• Hiking,  Outdoors

    Sunday Hike On the Chinquapin Trail at Huntsville State Park

    It was 2012 the last time we were at Huntsville State Park. We were planning to camp last weekend but bad weather on Saturday deterred us from venturing out. I think had we not had Forest we might have attempted it, but it worked in our favor anyway as Forest came down with a nasty cough and it was probably better he wasn’t outside in a tent overnight. Chris still wanted to get out and do something on Sunday so instead of hitting up Sam Houston National Forest again we opted for Huntsville State Park as they have a diverse trail system and we enjoyed our last visit there. The…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Forest at 27, 28, & 29 Weeks

    The biggest thing during these weeks occurred at around 28.5 weeks when Forest cut his first two teeth! His sleep had gone to crap earlier in the week after the previous week doing really awesome with sleep despite getting a stomach bug. Then, bam! Chris checked his teeth Saturday afternoon because he noticed Forest was really going to town chewing on his ‘chew toy’—yes, totally like a dog—and the drool was just insane. Sure enough two little teeth were poking through his gums! I really didn’t expect him to cut teeth for a few more months but now he’s got two of them. The sleep hasn’t quite returned to what…

  • Hiking,  Outdoors

    Early Spring Hike at WG Jones State Forest

    Carolina jessamine, Gelsemium sempervirens was in bloom everywhere. A pileated woodpecker hole??? Rubus trivialis, southern dewberry Last weekend we jaunted back over to Jones State Forest for a short hike. Google Earth was giving me a pain but my estimate is that we walked a short 2.25-2.5 mile loop. We started at the most western parking lot on the south side of FM 1488 and headed down the west perimeter ‘trail’, Jones Trail. We turned east on the Upper Horsepen Trail and then cut-up to the north on Cochran Trail before heading back west on the Middle Lake Trail. Before getting to the lake we cut back north on the…

  • Gardening

    Happy Spring!

    How fitting that the iris outside our front door decided to open this morning! I’m loving the warmer weather lately and the later sunsets. I’m so happy that we’re heading into spring and anticipating the spring wildflower blooms around the state.

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    6 Month Breastfeeding Update

    I always hesitate when writing about breastfeeding topics since it is a personal subject but then I realize that talking about it normalizes it in our culture and I also hope that maybe something I write here will help another mom out in the future. Forest and I have been going strong with nursing over these last 6.5 months! I’m really happy that we’ve been successful with it and have continued on with it. There are definitely days that I still get a little frustrated but for the most part we’re doing well and adjusting as he grows. I relish the time I get to spend with him on the…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Babywearing with Forest

    I’m not sure when I realized that I wanted to be part of the babywearing ‘thing’, to join in the other mothers who wore their babies. It must have been mid to late in my pregnancy and it was probably solidified when I saw someone at the infant CPR class with a wrap that I had never seen before. She so casually threw her ten month old on her back in this beautiful wrap that made me all glittery eyed. What was that wrap?, I asked her. She replied that it was a woven wrap and when I got home that evening I Googled ‘woven wrap‘ thinking it was a…

  • Appalachian Trail 2010

    Life in Words | 5 Years

    Five years ago today Chris and I turned into Panther and Ridley. We climbed out of my dad’s car at Amicalola Falls State Park, weighed our backpacks and signed the register at the gift shop, then ducked under the stone arch just outside and embarked on a side trail called the Approach Trail that would take us to Springer Mountain and the official start of the Appalachian Trail. It was chilly down in the lower elevations and threatening to rain. Weather conditions only worsened as we climbed in elevation that day and I wondered why on Earth I had thought up this harebrained idea the year before. By the time…

  • Thoughts

    Current Reads & Favorites

    + Fitbit! I got one for Christmas from my parents and while I initially thought I wouldn’t be that into it, I really do love it! I took some time off from using it back in January but ramped it up in February. The goal is to get 10K steps a day. Prior to having Forest I don’t doubt this wasn’t a problem because I either worked out every day or did yard work in the evenings. Now it is much harder. I’ve started helping out my step count by working out during lunches when the weather is permitting and if I am not far off from my step count…

  • Baby Teddy,  Family

    Forest at Six Months

    How are we already at six months??? How is my sweet little baby boy 1/2 a year old? It doesn’t seem possible! This seemed like such a far off time period back in September and here we are already. Insanity! I told my sister-in-law Stephanie that I thought Forest had toddler-esque features in the food photos from last week. He does, he isn’t a baby-baby anymore. At 19 lbs and 28″ long, he’s heading fast towards late babyhood and into the toddler years. His six month checkup and shots went well. Astonishingly he did not cry when the first needle was jabbed into his right thigh and instead smiled like…