More of Music City

Growing up, I loved our annual trips to Nashville more than just about any other place we went. That's one reason why it thrills me that Jones and Freddie get to spend so much time in Music City. I want them to love it like I did.

The bigger reason I love these trips, though, is that it means my boys are getting to be best buddies with the precious son of one of my best buddies. Brooke and I have planned, since before AJ was born, that our tiny trio would someday share a college apartment at the University of Tennessee. The memories they're making now are the foundation for that plan, and the pictures. Well, just imagine how AMAZING they'll look on the gallery wall of that apartment I mentioned.

And before you start, I acknowledge that most college boys don't have gallery walls of boyhood pictures in their bachelor pads. Still, it's fun for us to dream, and it's even more fun for us to make the memories that come with taking the pictures.

In short, it was another great visit. I really feel like these boys are the best versions of themselves whenever they're together. They are so sweet to each other - fits never ... well, RARELY ... happen. It's kind of astounding, to be honest, how well they do.

Here are a few "must-remembers" from this most recent visit:

1) the advent of the Push Pop - on the way to Nashville, the boys and I stopped at a convenience store, and Freddie emerged with his first-ever Push Pop, which he spent the rest of the day eating. As usual, he was very generous with it - Brooke said she saw him stop the Gator and, without saying a word, turn to A.J., pushing the Pop into A.J.'s unsuspecting mouth. He gave his buddy a couple licks of it at dinner, too.

The next morning, after Brooke took some photos of Jones and Freddie, I took all three boys to a convenience store, so each could have his own Push Pop. I imagine these treats will be a part of our lives for the foreseeable future.

2) Freddie still sleeps in bathrooms almost everywhere we go. He doesn't mind one bit. This time his digs were upgraded, though. Brooke's redone her guest bathroom, and it looks AMAZING.

3) While we were there, Brooke's neighbor brought a leaf blower over for A.J. to play with. The boys took turns playing with it. I imagine we will be buying a couple of leaf blowers before too long.

My favorite Mexican restaurant in America is right down
the street from Brooke's house.

4) Once again, we brought the Gator with us, and once again, the boys had a BALL riding it all over Brooke's amazing backyard. What was incredible was how they'd stop and switch drivers every so often, without having be told to. I was very impressed with how all three took turns.

I was somewhat scared by the way Freddie drove, which is nothing knew. He likes to ride right around the perimeter of the lot. At the back of their property line is a little lip that goes up, like a tiny hill. It's shaded by tree limbs, and this is probably Freddie's favorite place to drive - thankfully, A.J. rolls with it and instinctively leans away from the tree limbs that, let's face it, could maim them both.

It was another awesome visit. The boys had a ball - and have been asking when we can see A.J. again since we hit the road right around nap time today.

Here's some video footage of our little Kings of the Road.

I love seeing these three in a row.

He may still be sleeping in bathrooms,
but no more Pack & Plays!

the infamous Push Pop

sharing the Push Pop

Freddie doesn't ALWAYS make the
best decisions at dinner.
Then again, when baskets of chips
are involved, neither do I!

Yes. He drinks salsa {face palm}.

Freddie was using A.J.'s camera to take a
picture of me, Brooke, and Michael.
Jones stood behind him, doing tricks
to try to get us to smile.
Wonder where he's seen that before?

I am going gray. Fast.

Freddie did NOT want Jones trying to stop
the Gator by pulling on the flatbed.

OOPS!

When your kid brother is a speed demon, he sometimes goes so fast that he throws you off his Gator. 

(Though Jones cried when it happened, he got back in the saddle (because I made him) before we left the Pressleys'. I was so proud of him, because he was scared to go for another ride. Still, he did it, anyway, and he hasn't complained about the scrapes on his face ... not one time.  Mama's little baby is growing up!)

_____

UPDATE (4/21/17): Jones still has a red patch on his cheek that makes him look kinda like he played Raggedy Andy in the school's Christmas production of "Super Gift from Heaven." I actually love it and think it's adorable, but it's there by his own hand. A few days after this "incident," he woke up, and his cheek looked a lot better. "Your face is looking better, Buddy," I told him, as we stood in the kitchen that morning. "I know," he responded. "I tooked dat fing off." So if he scars, he's only got himself to blame (for the record, I thought this was hilarious, and like I said, I love his little splash of rouge on his right cheek).

another trip to Nashville

The boys and I are just back in from another fantastic few days in Nashville. For this trip, my friend Wexler and her son Isaac flew in from Raleigh to spend some time with us, too, so it was awesome to see a few of my girls and to watch all four of our four-and-under boys make a mess out of Brookie's AWESOME playroom.

While Wex went to visit her friend Casey, Brooke and I got brave, taking Jones, Freddie, and Ah-to-the-J to Opry Mills. We strolled around in the morning and then went to the Aquarium Restaurant, which was a HUGE hit. All three of the boys did laps around the massive, floor-to-ceiling fish tank. They even got to see a scuba diver feeding the fish and "vacuuming" out the tank. It was a huge hit. Next trip, we're gonna try the Rainforest Cafe.

That afternoon, they napped, and Brooke and I watched a movie. We did the same thing after dinner that nite, which means that I, who honestly cannot tell you the last time I watched a movie, start to finish, without falling asleep, watched not one but TWO movies, sitting on the couch beside one of my besties. It was paradise. 

But back to the boys - after their naps,  they went outside to ride the Gator in Brooke's backyard. Michael sweetly agreed to keep all three boys, so Brooke and I could meet our friend Liz for dinner. We went to this awesome little spot called Firefly, where I had what is probably the best mac and cheese in the world. 

AJ LOVED riding on Jones, and Jones
LOVED being his doggy.

The final stop of our quick trip was to go to the Pancake Pantry (when Brooke asked if he wanted to get pancakes, a cranky Freddie put his hands on his hips, stomped his foot, and growled an emphatic, "YES!"). Brooke and I used to go there pretty routinely on my visits to Nashville, and it was super fun to take the boys back. I'm so very glad they're getting to the age that I can show them around these cities we visit - and I'm even MORE glad I get to show them around Nashville with a couple of my favorite people on the planet! When we got back to Brooke's, they played on the Gator a little while longer. Freddie is probably the most reckless drive in the whole world, and AJ just rolled with it - Freddie'd drive wide open, intentionally running into people, fences, balls, whatever was stupid enough to wind up in his way, and AJ thought it was the funniest thing ever. 

I think our plan for our boys to be as close as brothers is working out just perfectly, and I am so, so thankful for that fact.

Now to plan our next trip ...

Because my boys can't sleep in the same
room without keeping each other up
all hours of the nite, Freddie's Pack
and Play often gets put in a bathroom,
which is always the case at Brooke ...
and for which I am SO grateful.