Block Party

A few weekends ago, we joined our neighbors for our first annual block party. With the permission of the Raleigh PD in hand, we blocked off a segment of our street and let the kids run wild while we visited with friends new and old. Court particularly enjoyed playing with his buddy Carver, who lives on our block and is just six weeks younger than Court. They are two peas in a pod!

Big Changes!

We are kicking off a new stage of our lives today, as I prepare to return to the workforce this week. The Local Government Commission, which is part of the NC State Treasurer's Office, received a copy of my resume through a professional acquaintance and approached me about an opportunity in their debt management division. Ultimately, they offered me a position working in my exact field of study and they have agreed to allow me to work thirty hours per week, thus affording me with the ability to continue to spend a lot of time with Court every day. I will be working Monday through Thursday from 8 am until 4 pm, during which time Court will attend the Infant-Toddler Center in downtown Raleigh, directly across the street from the State Capitol and just two blocks from Jon's office.

Today was Court's first day at his new school and he was amazingly calm and happy - no tears! He has been attending a two-day morning preschool for the past few months so he understands the general concept of school and now he'll be attending full-day school, four days per week. He already knows his three teachers by name and they said that he was a true sweetheart to them and to the other children. We are excited and nervous about the transition but Court makes it look easy!

NC State Fair

Court let us tag along with him on his annual visit to the NC State Fair, where he visited with some friendly cows and horses, sampled cotton candy and NC State University ice cream, rode the Merry-Go-Round and a leisurely boat ride, and visited with the Wake County Fire Department. The day was a highlight of the fall season!

Fall is here!

We have been so busy having fun in this gorgeous fall weather that we've been neglecting our "Holding Court" posting duties. But we're back, and we'll be much better about keeping you current on Court's comings and goings, we promise!

Last weekend, we traveled to Youngsville, NC to attend a fall festival at Hill Ridge Farms. We expected a simple hay ride and pumpkin patch, but what we found was a mini-theme park complete with a steam engine train, an 80' tunnel slide, a farm animal corral, and lots of space to run around like a wild man (which is Court's favorite activity, as of late). It was a lovely day. Happy fall!

(Court loves tractors, but he apparently doesn't love for his mom and dad to prop him up on a tractor tire and plead with him to smile for the camera!)

South of the Border

If you have traveled along the I-95 corridor between NC and SC, you are probably familiar with the infamous and somewhat-spooky complex known as South of the Border, which sits frozen in time at the state line. Despite regularly traveling this route for the past 16 years, we have successfully avoided any reason to ever stop there... until now, when the lure of a playground and open greenspace become compelling reasons to stop anywhere if it means that a cooped-up toddler can blow off some steam during a long road trip. Behold, photographic evidence of our stop at SOTB, which apparently was wildly popular in the 1960s and 1970s but is in a current state of decay. If there's a life-sized elephant or a miniature merry-go-round, count us in!

School Days

After a long, fun summer break, Court returned to his morning preschool program this month. He attends the program two mornings per week and he was very excited to put his new lunch pail to use on the first day. We dressed him up in his fancy outfit for photos, but then he changed into something that he could safely get messy for the actual day at school. We are fortunate to live just two blocks away and we enjoy walking to school together with our dog Edith in tow.

Raleigh Rose Garden with Grammy & Papa

Court is lucky to live within a day's drive of his Georgia grandparents, who came to visit him in August for a weekend of fun. He loved taking them to some of his favorite spots, including the Raleigh Rose Garden. In addition to sixty beds of roses, the garden has a small pond that is his very favorite spot for spotting fish and for splashing around. We had to convince him that the pond was not suitable for swimming; otherwise, we're pretty certain he would have jumped right in!