A Week in Davidson

April 20, 2016

A Week in Davidson

Once our time in Phoenix was up, we hopped on a plane to Charlotte, which was a direct flight away. Since we both had lap infants, we weren't seated near each other initially, but thanks to the kindness of strangers, we were able to switch seats so we were across the aisle from one another. We did this on our flight from Charlotte back to SFO as well. That made it much easier for us to attend to the babies' needs (feeding, diaper changes, naps) as necessary. The babies did great on the flights, and got some solid naps in the ergos. Hooray!

A quick note about flying with twins: TSA Pre-Check was the best $85 (each) we ever spent; we went through security like a breeze. Another thing that helped a ton: curbside check-in! With two big suitcases, two travel cribs, and two car seats to check as luggage, having curbside check-in was invaluable. At both Phoenix and Charlotte airports, Mitch was able to drop me and the boys off with our luggage, and while I checked us in curbside, he was able to return the rental SUVs and come back to the terminal easily.

Anyway, we arrived in Charlotte around 7:30 PM ET, got our luggage and rental car (upgraded to a RAV4), and drove off to our rental condo on Lake Davidson. It had been a long day, and the boys were getting cranky toward the end of the drive. Once we got into the condo and let them free, they were much happier. We also ordered a pizza along the way, and it arrived shortly after we did. So...the babies tried a little pizza for the first time too, to go with their pouches. :P We had the intention of keeping the boys as close to their regular West Coast schedule, but the first morning, they woke up with the sun around 7 or 7:30 AM ET. Ugh! We later put up some blackout shades and stuck some cardboard in the windows in the boys' room to help darken it, which helped a little. However, the boys still woke up at a normal time for ET, and so did mama and dad. We kept the rest of their day on an adjust West Coast schedule for eating and napping, and that seemed to go okay. They did have some night wakings here or there, but that might have been related to sickness and teething. We just managed the best we could to keep them as rested and happy as possible given all the changing circumstances.

That first early morning was tough after a long travel day/night. We went on a walk to Downtown Davidson so they could fall back asleep in the stroller, and we got some coffee for mama and dada from Summit Coffee (the "cool" coffee spot in town). Then after some breakfast at the condo, we hopped in the car for a 1.5 hour drive to the North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro, where we were meeting up with some friends who live in other parts of NC. :) The boys slept the whole drive there (and back) for their naps, which was awesome. It was so good to see our friends, and to know that after we move, these sorts of reunions will be much easier and hopefully more frequent!

When we returned to Davidson, Gung-gung and Paw-paw were waiting for the boys at the condo with presents, diapers, and pouches. :) I'd also ordered a crawl mat and sent it my parents' house, and they brought that too. That was super handy since the boys were moving all over the place. It's nice that visits with all the grandparents will also be easier than when we've been living in California.

While we were in Davidson, we toured a lot of houses with two real estate specialists, met up with some locals we'd been introduced to over email, went on walks by the Lake and around campus, and got to see my good friend Stephanie and her family. We even ran into some twin moms at a bakeshop, and exchanged contact info for when we move in the summer. Lining up twin play dates already--I like it! It was a fun, but busy week, and we felt like it was quite productive. We already feel like we can get around Davidson without needing a GPS, and we've already made a few acquaintances, which will make the move easier.