Whirlwind Weekend in Pennsylvania

Inspired by a gift card and a flash sale on airfare, Blair and I flew up to Philadelphia for the weekend to spend some time with my family and celebrate my cousin's baby shower! It was a whirlwind weekend, but so worth it seeing everyone again and watching Blair with her great-grandparents and grandparents.

Mesmerized by the skylight in the Nashville Airport

"Hi airplane!"

We arrived at nearly midnight on Friday and then woke up early to drive with Megan to Ocean Gate, NJ, and spend the morning with my Mom, Grammie, Harvey, Grandpa and Barbara. It was funny being back at Grammie's house - the last time I'd been there was for my baby shower! Blair had fun looking at all of Gigi's seashells, trying to serve herself water out of the drink pitcher, and playing with her new Peppa Pig car.

Then we headed over to Toms River for the baby shower, where we got to see a bunch of my cousins and I finally got to see Julia again! Julia and I have been super close since we were little - she broke her arm in my front yard rollerskating down a hill, I slept over her house on Christmas night for years, we shared a mutual love for Anne of Green Gables, Pollyanna, and Harry Potter. We hung out regularly with her and Matt when Mike and I were in DC, and they visited us in Clifton after Blair was born. Blair was the flower girl in their wedding and I worked from home for Julia for a few years in Clifton and while I was a stay-at-home mama. All of that to say - I am so incredibly excited for her new journey into motherhood and I was thrilled to be there to celebrate!

Blair was a total ham the entire time - we spent like four hours in the restaurant for the shower and she was an angel. She ate her weight in parmesan cheese, but it was an authentic Italian place and I ate my weight in cannolis, so I wasn't allowed to judge her. She conked out in the car on our way back to my dad's house.

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On Sunday my grandma, Blair's Great Grandma, came to my dad's house to spend the afternoon with us and it was so fun to have her and Blair together for some quality time. We took Blair to the park nearby, where I spent my childhood riding bikes while my dad jogged, feeding ducks, searching for the Goose Patrol, and celebrating Community Days. It's a strange and wonderful feeling taking your child to a place that's so familiar to you, watching them do things you'd done so many times. Even watching her play on the front porch of my dad's house is so beautifully nostalgic for me, it's hard to even put into words.

We also hit up the playground and Blair was quite busy on the slides and swings. She suckered my dad into going down the giant slide with her about a thousand times before we headed home to grill out and relax in the backyard!

Four Generations!

The morning before our evening flight, Blair played in some puddles, said hello to the neighbor's doggies, and made feet marks on the porch. She was totally wiped out by our busy trip that she read a book, watched some Dora the Explorer and then zonked out for the rest of the trip home. She's such a great little travel buddy and I absolutely love going on whirlwind adventures with her!