Our Trip to the Appalachians - Sunday and Monday

Sunday morning was rainy and foggy, so we thought hiking, esp. high up in the mountains or by the water might be a little dicey with all the boys.  So, we decided to drive to Asheville.  We were originally thinking of going to see the Biltmore, but it looked so pricey (more than $50 / ticket), we just weren't sure it would be worth it with 4 boys to deal with.  So we decided to head to the Nature Center.  I vaguely remembered seeing it on the list of places we could go in NC with our aquarium pass.  It was definitely worth it.  It was about an hour drive to Asheville.  We loved the beautiful scenery and listened to more of the Lightning Thief.

The Nature Center was really nicely done.  They had a couple indoor exhibits with some smaller animals and then you could walk around the outside.  They had bigger animals - black bears, deer, otters, wolves, etc.  Animals that are native to the region.  And the scenery is beautiful of course.  The boys loved running around, seeing the animals, and playing on the playground equipment.

Next, we decided to try to drive by the Biltmore.  But you can't really get close without buying a ticket.  And the boys were hungry.  So, we stopped by McDonalds.  I mean, who needs to go to the Biltmore, when you can go to McDonald's next to the Biltmore.  We should have brought the camera, but who brings in a camera to McD's.  But seriously - the fanciest McD's I have ever seen.  They had a grand player piano in one corner, a gilded ceiling, fancy wallpaper, and more.  It's pretty neat, actually.  So, that fulfilled our Biltmore lust.

The weather seemed like it wasn't going to pour out rain, so we decided to chance it and drive another 1.5 hours to Linville Falls and check out the caverns and then go hiking as time permits.  We drove to Linville Falls.  Seth spent the entire section whining about how he wanted to go home and watch Nick.  Again, gorgeous scenery, but as soon as we got close, the fog was pretty dense.  Then, we took some seriously steep roads down the mountain till we got to the caverns.  We bought tickets and went on our tour.  Noah's first cave!  Now, the cave itself is pretty small and not super impressive, but it's the only show cavern in NC and boys always love caves.  They had a few pretty formations and some cool stories.  Halfway through, Seth decided he had to go to the bathroom and he had to go out and miss half the tour along with Katsu.  He even missed seeing a cave salamander.  The cave also had some resident fish ... they are stocked by the owners because the otters keep eating them.  Noah got a little antsy by the end, so I had to take him out of his carrier and was dealing with 3 boys by myself!  Good thing we all got out!

We still seemed to have time, so we decided to drive to the Falls and see how the hiking was.  The exit is right off the Blue Ridge Parkway, so back up into the mountains.  They said the hike was moderate, but we figured we would give it a try and see how it goes.  It was actually a pretty easy hike - the only moderate part is really the last part going up and down the rock stairs to the waterfall viewing areas.  A little nerve wracking with Logan.  He also tripped a few times on the trip, but over all, they all did well.  It was really pretty - pretty foggy - and just a perfect little hike for the family.  The boys especially loved playing ninjas among some stumps while I nursed Noah.

Then, we drove home, had dinner, and relaxed in our last evening in the rental.

Monday morning, we picked up, packed up, and drove home.  We decided to drive through Asheboro and stop at the zoo.  The kids were a little grumpy, but we got out and saw some of the animals and it was a nice pit stop for the long drive home.  The boys were sad that the Polar bears were again not on display and Andrew was upset we didn't have time to see everything, but we got to see some animals, have some treats as walked, and then drive back to Greenville.  Logan still talks about how fun it was to have another house.  We'll have to go on a little trip again soon.

Noah is 3 months old!

Noah just seems like a little baby now - the newborn is all gone.  He is a big little baby, though, I guess.  I am sure he is still gaining weight well, though not quite as much as he did last month, I think.  He is chunky, but seems a little less fat because he holds him head up well and you can almost see his neck some of the time!

Sleep - Noah is still not quite in a routine or schedule, but we are getting there.  He is going to bed earlier - between 6:30 and 7:30.  He gets fussy and tired in the evenings, but he's easy.  You nurse him, swaddle him up, and put him to bed.  He does like to do a long nursing right before going to bed, but it's no effort to get him to go to sleep.  He is the first child I have had that likes his crib and prefers to sleep in it.  And you can swaddle him in a blanket and lay him in his crib awake and as long as he is sleepy, he will go to sleep!  I love it!  Naps are kind of all over the place.  Partially because we are never just at home, except sometimes Tues and Thur.  But between church meetings, preschool, walking school bus, and soccer, we just aren't sitting at home for him to take naps.  So, he takes two shortish naps in the morning / early afternoon and then he usually does get a longer nap in his crib from 2-5ish for 1.5 - 3 hours depending on the day.  He really loves sleeping in his crib.  One day, I tried to wake him up because it was 5:30 and I was afraid he wouldn't sleep later.  He was so sad and just crying at being woken up.

Eating - not much to say - Noah nurses easily, about every 3 hours.  At night, he wakes up usually once around 3 or 4 and then goes right back to sleep.  Easy.

Habits - Noah still likes to suck on his fingers and does it quite a bit.  Thinking it will probably stick, but we'll have to see.  He loves to laugh.  He likes to be talked to and talks back and will smile and laugh a lot.  He just seems to be a pretty happy baby.  He really likes to watch the boys when they are interacting with him.  He loves being with Katsu.  He likes to be sung to (he really likes Head Shoulders Knees and Toes with me).  I swear, today he even made a note on pitch with what I was singing - weird.  He likes when you dance with him.  He is not a fan of sudden movements or being held up high, but if it's not too high, he will smile.  He raises his eyebrows and likes when you do it to him.  He learned how to make a raspberry sound today and was trying that out quite a bit.

Noah really is a chill little baby.  He likes to be attended to quickly.  He is not a huge fan of driving - especially stopping or really long car rides, but he did well on our trip.  Although now I think he is a little more antsy in the car.  He likes to be outside and watching the boys.  He will sit in his swing and watch the mobile or look at his reflection, but doesn't particularly like swinging.  He likes to hit the squeaky toy on his play mat and likes to try to hit things with his arms.  He enjoys being held while I read stories to the boys (or sometimes we remember to pull out board books for him) ... as long as it doesn't take too long.

I still think he looks like me.

He started going to the preschool on Friday mornings from 9-11:30ish while I am teaching my lab and having office hours.  He takes a bottle that I pump and is a chill happy guy.  He usually takes a nap when he is there, too.  The ladies in the baby room LOVE him.  They think he is super cute and sweet and said I should bring him more days a week - not going to do that, but I'm glad that they like him and he seems to be fine with it.  I am hoping this will help reduce separation anxiety in the future which was so limiting with the other kids.

He took his first trip to the Appalachians this month and did really well.  The car ride home was a little difficult.  But he slept well on the trip in the pack and play which was amazing to me.  I have a feeling he will be hard to travel with, though, just because he much prefers sleeping in his crib to in a carrier or stroller or car seat or one my shoulder.  We'll see though ...

Pictures - Blessing and before trip

Pictures - my birthday and starting school

Pictures from July 20 - August 20