Traveling with the girls

Well, we did it!  We traveled with the girls! We were both nervous about different aspects of the traveling, but we made it through and they were rock stars.  Our way home was initially delayed an hour, then after boarding we sat on the plane for another 2+ hours.  All I have to say is, thank goodness I was nutty about over-packing because we ending up using everything I packed in our carry on (thank you Vanessa for pooping 3x in an hour).

There were a few moments of fussing but (thankfully) nothing that couldn’t be solved by a toy/cracker/rest.  They slept through takeoff on the way there, Vanessa thought the turbulence was funny, and they seemed to handle the delays and ear popping better than both Jay and I.

I thought I would share our lifesavers on the flight for anyone interested.  We were really lucky they went with the flow and napped, but for those upset moments here are the things that saved us (times 2)…

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  1. Before we had the girls I thought Sophie was pretty ridiculous.  It’s kind of an expensive toy, and it doesn’t do anything but squeak…it looks like something I would buy Rondo for $3.  Well, I was past wrong.  Sophie is the greatest toy ever and whenever someone starts to whine it’s Soph to the rescue.  We have a set in the house and one for on the go…not kidding.  Same goes for their Wubanubs.
  2. These Little Yums wafers are their favorite.  They have a bunch of different flavors (blueberry, kale, banana) and the girls love them all.  They can eat them independently without me having to watch them like a maniac (like when I give them puffs), they get to use their hands which keeps them busy, and they help soothe their gums.  We must have gone through 3 packs each flight.
  3. Jay got me this Kate Spade bag for Christmas.  It has a pocket for everything, comes with a changing mat, and doesn’t look like a diaper bag (I don’t think I could handle walking around with a traditional diaper bag with some horrible pattern on it).
  4. These silly keychains were the star of the show.  My aunt got them for the girls and they hadn’t really played with them until the flight, but man, they were snatching the pink one out of each others hands and chewing it like crazy.  I guess the lesson here is, bring things they haven’t played with before because new is good, and who knows what they are going to love that day!
  5. All hail HBO go with Sesame Street.  There’s nothing more to say on that.
  6. We got these Snap N Go strollers for the airport so we could each handle one baby instead of having the huge double stroller that puts all the work on one person.  They couldn’t have worked out better.  They are super light, fold up so simple, don’t have a million unnecessary bells and whistles, and could easily be checked at the gate with our car seats.  A great purchase.

God speed to everyone traveling with a baby, it’s no joke!

xo -J

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Florida

We were lucky enough to spend this past week in Florida with Jay’s family!  We went to the ocean, swam in the pool, went on walks and bike rides, were able to go out to dinner (a few times without the girls!), we got to go to the movies, and most importantly spend time with everyone all together.

Here are some pictures from the trip, more on traveling with the tiny monsters next week…

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DSC_0882DSC_0911(i love this one so much)

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DSC_1000(what twin life is really like…trying to make one happy while the other one eats my hair)

DSC_1051(these are the first onesies i bought them when i found out they were girls)

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DSC_0967(the high chairs we rented were HUGE, made E look super tiny)

xo-j

Honeymoon & Life Since June…

Since the wedding in June we have been non-stop.  We’ve been to SC, NH, NJ, NYC (multiple times), FL (Jay), and now HI.  We became Aunt and Uncle (and God parents!) to the cutest little man ever, visited friends all over, went to a nascar race (what?!), went on a minimoon in Charleston, and a million other things are missing from this list.  It has been a great couple months since the wedding and I can’t wait for the holidays to come!

We just got back from our (delayed) Honeymoon in Hawaii!  We were able to spend two weeks away from the cold and had the most amazing time.  We rode horses, snorkeled with turtles and in a crater, hiked, relaxed on beautiful beaches, went to two islands, stayed at 3 perfect resorts, enjoyed super delicious (and expensive, ay!) meals, rented a jeep and did the road to hana, and (again) a million things that are missing from that list…it was all so much fun.

I have a bunch of pictures to go through still, but was able to go through all the video and make a short one of the trip.  Since we are both all time confused I was up late last night and got it done!  I hope you enjoy watching, cause we sure enjoyed everything we did in it!

xo- J (& prob Jay too)

 

Julie is amazing

We were in Newport last week with Jay’s family and as you can see I posted some (meh) pictures below from my phone.  Julie just posted all her pictures and they are so fantastic (she’s an amazing photographer).  I am so lucky to have her as my future sister-in-law and, regardless of Jay, one of my favorite people on earth.  Anyways, here are some of her pics that I love…

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xo-j

Trip Video

Yesterday we both tried to relax after our wonderful trip and get back to stasis.  Our bodies are so confused about when to be hungry and tired (is lunch at 7am now?!).  We really did have a fantastic time (despite some manic moments stuck on the wrong side of the road…literally).  Thank you so much R&P for taking us all the way across the Atlantic!  I am so looking forward to having you as my family.

I can promise you within the next week I will annoy you with thousands of pictures, but for right now here is a quick video I put together yesterday!

xo-j

England

A little update! We’ve been in England for the past week traveling all around to London, Bristol, Bath, Lymington, and now back to London to finish the trip. There have been quite a few hiccups (popped a tire, stuck on a bus, no trains, lost reservations, and even Rose being hit by a door in the head!) regardless, we have been having a great time!

Here are a few iPhone pics I thought I’d share. Many more to come (and a video too) sometime next week!

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Film

On our vacation (almost 2 months ago!) we took pictures on a disposable camera…I thought it would be fun to have one roll of actual film.  I just got them back!  Some of them you would immediately delete on a digital camera, but overall I really love them.  Here are a few from the film…

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Vacation #3 (pictures again)

Alright this is going to be the final vacation post I promise! Actually, that is a lie because I brought along a camera with film and if those pictures are great I am going to want to post them…whoops! But here are a few more pictures since it’s 30 degrees out and I miss the sunshine…

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(obligatory outfit shots)

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(more from the buggie day)

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(forcing him to be in pictures)

And because I can’t stop watching it I’m posting the video again…

Hope everyone is enjoying their day off it you have it!

xo-j

Vacation #2 (pictures)

So, I didn’t get to this yesterday like I said I would, but finally here are some of the pictures from our vacation (there are so many!).  We really couldn’t have had a better time.  Between all of the restaurants, the perfect hotel grounds, our amazing suite, private pool area, spa, white sand, and unbelievably aqua water, we were in heaven…despite the cancellation of our flight, hours on the phone, the frustration that goes with cancelled plans, and a bit of a travelers bug it all worked out in the end and is a vacation we will both look back on with love…

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(we swam with sharks and held a huge sting ray…it was as terrifying as it sounds)IMG_2572 IMG_2575 IMG_2590

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(spent the day on a sort of pirate boat {ECU!})
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(my favorite goofball in the world)

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(on the buggy tour: cave swimming, private beach, cigar making, hunter s thompson, banana trees)

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(our beach)

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(main lobby / anyone who knows me knows, where i go, this clutch goes)
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I think that is enough for now!  I will most likely not be able to stop myself and post 80 more at some point.

Tonight I go pick up Rondo and spend the weekend with my family for my brother’s birthday (my brother who is totally kicking butt right now with his phd program acceptance rate). Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

xo-j

Vacation #1 (video)

We are back!  Vacation couldn’t have been better!  We relaxed, ate a weird amount of food, drank an even weirder amount of frozen drinks, and enjoyed being in the sun with just each other for 12 days.  Yea, that’s right, 12!  Nemo (evil fishy storm) had all flights cancelled, so we ended up with 4 extra days in paradise (this is after 8 hours of phone calls with the airline, hotel, and travel company).

I took 400 pictures, not like 400, actually 400.  I am going to sift through them tonight and post some of our favorites.  In the meantime here are a few from my iphone and at the bottom a video I made (it’s my first try at making one!)…

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(don’t worry, we are smoking vanilla cigars from a cigar making thing we went to…nothing naughty ha)

Now back to 3901804 emails and snow.

(M&D&N – thank you for taking care of our little babe.  i know he is going to be sad to leave you and we couldn’t be more appreciative of you loving/taking care of him the extra days)

xo-j