East Coast Trip

We had a wonderful trip to New Jersey and New York. We spent the first weekend with some of Matt's relatives in NJ, then traveled to Pearl River, NY for AIM's Candidate Week, then back down to NJ to see Lesley's grandpa and Alyssa and Bobby, then a final morning with Matt's aunt, uncle and grandmother. Whew! Yup, it was a whirlwind!

So, the first thing I want to say is that everyone who has a kid under 25 pounds should request a baby bassinette from your airline when you travel. They give you the bulkhead seats, the baby sleeps cozily and safely, and it's free!!! Nate slept 7 straight hours on the way there, and 5 straight hours on the way back. AMAZING. Wish I'd known about these earlier!

We arrived in NJ post winter snowstorm to find a foot or two of snow still on the ground. It was pretty special for us islanders.

Nate was cozy all week in hand-me-downs from his cousin Colt and friend Pena. Everyone is always complimenting this adorable hat! And the shoes are from Aunty Carla from Kazakstan.

Matt's super cool cousin Shelley and her husband Derrick brought their adorable kiddos down from Pittsburgh for the weekend. Nate loved hanging out with Reese, who is about two months younger than him. Here, he's checking out her toes. Nate is always fascinated by babies that are smaller than he is.

Nate enjoyed lots of playtime with Daddy, Aunt Margie and Carter (Reese's big brother). Matchbox cars were the toys of choice that weekend.

A whole bunch of family came over on Saturday and it was really fun to meet so many new people. Here is just one picture of Nate with Matt's uncle. This is one of my favorite pictures because I LOVE Nate's huge grin in this one.

It was really special that Nate got to meet Matt's maternal grandmother for the first time, who Matt is really close to.

We spent Sunday morning at the Philadelphia aquarium. We got to see penguins, hippos and of course fish, and touch sharks and sting rays! This was just some random photo op on a wall at the aquarium. Again, I just love Nate's grin. He's such a happy kid.

Nate trying to smile, his handsome Dad, and some tropical fish.

Touching the sting rays. Well, Mommy and Daddy touched them, but Nate just splashed the water a bit.

Looking in a HUGE tank.

He was completely exhausted by the end of the morning.

We were outside to see the penguins.

But he woke up after only 20 minutes so he wouldn't miss the penguins.

More playing with Reese. Note the matchbox cars again.

Then it was up to Pearl Rive for Candidate Week. Nate learned to draw on the windows in our room after a hot shower fogged them up.

All of the February 2010 candidates. Lots of new friends.

Then Nate got to meet my maternal grandfather, also living in NJ.

His daughter Alyssa (technically my aunt, but she's about our age) and her husband Bobby and their two sweet kids joined us for an awesome pizza dinner with grandpa. I hadn't seen Alyssa since we were in our early teens. Matt and I both really enjoyed getting to know her and Bobby.

All in all, it was a wonderful week!