Well the Weather Outside Was Frightful, but the Company Was Delightful
We had some interesting plane rides this holiday season - getting in town (into the wrong airport for that matter) at 1:30am on the way there, and at 1am on the way back - both thanks to snow. Not ideal, but that was the worst of our travel problems. Oh, and the airline lost our carseat and stroller on the way home too.... nice!
Otherwise, the holiday's were an absolutely wonderful time with family. We flew into MA on the 20th (well, tried to fly into MA, we ended up in NH, but anyway...) and spent several days with Lisa's parents. We mostly relaxed, played card games, enjoyed the hottub, playing the piano, good food and each other. My parents are absolutely enamored with Kayla - it was really precious to watch them interact with her. My mom loved 1-on-1 time with her, and as a result, I didn't change 1 diaper or give 1 bath the whole time we were there! It was a really nice break for me (and David too). While there we enjoyed spending a little time with our good friends Pat and Katie, celebrating David's birthday at the Cheesecake Factory, a Christmas Eve service with the family, and Christmas Day. Although Kayla was mostly uniterested in the presents, she did enjoy the bows, and the attention! I think it was far more exciting for me seeing all of the things she was getting!! We did, however, get a cute picture of her surrounded by her presents!
The day after Christmas we got up early on the road to drive to DE to visit David's side of the family. His parents were driving up from NC the same day. We stayed with Pop-pop and Lilly, and had a wonderful time visiting them while we were there. I've never seen Pop-pop with a baby before, and I must say that I was surprised how he turned right into mush around her! He nicknamed her "hog jaws" (courtesy of her cute cheeks), and enjoyed cuddling with her and chatting with her!!
This was the first time Steph and her boyfriend Nick were able to meet Kayla, and that was precious to see them together!
Time in DE always is busy - there are so many people to see! We got to see Grandma, Aunt Ruth, Aunt Marie, Aunt Ruth-Marie, Aunt Henny, Aunt Marlene and Uncle Denny, Grandpa and Cathy Thorn, and all of David's aunts, uncles and cousins!! At Grandma's Christmas Dinner there were 34 people in her house! It was so fun to have all of that family together, and the food was excellent! Here are some pictures!!
Two of David's cousins also had children this summer within 6 weeks of Kayla (she is the youngest by a month) but they were all comparable in size! It was so cute to see them with each other. Really, someone should have taken a picture of what these babeis were looking at, because it involved about 20 adults making silly faces, a box of crackers being shaken above the camera to get their attention (and yes, I got cracker crumbs all in my hair because of it!). But as a result, we got some really cute pictures (Kayla on the left, Noah in the middle, and Ava on the right):
Traveling is always a bit exhausting, especially when unpredictable things happen to your flights. But Kayla was an angel (on our flight to MA, we ended up spending 3 hours sitting on the ground before they would let us off. Kayla and I walked up and down the aisle - from 10pm-1am, mind you - and I had people comment that they didn't even know there was a baby on the plane! Many people stopped me to tell me how cute and how happy she was!). And, we also did two 6 hours drives, where she slept most of that time and was calm and happy when she was awake. It was much better than we could have asked. She is such a happy little girl, and roaming all over the East coast, sleeping in several different houses and beds didn't break her spirits! She was a gem! We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's - special times with family that will long be remembered.
For all of the pictures of our trip, see Kayla's pictures, 5th month!!