Last Week in Review...

My mom finally arrived and we packed the last 10 days full of activities for Carver, a little shopping, and eating out. Trying to do as much as possible before baby Carson arrives and I have to go into hibernation for a bit. It's been a fun (and exhausting) week, but I'm sure Carver is thrilled to have someone else to play with him. I am tired, grumpy, and miserable and probably not the best playmate right now for him.

Here are some recent pictures of all of the things we've been doing around here...

Monday

                    We visited the children's museum in Gainesville, INK. Carver LOVED it, and Grandmama gifted him with an annual pass. It is a really fun museum organized into "neighborhoods" of every imaginable theme. He barely touched the surface of all that it has to offer. Can't wait to take him back. Lunch was at Red Lobster.

Tuesday
            On Tuesday, mom and Carver played at the park while Daniel and I went to have an ultrasound and appointment. Then we had lunch at The Copper Pot. 

He loves to collect magnolia leaves.

Bubble Baths! A new favorite activity.

Wednesday
                      Sadly, no pictures from Wednesday. We shopped at Babies R' Us, played at the mall's indoor playground (a favorite of Carver's), and ate lunch at P.F. Chang's.

Thursday
             On Thursday we played at the park in Helen, and ate lunch at Hofer's Bakery and Cafe. (No pictures again).

 Friday
            We spent the morning at the park, visited the library to sign Carver up for their weekly summer activities, and then at lunch at Creekside Deli. We finally had Carver's 2 year old pictures made out at camp, then headed to Unicoi State Park for dinner.  (I'm not doing well at taking pictures, apparently. But, I'll post Carver's pictures from his photo shoot as soon as we get them!)

 Saturday
           We visited the North Georgia Petting Zoo and then had lunch at Yahoola Creek Grill. Then, played with the water table that evening.

 
 Sunday
                       I felt miserable and was half-convinced Carson was planning to come that day. We ran a few errands and I sat around feeling sorry for myself.

Monday
                      We did a project at home and then headed to dinner at Nacoochee Village Tavern.

Project: Nature Collage. I taped a piece of contact paper to cardboard, then peeled off the backing so that the sticky side was out. Carver found leaves, grass, rocks, etc to stick to the collage. He was a little slow starting, but he did a great job!

The finished product! So pretty until it got destroyed in the rain later that day.

Tuesday
           Carson's final check-up. Mom and Carver played at the park again, and then we ate lunch at Natalie Jane's Tavern.

     Wednesday
               I had a pedicure (!) while mom and Carver played at the park (again). That night we ate dinner at El Campesino.

Thursday
              Carver spent the morning with his Nana and Papa while mom and I went to my pre-op appointment and then to lunch at The Attic. After Carver's nap we did a fun project :)

    I am so thankful for this last week of spending time really focusing on Carver and planning fun things for him to do. I know his world is about to really change. I feel a little bittersweet that our time, just the two of us, is coming to an end. I have been so blessed having these last two years to focus completely on him. I thank God, every single day, that he saw fit to give us this precious boy. I can't wait to see how he does in his new role as big brother. 
 

43 Barker Trail

Our new address. Every time I write it or say it I automatically think of 25 Baird St.-- and the fabulous house Ellen and I shared in Asheville. I'm not sure why...

About a month ago we moved over a little closer to camp. It has been an adjustment, though not a dramatic one since we are only about 30 minutes away from where we lived previously. We have had to scout out playgrounds and the library, and restaurants, etc. We are learning to establish a new norm and our routine over here is beginning to take shape.

So far, it has been hard to see the biggest benefits to moving. Like, seeing Daniel more, having more time together as a family, etc. But, this is the start of the camp season and to be expected. I feel confident that once the summer ends and Fall rolls back around that we will see more of those perks to living here.

I do miss some things about our old neighborhood. I miss the neighbors, and the familiarity of the place. It was more conveniently located for church, doctor's appointments, etc.  But overall we are excited about this change.

Here are some pictures of the new place. I wish I had taken some "before" pictures because a lot of work went into making this house comfortable and livable. A special thanks to Daniel's parents for all they did to get us into the house, helping us move, cleaning, painting, etc. We couldn't have done this without their help.

Sidenote: The new nursery is not featured on here. We are (impatiently) awaiting for the bedding to arrive from Pottery Barn. I'll do a separate post on just Carson's room when it is complete.

43 Barker Trail

The front door/entryway

Back deck-- a work in progress. We still need to bring the grill over from the other house and stain the deck.

Entryway

Living Room

View of Living Room from upstairs

Fireplace

Kitchen

Dining Room

 

 

 

 

My office-- inside huge closet in guest/play room.

office

office

Play area in the guest/playroom

See my little office in the closet to the right of picture? Perfect little space to work.

Guest area.

 

 

Hallway to master bedroom, guest bathroom, and laundry room.

 Guest bathroom

Master bathroom.

Carver's room- I adore his bedding and curtains. (Thanks to my Mama for outfitting his room!)

View of his room (still incomplete) before we added the tacky bed rail.

Huge closet. With "reading" corner.

Quote above his bed: "Promise me you'll Remember... you are Braver than you believe, Stronger than you seem, and Smarter than you think" -- Christopher Robin to Pooh

View from our driveway.

View from the top of the street.

View from the back deck.

 There are a lot of things  I love about this new space. I love that the boys have their own rooms and we still have a guest room. I love the play room (that Carver adores). I love, love, love seeing the mountains from the front or back of our house.

I didn't show pictures of every part of the house. Our master bedroom is in full new-baby set-up and not looking its best. The upstairs guest/boys bathroom it was too tricky to get a good shot of.  Then, as I mentioned above, Carson's room is not quite complete so I didn't include pics of it. Otherwise, most of the house is shown here. We still have a list of projects we want to do and will hopefully get to after the summer when things slow down and get a little more "normal."

But, we're thankful for this new home and excited about bringing Carson home to it in just a few short days.