Turkey Day Catch Up

(Thanksgiving was a week or two ago, but Bradley, Mac and I had such a tremendous time I can't help but share.)

The week before Thanksgiving, Bradley was sweet enough to take me to a Dave Matthews show in Charleston! I missed his concert earlier this summer in Charlotte, so I was thrilled at a chance to catch him before his 2011 break. We spent the day strolling and eating downtown before taking in a fabulous show.

Boyd Tinsley, up close and personal!

B was a perplexed as to why we paid more not to have a physical seat. (North Charleston has general floor access, which gave us super close spots!) Even so, he graciously stood for five-plus hours as I enjoyed every last minute of Dave-ness. I was pretty beat afterwards, though - we're definitely not as young as we used to be!

Days later our family of three, plus B's parents, flew up to Connecticut to visit his brother and sister-in-law. What a treat and, considering it was Mac's first flight, a real adventure!

We drove to Charlotte for a layover-free flight straight to LaGuardia; I was a little uneasy about our busy boy sitting still for two hours once - much less for TWO flights.

Mac got a little antsy (read: had a big, uncharacteristic meltdown that gave me palpitations) on the shuttle from the parking lot, but after that he was people-watching, reading, blowing kisses and crawling from Papa and Nana to Mom and Dad and back. What a relief to know I worried for nothing! Story of my life?

Even with thirty minutes of "hang out" time on the runway that got other fliers restless, our champ kept it together 'til Uncle Todd pulled us into his driveway. Whew!

Todd and his wife Laura hadn't seen Mac since last Thanksgiving, when he was just seven weeks old. You can imagine how different their last visit with him (cuddling a swaddled bundle) was compared to the high-fiving, kiss-blowing, stair-climbing whirling dervish their nephew has become.

Uncle Todd and Mac

The day before Thanksgiving we spent a whirlwind afternoon in New York City grabbing lunch, surveying the wares at a farmer's market and gabbing about the best places to buy the world's tackiest souvenirs. (Seriously, who's in the market for a $35 "New York City" baseball cap? Eep.)

Six adults to fawn over me? I love it here!

Our gracious hosts also took us through the beautiful town they live in. Their part of the country just screams "New England" to me - but I was glad to visit it before the snow kicked in!

Mac loved being the center of attention!

The highlight of the trip was spending time catching up with Todd and Laura, celebrating my in-laws' fortieth anniversary and savoring every last tasty bite of Laura's unreal cooking. (Todd's turkey was pretty fabulous too, to be fair!)

Their neighbors had kindly lent us a car seat, high chair and a plethora of toys, so Mac felt right at home as soon as we arrived.

The best "Smith boys" shot I could get.

Mac did beautifully on the flight to North Carolina and the drive home, too. In the days after we returned, though, it became SO apparent that he had been spoiled rotten. Six pairs of eyes and ears and arms to hug him are just no match for boring old mom.

Even baths were better in CT!

We've since settled back into our day-to-day routine, but the first "no" Mac heard after a week of "what do you want, sweet boy?" was a tough pill to swallow!

All in all, a delicious, chilly, festive Thanksgiving! We were thankful our first big trip as a family went well. (I was slightly less thankful when I stepped on the scale at my physical last week. Oh well!)