Our First Family Vacation

For our first family vacation, we all loaded up and went to Gatlinburg, TN and the Smokey Mountains. The weather was great and it was a fabulous experience for us. Although, taking a 5 month old on a few day vacation is quite a challenge, but worth every minute.

Brantley and Mommy under a beautiful backdrop

Ryan had planned a few hours for me to go shopping. It is funny how shopping now just turns

into buying for Ryan and Brantley( mostly Brantley).

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One of the favorite spots on our trip was the Aquarium.

Brantley was very intrigued by all of the bright colors and movements of the jellies.

They had a number of huge sharks in the underwater tunnel. Check out the multiple rows of teeth!!!

Our little Kangaroo kid

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Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede.

We thought that a dinner show would be lots of fun, but we did not know that the Dixie Stampede did not serve silverware. It was all eat with your hands...which proved a bit cumbersome when holding a squirming 5 month old.

Our favorite part was the world-famous pig races...that's right, pig.

Brantley would not sit still during the show and got pretty fussy...finally, we just gave up and laid him down on the floor at the Dixie Stampede, and he was as happy and content as possible. Lesson learned -- when in doubt, put him on the floor.

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The final day of our trip, I thought it would be fun to have a nice, relaxing drive through the Smokey Mountain Nat'l Park. I went on Google Maps and Nat'l Park maps website to find a route that was on the way towards home. I found (what I thought was) the perfect road that ran through the Smokies and brought us out onto a main hwy. Well, let's just say this was what the Nat'l Parks call a "Primitive Road." Which are great for seeing nature and riding a Moped down, but not for blazing through on the way home with five hours of driving still ahead. We laugh now, but it was quite frightening and VERY tense for a little while. It took us nearly an hour to drive eight miles on this glorified walking trail.


As you can see here, we did not cross over creeks...they crossed over us. Luckily, we had just purchased new tires :)

I Have the Best Dad in the Whole Wide World

If we could have afforded it, Brantley wanted to get Ryan box seats for the Alabama games, but for now we got the next best thing - matching game day shirts for the up coming season ( only 72 days until kick off). Although Brantley is sporting a BAMA shirt, he is a big fan of is daddy. We are very lucky to have him in both of our lives. He is such a good father and husband. I love you Daddy and want to be just like you.

Happy Father's Day to four generations of Turner men.

The Chambley side of our family is very fruitful!!

Play time

Last week Porter and Liam came over to play while the moms shared some recipes. Porter wanted to show Brantley where his mouth was. Liam was just chillin'. Brantley had some hard choices to make last week - to play with his little blue dog or his old friend, the zebra. After much thought he decided to eat the zebra.

Hey that face looks good.
I am working on my upper body... Ladies.

Four Month Doctor's Vist

Dr. Hamm said, "His weight is in the 25th percentile, but his head is in the 60th percentile. That is a sign of brain growth." We are going with that explanation...for those worried about a pathological issue, Brantley's anterior fontanelle is soft, indicating no hydrocephalus.

So Mommy, what's with this waiting with my clothes off?

Daddy don't let them give me any shots. Please!!!!!!!!!!!

There's a Bear in the Pool

This week we finally made it out to the pool as a family for Brantley's first sustained swimming experience. He seemed to enjoy himself, though it took him bit to relax with the enduring tactile stimulation of this new aqueous matter. I am a big fan of the hat, though I think it needs to don a few fishing lures.
You would think that Brantley was the one post-call as he slumberly poses for the photos.


We started him out trying to take watery baby steps.

Now we are in full float mode. Quite relaxing, but...

Everyone knows that a Bear prefers to be nice and dry on land.

Jumperoo

Brantley got a Jumperoo for his four month birthday. He likes it more and more each day. We were excited to see what he would do with his feet.

Just a little ways to go.

Our Sweet Little Boy

Last week Brantley and I spent the whole week just playing with each other. I had missed him so much from going back to work. Sorry I have not posted in a while; we have been busy playing.

Brantley loves to play when you put him out on his changing table.

Lately everything has been going in his mouth.

Mornings are my favorite time of the day. He gives the biggest smiles when he wakes up.

Brantley is always ready to nibble on Something!