1st Trip to Rhode Island for the 4th

Hello friends and family! Well, this weekend went MUCH better than this past week did! We went on a surprise trip up to visit my family in Rhode Island for the 4th of July (hence the reference to "more on that later" for the issues with the ear infection). This is why I was SOOO very concerned with the ear infection - we were flying out the next morning. So, as you can imagine, among all the other *fun* news I was getting that week (the eyes and breathing issues) the ear infection was of particular concern!

Well, she actually did pretty good on the plane rides. We had 1 connection each way (so 2 planes up and 2 back). The first one up was a little rough when they pressurized the cabin - we were trying to get her to drink her juice to help her clear her ears but she didn't want to. So that wouldn't work. So, we moved onto Plan B for the second plane on the way up . . . wagon wheel snacks - yup, that worked. She'll never turn down her wagon wheel snacks. It helped her to swallow during take-off and landing and she didn't even notice the pressure changes. We used the same tactic for the way back and it was all good! She even hammed it up for the other passengers. He new favorite thing to do is to point at someone (anyone and everyone!!!) then wave at them and say "HI!!". She says it very clearly and it is so cute. She was doing that to everyone in the airport and on the plane. How funny! I'll try to get it on camera for you all to see.

We went up there on Friday morning and came back on Monday night. The only person that new we were going up there from Rhode Island (my parents and brother knew) was my Aunt Sue since she was helping us get all the baby stuff together (i.e. car seat and pack and play) so we wouldn't have to lug it all with us. Well, she picked us up at the airport and brought us over to my Grandma Lynn's house (my dad's mom) to surprise her - and she and my cousin Scottie walked in first and then when my Grandma spotted us out of the corner of her eye . . . the tears started! It was very sweet! She had no idea!

We got to surprise everyone - but no one had quite that great of a reaction. Olivia was quite a hit up there and LOVED being the center of attention! We were able to enjoy all of our favorite family traditions while we were there: HUGE family card games of Hearts, Uncle Tony's pizza (mmmmmm), Big clam bake dinner from Grandma Betty and just catching up with everyone. This was the first time that most of my family was able to meet Olivia and I'm so glad we were able to make it up there. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Eating Uncle Tony's Pizza:

Grandma Betty didn't have a high Chair so we had to make one . . . we used Grandpa's belts to strap her down! How cheesy - but it works! :)

Here's a video of Olivia and my brother's dog, Ozzy. The dog is only 4 months old (but almost 60 lbs!!!) and Olivia is actually scaring him!! Check out that Pterodactyl scream!

And here's another video from where Olivia stole Scottie's hat and was running around acting silly. She was being such a ham for everyone.

Look how cute her little July 4th dress is!

Ok, so we worked really hard to get a picture of Olivia with each of the family members while we were there. So here goes . . . .

With Papa

With Grandma Noreen

With Uncle Sean (She was VERY tired by the time this picture was taken!)

With Cousin Shane (all the way from California!)

With Uncle Paul

With Aunt Sue (Not sure what she is doing here)

With Cousin Greg (Who was scared to death to even hold her!)

With Cousin Scottie (Better known as her shadow for the weekend!!)

With Grandma Lynn

With Grandpa Larry (or you may know him as Santa)

With Grandma Betty

With Uncle Darryl

With Aunt Darlene

Here are some more pictures from the party at Aunt Sue's house. We were celebrating my Grandma Lynn's 85th birthday (a little early).

Olivia got to have some of the birthday cake - she LOVES cake! mmmmm

Here's a video of her going to town on it:

Scottie had an Elmo doll that Olivia had a good time playing with:

When we were back at my Grandma Betty's house, Grant brought Olivia out to the front yard to play outside. The neighbor had a little pinwheel - made for some cute pictures.

Here's Olivia up in the tree that I used to climb when I was a little girl (in the front of Grandma Betty's house)

And here we are on the way home . . .

Here's the little goofball after she stuck an entire wagon wheel into her mouth! What a goof!

Our last flight was after 7pm and she was pretty worn out. She passed out right as we were taking off.

Thankfully, it wasn't a full flight and we were able to lay her down in the middle seat for the entire flight - she woke up right after we landed in Raleigh.

We are glad to be home - but really enjoyed our trip! I wish my family was closer to where we could see them more often, but I guess if we have to save up to take a big trip every once in a while, this was a wonderful one to take. Looking forward to the next one!