This post about our trip to Indiana has been on my to-do list for an embarrassingly long time (we were there in early May!) but better late than never, right?
We travelled as soon as we got the greenlight from Daphne’s pediatrician who was okay with us flying on an airplane once the first set of vaccines were given (at 8 weeks). So, off we went to the midwest for Baby D’s first trip and our first big outing as a family of four!
We didn’t have any set itinerary and just wanted to make sure we saw as many family members and friends as we could to catch up with and introduce Daphne. It was wonderful to see so many loved ones and we so appreciate people making time for us, coming to impromptu get-togethers, or letting us crash at their homes.
Okay, prepare for a picture over-load!
{Daphne got to meet her Nana (Aaron’s step-mom) for the first time! Oh, and that little yellow onesie is one that was Aaron’s when he was a baby.}
{The first of many play dates at Nana and Papaw’s for Eloise and Charlotte.}
{Daphne meeting her Aunt Cari (Aaron’s sister).}
{And Daphne getting some lovin’ from cousins Teddy and Charlotte.}
{And meeting Aunt Gigi (Maggi, one of Aaron’s many cousins).}
{And Great Aunt Yaya (Aaron’s Aunt Sharon).}
{And a group photo.}
{Take two. Okay, there were way more than 2 taken!}
{And Frankie and Gigi.}
{Great grandpa Neal (or Great Neal as Eloise calls him) with Eloise.}
{Great Neal and two of his youngest great-granddaughters.}
{Can you tell Eloise is saying “cheese”?}
{Papaw (Aaron’s dad) and the girls.}
{Chatting and nursing the babes. Kendra (married to Aaron’s cousin Nathan) had just had Adaline a week before! Also pictured is Kelsey (dating Aaron’s cousin Seth) and Kendra’s oldest Wyatt.}
{Cari singing and playing the guitar because she has the most amazing voice!}
{Cracking up!}
{And a better shot. Thanks to Tim and Meg (and their adorable little ones) for making the trip en route home to Bloomington!}
{Aaron and his step-brother Kyle and Kyle’s daughter Mallory.}
{The girls seeing Great Grandma Eileen.}
{These girls had the best time playing at the playground!}
{I could not just choose one of these to share of Daphne, Cari, and Charlotte. Seriously, so sweet!}
And since that wasn’t enough, here are some more candid ones from my phone.
{Daphne’s first flight!}
{Aaron is the champ at getting Eloise to nap in the Ergo when we are on planes. Seriously, the best.}
{We accompanied Cari, Mo, and Charlotte to her most recent set of big scans and explored a few different places in the hospital. Luckily, it was great news from the scans!}
{Great Neal and Baby D at lunch.}
{And Eloise was so happy that Great Neal colored with her.}
{The sweetest.}
{A little cousin gang.}
{Cousins (that’s Nathan) and the two youngest Johnson family babies. And the blurs that are toddlers!}
{Eloise always wants to read the safety information card on the airplane! And then she asks a million questions about it, including where her life jacket is.}
{Watching the airplanes in Chicago during our layover. We also met the crew of our flight and they were so nice!}
{As much as it stinks to have to buy another airplane seat, it is so SO nice to have an entire section of row when we fly!}
And last but not least, a few from Aaron’s phone too!
{Nana and Papaw meet Daphne for the first time. Do you think they were excited to meet their newest grandbaby?!}
{Great Aunt Susan and Uncle Duane and the girls after a nice lunch!}
{Bath time with cousins is a must!}
{Love this one of Teddy, Charlotte, Eloise, and Frankie at the playground. Aaron took the kids down the street from our rental house and Cari and I got a few minutes of mama time to chat and catch up. It was wonderful!}
{Charlotte loved brushing Eloise’s long hair. One day soon Charlotte, you are going to have beautiful long (and probably still curly) hair to brush!!}
{Seeing Great Aunt Kathi and Uncle Stan (obviously not pictured).}
Lots of people have asked about how the trip went, specifically travelling with the babes, and I have to say that the girls are AMAZING little travelers! Eloise really loves to fly and newborns are the easiest to fly with. The biggest hassle is just the amount of extra stuff you end up bringing with kids, and we really tried to minimize as much as possible. We took Daphne’s infant seat and the stroller (mostly for the airport) as well as the Ergo (for Eloise) and the Solly wrap (for Daphne); I wore Daphne thru airport security and Aaron wore Eloise. Also, pay for TSA Pre-Check. It’s so worth it not to have to hassle with shoes/jackets/etc. off and going thru the metal detector instead of the body scanner (though sometimes that happens and Aaron and I both opt out and get a pat-down instead). We ended up renting a (brand-new) car seat for Eloise and a Rock N Play for Daphne from Hoosier Baby rentals which we picked up at the airport along with our rental car (this was a detail that Aaron worked out with the rental company since we arrived really late at night). And, we also decided to rent an Airbnb house this time around in order to have enough space for everyone. In the past, we haven’t done well sharing a sleeping space with Eloise (she won’t co-sleep well) so we always try to get a separate room/space for her. Plus, it is great to have a full kitchen for breakfast in the morning (and casual dinners in) as well as laundry and a place to hangout on days when we are in for the afternoon nap (we tried to alternate afternoons we were okay with being out for naptime and days we needed to be “home” for naptime).
And one last thing (I promise). Lots of people have been asking about how Charlotte is doing. The short answer (in my opinion) is great! We were able to spend SO much time with her and Cari (almost every day we were in Indiana!) and Charlotte was in such good spirits. If you are interested in her treatments and all of her updates, here is her Facebook page. Thanks for all of the Charlotte support! She is one very loved little girl!
Other than the crazy weather (it poured rain nearly the entire time we were there!) we had a good time!
M