Biltmore Adventures

Our good friends, Josh and Amy, were gifted two free passes to Biltmore recently that could only be used during the month of February. Since they are slam busy during tax season, they so graciously offered us the tickets! Today, we had the perfect day with 65 degree, sunny weather to put those tickets to use. It was the best pre-cursor to spring and allowed us to walk around outside enjoy some different sights. 

We got there around 10:30 this morning with a finally happy baby. Luke has been very irritable this week, so I was a little concerned that things wouldn't go smoothly today. All was well though and he enjoyed seeing and meeting new people. We went through the house around 11:30 and enjoyed lunch at the Stable Cafe (where Luke chowed down on some white beans, kale, chicken and bread). We walked through the gardens which are just beginning small buds of bulbs. I told Dillon in a month or so those gardens would look completely different. 

The rest of the afternoon, we went down the hill and toured the winery and looked at the farm animals they have at Antler Village. It was a lovely day and we enjoyed spending it together! 

It's a lot more difficult to go on a day trip with a baby. A lot of packing and planning goes into place.

Getting ready for the tour!

The house

Luke wasn't interested in the house tour. He fell asleep.

Waiting for a table at lunch

Traffic...

Takin' a break to crawl around

He napped on the ride to the winery

He loved the chickens and roosters!

The grass is always greener...

10 Months

Yowzah. Is my child really 10 months old already? I can't believe that it's almost been a year since he was born. He's made lots of new developments this month, developments that are quickly making him a little boy and not a baby. He's started clapping this month and can say "hey there", "mama", and "dada" I asked him one night a few weeks ago if he wanted to take his bath and he screamed out "yeah!" He's starting to eat real people food now, which I'm struggling at transitioning with. I'm trying to feed him bites of what we're eating and slow down with the baby food, but he's not too keen on eating solid food. He sticks his tongue out and makes a sour face. I'm also working on trying to get him to feed himself, but I think his little pincer grip hasn't developed all the way yet. Once that starts up, he'll be sticking it all in his mouth! Luke's also pulling himself up to standing on his own. Ms. Susan said today at daycare, he stood without holding on for a long while. It won't be long until he's walking. 

I can't believe we have more of a toddler now than an infant. He's grown so quick. I've ordered the invites for his birthday party and can't wait until they get here! I've looked up all these ideas on Pinterest for first birthdays, and was fully prepared to have a "pinteresting" party, but Luke won't remember any of the small details, so I think we're just going to order some lunch from 12 Bones and get a good cake and have friends and family over. There's always time for big parties down the road. 

We're finally thawing out around here. Today it was almost 70 degrees! The spring peepers are peeping across the road as I type and I've seen robins and trees budding everywhere. Have we survived this winter? I can only hope that we're done with this mess until next winter. I'm ready for baseball games and swimming pools and vacations. 

On our snow day, making something tasty!

Luke was tired after playing in the snow

Dillon thought it would be funny to put his gloves on Luke... there is a video of me somewhere when I was baby and my cousin did the same thing to me. 

My two Valentines! We made a yummy dinner on Valentine's day and then the next day my mom and dad came and babysat while we went on a dinner and movie date! 

It was better than eating out at a restaurant!

Standy Peterson

10 Months!

How he's spent most of the past two days, fussy and crying. Not at all like our normal Luke... maybe it's finally a tooth? 

He couldn't stop touching the board so I had to hide it above him. Although you can't really read it from this angle.