Meeting Aunties Ashleigh and Jessie

For my first big road trip alone with Eleanor, we headed to Harrisonburg so that she could meet her two aunties that are currently in college and hadn't had the chance to meet her yet. They are at JMU and it was family weekend, so it was a good opportunity to go. It was 3 hours in the car each way, and thankfully I only had to stop once in each direction. I actually found a nursing room en route with a changing table and glider, so I knew exactly where to stop on the way back! While I've certainly gotten used to nursing her in parking lots and stuff, but it was awesome not to have to.

One of the biggest things I miss living in Williamsburg is seeing mountains. We are out on one of Virginia's peninsulas and it is verrry flat and low-lying. I know the east coast really doesn't have much in the way of mountains compared to the west, but there are a few and it was a beautiful drive. I loved watching the hills get bigger as I got closer.

When we finally got to Harrisonburg (even though I only had to stop once on the way, it was a looong stop), we went right over to JMU to let Eleanor meet Ashleigh and Jessie. She was wide awake and loved them and has now met all of our siblings!

We spent most of our time just relaxing up in the mountains (I got a massage!!), sitting on the back deck, and letting E get to know her aunts. Eleanor was totally mesmerized by her aunts playing guitar and one night tried to get into some cupcakes before dinner. And don't be duped by the innocent face in the last picture of her sitting with Papa Laser (yes, we are totally getting Eleanor to call her grandpa by his Air Force call sign!); she blew out her diaper about 2 minutes after I took that picture.

Besides hanging around the cabin, we checked out CrossKeys Vineyards - a gorgeous winery with amazing views in all directions. Eleanor was mostly an angel while we were there and it was a very relaxing way to pass the time while we waiting for her aunts to finish up their classes for the day.

And one of my favorite pictures I took while we were there - everyone so in love with Eleanor :)

Eleanor had just started smiling before I left for the weekend, so she got some practice in while we were there. She's still practicing, but is getting pretty regular about it now, which is wonderful.

Eleanor and I skipped out on the football game to meet up with my mom and sister (more on that soon), but they looked great decked out in purple and even brought E a souvenir back from the game :)

Overall, it was a great family weekend!