The Minivan
I was a bit afraid I might fall head over heels for the minivan. No worries. In fact, I feel somehow obligated to explain how inconvenient a minivan is for 3 carseats. Only 1 carseat can go in the middle row bucket seats so that the other one can fold back to get in the back (to get to the other carseats). As for the 2 seats in the back, its hard to carry the infant seat to the back row. Also, you have to crawl back there to strap the 2 kiddos in, which with the 2 kids and 2 carseats leaves very little space for an adult. I digress. I guess I thought this is what minivans were made for. Not so. I do see the appeal for older kids (who can strap themselves in) and for travel.
The Drive to NY
We left Wednesday night at 11pm. The kids all went to bed as usual and we moved them to the car for take off. The twins went back to sleep and stayed that way for most of the trip. Ryan, on the other hand, did not. He was so excited about the 'special car' and about seeing Grammie and Pappa he couldn't sleep. And since he was awake so was I. FYI, Chris napped about 3.5 hours before driving us the whole way. Thanks babe!
The Big Boy Bed
What a disaster. So in addition to our crew, at the Hayes house was also my BIL, his wife and their 9 month old. They used the crib normally used by Ryan. Since he was on the verge of transferring to a big boy bed at home, no problem right? Wrong. The cause of the disastrous bed situation was arriving in NY 6 hours behind on sleep. Chris and I alternated sleeping with him in his full size bed. Sleeping with a toddler is a bit like sleeping with a febrile mini ninja.
Thanksgiving
As if it weren't difficult enough getting all 3 little ones to NY, I was challenged with getting them to Aunt Mary's for Thanksgiving. Not only were we an hour late but we arrived like a tornado. Shy, hungry, tired toddler + 2 crying babies who only want mama + 2 carseats + big bag + 2 hungry and super tired adults = tornado. We quickly fed Ryan, then he was off to be Alison's sidekick. As soon as the babies calmed, Chris and I stuffed our faces. So hurried, in fact, we didn't warm our food. After feeding Ethan and Owen we were off just as quick as we'd arrived. Back to headquarters just in time for bedtime routines. Ryan and I were in bed by 6:30!
Cousins
We got to meet cousin Spencer for the first time. He's 2 months and 1 week older than the twins. What a sweetie!
Spencer and Ethan
We tried to get a picture of all the cousins. This is what I got. Hopefully someone else got something better!
Ryan had so much fun with his cousins. Namely Alison. Ryan followed her around like a puppy. He did everything per her direction. They had so much fun. However, if you ask Ryan who he played with or who his favorite cousin is he will say "Alison and Carter". Poor Spencer. I guess if you can't walk you are of no use to a toddler.
What a beauty!
The Drive Back
Owen and Ethan slept the entire way again. Ryan did better. Slept just over half way I suppose. I even managed to get a few hours of shut eye. All in all it was uneventful.
Overall
It was a hectic trip but we're glad we we made it. We saw a lot of family we hadn't seen in a long time and one family member for the first time. Everyone got to meet the twins. And we learned a few things along the way:
1. Ryan now has trouble sleeping in the car
2. Ethan has early onset stranger anxiety
3. We do not need a minivan!
Piano with Uncle Matt
Great Aunt Diane sitting in as a double high chair
Happy Thanksgiving!
No comments:
Post a Comment