

Saturday morning P and I went walking around Pier 17. These people were attempting trapeze flips and it was so fun watching! It reminded me of that Sex and the City episode and I believe Carrie did this here!

After Pier 17, we went to Chelsea market and walked around for a while and then had lunch.

How often do you eat a whole lobster for lunch? We saw it and just decided, why not? After lunch we went back to the hotel and got ready for the big event, Lindsay and Andrew's wedding!

The wedding was at Blue Hill at Stone Farms in Terry town. It was so gorgeous and such a fabulous location. Everything was perfect and so much fun.

This meal was so amazing. I knew Andrew and Lindsay were obvious foodies and they did not disappoint! It was so delicious!

After the amazing wedding, we went home on "the party bus". If I learned one thing from this weekend, I learned that Canadians know more songs and drinking cheers than I knew were possible. As Tom Campion said, "Canada is the frattiest country ever".

Sunday morning Philip and I went to breakfast in the West Village. It was SO good and such a great way to end the weekend!

And last but not least, we stopped by Magnolia Bakery and somehow managed to share a cupcake and even brought some home for Sharon and Ashley.

We went home tired and happy. We had so much fun and felt so lucky to be included in Lindsay and Andrew's special day. They are such a fantastic couple and we couldn't be happier for them!

For Natalie's News this has been, Natalie-Corinne.