The week of firsts

Nathanael, has had the one of the most eventful weeks of his life! Last Thursday, we headed up to Burlington to catch an airplane, that was unfortunately too late for us to meet our other plane in Philadelphia. Needless to say, we were very disappointed, but the lovely airline made arrangements for us to catch another flight Friday morning. Instead of catching the sunset from the air, we drove over to Lake Champlain and watched the sunset and even got to play on a really neat playground!

Lake Champlain

The sunset with a view of NY state

Daddy having fun on the playground

Friday morning, our alarm clocks went off at 415 and we were on the road by 5am back to Burlington to meet the airplane. I realized last weekend the challenge of traveling with a child! Trying to say goodbye to Daddy (who of course is his favorite), get out all the papers you need to check in security, take off 2 sets of shoes, carry two carry-on bags and get a two year old through the metal detector without touching the sides, oh and being 6 1/2 months pregnant was a big challenge!! We really appreciated the overhead page for passengers with small children and the wait before they allowed anyone else to get on...

Getting ready for the flight

An informed passenger

He was afraid of the cockpit every time I got him in there

Nathanael did great on his first flight ever, although the plane was too big for him to see out of the window when he was buckled in. We got to ride a bus in Philly between terminals, which he loved as well, too! The airplane to Richmond was smaller, so he could see out the window, but he slept most of the flight. He was so excited to see Grams, Papa J and Holly at the airport. We then went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.... YUM YUM! We had just enough time to see GG before going to my cousin's wedding rehearsal.

Practicing

Nathanael was not the best at the rehearsal, so I was really nervous about how he would act during the wedding, which was also right in the middle of his naptime. Saturday morning we rested and thankfully Nathanael took a nap on the way to the church!! He was such a handsome kid! He loved holding hands with the flower girl, Savannah and even snuck a few kisses! After performing so well for pictures, they walked hand in hand down the aisle, fell at the end, got up and Nathanael said, "Let's sit down." So that's just what they did (for a few minutes). Nathanael ventured to the other end of the pew, picked up a tissue, came back down and wanted to help Savannah clean her nose. After I heard the word, 'boogie' I grabbed him and we sat together for the rest of the wedding. My cousin, Lauren, was beautiful, as always and we enjoyed a good Southern meal of barbecue, chicken, hush puppies, corn fritters and sweet tea! (well, I really enjoyed it... the only BBQ and sweet tea we've had in Vermont has come from my kitchen) These are some of my favorite pictures from the wedding.

Sweethearts with the Bride

Hugs

Stealing a kiss

Happy kids!

Wandering off...

Cuties

Mr. Handsome

Lauren, my sister Holly, and me

Our beautiful Grannie B

The Wedding Party

The Carriage Ride

Robin, my other cousin, and me

My mom and Nathanael

Our quick trip was soon over, but CC got to come back with us! We picked up Brian's mom and she flew back with us to VT (a big help in taking care of a 2 year old on the plane). Nathanael spent everyday with CC being spoiled by presents everyday! He also slept in his big boy bed all night every night while CC was here. We have the bed set up in the same room as the twin bed, so CC "rested her eyes" each night while Nathanael went to sleep. We were really worried about how well he would do when she left, but for two nights in a row, he climbed into his big boy bed, listened to Daniel's music and went right to sleep.

Happy outside the cockpit

Big Boy Bed

While CC was here, Mommy got to take a day off during the week (and worked her first weekend since starting her job here). We took advantage of the time together and went to Burke Mountain and St. Johnsbury on Friday. We ate at our favorite diner in St J's, showed CC the church there (which we should find out later this week if it will be given to the GMBA) and drove to the top of Burke Mountain and enjoyed the changing leaves! We are close to peak here and the colors were beautiful!

Before our drive to Burke

top of the ski lift at Burke

the view from the top

CC, Mom, Nathanael climbing the rocks

a blue trail in the winter...

the most beautiful colors!

Rt 2 pulloff near Danville, VT

We are looking forward to our next visitors after baby sister arrives! :) Call to reserve your days if you want to come! We'll hopefully let you know later this week about the church in St Johnsbury! Keep praying!