Kylie May and a Review of Our Trip Day 195 (Lots of Pictures)

Last night was Nat's first night back to work, and subsequently Kylie's first night without her mama in almost 3 weeks :-( That meant that she was glued to me the entire night (fast asleep on my chest).  I really enjoy her cuddling up close to me like that, but it meant I didn't have an opportunity to blog about it.  Never fear, the blog (for yesterday) is here...and it's just a whole bunch of pictures recapping our trip to the East Coast.

more to come soon,

Craig

Kylie May Makes it Home, but The Fun Hasn't Stopped Day 194

What a day! What a day!  Kylie May your parents are officially a little bit crazy.  From what I hear though, a little bit crazy is alright.  We might be toeing the line...just a bit.  Our little weekend (or two week) warrior finally made it home to California this afternoon.  It wasn't, however, without a strong effort from our little Kylie May.  She, once again, was a great traveler (The other passengers thought so too, as Kylie walked up and down the aisles offering complimentary beverages).  After waking up at 5:30am NY time, and taking two flights to make it home, it's no wonder our little girl was exhausted by the time the plane landed in Ontario at 2:00pm California time.  With the 12 hours of travel we only had about 20 minutes of minor melt down during the first flight from New York to Dallas.  I definitely saw adult flyers that had worse results than that.  Heck! I think I might have even fussed longer than 20 minutes today.  The little Galileo has given us no pause in planning future travel endeavors.  In fact, with all the lines she helped us bypass, it may even be easier adventuring with her than by ourselves.

Ok.  So she did get a good nap when we got home (after reuniting with Auntie Melissa and her boyfriend Tim), but that wasn't the end of the fun.  We have been holding out on letting our little princess eat real food until we got home from this trip.  Navigating food, digestive issues, messier diapers, and possible reactions while on the road just didn't seemed like it fit into the itinerary too well.  Since, however, we are home (and Kylie has two new teeth), and going to eat at gpa Gene and gma Gloria's, we decided (and the hungry hippo insisted) to let her have her FIRST BITE OF REAL FOOD! Wheewww! Wait! What!?  Where's the confetti and streamers.  Isn't this supposed to be some type of party?  For her I'm sure it was....at least at first.  She eagerly shoveled the first spoonful (steamed organic peas pureed in the baby bullet) into her anxiously waiting mouth. hmmmm....after that? Let's just say unimpressed and uncertain pretty much sum up the expression on her face.  Did that stop her? Nope.  She ate a good 5 spoonfuls (and seemed reluctantly willing to eat more) before we decided that we probably shouldn't overload her on the first day (after traveling all day and not really knowing what time it was).  Great gma/gpa Gloria and Gene, Papa Gene, Melissa, and Tim, Nat, and I all witnessed the spectacle first hand.  It was definitely a moment that I never want to forget, and moment that miss Kylie hopes to recreate (1000 times over I'm sure).  It made for a fun ending to a very long travel day. 

I guess tomorrow there will be more peas to come (since once you start you NEVER go back). It's forever.....forever.....

more to come soon,

Craig

Kylie May Terrorizes Manhattan Day 193

Anyone who thought Charlotte, Samantha, Carrie, and Miranda were wild in the big apple, never met miss Kylie May. Have you ever seen what Godzilla did to Tokyo?  It was very similar to that.  Today our little candied apple was uptown, downtown, midtown, crosstown, around town, and just like the great Wonkavator of old ("was just about any other way you can imagine").  Since it is the end of our trip, we did a modified tour of the city (A.K.A the poor man's tour).  That's the beauty of the giant Metropolis though.  Even the free stuff is more fun than stuff that costs money back home.  Insipired by Frankie, Kylie told us today that she just wanted to "be apart of it....New York", so we obliged.  With Auntie Jill as our guide (and she was a good one) we set out for a train ride into the city

Stop 1:  The Brooklyn Bridge (I'm still working on saying it with the right accent).  Guess what?  Kylie slept through this whole adventure.  She missed the view of the arches, the Manhattan skyline, the million walkers, and two million bicyclers.  But.  WE have pictures to prove that she was indeed there.   Maybe it's for the best.  Had she been awake,  I'm sure she would have been making every effort to tight rope across the suspension cables...just to keep things exciting.

Stop 2:  World Trade Center site and 9/11 memorial.  Ok, so maybe this one was more for Nat, Jill, and I, but, it was free, and it was something that we were definitely interested in doing.  It was worth the price of....wait! let me rephrase.  It was worth much more than the price of admission.  A very tactful, tasteful, and powerful  reminder of the towers that once stood on the grounds and the events that transpired there 11 years ago.  Kylie may (as in perhaps, not her middle name) have had no clue what the memorial represented, but she squealed with excitement at the site of all the water.

Stop 3:  Central Park (unfortunately without all the fun color change of fall).  We did see two trees that had a couple yellow leaves each, so we told Kylie that this is the color change everyone raves about.  She was unimpresed with the color, but oh!....the grass, leaves, horses, playgrounds, and ponds....that was exciting stuff.  This time, it was us that wanted her to sleep, but she was having too much fun to cozy her little head down and fizzle out.  Instead she squeaked, sqwaked, and jabbered, until we left the thousand acre woods (at least it felt like about 1000).

Funny moment:  the pictures (which should be coming tomorrow night) will tell better, but until then I'll explain.  On the train ride home Kylie was sitting with Jill and we learned that Kylie follows a comman we did not know she knew.  If asked, she makes an effort to give kisses (only to her auntie Jill though).  Jill said, "Kylie.  give me kisses." and Kylie responded with a wide open mouth and tongue sticking straight out.  After about 5 times (when we finished laughing) we pulled out the camera and caught some digital memories.  She had the right idea it's just the techinal aspect that gets a little confusing.

Anyway.  Our trip has come to an end, and I think we gave our little girl a run for her money.  I don't think I could plan a bigger trip for a 6-month old, but our adventurer did better than we could have possibly imagined.  She may never remember any of this whirl wind, but we will never forget it.  It was a great time of family fun and even a little rest.

More to come soon (from California),

Craig

Kylie May and Some Much Needed Relaxation Day 192

Vacation is great, but, as Kylie can attest to, they can flat wear you out.  She has been such a great traveler the last 10 days or so, but today we decided that she was due for a day of down time.  We contemplated heading into Manhattan for some fun and adventure, but opted to make that trip tomorrow instead.  Kylie gave us two thumbs up for that decision (well, it was more the like one and a half but her thumb control isn't the greatest).

A visit to church with Auntie Jill and Uncle Mike, a quick visit to the family that Jill babysits for (very nice and friendly family), a stop to grab some Greek lunch (Kylie loved it because she got to naw on her new favorite food item....sliced cucumber.), and then home for nap time.  Despite 12 hours of sleep last night and a 2 hour nap this afternoon the little missy was pooped and ready for bed by 8.  She realized it was a day to relax, and she took full advantage.

Big day in the city tomorrow, so we will all hit the hay now.

more to come soon,

Craig

Kylie May's Yankee Stadium Day 191

Our ship may have run aground (actually they just told us our week was over and it was time to walk the plank), but that doesn't mean the fun was over.  Funny though, how they make getting off the ship so much quicker and smoother than getting on.  hmmmm...it's almost like they want you to leave or something.  It's pretty similar to the way you feel when you go over to the distant relative's house for Thanksgiving.  Everyone eats quickly then sits around staring at each other until finally it's just too akward and you decide to leave.  Today on the cruise ship....it got awkward.

Luckily, we had Uncle Mikey and Aunt Jill to whisk us away from the terminal (Unfortunately Kylie is starting to pick up some really bad driving habits from all these NY drivers....not her uncle of course) to wherever we could get ourselves lost in New York. We decided that going cold turkey (by just sitting at home relaxing) would give Kylie a severe case of "excitment withdrawals" so we opted for plan B (it might have even been plan D or E), and Stubhubbed tickets for todays Yankee game. The good: Kylie, Nat, and I all got to experience our first game from the comfort of "New Yankee Stadium".  The bad:  In true Yankee fashion (just like with all their players)  the organization attempted to buy our little impressionble baseball fan's loyalty by giving her a free teddy bear....with a big fat NY logo on it. We'll let her keep it for now, but if it starts to sway her rooting ...I can't bear the thought. Besides fearing for her life a few times after HR, and one short nap, Kylie really seemed to enjoy the sights,sounds,and excitment of the ball game.  2 stadiums down, 30 to go.

Not that there is any transportation novelty left for our little road warrior, but I will mention that the tiny traveler did smile and squeak during both legs of her Yankee game metro ride this evening. When she gets home she has kicked around the idea of conducting a few seminars on the "intricacies of traveling on planes, trains, and cruise ships".  I'm pretty sure I overheard her working on the intro to her infommercial during bath time tonight. 

Even the great minds need rest once in a while, so I'm sure she is off dreaming of future travel arrangements and modes of transportation.   Jill and Mike have been great hosts (they gave up their bedroom to us), and Nat and I are going to take advantage of an early...earlier bedtime.  Tomorrow, believe it or not, has been designated for rest, relaxation, and recovery.  We are all (especially our trooper) looking forward to some serious down time.

more to come soon,

Craig

Kylie May and a Rhode Island Day 190

Not too unlike Newport Beach, CA...Kylie visited Newport, RI this afternoon.  Anyone who is a fan of Downton Abby will appreciate the tours we took today.  Kylie became well versed in the life and times of all the Vanderbilt's (who loved to show off their money with lavish estates) .  We toured two different homes owned by members of the Vanderbilt estate, and they were absolutely out of this world.  Built between 1880's and early 1890's these houses were absolutely unbelievabe (pictures will be coming soon).   In true six month old fashion, Kylie slept during the tours of both houses.   We understand that it didn't mean she disliked the tour, it just meant she like her own home more than the mansion.  :-)   

While the tours were great, there was somehting even more impressive that happened today in Newport, ,RI.  Kylie cut her second tooth.  That means that before we left for this expedition Kylie had no teeth and now she has two teeth coming through.  Nat and I cannot, in no way, believe that it happened.  It just seems too quick.  Kylie May seems to be changing before our eyes, and there is nothing we can do about it.  She has been an absolute trooper though. Besides feeling the tooth break throgh, there is no way you would know this was happening.  She has not been fussy, cranky, irritable, insominatic, feverish, upset, or anything else you can imagine.  She has just been the most easy going and fun baby you could imagine.  I can't even count the number of people that have come up and said, "is she always this good?  We just can't believe how happy of a baby she is.".  It has been so much fun traveling with her and Nat the last 10 days.

Tomorrow we pull  back in to NY to stay with Uncle MIke and Auntie Jill for a couple days, so we'll see if any more teeth are on the horizon.   I guess only time will tell.

more to come soon,

Craig

Kylie May's Fun in Boston Day 189

Bean town. Home of the bean...or something like that.  Wait! Maybe it was birthplace of the bean....hmmm....I can't remember. No surprise to anyone, Kylie got to do something today that has been on my bucket list my entire cognitive life.  She toured Fenway Park and sat in the seats up on the "Green Monster".  I'm pretty sure it's a moment she will be reminded of for a long time to come.  We may even come back some day when she actually remembers it.  Once again, Kylie was drug all over town and once again she took it all in like a pro.  From the amphibious tour (it drove on land and sea), to the underground subway (the screeching wheels scared her a little, but not enough to detour her from riding), to long walks through Quincy Market, and, of course, the tour of Fenway, little May flower was an absolutely great traveler.  Nothing but smiles, naps, and coos.  If only more adults traveled so well, we'd have much happier flights, cruises, buses, and subways.  

By day 6 Kylie really has this cruise thing down pat.  Tour the town all day, long afternoon nap, wake up for dinner (chomp on some nice raw celery and carrots that our wait staff has prepared), cruise around the ship for a bit after dinner (and maybe even do some country dancing), fall asleep in under 2 minutes (tonight she fell asleep in the front pack while Nat and I were dancing), then do it all again the next day.  This little girl has been around so many people all week that the reality of being home in a few days is going to hit her like a ton of bricks.  I'm sure she will bewilderedly look around the house waiting to see thousands of people walk by or some music to be playing.  We have yet to have the "vacation is fun but we have to get back to work to afford the next one" talk, but I'm sure its forthcoming. 

Tomorrow is Newport, Rhode Island and a tour with the whole gang.  We better get some sleep so we can all handle one more big day of adventuring. 

more to come soon,

Craig