Noah had a pretty fun birthday party this past weekend with us in Nashville, TN. He's become quite a fan of music so we enrolled him in an infant music class about a month ago. We thought that taking him to the "music city" would be a great way to celebrate his half birthday. We took him to see the Country Music Hall of Fame and learn about legends like Johnny Cash and Elvis as well as to Opryland. But of all the music we heard this past weekend, his favorite song is still "five little ducks went out to play, over the hills and far away ..." he gives a huge belly laugh when mama duck says, "quack-quack-quack" that brings such delight to Ryan and I that we can't help but laugh with him.
We did enjoy our first family vacation in Nashville this past weekend, but the real reason we went was because of a great photo opportunity Ryan had. He was able to meet up with a group of photographers who also shoot for iStockphoto. For three days they shot photos at clubs, condos and homes in Nashville. Ryan enjoyed being able to shoot photos that contained models as well as working with other photographers. We stayed an extra day so that we could go sightseeing as a family before venturing home yesterday.
Noah did really well being away from home so many days. He was even a trooper for the long car ride (about 12 hours door to door). I was surprised at how close he stayed on track for naps and eating. On the last day he slept through the entire night which meant we all got a good night sleep before heading back home. I was nervous that he wouldn't sleep well in the hotel room if I was still in the same room. He did great and I was able to get a lot of reading done as well as find my new favorite game on my phone (thanks Ryan!).
Wow. October is already here and we've had the heat on for at least a week, maybe more. But with the cooler weather comes some beautiful scenery all around! Ethan's tree is a brilliant red/orange that stands out against the blue sky. We miss him, but are grateful for the reminder of our little boy in our back yard. The other day I noticed three tiny tree sprouts near the base of his tree, and their tiny leaves were changing, too. I dug them up and planted them in cups just before the night we got our first freeze. I hope they'll make it through the winter inside so we can replant them next year!
