Tales of Two Southern Kids Raised by Damn Yankees: Back from Charlotte

It's good to be back in the saddle again, Followers. Even though I left you with a hefty double-dose on Friday, I'm sure you're all anxious to hear about our expedition to the snowy North. Just kidding, we didn't go that far north. True to my family's name, we packed up the front-wheel drive Nissan tighter than a clown car and headed to Charlotte, NC for a baby shower. And what a trip it was..
We arrived in Charlotte on Saturday afternoon around 1pm to find partly cloudy skies and gas prices that were 15-20 cents higher per gallon than down south. The Koehler's (it's pronounced Kay-ler, not Kohler - "They're not the Toilets" as their blog proudly proclaims) were kind enough to let us bring Alli "I'll melt your heart with my blue eyes" and Scarlett "I have just met you, and I LOVE you!" into their new house all while preparing for their own little one to arrive. Since they didn't find out the gender, they're calling him/her Squishy for now until he/she is born. Momma G "Raaabert!", Papa Rob "It drank perdy good, don't it?" and Wallace "Give me your leftovers or the baby gets it" also let us break in their brand new nursery as they count down the last 35 days until their kiddo arrives. We were even able to get a Chipotle fix in for lunch before the evening's festivities began.
We had a blast at the baby shower that evening. We met all of their friends and got to introduce them to Alli. I felt bad that Little Miss Blue Eyes stole some of Momma G's spotlight when we first arrived - because nothing will make a group of women gush more than an infant next to a pregnant woman. Luckily, Alli was tuckered out from the driving and attention, so we put her to sleep in a back bedroom. She slept for over 2 and a half hours - even with people making noise and music right down the hallway. Basically missed the entire shower. I'm not really complaining, it let Mommy B have some wine and let loose a little bit!
We played a few fun baby shower games throughout the evening - one of which I won due to my ingenuity and sense of humor. All the men had to hold a pillow in one arm (to simulate a baby), talk on a cell phone and see how many clothes we could hang on a clothesline in 3 minutes. Pretty challenging, right? Well being the smart-ass that I am, the second they said "Go!" I tossed the pillow into Alli's carrier and began hanging clothes with two free hands. Yeah, this ain't my first rodeo kids - I'm the one that showed up with a 4-month-old, remember? After a few rounds of this game, you could tell very easily who was a parent and who wasn't. It was quite entertaining to say the least.
After opening their gifts, we packed things up and headed back home to let the dogs out and put Alli to bed for the night. Naturally, it wouldn't have been a real family trip unless Scarlett did something crazy. The second we opened the front door, she bolted between our legs like an escaped convict. Down the driveway and down the street she went, at a full sprint. Serves me right for taking her running all those times as a puppy... Thank God she was more interested in sniffing Wallace's butt than paying the entire neighborhood a visit, and she turned around and came running right back in as fast as she had left. I swear, sometimes she's more work than the child.
Alli got to break in the new crib and Sleep Sheep that Momma G and Papa Rob have ready for Squishy. She slept very well (I think we're on a roll!) for being in a "strange" place. We tried to make her feel at home as much as possible - we brought the blanket she usually sleeps on, the blanket she usually gets covered with and turned on the same noise on the Sleep Sheep. I'm not even sure she knew the difference! I think this may have given Momma G and Papa Rob the false impression that Squishy will sleep so well right off the bat - so we had to remind them that Alli is 4 months old and it took us a while to get to this point. But they're a smart couple and will figure it out.
Sunday rolled around and we headed on home to Chucktown. It rained almost the whole drive back, which was fun for me. The rest of the car is asleep (dog included) and I'm white-knuckling the steering wheel. Awesome. Once we hit Columbia things cleared up and I was pretty excited to get back to the ol' homestead.
We made it home safe and sound and are back into the routine. Mommy B even got a nice present this morning - getting called off of work! So she gets to spend the day home with the Ru - and I get to be jealous. All in all, it was a pretty fun weekend and I'm exited to meet Squishy for the first time. I'm sure we'll be heading back that way soon when he/she decides to make their arrival!