Down on the Farm

Uncle Jon's family is from Broadway, Virginia and traces their roots back to the Mennonites.  His mom grew up with the Mennonite beliefs and customs and wanted to treat us to a real Mennonite dinner experience.  Frankie and I traveled to Aunt Laura and Uncle Jon's house and met up with Grampa and then we all headed to Broadway to meet up with the Dixons.  We explored a Mennonite farm market with tons of homemade, delicious smelling foodie treats and drove around the country side taking in the simple, yet beautiful sites.  The highlight of the trip was dinner - a traditional Mennonite meal at a farm with all fresh ingredients.  It was amazing - from the homemade biscuits and strawberry jam down to the peach cobbler at the end.  The meal was served family style in the home of Marjorie and John Robert Shank and was truly a taste of Mennonite country home cooking!  A HUGE thank you to the Dixon's for treating us to such an amazing experience!

 

Old Order Mennonite Church - Separate doors for men & women - and complete with hitching posts!

Countryside

Frankie's first tractor ride!

 

Dinner at the farm

True Mennonite Garage

 

 

Bedtime Story

 

On nights when Frank has soccer and I'm solo for bedtime, I close Frankie in his room while I get his bath ready (to make sure he doesn't crawl/fall down the stairs).  Last night when I went in to get him, I found him 'reading' and couldn't resist running to grab the camera!

Hanging with the Big Kids

 

Cruising

When referring to a baby, "cruising" means:

a) Driving around with the top down
b) Checking out cute girls at a nightclub
c) Playing shuffleboard on a large oceangoing vessel
d) Staggering from one piece of furniture to another like a drunk

 

This was in the "Don't Forget to Laugh" section of my Baby Center email last week.  (The answer is 'd', by the way. :) )  Admittedly, when someone recently asked me if Frankie was walking, I responded with a rookie parent answer, "He walks while holding onto things."  To which they replied, "Oh, he's cruising."  Ok - So, Frankie has been cruising for some time now.  As a matter of fact, about a month ago, I bought him his first pair of sneakers!  Recently, he's started to balance standing up on his own.  I'm scared to say it aloud because I know it's going to drastically change things, but I foresee him w-a-l-k-i-n-g pretty soon! 

 

Cruising down Pocomoke

Pushing his car

 

Weekend Away

It had been on the calendar for months.  Rachel's Bachelorette Party.  A weekend away.  A weekend away.  Did you hear me?  A weekend away!  Not just away from home - but away from Frankie.  Yikes.  It's one thing to leave him during the day while I'm at work, but overnight?  Over two nights?  The thought gave me agida.  Yes, I was looking forward to a girl's weekend; I was sooo looking forward to a girl's weekend, but leaving your baby overnight is a big flippin' deal.  To me, at least.  He was certainly in good hands - I had no doubt that Frank could and would take perfect care of him.  (Really, I knew he would, despite making him recite Frankie's sleep and eating schedule to me a few times to ensure he really knew it.)  But it was still hard.  What if he wakes up during the night and needs me?  He hasn't been drinking much from his bottles lately - What if he doesn't drink enough throughout the whole weekend and needs me?  What if he just misses me and needs me?  What if something bad happens and he needs me? You know, all of these crazy scenarios run through your head and then you feeling guilty for leaving.  But, let's face it - The biggest obstacle to overcome was just the fact that I was going to miss my baby.  Miss him like crazy.  There were tears leading up to my departure - A few nights prior, I asked Frank if he thought I would cry while I left - And while asking the question, I broke down.  But...I left...without tears!  Well, without any streaming down my face.  I didn't let them well up enough in my eyes to pour out.  Off we went - Kelly and I - on our road trip to Lake Anna for Rachel's big weekend.

And you know what?  Frankie survived!  I survived!  Frank survived!  And I had a great weekend.  I had fun!  It was nice to slowly eat three meals a day.  It was nice to wake up at my leisure.  I even blow dried my hair!  It was a great weekend with girlfriends.  But I must admit that I had trouble letting myself go - I called Frank periodically to check on Frankie or ask for a picture update.  I shed a few tears while I 'talked' to Frankie on the phone.  Despite that pesky mommy guilt, I, along with the other 10 ladies, had a fabulous time celebrating Rachel!  We dubbed the weekend in a Mardi Gras theme in honor of Rachel's soon-to-be last name: French.  Let the good times roll, indeed.