My cousin, Chuck, just finished his second year at UVA Law and is about to head south for his summer internship so I had to go meet baby Chase before they left. He is precious. And quite the cuddle bug. His parents say he really likes to be held which was no problem for me. Although it was very different to hold a tiny baby again. Everyone always said how weird it was to hold Carter when he was little after getting used to holding a bigger baby and now I totally agree. Desiree, the proud mama, tried to hold both boys for a picture, but Carter was a little squirmy. I was surprised when I looked at the picture at how big Carter looks compared to Chase. I am used to him being the tiny one - not the big baby!
And here is the wonderful big sister, Natalie. She just turned three and her Mommy and Daddy couldn't say enough good things about how great a big sister she has been to Chase. She had fun playing with Carter too and shared her toys with him while we were visiting.
Sweet Baby Chase tuckered out while we were there and decided to take a quick nap on Daddy's shoulder. I bet he is glad to have Daddy home after all the crazy hours of studying for final over the past couple of weeks. Congrats on finishing year 2, Chuck! 
On our way back home we swung by Monticello to see the new Visitor Center as well as visit some old friends. It was a gorgeous day and the mountaintop was packed. As I was waiting in line to get a ticket to ride the shuttle bus to the top I overheard that the next available house tour was two hours later. Yikes. Good thing I just wanted to visit friends and good thing they have an INCREDIBLE new Visitor Center for guests to enjoy while waiting to tour the house. This was my first visit back since the new Visitor Center opened and I was thrilled to see how wonderful it all turned out. If any of you reading this blog are in the area I definitely recommend planning a visit to the home of Mr. Jefferson. Seriously. It is incredible. Here is an overhead picture of the new center. 
It has a cafe with yummy food from Brix, a stunning Museum Shop that made me wish I still got a discount, and all brand new exhibits to learn more about TJ and his time at Monticello. Plan your visit now!!!
It has a cafe with yummy food from Brix, a stunning Museum Shop that made me wish I still got a discount, and all brand new exhibits to learn more about TJ and his time at Monticello. Plan your visit now!!! 
I couldn't resist taking a couple of shots of my cute baby boy in front of the house. He was all smiles and if you look really closely at this close up you can see Carter's first tooth! Yippee!!!
Speaking of Carter - he is just waking from his morning nap, so I must run for now. 
What a great post. Little buddy is growing, smiling, enjoying, and making mommie and daddy proud. I know you enjoyed your trip to your old stomping grounds, and I bet the friends were glad to see big Carter. I love that "full face" smile.
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