The Hills took to the road this past weekend to meet up and catch up with husband's hometown friends and their new babes. And instead of making it a quick up and back kind of trip, we extended our stay to enjoy some Charlottesville exploration too. So we booked our overnights with Hilton's Double Tree Hotel, packed our bags, and hit the road.
We thought leaving at Greer's bedtime on Friday would be ideal, so that was exactly what we did. Like we expected, Greer fell asleep about 10 minutes after hitting the road. What we didn't expect is that she would wake up 30 minutes later and stay awake for the remainder of the trip. I kept jumping between the front and back seat for the next 2 hours. She was wide awake and gooney by the time we made it to the hotel, but it was totally worth it to watch her wonder and amazement as she took in the bright lights and the buzz of the hotel lobby. Luckily, the hotel had a pack 'n play all set up in our room, so after some milk and snuggles our girl was off to bed.....at a quarter to midnight....oops!
Our Saturday morning started at 6 AM, regardless of the late bedtime. Two of us changed out of pajamas and one of us (the lucky one) got to stay in her pajamas for our breakfast run to Panera. P.s. If you are looking for something scrumptious from there, try the spinach artichoke soufflé.
We took breakfast back to the hotel, and coffee kept us company while Greer snoozed on daddy (see the sweetness on my IG). Post-nap cuddles and sleepy baby eyes are always the best and very welcomed by this mama. I mean, just look at that tiny baby hand resting on the side of my face (above). #meltme So we lounged around a bit longer to soak those in before prepping for our day.
You might ask what motivates a gal to get out of her comfy clothes, shower, and dress. Two words....Home Goods. And just like that you've got one mama moving at super sonic speed to make it to Home Goods before baby's next nap. As parents do, we swapped back and forth watching Greer so the other could get ready. At 7 months old she is able to play somewhat independently, and her stacking blocks are her favorite way to play right now. Not to mention she's the cutest thing while playing.
After shopping and lunch at Jason's Deli, we headed 45 minutes down the road to for the hometown get together. Our hostess had the cutest theme for our little party. For each appetizer there was a corresponding book. Talk about precious! If you're looking for a baby shower or baby birthday theme, this is perfect.
Somehow we managed to never get a group picture or the babes and their parents. Next year! It was really sweet to catch up with everyone and share our sweetest new bundles. Watching the babies interact was certainly the highlight for me. It will be really special to see them interact over the years.
Sunday morning Greer slept in. A miracle of all miracles. But, we did not. Because we assumed she would start her day as early as always, we told husband's parents to meet us at 7 in the hotel for a little time together before making our way home. Although more sleep would have been lovely, it was nice to have the peaceful morning get together with an appearance by one of my favorites. If you couldn't guess, I'm talking about Starbucks (thanks MIL for the treat!).
We finished our morning with some pumpkin apple goodness for baby girl, a little packing up, some play time to burn extra energy, and some snuggles. We ended up on the road about 1:00 that afternoon, and all the praise hands for Greer sleeping almost the entire way home. She woke with about 20 minutes to go, but she did great!
It's always hard starting a week after coming off of such a good weekend. We spent the majority of yesterday napping, well Greer did. I tried to help her catch up on the sleep she missed from our little adventure. I must say she makes traveling so much more fun. While it takes extra work to pack and prep with a baby, there is something to be said about the innocence and amazement a tiny tot has for all things new. It's the gift of a bit of your youth back. After our time in Charlottesville, we know we want to travel far and wider with our girl in tow. Her first hotel stay was a success, and we had so much fun exploring and visiting with our people. We definitely need more weekends like these!
Thanks so much to the Charlottesville Double Tree by Hilton for hosting us over the weekend and sponsoring this post!
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