New niece!

This weekend we took a very quick trip up to Asheville. It's only a 3-hour drive, so I have NO idea why we don't go more often. The mountains to me are home. I didn't grow up there. But I did go to college there, met Kevin there, and spent 4 very important years of my life there. And now it's home. When I go back I breathe in deep and it makes me feel at ease. When I graduated from college, my first interview was here near Charlotte, and I got offered the job and took it without researching the area. I wish, wish, wish I had searched harder to find a job back "home". I only hope that someday (sooner rather than later) the stars will align so that my little family can relocate. For now, though, quick trips are what holds me over.

BUT! The reason for this weekend's trip was my sister-in-law's new baby girl! Alice Grace was born February 2nd, and we waited a few weeks to give them time to settle in to life with a new baby. It's their first, and Adelaide's 3rd cousin, but the only other girl. They are only 13 months apart, so I can't wait to see what life brings them.








It already seems Adelaide and Alice have a deep connection. Obviously Adelaide barely paid mind to the little baby during our visit, but they both seem to share the same temperament and gas problems (sorry Meaghann and Paul!). And Alice, apparently, is a derivitive of the name Adelaide... something they did not know until after they came home from the hospital.





I got to hold Alice for a few minutes, and oh! I forgot how tiny newborns are (and she wasn't a tiny newborn at all! 9 1/2 pounds!) She smelled like milk and her hair was so silky smooth and she was just a lump in my arms. I loved it (and missed it).

Even though they were the ones with a newborn, Meag and Paul played perfect hosts: serving us delicious kale/quinoa soup that even Adelaide loved, delicious oven-warmed bread, and not allowing me to clean anything other than sweeping their floors. How amazing are they? I love those people. Family. They fill my soul with warmth. I feel so connected to them, and wish we lived closer... I want many playdates in our futures!





Anyhow, we were back home at an amazing 9:45 Sunday morning. I felt so accomplished yesterday! A 3-hour drive under our belt, grocery shopping before we even got home, all the laundry got done, kitchen stayed clean (!), playing out on the deck, and I even got to snuggle with Kevin during a movie after Adelaide went to bed (Contagion - not really a snuggle movie, but worked fine for us!).

Here's hoping for more amazing weekends to come. Full of family, love, babies, warm weather, and good food.