Carter's first visit to Charlotte

Once Chris returned from the Republican Convention in Tampa we turned around the very next day and headed to Charlotte for Labor Day weekend. Chris had a work event to attend at the Democratic Convention and since it was conveniently being held in Charlotte, Carter and I decided to tag along and visit with family and friends over the long weekend.

Look at this cool elephant my daddy brought me from the Republican Convention!

Look out Democratic Convention....here I come!

This was Carter's first trip to Charlotte and his first time meeting his great grandmothers and a lot of other family and friends. It was also opening weekend for college football and NC State was playing in one of Chick-fil-a's kick-off games in Atlanta, GA, so of course we had to sport our game day colors for the ride home.

Go Wolfpack!

As soon as we got home Gigi, Pops and great grandmother were all anxiously waiting to see Carter. And boy was he ready to get out of his car seat and see them too!

Meeting my great grandmother in Charlotte for the first time!

On Saturday my grandmother from Statesville came down to visit for the day. She was thrilled to meet Carter for the first time and they got to spend some quality time with one another. Chris was especially excited because it was the first Saturday of college football and he couldn't wait for Carter to join him in the fun! We stayed around the house all day, relaxed and watched football. That evening we grilled out and enjoyed a nice family dinner together.

Game Day!

I love watching football with my daddy!

Meeting my great grandmother in Statesville for the first time!

All the ladies loving on me!

Spending time with Justin and Joy.

In a serious discussion with Uncle Justin.

On Sunday we took Carter to church for the first time. While I was pregnant with Carter, Chris and I always intended on visiting different churches in our area with intentions on joining one before he was born. It was a great idea but unfortunately we didn't follow through with it. Time got away from us and then before we knew it Carter was here! My church back home in Charlotte, Myers Park United Methodist, holds a special place in my heart. Not only was this the church I was baptized in and grew up going to, Chris and I were married there. Dr. James Howell married us and he is still a minister there. He preaches a sermon like no other so I was hopeful that he would be there this particular Sunday. To our excitement he surely was and he gave the sermon at the service we attended. Right before we were seated we had the opportunity to introduce Carter to Dr. Howell, which was very special. Since our visit home we've actually planned Carter's baptism at the church with Dr. Howell for mid November.

Carter was great throughout the entire service. At the beginning the organ and trumpet scared him a little but once he became accustomed to the sound he did just fine. Of course it certainly helped that he was in Gigi's (my mom) lap the entire time!

After church my parent's took Carter home so he could go down for his nap and Chris and I went out to lunch at Cowfish. It's a new restaurant in Charlotte that is fantastic. Technically it's a burger and sushi bar. Yes, odd combination but wonderful! Their menu is several pages long and a bit overwhelming, but I don't think you could go wrong with any of their selections. We went with the spicy Thai cucumbers and the lobster spring roll as an appetizer and 4 different kinds of sushi as our entree. I will have to say that they were the biggest pieces of sushi I've ever seen! Keep that in mind if you dine there because we certainly ordered way too much. They also had fun cocktails to choose from. It was definitely the perfect lunch outing for the two of us.

Sunday afternoon my aunt Tammy and cousin, Tonya, came down from Hickory to visit with Carter for the afternoon. My grandmother in Charlotte and my aunt Vi also came over. I will have to say that Carter was a little overwhelmed at first by all the ladies loving on him! He wasn't exactly sure what to do. We were happy that he had this opportunity to meet so many of his family members that he's heard about.

Visiting with my great, great aunt Vi and cousin, Tonya.

On Monday my childhood best friend, Erin Hinson Banker, came over to visit with her newborn son, Mason. Erin and I went to elementary school together and were connected at the hip for 6 years. After the 5th grade I left private school and went to public school so unfortunately we lost touch with one another. However, thanks to Facebook we reconnected over the past year and it's been great. The funniest thing is we both married Chris's and we got pregnant with our first child just within months of each other and both had precious baby boys! It was great catching up with her and comparing baby stories. Little Carter and Mason enjoyed each other's company as well and we hope that they'll become friends as they grow older.

The Erin's and their precious baby boys!

Carter and Mason

On Monday evening my mom and grandmother babysat Carter while Chris and I went to the movies to see The Dark Knight Rises. We hadn't been to the movies since before Carter was born so we were very excited to go!

I love to have my hair brushed!

On Tuesday my best friend from college, Sarah, came over to visit with Carter. I hadn't had a chance to catch up with Sarah since Carter was born so we had a lot to talk about it! She also got some great quality time with Carter which meant a lot to me. Hopefully she'll have a little one of her own before too terribly long!

Tuesday evening Chris went to the reception he had to attend for work and my mom and I took the little man with us to Mellow Mushroom for dinner. Mellow Mushroom is my absolute favorite place to get pizza so we had to make a trip there before we headed back to DC. I had to teach my mom the tricks of the trade when dining out with a 10 week old. As soon as we were seated we placed our food order with our drink order. Once they brought our food to the table I handed the waitress my debit card and told her to go ahead and bring us the bill and a to go box. That way we were fully prepared to walk at the door at a moment's notice. And sure enough it was necessary. The funny thing about Carter is he can go from smiles to tears in a split second. He surely did this and we were able to grab our things and walk out the door without any problems. It's funny how such a little person can completely change your life!

Hanging with Gigi at Mellow Mushroom

Wednesday morning we loaded the car and hit the road to head back to DC. We had a wonderful visit with our family and friends and look forward to seeing everyone again around the holidays.

Whew, Charlotte wore me out! Until next time.