This past weekend was so. much. fun. My stepdad — in all his loveliness — decided last-minute to treat my little family of three to a trip back to New York for my brother-in-law’s 30th birthday bash at Warwick Winery. It was really great because my dad and Judy and Jen and all her fam were also there, along with my aunt and uncle and cousin Nicole, plus a ton of Brian’s family. The weather was gorgeous and the kids had a blast. It really was the loveliest. Then on Sunday we surprised my grandma at dinner at my aunt’s. She didn’t know we were coming into town, so that was pretty much the best 😉 Watching her with my daughter … I mean there’s pretty much nothing I love more.

Here’s some of our weekend in photos. Thanks again for the awesome gifted trip, Robert!

^^ Weather over LaGuardia kept us in the air for an extra hour on our flight into New York, but at least we got these views of the city …

^^ This ladybug neck pillow was a gift to Lotte from Grandpa, but Mom & Dad like using it, too 😉

^^ This little lady never falls asleep on me anymore, but on both flights she fell asleep on us because she was just too exhausted to do anything else. It’s pretty much the best.

^^ Hesitantly curious about Ranger the first night home.

^^ Bedtime book routine!

^^ Happy birthday Uncle Bri!

^^ There’s a huge private house up the hill from the winery, and apparently the owners have a private helicopter, because it was parked outside their property and Rory was fascinated by it!

^^ And thus begins a photo series of my daughter wearing a backwards baseball hat.

^^ Gah! Sometimes (most times) we seriously cannot with her.

^^ The gang’s all here!

^^ Dressed to the nines to surprise GiGi at Sunday dinner.

^^ These two <3

^^ By the time dinner rolled around Sunday night, Lotte was pretty sure she and Ranger were besties.

^^ Final morning with Grandpa before heading back to Colorado :/

^^ Ready to fly!

^^ Not gonna lie, it took a lot to get to this photo. This was by far the hardest flight we’ve had with Lotte. She’s older now, so she’s not as interested in sleeping/breastfeeding/hanging out on our knee. Despite tons of snacks and toys and books, there just isn’t enough to distract a 10-month-old in four hours of flying. She had a seriously major freak-out when she reached her peak tiredness and didn’t know what to do with herself, but as soon as the seatbelt sign went out Chris was able to walk around with her and she passed out in his arms. Thank goodness! Then of course he passed out 😉 Two sleeping babes.

^^ Blurry, but we were home and happy! Wahoo!

Thanks again for the trip, Grandpa — it meant so much to us to be able to come and be with everyone.

Till next time, bis bald!