our trip to north carolina & indiana.

{sidenote: some of these pictures i shared earlier in a weekend update so don’t mind the duplicates! also, this is a super picture heavy post.}

the first two weeks of this month we were able to get away & fly to charlotte, NC & indianapolis, IN to visit aaron’s family. we joked that we were “taking the (Eloise) band on the road” but that we were just her groupies (since everyone really just wanted to see eloise, right?).

we started out flying to charlotte (via minneapolis) to visit aaron’s older brother david & his family (jodi & their three kids). it had been about a year & a half since we had last seen them all, so there was lots to catch up on. we also got to see aaron’s aunt molly & her girls who are also in the charlotte area.

{napping on the plane – score!}

{kitchen sink bath – eloise loved it!}

{eloise enjoyed looking at kitchen fixtures with david & jodi.}

{aaron was able to attend gavin’s baseball game.}

{megan, rachel, aunt molly, lindsay, & eloise!}

{all of the kiddos playing.}

{maddie let eloise borrow her baseball hat. so cute!}

{oh boy was it hot. like too hot to wear a shirt if you were under one year old.}

{date night! we noshed on burgers & sushi, & it was amazing!}

{eloise, how is that comfortable?}

{eloise loved her uncle david. he taught her all about baseball at gavin’s game!}

{eloise & sophie enjoying the game.}

{maddie & eloise.}

{we didn’t get a cousin picture until the morning we left. this is the best we could do…}

{saying good-bye.}

{eloise & gavin were such good buddies while we were visiting!}

traveling from charlotte to indianapolis meant a stop in atlanta to change planes. our flight crew on the first leg of our trip absolutely fell in love with eloise (who wouldn’t?). she was whisked away by cindy, one of the flight attendants, & got the full tour of the plane – cockpit, galley, & meeting some of the passengers. eloise even got a shout-out during the safety demonstration & was nominated to be “Miss Delta”! it was so fun. plus, we got our own row on the flight, & eloise took a nap. fantastic!

then we flew to indianapolis (via atlanta) to visit the rest of aaron’s family. while aaron’s dad & step-mom were out at the beginning of september (to meet eloise!), we haven’t seen the rest of the family for at least a year & a half (we were out two christmases ago). we also got to see the gilbertsons (kendra, greg, & their two kids) who were visiting from orlando. it definitely wasn’t a coincidence that we were in town at the same time!

{& these photos are in no particular order…}

{eloise & charlotte LOVED each other. charlotte kept saying “baby baby” to eloise. i can’t wait to get these girls together again!}

{uncle aaron loves to play with all of the kids, but sometimes needs to catch his breath.}

{frankie loved eloise too & helped me feed her one night.}

{eloise loved all of the attention during her meals.}

{crosby, kenley, & eloise.}

{a mother’s day selfie with kendra!}

{eloise & her great grandmother eileen.}

{eloise & beau, aaron’s parent’s dog. eloise enjoyed beau since he let her get closer than sadie ever does. he liked to sniff & lick her face though so every time she saw him she would make a face!}

{i got in a free golfing lesson courtesy of aaron & sam!}

{eloise & charlotte. eloise has a way larger head & charlotte has longer arms & legs, but basically the same size.}

{eloise was playing with her aunt cari.}

 

{eloise got to meet her great grandmother eileen. it was the sweetest thing when we were all sitting down at the table & eileen looked at eloise & said “she has my thighs!”}

{four generations of Lowers.}

{eloise loves to play the slapping game & her papaw sam was happy to partake!}

{crosby, kenley, & eloise. the best we could do of the three of them!}

{group shot of mamas & babies.}

{love those gilbertsons!}

{kenley & eloise.}

{mamas on mother’s day – aunt kathi, kendra, me, & diane.}

{can we please live closer or do this more often?}

{kendra & eloise.}

 

{eloise was enjoying a delicious brunch!}

{i was comparing my feet to frankie & teddy, they are 4 & 8. teddy & i have the same size feet & frankie isn’t far behind!}

{it took a few days but charlotte finally warmed up to aaron! they were so sweet together.}

{frankie helping me feed eloise.}

{our niece mallory feeding eloise.}

{play time with nana, charlotte, & frankie.}

 

{eloise had so much fun with nana & charlotte.}

{eloise also got to meet her great aunt susan.}

{eloise & i practiced crawling down the hallway. i think she had more traction on the carpet!}

{me thinks someone dropped a toy down there.}

{kendra, kait, eloise & me.}

{all of the (baby) cousins!}

{kenley, eloise, & charlotte.}

{me, kait, & eloise.}

{attempting to do bedtime on the flight home. it was mostly successful but ended up being more of a nap!}

I come from a pretty small family who lived mostly in the same place as I grew up, so marrying into such a big family has been a lot of fun! we were excited to see everyone & catch up, & also be able to introduce eloise to her extended family. hopefully we will be out to visit again soon!

M