charlotte : two whole weeks.
the thing about the music industry is that it practically shuts down for two weeks during christmas and new year's, and the thing about my job in the music industry is that it is now my only job. (have i mentioned that i'm fully time now?) which means i quit my restaurant job before christmas and was able to spend those two weeks in charlotte. two whole weeks!
here are all the people who were there: my mom, T, lee, luca, josh, and heather. plus my cousins who live in charlotte too.
here are all the people who are in my photos: luca. (and there are some of T and lee, with luca.)
but seriously. #auntalert
we didn't really do much, which to be honest, is kind of my favorite. when i'm with my people, i mostly just like to
be
with them. in the in-between, everyday moments. like relaxing on the couch and watching episodes of scandal. like sitting on the floor with my nephew, listening to him talk and making him laugh. like playing games and drinking wine and staying up late. i like going out and doing fun activities with them too, but when i only have short periods of time with them? i don't want to feel like i'm on vacation, i want to feel like i'm at home.
you know, i never really understood the obsession with taking pictures of sleeping babies until luca. there's just something so sweet about it. and his sleep faces are so darn cute. he's the best, even when he's sleeping.
we spent a lot of time playing games. T got this new one for christmas that involves partners drawing things that come to mind in a given category and then seeing how many of them match. so fun!
luca is ALL about holding his feet and sucking his toes. it's much easier to get them in his mouth when he's not wearing pants, so diaper changes are always a fun time. i'd usually wait to put his pants back on so he could get a good snack in. partly because it made him so happy, and partly because it's amazing to me that he's
that
flexible.
he started eating cereal while i was there, and despite the crazy (awesome) faces he makes, he did quite well with it.
when my mom and heather drove down after christmas, my mom brought bailey and heather brought achilles. these two are BFFs, and it's hilarious to watch them together. bailey is small, but he can also be quite a bully.
achilles LOVES to play fetch. he was always bringing his (nasty, spit-soaked) toy over to anyone who might throw it for him. neither of my dogs ever got the real concept of playing catch, so it was kind of fun to play with one who actually brought the toy back. he also does this neat trick where, if he puts his toy down too far away for you to reach, you can say "i can't reach it" and he'll bring it closer to you. so i obviously did that line as often as possible. and he understands what "no more" means, which is nice. although it doesn't necessarily mean that he won't try again in five minutes.
below are the only two photos from new year's eve. apparently they were the only two things worth remembering.
my cousins came over and we played games and ate snacks. those marshmallow chocolate cookies my cousin made were SO GOOD. and bailey! he likes to pretend he hates me, but he totally loves me.
we had breakfast for dinner another night and i made pancakes and i just need you to know that i'm really good at pancake making. granted, i just add water to the mix so it's nothing fancy, but there's still an art to making pancakes from a box you know.
also, luca sat at the table one night like a grown up and he's just the cutest, watching his mama tell a story with her hands.
we'd spend all day together, hanging out and playing with luca, but when lee got home from work, luca was all his. it was so sweet to watch them together. i remember the first time he held my baby cousin and he was so stiff and nervous every time she'd move. it's been so neat to watch him go from being a great boyfriend to a great husband to a great dad.
i had to read this book for work during my break. i never took any music business classes in college, and with my new full time position, it was about time i read up. reading was the only thing i chose to do over hanging out with my nephew, and even then i tried to get most of it done while he napped.
(for the record, i totally read that entire book in two weeks. talk about an information overload.)
speaking of work, i'm slowly turning this family into the biggest drew holcomb and the neighbors fans.
when he's sleepy, luca is all about the cuddling. but sometimes, he just wants his space to roll around. sometimes we let him have a minute, but it's never long before one of us is right there on the floor next to him.
the cutest little family. (you see what i mean about the toes?)
this is his progress on crawling. he'll roll over and pull his knees up and try to propel himself forward, but he hasn't quite gotten the hang of the part with the arms and supporting his heavy head.
making him laugh is probably my most favorite thing ever. when people ask how my break was and what i did while i was in charlotte for two weeks, this is what i think of. sitting next to him in the car, or laying next to him on the floor at home, and talking to him, making him laugh.
