Vacay!

I want to blog about our trip to Georgia before I put it off and put it off and then totally forget about it. We went to Georgia from Friday to Monday so that Bri could see her family down there for the first time in a few months. The real plan was to go down there and see her Opa (that's German for "grandfather") when he returned from Baghdad. Unfortunately his return date has been pushed back so we won't get to see him until Thanksgiving. We decided it was still a great opportunity to test the waters with long-distance traveling with Brianna since we always go see them at Christmas.

Thursday night I could tell Stephen was really itching to go! He didn't want to leave too late and get stuck in traffic in Atlanta, especially if something happened and Brianna hated traveling. But he kept saying, "What time is too early to leave??" I know him well enough to know that tone of voice now. Our plan was to leave after Bri's morning feeding, which could come anytime between 4am and 10am depending on the day. When she woke up Friday morning at 4:30 for a feeding, I knew we were in trouble. I went ahead and showered and finished packing, and Stephen packed the car while I fed her. We were on the road by 6am and he was ecstatic! Brianna was asleep 13 minutes after we pulled out of the driveway, and I was right behind her. She did beautifully for the 7-hour drive. We stopped a few times - bathroom breaks for the adults, food and gas, and fed her just whenever we got the chance. She didn't eat great on the road, all scrunched in the backseat with me, but it was enough to keep her going!

Out of the whole time we were there, I got ZERO pictures! Everytime there was a picture opportunity I picked up Leila's camera while mine stayed in my suitcase. I can't believe it!

The trip was a lot of fun. It definitely took some time for Brianna to adjust to different settings. She didn't eat well until Saturday night, when I think she was finally starting to get used to everything. She didn't ever sleep well at night - and therefore, neither did we, because we were all three in the same room. It was bad enough that one morning I woke up with her beside me in the bed and Stephen told me I had put her in there at 2:30 that morning. I never even remembered doing it! Talk about sleep deprivation! But she was napping a lot during the day and I think that just threw her off. She didn't sleep well Monday night either, and she had napped a lot on the ride home from Georgia. Yesterday she was back on a normal schedule and last night she was back to her regular 9 hours a night.

Bri certainly didn't lack for attention while we were there! I'm not sure that her family got to see the full extent of her playing abilities, but they certainly got a good amount of her kisses!! By the time we were leaving she was well-adjusted to her new surroundings, just for us to whisk her off back home. We were able to go to Josh and Jenn's soccer games (well, I just went to one of each), Zaxby's twice, Five Guys, bought a stroller for use down there, and had lots of quality time with our family!

One of the coolest things is that I was able to go to Plato's Closet to buy a pair of jeans. Almost every pair I own is stretched to the max or starting to rip, so I wanted a nice pair of used jeans. Amazingly, I found a paid of 7 For All Mankind jeans for $20! $20!!!
Maybe it's only Jenn that really appreciates that but those jeans retail on average around $180 or more. Success!! They are a perfect fit and I'm so happy to own my very first pair of 7 jeans!

Better go. Bri has entertained herself now for the better part of 20 minutes which means I only have a few more minutes before she'll want to be picked up!