Out and about

When Caleb was born, Dave and I were homebodies for a while. Not quite sure how to do the whole breastfeeding in public thing, I can recall planning outings around when Caleb would need to nurse and retreating to the car to feed him any time he needed it. In particular, I remember the day we first dared to venture to the mall and how exhilarating it felt to be outside of the house, like we were normal people once again. I get kind of tickled when I think back to how we headed to the car when it was time to nurse and I hunched in the backseat with Caleb covered up, hoping no one would walk by and see us through the tinted windows. I was doing it though - feeding him in public (well, kind of), and felt liberated to be able to take him out to see a little more than just the inside of our abode.

With Hadley, things were much different. I worried her arrival would restrict us to the house once again, but things went much smoother than before. She was easy to nurse, and I wasn't nearly as uncomfortable feeding her in public as I used to be. And, although it took more time to get ready, I just did double what I was doing before (getting them dressed, snapping them in their carseats, etc.), and we mastered a new routine pretty quickly. 

But three! Three was going to be a whole new ball game - or so I thought. As D day approached, I was absolutely positive that adding a fifth member to our family was going to slow us down significantly. Surprisingly though, my estimate was somewhat off. While to some degree having a third little person has made us apply the brakes at times, we've also had quite a few opportunities to get out of the house since Reid's arrival. 

As I mentioned before, our first outing was to get newborn pictures done and ended up including a quick stop at NaNa's on the way home. Our second adventure was somewhat bigger than just a small picture studio in someone's house though. This time we tried out a local fall festival. 

All year long I wait in anticipation of the annual Heritage Festival held in Luray each October. I am in love with the primitive crafts and good old-fashioned fun this event always includes. From clogging to tractors to pork rinds, it just has a special country charm. All that allure coupled with the nostalgia from years of attending this event as a child draws me back each year. However, this time around, with Reid's due date towards the end of October, I wondered if I'd be walking the fairgrounds eight months pregnant or with a newborn in tote. I went back and forth, on one hand thinking it would be easier to carry him around and keep him warm in the fall air tucked snugly in my tummy, and on the other, hoping he'd show up early because all that extra weight on my feet wouldn't allow me to hike around too long (not to mention that I didn't want to have to worry about the swelling in my feet that might result if ate one of those irresistible fried country ham sandwiches). Laughingly, I even told family members that I planned to go to into labor the night after the festival from so much walking. 

To my surprise though, Reid wanted out a little more quickly than I expected and showed up the day before the festival. I hated to miss the festivities as you might imagine, but getting that baby in my arms was so worth it that of course it didn't matter. As the forecast predicted, it rained the whole weekend anyway, so truth be told, I didn't miss out on too much after all! (Oh, and I didn't miss out on that sandwich either! My 83 year old grandfather, knowing how much I was looking forward to that country ham, went to the festival with the sole purpose of collecting me one in mind. Picturing him tramping through the rain and the mud just to buy my salty treat and bring it to me is love if I ever saw it!)

I still grieved missing out on the usual fall fun to some degree, but while we were in Stanley getting the newborn photos done, I stopped by the flower shop where my cousin Angie works and she recommended we check out a festival that was in Elkton the upcoming weekend. She had a catalog that I wanted to get from her anyway and suggested I meet her there where she was set up selling some of the crafts she, her husband, and a few other people make. Since I was longing for a fall fest anyway, I was definitely hoping to go, and, after talking to Dave and concurring that is was doable as long as we didn't stay long, we made the trip and got to have an October family outing after all. The weather was pleasant and cool enough that we could tuck Reid's carseat carrier right into the stroller and pull the visors over him without making him feel to hot inside. This gave him a snug place to sleep away and protected him not only from the cool breeze but also from germs. He slept contently the whole time and our other two kid had a good time too. My grandparents and mom went to the festival as well, so we met up with them to walk around and have some lunch together.

Two babies in the stroller and one clinging to his pants pocket - this guy is Superdad!

Ring-around-the-Rosie

"...all fall down!"

Caleb found a small John Deere that he talked NaNa into buying.

We spent a lot of time at the book tent. A boy after his mother's heart!

The following day, we ventured out once again, but this time we didn't go too far from home. Since it was Sunday, we got to take our new baby to church for the first time to introduce him to our faith family there. He, of course, drew quite a crowd, especially at the greeting part of the service. One person after another came by to gaze at this new little soul that was a part of our fellowship. Meanwhile, Reid just slept away as all this admiring was taking place. 

The next day didn't slow us down much either because off to Granny's house we went. This weekly Monday visit to her house has been a regular routine for us for about three years now, and normally she watches the kids while I swim at a therapy pool in Winchester. Since I'm still healing from the delivery and adjusting to having three kids, I haven't gone back to swimming yet since Reid's birth, but we are keeping up with the habit of visiting Granny weekly anyhow. That day in particular our visit worked out wonderfully for me too since it was Dave's first day back to work. It was very nice to have the extra set of hands to love on and tend the kids, not to mention how much I really enjoy watching Granny's face as she dotes on my babies.

Caleb and Hadley were especially excited about the new tent she'd bought for them to play with at her house.

Sleeping away like normal

Tickling his feet to get him to wake up, which he never did

Towards the end of that week, after a few days at home, we took yet again another adventure. JCPenney's had run a special a few weeks prior for a prepaid portrait plan that included a CD with three high resolution images for like $20. With Hadley coming up on her 18 month milestone, I wanted to get a few shots of her done professionally as I had with Caleb so I jumped on it, assuming I'd have time to get the pictures taken before Reid was born. Since I didn't though, here we went to the mall to get the task accomplished with three little ones. But, don't worry; I'm not completely nuts! As you might have guessed, I called my mother to tag along to help me manage the crew.

To my dismay, this outing did not go as smoothly as our others had. Hadley, who is normally super smiley, was a cranky mess due to what we think was teething and possibly that she was starting to get a cold. (This did not make taking her picture easy as you might imagine.) Meanwhile, as we worked with her to get some good photos, Mom had given Caleb her iPad to play with and he became so engrossed in the game that he had the first accident I can ever remember him having in public. In addition to that mishap, he must not have been feeling well either because had several meltdowns throughout the rest of day. Our youngest, Reid didn't want to miss out on the chaos either I guess because when we went to the family bathroom to change him, he too made a mess, covering both his outfit and the changing table. While I was trying to get him cleaned up and clothed, Hadley was attempting to lay on the bathroom floor and Caleb, who'd found out that there was a sink his size with an automatic soap dispenser, had soaked (and I mean soaked!) his shirt. That was the end of it! To the car we went, deciding to wait a good long time before trying something like that again!

Stay home we didn't though! As I've already blogged about, to the pumpkin patch we went soon after, followed by trick-or-treating a few days later. 

Shockingly, Reid even got to have his first sleepover recently - and, at where else but NaNa and Pop's! Actually, it was a whole family sleepover that happened this past Monday night due to our electricity going out. (You can't have three babies, especially a newborn, in a house with out heat, right? ) I think this was the first time we'd all stayed the night there together since right after Hadley was born when Dave caught the kitchen on fire cooking okra. Anyway, I digress...

This impromptu sleepover was quite a trip. First, Pop broke out the popcorn (a special treat he's notorious for giving any kids - grandchild or nieces/nephews - who spend the night). Then, he helped Caleb build a tent. Hadley, who hasn't been allowed to eat whole pieces of hulled popcorn in the past, even got to try out some of Pop's snack that evening before bed. Little Reid had to stick to milk, but he was content just to be snuggling with Mommy and NaNa. 

A boy and his tent

I tried to put Hadley's hair in a ponytail...too funny!

Yummy!

Shew! We are just on the go folks I guess (or gluttons for punishment - however you want to put it).

I am not sure if we'll be able to keep up this pace, but I'm glad we've been able to get out some, especially before the cold and snowy winter weather hits in the next couple months. For now we'll just take it one day at a time and enjoy it along the way.