Good Charlotte

"Yes Ma-am, I'd love to sign your baby."- Ricky Bobby, Talledegha Nights. An ode to racing, since we are in the home town of Nascar...Charlotte, N.C.. This is a big week for us because it's Eric's Bday on Tuesday (also Flag Day) and Haven and Denny have their respective Bachelor/Bachelorette Parties on Thursday. My mom is flying in Mon. thru Fri. so that we can throw a party for Eric and attend the wedding festivities, while having a babysitter that we and Soph are comfy with. First of all, let me say that this city has the most walkable, clean, and safe downtown with tons of options. It was a great week for us. There is a place called the Epicenter, directly across from our hotel. You will find everything from Five Guys Burgers to CVS to upscale dining, bowling, and a movie theatre serving fine dining to your loveseat. Now that's what I'm talkin' about people! Monday, Eric and I were able to go on a date where we saw "Super 8" and had wine in said fancy theatre. It was a great date-night. Tuesday was the Black Tie Bowling Birthday Bash! We asked that everyone overdress for bowling because we thought it would be fun and well, we were right. Everyone had a blast!

Eric received a lot of sweet cards and gifts, but I, unabashedly, can say the best one came from me...beauty and necessity rolled into a new, shiny, red and black walker. Class.

He wore it well.
The parties for Haven and Denny were really fun also and because they had the parties meet up, Eric and I got to spend even more time out together. It's nice to have a big ole group of people you really like around.



The weekend in Charlotte ended with more fun, cause we got to see Meegan, my girlfriend and bridesmaid from NYC who moved to Charlotte that very week. We loved having some time with her and after visiting Charlotte, knew that she would be perfectly fine there. It's a really great city! P.S. I got amazing highlights here and it only cost me $75. Eat your heart out, John Barrett.

From Charlotte, I got to head to L.A. for Haven and Denny's wedding and the cast, along with Eric and Sophie, headed to Grand Rapids, MI. Having anxiety about Eric and Sophie traveling "alone," I proposed to our friend, Sarah Peak (friend and fellow cast member) and asked her to be Eric's wife for the day. She knows Soph really well and I totally trusted that if something went wrong, she would be there for him. I've flown somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 times by myself with Soph, so I knew Daddy would be just fine, but wanted him to have someone there. Thank God everything went smoothly, well almost. With their first flight canceled, they ended up with a 12 hr travel day. Whew! That could have been super trying if it weren't for Sarah and Morgan (also friend and cast member) who were super helpful to Eric and loving on Soph all day. From what I understand, it wasn't just them, but the whole cast was super sweet to her and she, in turn, entertained them. Make 'em laugh, baby! By the end of the day, she was pooped.



The wedding was beautiful and I enjoyed a book and a magazine on my way. It had been a while since I read anything beside websites and forums about baby stuff. It was a relaxing flight. L.A. was beautiful and the people were happy and nice and... beautiful...go figure. The wedding. Haven looked radiant and Denny looked dapper.




It was a beautiful backyard wedding. They didn't miss a thing. It was perfectly them. I feel so blessed that our lives have intertwined with this awesome, smart, sweet couple. I got to stay in the awesomely cool house in the hills of our friends and Eric's boss. It was relaxing and fun to be with them , but I missed Sophie more than words can say at the same time. The sound of her "mumumumum"s over the phone made my eyes wet with tears. As a child screamed as if she were being stabbed to death behind me on the plane flight back to the family, I found myself thanking God that Soph is the travel pro she is and hasn't had a complete public meltdown. Yet. They say even the best babies have them, so as I brag about Soph's good demeanor, I can feel her mustering her very first and best blood-curdling scream. Until then, I will continue to thank my lucky stars. When I opened the door in Grand Rapids, I felt like I had been away a year. She looked older, more knowing, her hair looked longer and her face looked more like a toddler and less like a baby and that was just two days. I'm a mess.