cousins

We survived our first trip as a family of four! This past weekend, B, FW, LM and I took a long car trip to New Jersey for my cousin’s wedding. (Thus the later than typical posting) The wedding was on a Monday, so we decided to make a long weekend out of it, and hit the road Saturday morning, before coming back to Cleveland on Tuesday.

On the way there, we made plenty of stops to break up the trip and also make sure there was some fun involved. First, we stopped at the Shaker Woods Festival, a woodworking festival in Northeast Ohio. B actually bought some handmade wooden brooms for him and FW.

On the way out to Jersey, we also stopped in Pennsylvania to see Mitch, our friend from college. He and his wife, Becca (we went to their amazing lake wedding a few years ago) now live in PA and have a daughter about FW’s age!

FW and their daughter, Natalie, got to play.

It was a perfect place to stop and a great way to catch up. They made us an amazing dinner (there was bacon in every part of the meal) and I wish we could’ve stayed longer.

The next day, we had plans to meet up with my friend Jane, who lives in Brooklyn. It was a gorgeous day, and we decided to visit the Prospect Park Zoo to help entertain FW, who loves any and all animals.

FW also loved all the interactive exhibits.

Jane is one of my best friends from home, and I am so glad we got to catch up and she got to meet LM.

The next day was the wedding! We had the whole day to ourselves, so we first enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. FW liked the waffles.

After, we decided to drive a ways to get a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty at Liberty Park.

There was also a playground, so FW was able to get out some energy.

Then, it was wedding time! It was a very traditional Jewish wedding, with many unique customs.

It was great to see my family, most whom I hadn’t seen since Christmas.

Including my brother, Greg, who lives in Berlin.

FW loved seeing his Nonna and Grandpa.

I loved showing everyone LM.

And of course celebrating the BEAUTIFUL bride.

And now we are back to reality … and I’m back to work from maternity leave. It was a nice summer home, and hopefully going back to work won’t be too difficult.

Some questions for you:

How many first cousins do you have?
Are you done with weddings for the season?

It was another cold weekend in Cleveland, filled with plenty of fun indoor activities to keep us busy. Here are some of the highlights – and let’s see if I can keep it to one sentence per photos.

First, FW started a new daycare – he enjoyed snacktime as you can see!

We did some baking this weekend – starting with cookies.

And of course some more spinach muffins; this time they had zucchini.

Some Vietnamese food takeout for dinner.

Out to breakfast Saturday morning!

FW’s cousin came up from Columbus, so we seen some time indoors.

The Natural History Museum was a great place for two toddlers to run around and scream/growl at dinosaur bones.

And look at lots of big animals!

And yes, we did play a little bit outside.

Sunday was a little “warm” (36 degrees!) so it included a mid-morning walk – we went to the bakery and FW fell asleep.

We picked up lunch and brought it over to Celia’s house, where FW played with the new baby Maura.

And of course, we watched the Super Bowl – but it mostly meant FW got to hang out and play with his cousins (yes, more cousins!).

And, that’s a wrap! Another winter weekend is in the books. Can’t believe it’s February – 2018 is flying by. I hate when time goes by fast, but I wouldn’t mind warmer weather soon!

Some questions for you: