Our East Coast Trip for Thanksgiving

Ethan was able to get a good amount of time off so that we could go to the East Coast for Thanksgiving. We spent 4 days with my brother, Mike, and his family. Then, we flew to New York City and spent 2 days with Ethan's Great Aunt and cousin. After that, we took the train to upstate New York and spent 4 days with Ethan's Aunt & Uncle and Grandma. The last time we were in New York was 4 years ago. So, it was fun for Ethan's relatives to meet Julia and to see them all again.

We took a red eye flight from LAX to Washington DC.  The flight was scheduled to leave at 10:50 p.m.  We thought Julia would sleep on the way to the airport, but of course she didn't.  :)  At the airport, she was getting a very tired but didn't want to sleep because she was just so curious about everything that was going on around her.  at 10:50, our plane started rolling out.  However, a few minutes later it was announced that a passenger was feeling ill and needed to get off the plane.  Not only that, the passenger needed to wait for his luggage!  So, a full hour went by and we still didn't take off!  Of course, with all the lights on, Julia was refusing to sleep and was getting quite cranky at this point.  Thankfully, around midnight we finally took off and Julia fell fast asleep.  She slept most of the flight to Washington D.C. across our laps.  On our flight to Harrisburg, the plane had quite a few empty seats, so we were allowed to take Julia in her carseat.  That was a huge blessing because she slept a little more (she needed it!)

Uncle Mike drove 2 hours to pick us up!  Thanks, Mikee!

While we were visiting Mike & Jen, a trip to "Dunkin Donuts" was a must do.  :)  Here's Joshua enjoying a donut he split with his sister.

Becca, enjoying the other half of the donut she split with her brother.

Becca took this picture of Julia and me.  :)  Future photographer?

Uncle Mike enjoying his niece, Julia.  Julia was bundled up so much, she looked like a big marshmallow!  Ethan and I were cracking up.  She often held her hands to the side (if you look closely, you can see that in this picture) because her jacket was so puffy.  She didn't fuss, though.  I think she enjoyed being outside despite all the clothing she had to wear...

Hannah

Our sweet girl

 

Uncle Mike, pushing Julia on the swing

Joshua

Ethan, pushing Becca on the swings

Me with 3 (of 4) of Mike's kids and my sweet marshmallow

Julia and me wearing our boots

Throwing rocks in the river

Julia is a big time thumb sucker.  We laugh at how she sucks her thumb... if you look closely, she's sucking her thumb on her right hand, but she's holding her left hand inside her right hand...  That's her favorite way to suck her thumb.

Walking back to Mike & Jen's house (Their farmhouse is in the background.  So beautiful!)

Sunset Ice Cream was also a must do!

Yum!

Uncle Ethan holding tiny little Elijah.  He was born about 5 weeks before our visit.

Aunt Jen and Uncle Mike with Julia.  I miss them!

Mike took us to the airport.  This time he didn't have to drive 2 hours!  We were able to fly out of his small local airport.

 

Ethan reading to Julia on the airplane ride to New York City.

Time's Square

This is in front of the New York Library.  We took this picture in memory of the day we got engaged and took a picture on these very steps (see below)

(The New York Library on the day we got engaged)

Waiting for the bus to take us back to Brooklyn where we stayed with Ethan's Great Aunt.

Julia fell asleep ont he bus ride back to Brooklyn.

I cherish the rare times when I get to hold Julia while she's sleeping!  So sweet!

Julia's cousin had 2 dogs.  Julia loved them so much!!!

This is Ethan's Grandma (in upstate NY) holding Julia for the first time.

We took this picture because it is Julia's favorite sleeping position.  She loves to sleep on her knees with her bottom high in the air.  We think it's hilarious.

Poor Julia got a fever for a few days while we were in upstate New York.  She didn't act particularly sick, but was definately more cuddly (which we didn't mind, of course).  I called my pediatrician to see if we should try to go to a doctor there, but she said it sounded like a virus and that she would probably get better on her own.  Thankfully, the day before we flew back home, her fever broke!  We're so thankful it didn't end up being anything serious.

On Thanksgiving Day, Julia wore a onesie that said, "Mommy's Little Turkey."

Ethan's sweet cousin, Krissy and another relative, Meim.

Watching the football game.  :)

Ethan's brother, Armand, holding Julia for the first time.

Feasting Time

Aunt Patti (holding Julia) and Grandma Jill

Ethan and his cousin, Krissy.

Julia's Ladybug Birthday Party

We had a party for Julia's birthday party at our house.  It was a ladybug themed party, so there was a lot of red, white, and black (and lots of polka dots).  We hosted it at our house.  One of the best things about hosting the party at our house was that it motivated us to finally finish up setting up our home.  Ethan and I worked hard on unpacking the remaining boxes in our bonus area upstairs, so now it looks all tidy!  Also, originally we were going to use our patio for eating, but then rain was on the forecast, so "Plan B" was to use the garage.  The garage was a mess with boxes everywhere.  So, we finally put everything away where it belonged and I even swept and mopped the floor of the garage!  So, our house is the cleanest it's ever been and I hope to keep it that way.  :)

Anyway, back to the party.  It was so fun to have and excuse to have many of our good friends over to our home.  Our house was the fullest it has ever been and we loved it.  :)

Here are some pictures of that wonderful day.

Ethan's brother's family & mom came over early before the party to help.  My sister-in-law, Lisa, did an amazing job with the icing for the cupcakes.

Ava was a great babysitter while we set up for the party.

Ethan blowing up balloons (with the help of Jared & Eric even though they're not in the picture).

The cupcakes!  Ethan's mom and sister-in-law baked them and then we iced them that morning.  I had made cupcake toppers for each cupcake.  They turned out super cute and tasted delicious.

I made little ladybug labels for the water.

I also made ladybug labels for the cups.

The food (we ordered sandwiches later)

Her high chair decorated with polkadots

I made a timeline of Julia (a picture from each month) and put it up on the wall.  I laminated each page so that I can turn it into a book.

My friend, Caroline, made this trail mix.  Notice the red M&Ms, the black raisins & chocolate chips, and the white marshmallows.  I thought that was a creative way to use the party colors (red, white, and black).  Of course the marshmallows were a big hit with many of the kids.  :)

Our family

The garage all clean for the first time  :)

Uncle Jared and Julia

Teta feeding Julia

Lots of kids!  :)

Awwww.  Adorable Autumn.

Julia and Autumn

Caroline did face painting (of ladybugs) on the kids. Thanks, Caroline! That was a big hit. :)

Madeline

Caroline also brought mustaches, lips, and glasses for people to take pictures with.  I thought that was a cute idea!  This is Vineetha with her daddy.

Ava and Lisa

Vicki, Tyler, and Noah

Chad

Jared with a unibrow!  :)

Julia with a mustache.  Ha, ha!

2 very dear friends, Angie and Joanna.  We have been friends since our first year of college.  In fact, Angie was my roommate for several years.  Who would have known that we would still be close friends and see each other often after all these years.  I am so blessed by these ladies!

Joshua and Julia getting to know each other.  :)  They are only a few months apart so that will be fun to see them grow up together.

Angie's family

Joanna, tickling Julia's neck

Julia and Teta

Everybody gathering around to sing "Happy Birthday" to Julia.

Look how happy she was when she saw the cupcake.  :)

Enjoying her cupcake

Ethan's brother's family

All of us

It was a LONG day and when it was over, she was a sleepy little girl.  She has become quite the cuddler when she is tired and I love these moments...  I could cuddle with her forever.

Michael, Emily, and Caroline.  Caroline is the one who let me borrow so many things for the party.  The 3 of them stayed after the party and we hung out and had pizza for dinner.  It was so great to spend time with them and relax.

Caroline and Julia

We love our girl!  Happy Birthday to our "Love Bug."