NC adventures to date

Can you believe that we have already been in NC for almost 2 weeks! I feel like we have done a lot of sleeping and resting, trying to get over the jet lag and all, but we have managed to do a few things while we have been here:

• We got our eat on. Yep, we haven't even been here 2 weeks and we've eaten Bojangles 3 times. Yum! And even though John G can't eat it yet, I'm sure he enjoyed being there watching us eat! Hubby has also enjoyed having his Diet Dr Pepper and eating sausage pizza (which he claimed was all he was going to eat and drink while we were here).

• Played with new toys and got completely spoilt. When we arrived John G had new toys and clothes waiting thanks to Grandma Keaton. And Grandma has bought him even more toys and clothes since we've been here. He absolutely loves this monkey. When you pull it's tail it plays a lullaby. This particular day I had John on the bed and the monkey was doing it's thing. He was mesmorised by it and was just staring at it. Next thing I know his eyes were closed and he was fast asleep!



We bought this particular toy with us, but we hadn't used it in Adelaide yet. It's a sesame street pram tie. The baby Big Bird squeaks when you squeeze, and cookie monster and elmo rattle. He loves this one too, especially in the car. If he's not staring at cookie monsters googly eyes, he has some part of the toy in his mouth.



You can't tell from this picture but he was trying to play with these two toys and the facewasher all at once. Clip Clop (the horse on the left) has a handle which he has actually hooked over his arm (all by himself), he was holding the monkey in the other hand (don't worry, I was watching him and took the tags off straight after this) and the washcloth was in his mouth. He was happy as Larry.

• Enjoyed our new surroundings. Grandma and Grandpa Keaton's house has some nice big windows which means its really easy for John G to see outside. We have been trying to go out for walks when it is not too cold, but on the days it is, I try and let John see outside for at least some part of the day. He likes to look at the leaves falling from the trees and watch the wind in the branches. It is also my attempt at trying to help him with his jet lag, as apparently sunshine helps get the circadian rhythems back to normal (as well as give you a natural booster thanks to Vitamin D). 

• Spent time with Grandma and Grandpa. Grandpa can make John G laugh by trilling his tongue, and Grandma gives John lots of smootchy smootchies.

• Enjoyed Thanksgiving with the Keaton Clan. John's brother's and sisters and most of their kids came to Grandma and Grandpa's house for thanksgiving. There were more people there than at a Fitton Family dinner (which is saying something). It was fun to meet some of them that I hadn't met before and introduce them to John G. Of course everyone commented on how beautiful he is, and there was a tonne of delicious food which we enjoyed eating. I even made a pavlova to add some Australian flavor to the day.

• Travelled to Raleigh for John G's cousin's wedding reception. He had actually been married in Salt Lake the week before, but they had a 2nd reception in NC the week after which we were able to attend.

Sleeping in the car on the way - this sweet picture belies the 20 minute crying/screaming session we endured at the end of the trip. Poor little guy was overdue for a feed by an hour and a half and had a very wet, very heavy nappy.

The happy couple, Keaton & Lillian, cutting what is arguably the most delicious cake ever (I'm sure some of the frosting inside was peanut butter flavoured). John's niece Ashton (Keaton's sister) made this amazing creation. You can check our her dessert blog here.

John's sister Paula and her oldest son Hayden.

John G with his Great Aunt Linda.

Daddy, John G and Grandma Keaton.

Me and my beautiful boy!

• Made Black Friday* purchases. We waited til the end of the day when we knew the 'crazy' shoppers would be gone. I purchased a new handbag (50% off baby) and John bought a new router for his Dad. I was really happy as I'd been looking for a new handbag at home for weeks and hadn't found anything I liked. The bag is big enough that I can put John G's change mat, a few nappies and wipes so that I don't have to tote around a handbag and a diaper bag.

• Been to church twice. It is super weird not having anything to do (I'm usually pretty busy at church on Sundays thanks to my calling). Apparently in the Elizabeth City ward prams have been banned from the chapel as they were taking up too much space. Luckily John's parents have a capsule (which we use in the car) so John comes into church in that. I am enjoying the comfy rocking recliner in their mother's room - much nicer than the tiny plastic uncomfortable chairs in the one at home...not that I should complain, we are lucky to even have a mother's room at the chapel. I have to admit, I do miss the advocacy for breastfeeding which I have been taking for granted in Australia. So far we have not found any shopping places that have mother's room or places to sit and feed (no even in the international airport in Dallas).

• Took Daddy to the Doctors (poor hubby has bronchitis again).

• Continued to be cute.

In fact, John G is so cute that when we went to the Doctors with Daddy the receptionist said that he was so cute it made her want to have a baby of her own...now that is cute!!!!

* Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, traditionally the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. On this day, most major retailers open extremely early and offer promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season, similar to Boxing Day sales in many Commonwealth Nations. Black Friday is not an official holiday, but many non-retail employers also observe this day as a holiday along with Thanksgiving, giving their employees the day off, thereby increasing the number of potential shoppers. It has routinely been the busiest shopping day of the year since 2005,^[1] although news reports, which at that time were inaccurate,^[2] have described it as the busiest shopping day of the year for a much longer period of time .
The day's name originated in Philadelphia, where it originally was used to describe the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic which would occur on the day after Thanksgiving.^[4][5] Use of the term started before 1961 and began to see broader use outside Philadelphia around 1975. Later an alternative explanation began to be offered: that "Black Friday" indicates the point at which retailers begin to turn a profit, or are "in the black".^[4][6]
Black Friday shopping is known for attracting aggressive crowds, with annual reports of assaults, shootings, and throngs of people trampling on other shoppers in an attempt to get the best deal on a product before supplies run out.- Thanks Wikipedia!