firsts.

mary has experienced a lot of firsts lately.  of course, she is so little, most everything she experiences is a first but some things are too fun and special not to share.  so this post will be mostly pictures.  i am sure you don't mind.

first "big girl" bath!

she definitely loves bath time a lot more now that she's sitting in the water.  we've moved up to using the rest of the baby bath tub in my bath tub because she's getting so much longer.  she outgrew the sink!

first time playing on her floor mat!

she loves the bright, contrasting colors.  we get the most "talking" out of her on that mat or in her bed looking at her baby einstein mirror.

first trip on the blue ridge parkway

it was a beautiful day and we took mom up to eat at the pisgah inn.  i hadn't been up on the parkway all summer either so we all enjoyed the trip up and mary was so good.

first time in her bumbo!

she is loving this seat more and more.  (and yes, we ordered the safety belt.  and no, we never plan to sit her up on a table or counter and leave her there.  or leave her in it unattended, for that matter.)

first time to church!

we are actually back home from church in these pictures but we wanted a trial run before we took her the next week for her baptism.  she is wearing the dress i wore home from the hospital 33 years ago.  she loved church, too.  she looked around quietly most of the time almost as if she was putting the sounds together with the place.  she was always very active during church when i was pregnant.  i hope she'll always love going to church!

first bottle fed by her pops!

fall beauty and land cruisers

yesterday was the annual Blue Ridge Parkway Cruise.  members of the upstate cruisers meet at mt. pisgah at the pisgah inn and then we drive/cruise from mt. pisgah to mt. mitchell on the brp and enjoy all of the fall colors.  saturday was a beautiful day and i am so glad i didn't sleep the day away (which still would have been fantastic) and joined jay and the others up on the parkway for the lovely day and drive.  the dogs came along, too, and we made it a "family" affair.  we couldn't have asked for better fall weather.  in fact, all we could have asked for were less people and traffic up on the parkway.  (we blame the local news channel for telling everyone to go to the parkway on saturday.  because they listened.)  anyway, here are some pictures, a little something for everyone- views and trucks- from our day.)

at Pisgah (pre-crowds)

 all the trucks together in one pic

 the view from mt. mitchell

 the view of mt. mitchell

 see the white dot in the center in the sky?  it's the moon.

sweet babies.  both looking at the camera, thanks to jay and a bribe.

blue ridge parkway

we took a short trip up on the parkway yesterday in the fj40.  there was a rockslide on the southbound side so it was closed 6 miles up from our starting point, but it was still a nice drive.  (for those of you who know, that's the side that goes towards mt. pisgah.  they say one lane will be open by july.  i guess we'll see.)  it was a little bit cooler up there, but we really didn't get high enough to notice a difference.  the laurel and rhododendron is blooming, too.  we're hoping to get up to craggy pinnacle soon and hike and see all the flowers. maybe next week.   can't complain, though.  yesterday was a beautiful day.

a trip on the parkway

last saturday was an absolutely beautiful day here and jay and i took the dogs up for a drive on the brp (blue ridge parkway). we decided to drive up to mt. mitchell, now that the road is repaired (it had previously washed out, and down, the mountain) and now that they have finished rebuilding the observation tower on mt. mitchell. wecouldn't have chosen a more perfect day, as there were so few clouds in the sky. the leaves are already changing a bit, too. i took lots of pictures, so sit back and relax and enjoy the views.

View from the Craggy Gardens Visitor Center

the leaves were beginning to change (this was oct. 3)

Glassmine Falls

the falls don't run very often, but with all the rain we've had, they were definitely flowing

more lovely, changing leaves

views from Mt. Mitchell

jay with the (cooperative) girls

me with a cooperative barley and a distracted cotton

it was a rare, clear day on top of mt. mitchell

you could see all the way to clingmans dome in the gsm's (great smoky mtns)

there are some funny signs on the parkway... for instance, one of the most popular hiking trails has this name...



and this is a purchased "copy" of a sign that is no longer on the parkway, but was so popular (and frequently stolen) that they now sell them at the craggy visitors center...

... it warns of a decreasing radius turn. but, of course, i'm sure you knew that.

so come on over for a visit and see the views for yourselves.

brp

no, i didn't forget the "u" in burp. we went driving on the blue ridge parkway (brp) yesterday up towards craggy gardens. it was closed down last year due to part of the road falling off the side of the mountain near craggy. they are now repaving part of the brp so part of it was shut down to one lane complete with a "pilot car" to lead us through the construction zone, but it was still nice to be on the other side of things. i didn't take a lot of pictures, but i will share what i have...

we thought the tree in the middle was interesting with the way it bends

jay was trying to see if the waterfall was flowing... it wasn't.

i love the way the clouds cast shadows over the mountains

it was about 20 degrees cooler up on the parkway.  a nice change for the afternoon.

here's a sneak "peak"

it is that time of year again! i love fall and all of the changing colors and temperatures that accompany this season. after our camping excursion, jay and i suspected that the mountain leaves would be changing soon. so sunday evening (after i finally woke up from my long nap), we grabbed some dinner and drove up on the blue ridge parkway towards mt. pisgah. we were able to capture some beautiful pictures just before the sun went down. jay took most of these and is slowly beginning to master how to use our camera to the best of its ability. (whereas i am an "auto" sort of picture taker.) here are some of the views from sunday's trip.







today, while jay was working, the dogs and i took another drive up the parkway and got a few more pictures while the sun was still shining. the girls enjoyed the ride, with the wind in their faces, and i enjoyed the drive up and back. mostly. word has definitely gotten around that it is "leaf season" and people were out in droves... my favorites were the ones who thought the overlooks were too crowded, so they just drove slowly past the "pretty views" and the guy who went 20 mph through the tunnels. thankfully, he pulled over so others could pass. anyway... the drive was pleasant and the day was perfect for pictures.