charlotte : two weeks later.

a couple weekends ago (yeah, i don't know what's taken so long) was a luca weekend, with a little less luca this time. and by that i mean, this time i actually put him down a couple of times. (compared to last time, when i actually didn't.)

this time, josh and i ventured out to dunkin donuts for breakfast on saturday morning. dunkin donuts! my first time since moving away! i was very displeased with the amount of sprinkles on the sprinkle donut, if you were wondering how it went. but it was so nice to spend some quality one-on-one time with my brother. which, we also got a little more of when we played a few levels of super mario on the super nintendo he has hooked up in his room. (!!) super mario was like my love language back in the day. i totally beat the entire game once.

in the afternoon, T and i went grocery shopping. which is nothing too exciting, but on the way home, we did try out these new chocolate peanut butter pop tarts i just haaad to buy and we may have spent a solid ten to twelve minutes discussing the "crust" issue and our thoughts on the chocolate-to-peanut butter ratio. because we like to discuss serious, life changing matters like chocolate peanut butter pop tarts. (which i would recommend, in case you're wondering.)

that pretty much concludes the non-luca portion of my time in charlotte. the rest of it was filled with sweet cuddles and hand holding and smiling at each other because luca and i are best friends, you guys. (but seriously, i skyped with my mom–who is in charlotte–this past weekend and he was a bit fussy, but every time i talked to him he stopped crying. auntie sarah, ftw.) there was also that time we walked around the mall on saturday and i chose to give my arms a good workout and carry him instead of letting him hang out in his stroller because, why not? i always want him in my arms. and also it was fun watching people'e reactions as they peeked into the stroller to find a couple purses sitting in there instead of a baby.

but seriously. i cannot get enough of this boy. sleeping, awake, yawning, crying, smiling, laughing, pouting. i could eat him up!

on sunday, i got to be there as luca went to church for the first time. which isn't really that significant of a thing, but when you live far away, you appreciate the insignificant moments. i wasn't able to be there for his dedication service in ct, but i was there for the first time they brought him to church.

and then there was that moment when T walked away from the nursery after dropping her baby off for the first time. i was glad to be there for that moment, too. not that she really needed me there, but (in my opinion) life just feels a little easier when you have your best people by your side. even in the small moments, like leaving your baby under the care of people who aren't family. but my point here is my sister is a mom, you guys. how is that even real life?

after church, we got lunch at moe's and had some fantastic discussions, thanks to the conversation starters on the cups. such good times, and good laughs. if you could eat at moe's with anyone (dead or alive), who would you pick? josh says harriet tubman, without hesitation.

as usual, it was a short trip. a day and a half isn't really quite enough, but i'm grateful i can even get that day and a half so frequently.