Family Trip, Part III

Sunday morning, we left New York and headed to Jamaica, Vermont to stay with my aunt and uncle for the night. We stopped in Stockbridge, Mass. and visited the Norman Rockwell Museum-it was really cool, althought we didn't get to see much since we were trying to keep up with Ethan. But it had lots of hills for him to run around and play. We finally made it to Vermont that evening-my aunt and uncle live in a very rural area in the mountains and Ethan had a blast running around their property and playing with their dog. Ethan slept with us in the bed, which he is not used to, so he woke up about 3 times that night crying. He's also getting another tooth so we didn't get much sleep that night.

The next day was the longest day EVER! We got up very early Monday morning, thanks to Ethan, and went to visit my Grandma in Townshend, Vermont on our way back to the airport in Hartford. On the way, we stopped at the Yankee Candle Factory in Deerfield, Mass. and let Ethan run around for a while. We got to the aiport around 3:00 and our flight didn't leave until 6:00! We only had 3 diapers left and wouldn't you know, Ethan pooped 3 times before we even got on the plane!! This nice girl could tell I was stressed while changing Ethan for the THIRD time in the bathroom, so she gave us a few diapers to get us home-thank goodness!

We got on the plane and Ethan did ok on the way to Cleveland. We had an hour layover, so we had dinner and rested before getting on the 2.5 hour flight back to Houston. That flight was awful!! We were "that couple" with the screaming baby. 2 and a half hours of screaming-he was super exhasuted and couldn't fall asleep. Right before we landed, he finally went to sleep so Jake had to carry him through the aiport to get our luggage and get to the car. We finally walked in the door to our house around midnight. I don't think we've ever been that tired before. So, we are very glad to be back home!!! We had a good time, but Ethan will be staying with grandparents on any future trips we might take!!!

At the Yankee Candle Factory

Playing the piano for the residents where my Grandma lives

The Norman Rockwell Museum

Family Trip, Part II

It was about a 2 hour drive from Massachusetts to New York. The GPS really came in handy! We checked in at the hotel in Poughkeepsie and met up with my parents and brother. We went to dinner that night with my aunt, uncle, Grandma, and parents. The next day was my Grandpa's Memorial Service at the church where he was pastor for 10 years. It was a beautiful service: my brother put together a slideshow, my mom played the piano, and my uncle gave the eulogy. I'm sad that Ethan never got to meet his great-grandpa. After the service, we wll went to dinner at this great restaurant on the Hudson River. That night after we put Ethan down, we stayed up late and hung out in the hotel lobby. Ethan did not sleep well in the crib-it was all metal with no bumper and he was way too big for it!


Reading books in the car on the way to NY


View from the restaurant

Hudson River

Dinner with lots of family!


Crashed out in the hotel crib

Family Trip, Part I

We took our first family trip to New York for my grandpa's Memorial Service last Thursday. Our flight left from Houston at 6:50am-and we never really caught up on sleep the whole time. Taking a toddler on a trip was not the best idea in the world, but we tried to make the most of it and still had fun visiting with relatives and trying to see the sights.

Ethan did very well on the plane-surprised us actually! We had to keep him entertained, but he did really well reading books, playing toys, eating snacks, and watching cartoons on the plane TV. We had a layover in Cleveland and once we got on the next plane, Ethan slept all the way to Hartford-yippee!!! That night, we stayed with some of Jake's family friends from when he lived in Connecticut so we drove to their house in Blanford, Massachusetts. They have a 10-month old baby, Paige, so it was a nice stay. They had a high chair, pack-n-play, and lots of baby toys to play with. Ethan even got to take his first bath with a girl! The next morning, Jake played golf while we let the babies nap. I met him at the golf course and we were then on our way to Poughkeepsie, New York to meet up with my parents and relatives.

At the golf course in Southwick, Mass with Paige and her mommy, Kate

Bath time!

Asleep on the plane

Watching cartoons on the plane