Chloe's first trip!!

Chloe & I took our first adventure on Tuesday to go see my brother Shawn & my Aunt, Uncle & cousins in Colorado Springs.

We boarded the plane at 930a on Tuesday morning from Buffalo...it was a stopover flight and the first part of the flight was 45 min long and was crowded. There was not 1 empty seat on the plane so I couldn't really get up with her to walk around. The 2nd part of the flight which was 3 hrs had a few empty seats so I was lucky to get a whole row for us. It was challenging traveling alone with her because I had no one there to help me with bags or to hold her when I needed to go to the bathroom. So, I just stayed put -bouncing & holding her the whole time to try to keep her calm. She had a few outbursts but was pretty good! The air pressure didn't really seem to bother her too much but I had a bottle of pumped milk on hand just in case. I did practice quite a bit of deep breathing & "grace under pressure" while on the flight with her. I think I'm ready to take on anything with her after having this under my belt!

Shawn & his girlfriend, Danica, were there to meet me at the gate when I arrived...it was so great to finally see them after a long day! We headed to the mall to grab a bite and then started the drive from Denver to the Springs which takes a little over an hr. Poor Chloe went into a major teething spell on the drive and I felt so awful. There was a moment there where I thought I was just going to breakdown cause she's staring at me with these teary eyes & screaming in pain and looking at me like "why aren't you doing something?" I gave her teething tablets & orajel but it didn't seem to be helping. It lasted about 30 minutes and then she conked out.

We went to Aunt Sharon's house that night to see the whole gang and munch on delish Chinese food. It was great to see everyone as it's been close to 10 yrs!! I couldn't wait to get Chloe back to Danica's where we're staying and get her settled in bed after our very long day. She slept so well that night and even gave me a little sleep in the next morning.

Here's the whole gang:

Day 2:

Today was such a great day! After a little sleep in, we woke up and went to Starbucks which is just minutes away. Then we headed to Whole Foods to pick up some groceries. When we got back to Danica's I put Chloe down for her first nap and popped in the Eoin Finn yoga DVD I brought...LOVE IT!! Chloe had a nice 2 hr nap which allowed me the time to get unpacked & showered.

My cousin Kevin & his wife Sheryl had us over to their place at night for dinner. They have such a beautiful place in the mountains! I was a little nervous getting out of the car when we drove up though because they are literally planted in the middle of the mountains and it's not uncommon to be greeted by crazy animals when coming home.

They have 2 kids -Dylan & Monique, who I had never met before and they're such great kids! Shawn brought his dog, Sheba to play with their dog, Sadie....they love wrestling around and collecting sticks together from the forest.

After a super yummy dinner, I put Chloe down for the night & we sat around just catching up & listening to music. Kevin showed us this amazing guy on youtube that beatboxes - I've never seen anything like this before.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiInBOVHpO8

It was a great night and it just made me wish that we all lived closer so we could do this more often.

Day 3:

Today was so relaxing! The first snowfall of the year came in and we lounged around until the late afternoon in our pajamas, drinking coffee in front of a blazing fire & doing lots of much needed catchup.

I also was able to get a good start on knitting a blanket for Chloe. I just learned to knit a few weeks ago so there's a good chance she'll get this blanked on her 25th bday.

The first snow of winter hit Colorado today and I can't think of a more beautiful place to watch it fall.

Later that night we packed up and headed back to Aunt Sharon's to play games & eat pizza...totally my kind of night!!

Day 4:

Woke up feeling a bit lethargic as Chloe's sleep is a bit mixed up with the time change and I couldn't get her to bed until almost midnight. But she really has been doing quite well considering...

We headed to an outdoor mall in the afternoon. I put Chloe in the carrier and walked her around...the crisp air felt nice & she slept most of the time.

We then headed to Sharon's again for pizza & games...I LOVE IT! I think I might be slightly deprived since my sweet husband isn't really a game kind of guy, so I'm thoroughly enjoying this!

Chloe was ready for a nap when we arrived there around 430pm so I put her down and she didn't wake up until 1130pm when we were ready to leave...yikes!!! I though I was in for a rough night, but my lil angel went right back to sleep when we got back to Danica's house for the night. She woke up once around 3am for a feeding and then went back to sleep until 8am...I couldn't love her more!!! This is exactly what she looks like when she wakes up...such a happy lady!

Day 5:

Aunt Sharon offered to watch Chloe for a few hrs this afternoon while Shawn, Danica & I drove into Denver to do a little shopping.

The malls here are amazing! After dropping my mortgage payment at Lululemon and a few other stores we headed back. The weather was getting quite bad so we wanted to make sure we didn't run into any problems and I had only left 2 bottles of milk with Sharon so I wanted to make sure we made it back in good time. Chloe didn't sleep the whole 5 hrs we were gone so she was ready for a good night of sleep! We picked up Outback takeout and came back to Danica's to watch a movie.

Overall - I'm really happy that Chloe hasn't been too affected by the timechange. Hopefully we get her back on her perfect little 8pm bedtime when we get home!

Day 6:

Today was another great day of lounging around, knitting & eating! Chloe has been loving her trip so far!

Kevin & Sheryl came over at night for pizza & games...I am getting so spoiled with these "perfect" nights. Tonight we played Celebrity Taboo & Wii bowling which was a blast....and no, I did not get the top score!

Day 7:

Today Chloe & I had our normal morning routine: eat, play, yoga & then she went down for her first nap. I think she may be going through a growth spurt because I've been feeding her every 2 hrs and she's been requiring alot of sleep this whole week. In the afternoon, we went to Garden of the gods, which is a beautiful, historic park right behind Danica's house. People drive from all over to come see it.

It was breathtaking & really made me realize how "small" we all are!

Afterwards, Chloe & I went over to Aunt Sharon's for one more afternoon of coffee & games.

It's been a great week and really nice to reconnect with family that I haven't seen in so long. I am looking forward to getting home though and seeing my other babe...we miss him so much!

Kisses to Daddy!