We survived!

That's right everyone...we survived our roadtrip. We had a great time and Payson was so good during the whole trip. We left early Sunday (around 3:30am) and made it all the way to New Jersey before the little miss decided to wake up. We pulled in to one of the service plazas off of the turnpike and got out and stretched our legs.

We parked away from other cars so I could feed her in the car without offending anyone with my boob ;-).Okay, now what happens next will probably seem ridiculous to any of you moms out there but here goes... After I was done feeding her we tried to decide how to go inside to the "restaurant" from the far-away parking lot that we were in. We didn't want to walk all of the way and then all of the way back when we were done because it was cold outside and Payson wasn't really dressed for the weather (she has a cover on her carseat that keeps her warm when she is in the car). So, we figured that we would drive the car up to a parking space that was closer...but do we put her back in her carseat (she hates getting strapped in to it) or just drive with me holding her in the front seat. I was too nervous to do that because of the airbag even though it was only about 200 feet. So, after about 10 minutes of trying to make a decision we decided that I would quickly carry her in and Rob would drive the car up to a closer spot. Can you believe that we contemplated this decision for as long as we did? After all of this I start walking with her in my arms and slip on some ice. By some great miracle I did not drop her. I have literally no upper body strength right now but I was somehow able to hold onto her while I crashed to the ground. Rob saw the whole thing and said that her head was only about an inch or 2 from hitting the pavement. She would have been much safer driving in the car in my lap!

Other than that, the trip was pretty successful. She really didn't cry at all and slept almost the entire time. She had a little bit of a meltdown in New York City on the way back. We were in major traffic and she decided that she was awake and that she was hungry immediately. I had already given her the bottle that we had thawed out so I tried to climb into the back of our VERY full car. The problem was that once I got back there I was faced with the same dilema as earlier. Do I take her out of her carseat. Would some stranger see me and call the police on their cell phone? So, she settled down, the traffic cleared up and we were able to make it into some ghetto so that I could feed her. Not a great spot at all. Again, I think that she would have been better off if I had just taken her out of her seat and fed her in the car. I'm learning okay?!

All of the driving aside, we had a great time with my dad and Eloise. Payson loved them and it was nice to be able to sit and visit with them for a couple of days. Here are some pictures from our trip:

Payson and her Grandpa chillin'

Fresh from her bath
Payson, Grandpa, and Sophie giraffe
Mommy, Grandpa, and Payson (and Sophie giraffe)
Grandpa and Eloise trying to use Sophie giraffe to settle down the fuss bug.

We found some old slides in the basement. I was so excited! There are a ton of slides of my brother and sister when they were little and my parents and my grandparents. I don't remember seeing them since I was really little so it was really fun to have a slideshow. Here is Rob setting up the slide projector in the kitchen for our slideshow. Somehow he and my dad got it working. It must be 30 years old!

Eloise does lots of work for the Humane Society and she had a little kitten that needed some socialization before it could be adopted. I was happy to socialize with the sweet baby.

We had a Great time on our trip and we can't wait to go back VERY soon!

Oh, in case you were wondering...Yes, Sophie giraffe is an official member of our family!