the JOY of cousins

Gillian is blessed to have Charissa and Verity as cousins, and to have them so close by. I only wish we got to see more of Everett and that there were some cousins on my side of the family - Shelley! Recently we have had time to spend with them both in Raleigh at the Marbles Museum and in Charlotte while they were at Nana Camp. While three little girls running around is never easy to keep up with, it is so much fun to watch them play and have fun with each other. I think the following pictures mostly speak for themselves. I hope you see the joy in their faces captured on film, because they definitely love each other tremendously. I pray that they will always be a love and support to each other!

Charleston Getaway

Rusty and I had a grand escape for two days in Charleston right before New Years. Janie watched Gillian for us, which was such a treat. While I love being a mother, and missed Gillian despite only being gone two days, it was so nice to be able to spend time with just Rusty. We ate amazing food (Jestine's, SNOB & Hominy Grill were to die for!), took a boat tour to Fort Sumter (as seen behind me), visited Boone Hall Plantation, and shopped on King Street.

We also enjoyed simply walking downtown and along the Battery looking at all the amazing houses.

What a great town, steep

ed in history. While I was expecting a lot of discussion about slavery and plantation life and the Civil War, I was pleasantly surprised by how much mention there was of the Revolutionary War role the city played. The history buff in us both immensely enjoyed the experience.

We also stayed in the King George IV Bed and Breakfast (as modeled by Rusty) right downtown in one of the historic traditional style houses! We had our own parlor and balcony with our room - I felt like Southern royalty.

The Chicago Adventure

Since my sister Laura was forced to take vacation and she has an obscene amount of frequent flier miles, she flew Gillian and me up to Chicago right before Christmas. While it was a staycation for her, G and I were treated to an awesome excursion! We had so much fun getting to see Laura's life in the city. It's so nice to be able to put faces to names of her best friends, get a glimpse of the office she works in, and experience the trains in rush hour like she does every day. While traveling with a toddler has its own set of difficulties by the nature of things, Laura and I had a great time simply being together and I wouldn't trade it for the world, even the old man's glares on the plane were worth it!

There were several high lights. The three of us went to the American Girl store on Michigan Avenue and had tea. While I thought it would be some nostalgic fun for Laura and me (plus who doesn't love a real tea), it ended up being a great time for Gillian too. She became fast friends with the doll that we borrowed (you can bring your own, but G is still to small and Laura's and mine are packed away somewhere in Norfolk). The doll sat in a high chair next to Gillian and received lots of hugs, kisses, and hand holding. Gillian also loved having her own tea cup (which was actually meant for the doll, but it was the perfect size for G). She would dip it in my water glass and then sip it and smile. She also devoured the food - the cinnamon rolls, fruit kabobs, and strawberry mouse were perfect for a one year old and a thirty year old. The whole experience was made even better with the conversation questions in the middle of the table. We let Gillian draw a questions and then Laura and I took turns answering them. They were perfect for all ages (what is the biggest surprise you've ever had?, what was your favorite toy growing up?, etc). They gave Laura and I a chance to share some important things going on in our lives currently as well as take a stroll down memory lane. I highly suggest the experience to anyone headed to a city with an American Girl store!

We also had the chance to go to the Shedd Aquarium. Gillian had a great time looking at all the fish and seeing the fun aquatic show featuring a flying Santa along with the dolphins, seals, and beluga whales. Gillian and I both experienced our first 4D imax show, too. We watched the Polar Express complete with falling snow, the smell of hot chocolate, and gusting wind. It was pretty great! Here's G modeling her fancy glasses she had to wear for the show.

The other exciting adventure we had was admiring all of the department store windows on Michigan Avenue and State Street. Macy's was particularly amazing with spinning ornaments, dancing elves, and sparkling flowers. G's favorite part of walking down the street however was the flower boxes. She wanted to stand on the ledge surrounding every one. While they are beautifully maintained and some complete with flashing lights, I was really annoyed with them by the end of the trip. Do you have any idea how long it takes to walk down Michigan Avenue with a one year old insisting on stopping at every flower bed?

All in all, we had a marvelous trip and can't wait for Laura to fly us up again!