Nashville trip to see Brienne and Jean-Marc!

So last weekend we loaded up and headed to Nashville. This trip has literally been planned for months so we were so excited it was finally time! We spent Thursday night in Brevard with Owen's parents and then left Friday for Nashville. We stopped in Knoxville for a bit to see my Grandma which was awesome. It was so good to get to see her even for a little while and it was a great chance for Oliver to get out and stretch a little bit. And of course, GG had tons of stuff in her room that he wanted to tear up! :) We arrived in Nashville around 5:30 and it wasn't a bad trip....I was concerned with how well Oliver would do being in the carseat that long but he did pretty well!

We had a great time hanging out with JM & Brienne, cooking dinners, taking a walk around Radnor Lake and shopping in some very cute stores where they live. It was so fun to hang out with them for a long weekend.....thanks for letting us come visit Brienne and JM!

this deer was THIS close, I didn't zoom in at all. It was right off the walking trail near Radnor Lake and clearly was used to people!

In the car on the way home.....

Of course, we had to stop at the Cracker Barrel on the way home. No road trip is complete without a Cracker Barrel stop! :)

Happy Halloween!

This was Oliver's 1st Halloween! He was a bat.....and was teething so we joked that he was a vampire bat since he was constantly biting on something....usually his teether (you'll see it in almost all the pictures)....we had a lot of fun picking out pumpkins yesterday with Oliver's Nana and Grandad and then went to my parents' neighborhood Halloween block party!

Our spunky boy and the Jackson gap......

Oliver was 10 months old on Tuesday.....right before, his 2 front teeth officially pushed through after looking so swollen for weeks on end! Finally finally! And they are so cute but he is looking less and less like a baby every day and is turning into a kid. And a kid full of personality, too. He is already a good mixture of his mom and dad, well our positive characteristics :) He is sweet and mellow but opinionated and persistent, smart, funny, observant and sociable. He knows what he likes and what he wants and doesn't hesitate to let us know! He is fascinated by animals, especially cats and dogs...or "Dos". He loves music and really enjoys having Owen swing him around and "drop him" and catch him.....hope I am not raising an adrenaline junkie!

He cracks me up when he does something he shouldn't because he knows when he isn't supposed to be doing it but pushes his luck. Now that he can sit up and pull up in his crib, he doesn't go down for a nap as quickly. I have walked back into his room and caught him sitting up when he should be lying down....he promptly "hits the deck", which is absolutely hilarious. And, after flinging himself down, he peeks up at me without lifting his head.....oh man, too funny.

The shot below was a rare opportunity when I was able to sneak my phone up close and take a picture of his teeth.....check out that gap - the Jackson gap!! I was hoping he would inherit this family trait :) I had a gap, as did my mom, grandpa (his Oliver namesake) as well as a lot of other family members....I think it is endearing but it will most likely mean braces for him in the future.....for now, I'll just enjoy it! For comparison purposes, the next picture is of me when I was younger - check out my gap :) and my grandpa's..... :)

THANK YOU!!

The Hopebuilders 5k was this morning and it was AMAZING!! I can't adequately express how much I appreciate everyone who donated and/or walked/ran with Oliver's Army! As of right now, we have raised $2,529 (you can still donate)!!! That is unreal and so appreciated. You all know that Oliver spent 2 months in the NICU at Levine Children's Hospital immediately after he was born and to be able to do something to begin to "pay it forward" means more to me that I can say. This was important to me for a lot of reasons but to be able to show up with some serious cash :) and an amazing baby and walk the 5k feels like such an accomplishment and a milestone. Hopefully this is just the beginning! In the meantime, you all will get a little hiatus from my begging for money....at least until time for the 2011 Hopebuilders! :)

Thank you all so much!! Thank you to our Oliver's Army team members: Allison Tymko, Kara Baldwin, Liz & Steve Franklin, Cindy & Craig Katzman, Melissa, Matt & Olivia Frazier and Stacey Richards.

Thanks to our donors: K&L Gates, Tatiana Austin, Kehler Black, Amy Brandt, Kay Burns, Maggie Curtis, Christy Farmer, Kathleen Gantt, Elizabeth Gray, Casey Hastings, Emily Ingham, Nea & Terry Hennessy, Kevin & Rose Jackson, Monica Kashyap, Jennifer & Matt Lockhart, Cindy & Jim Lofton, Michele & Bob Lowe, Heather & Jon McNaull, John & Lisa Ruggere, Emily & Stu Pratt, Wade & Angie Pridgen, Gene & Jamie Pridgen, Brienne & Jean-Marc Ruel, Lolly Smith, Don & Peg Baldwin, CR, Jim Shattuck, Skye Suttie, Julie Riva, Kathy LeCompte, Sam Weaver, Cindy & Craig Katzman, Charles & Betty Taylor and David Jenkins.

Oliver, Laura & Stacey before the race begins!

Oliver and Olivia!

Not quite ready to be awake yet....

Owen, Oliver, Laura, Matt, Olivia & Melissa

Steve & Owen

Liz was holding Oliver and walked a good 20 minutes with him....and then I finished off the last 20 minutes with him, too.....he was antsy and wanted OUT of the stroller.....nothing like a 20 lb weight to add to your walk!

Stacey & Oliver after the race....poor girl, hung around and waited for us (she ran!)

So beautiful, so sweet, I love this one

Liz & Steve at Flying Biscuit

at Flying Biscuit....

see my sugar packet!?

Owen's Birthday and Oliver's 1st trip to the Zoo!

Saturday the 18th was Owen's birthday! We celebrated by gathering at the Whitewater Center and doing some ropes courses and geo trekking. It was so much fun but we definitely needed more time :) We finished the celebration off by going to Loco Lime for dinner. Delicious!

On Saturday, Sept 25th, we headed to the Asheboro Zoo to celebrate Mom's BIG birthday :) Owen unfortunately was unable to come but everyone else including Grandma and Grandmommy went and had a great time! It was a hot day but thanks to the stroller, Oliver got in a little nap while rolling around at the zoo. We definitely want to go back again and this time, park in the Africa parking lot and bypass North America completely....we've seen bison and elk before :) So, maybe when the weather is cooler or sometime in the spring we'll try to go back.....