Wine Down: Tennessee Trip

Peyton went on her very first overnight, out of state road trip the weekend of August 8-10 to Tennessee! Back before Peyton was even born, I decided that going on this trip would be one of my first big mommy goals. A dear childhood family friend of ours was getting married and I desperately wanted to be there. I knew that Peyton would only be about two months old and that putting her in the car for 8+ hours was probably a terrible idea, but I wanted to try. The bride's father (a dear friend of my parents) passed away back in late April and I was very sad that I was not able to make it to the funeral. My doctor wouldn't let me travel so far away from home that late in my pregnancy. I knew this wedding weekend would be difficult for their family and for my family, so I wanted to make sure that we could be there to support everyone. Plus, I knew all of our family friends would want to meet Peyton!

I knew that I wanted to bring Peyton on the trip to see everyone, but I did not want to have to bring her to the actual wedding. Mommy and daddy needed a night off :) So I enlisted Jared's sister to come along as our babysitter.

We decided to make the initial drive to Chattanooga in the middle of the night. We didn't want to have to keep stopping along the way for feedings and diaper changes, as this drive was going to be long enough even without having to stop constantly. Therefore, we opted to schedule our travel plans around Peyton's sleep schedule. Peyton does the majority of her uninterrupted sleeping between 10:30pm and 6am (I know, shocking for an almost 2 month old) so we wanted to do most of the driving at a time when she would be in a good long stretch of sleep. Jared and Erika are super insomniacs and really good at staying awake all night so they were totally game for attempting this midnight road trip. Staying awake late is not something I am good at. I am a morning person, not a night owl.

On Thursday evening, we packed up the car (Sidenote: 3 nights out of town with a two month old basically requires a full sized U-haul) and got ourselves ready for the all night drive. We fed Peyton, bathed her, and did her whole night time routine. However, instead of putting her down for bed in her crib, we put her down in her car seat. By 10:00pm, we were all in the car and ready to hit the road. Peyton had just fallen asleep. Along the way, we stopped twice for bathroom/snack breaks for ourselves, but Peyton never woke up once. Jared drove the entire way and Erika helped him stay awake. I sat in the back with Peyton and slept on and off throughout the night. A couple of times, I woke up to Jared and Erika having a full blown 90's dance party in the front seats. It was hysterical, but hey, whatever it takes to stay awake.

We arrived at our hotel in Downtown Chattanooga at precisely 5:00am, exactly 7 hours from door to door. When I brought Peyton into the hotel room and sat her down, she instantly woke up and greeted me with this adorable face :) She was ready for her morning feeding, right on schedule. I couldn't believe how smoothly that drive went. I was so nervous and terrified that we would be trapped in the car with a screaming baby, but she was amazing!

Jared and Erika went right to bed while I unpacked Peyton's stuff, fed her and then put her back to bed so I could get a few more hours of sleep. She went right back to sleep for 4 more hours!

Once we all got a decent amount of sleep, we decided to head out for a late lunch and a visit with some friends.

Peyton had a lot of visitors all throughout the weekend. And a lot of outfits! Thank goodness I overpacked for her because everytime I put a cute outfit on her, she pooped on it. Here she is with Aunt Melissa, who came to the rescue many times with her Shout wipes which saved Peyton's outfits.

Friday night, we took Peyton out to dinner with us while everyone else was at the Rehearsal Dinner and she was so well behaved. The restaurant we went to was super loud, but she just slept the entire time. After dinner, my mom stayed with her in our hotel suite so we could go out to the bar with our friends from the wedding.

On Saturday morning, we headed "up the mountain" to where our family friends live on Signal Mountain. We spent the day visiting with everyone and Peyton got to meet a new friend!

Peyton (almost 2 months) and Claire (almost 1 year)

Saturday night was wedding time! Peyton stayed in our hotel suite with Auntie Erika for 8 hours. That's the longest that I have ever left her before! I didn't mind though because I knew she was in good hands and Erika sent us lots of cute photos throughout the night. I did miss her of course, but it was so nice to have a night out.

I was super excited to get to spend a little time with my childhood best friend, Lindsay, even if it was only for one day. The last time I saw her, I was pregnant in her wedding!

Jared just loves when I make him pose for photos at weddings, especially when he hasn't had a chance to make it to the bar yet :)

Our parents have been friends since middle/high school and we have been friends since birth! So great to be reunited with these beautiful ladies, who might as well be my sisters!

Ah, a better Jared smile now...thanks to a few cocktails :) The view from the Chattanooga Country Club was gorgeous. Overlooking the Tennessee River, I loved this fabulous deck where we got to enjoy that refreshing mountain air.

All of the moms, who became friends in high school, and their daughters! Thankfully, the official wedding photographer captured this shot as well which will be so much better than my iPhone version here.

We are so blessed to have had such an amazing group of friends to grow up with. These ladies have been more like aunts and sisters to me, rather than just friends.

We went back up the mountain to say goodbye to our family friends before heading back to Jacksonville on Sunday. Jennifer (Claire's mommy) and I have known each other since birth. Our dads and our moms have been best friends since high school. We are so excited for Claire and Peyton to start the 3rd generation of our family friend group!

I couldn't possibly leave Tennessee without introducing Peyton to the beautiful mountains. I insisted that we take the scenic route back down the mountain so that we could stop at an overlook to enjoy the view.