We took our sweet time getting to Nashville, stopping many times along the way (I discovered Cracker Barrel as the perfect travelling-with-baby pit stop-- plenty of stuff to look at in the gift shop, decent changing area, rocking chairs to nurse in, and lots of travelling-candy for sale. Oh, and yummy, artery-clogging food.). Anyway, we got into town early so that we could spend time with my close friend, Jenn, and her family. I had a great time visiting with Jenn and Josh, and the kids all had so much fun together. Of course, we didn't get any adult pictures together, but we grabbed some cute ones of the kids (some of which I stole from Jenn's blog).
We spent the rest of the weekend at Michelle's beautiful farm in Franklin with the rest of the VGS gang, some of my favorite people in the world. Jack was so friendly, eating up all the attention that everyone so generously lavished on him.
This was the first time in my VGS tenure that I recall having babies at the April meeting. Everyone was so accommodating. We even had our own house! Most of the ladies slept at the main house, while Jack and I and the other three momma-baby boy pairs slept in the old house. This was an adventure.
The house is pretty large, but since Michelle's family doesn't regularly use it, we all stayed in one small area that Sherry graciously spruced up for us. Since Jack was the oldest baby of the group, we slept in the hallway-loft area, Jack in his pack-and-play, and me on an air mattress. He slept pretty well, not even stirring when the other babies woke up in the middle of the night or when their mommas used the bathroom that he slept right beside.
My sleep was a bit more restless because (a) well, I was on an air-mattress, (b) I was on high-alert so that Jack wouldn't wake up other babies when he cried, and (c) I was a little leery about running into the house's other occupants. You see, this is a farm, and where there is an unoccupied house, there are farm mice. It turns out that mice are pretty cute- oh, yes, I saw mice that weekend- and pretty squeaky- oh yes, I heard mice (lots of them) that weekend. Ah, fun memories. Really. I love that a 6-month old Jack and I camped in a lovely mice-infested house under open windows and within feet of some of my dear friends and their baby boys. And that all of us had a great time.
I'm so glad that Jack and I went. It was a refreshing weekend, reminding me of all the reasons why VGS is such an integral part of my life. It is like being with family, and they welcomed Jack as the newest member.
It was also wonderful to spend time with the other new mommas and their precious little boys. It is a sweet blessing, indeed, to have the opportunity to share motherhood with women who have watched me grow up and have shaped the person that I am becoming.
