Ohio recap: The east side

I've decided to make these recaps photo-heavy in the interest of time (you know, since we went to Ohio more than a month ago). We'll start with the first four days of our trip, in which Elle and I spent time on the eastern side of the state, visiting my family and friends.

Day 1:

Elle and I arrive at the Tampa airport. Elle sleeps in front of our gate.

Elle eats on takeoff, fusses a little during the flight and then falls fast asleep. (Side note: Seriously, traveling with her was a breeze, especially at the Tampa airport. They helped me fold up the stroller and flip the car seat to go through the security scanners, and that was pretty much the biggest hurdle we faced. We had a flight that fit in well with Elle's schedule, and I wore flip flops and no belt to make it as easy as possible for me to get through security, and I just had her diaper bag as a carry on. SIMPLE.)

We arrive at my parents' house. Elle and Doug play.

I meet up with some of the coolest high school friends ever for coffee. Elle was super excited to meet these ladies.

Day 2:

My sister-in-law Ashlee and niece Abby arrive! Ashlee and Abby were in state from Colorado, so Ashlee drove down from Toledo to spend some time with us.

Abby is a month older than Elle, so it was fun to see them "meet" for the first time. They seemed to be in competition - Abby would eat, then Elle would eat. Elle would poop, then Abby would poop. Abby would cry, then Elle would cry. Elle would sleep, then Abby would sleep. It took a good 10 hours for them to finally be happy, awake, clean and fed at the same time.

During my pregnancy, my grandma insisted that if Elle and I were to visit during my maternity leave, she would
come visit us rather than having us add a Pittsburgh stop to our itinerary. I love my grandma dearly, and I would have gone to Pittsburgh so that she could meet Elle, but having her come to us allowed for much more quality time, AND we gave her the surprise of a lifetime when she arrived and found not one but two great-granddaughters eager to meet her. 

Grandma decided that "Great-Grandma" was a bit of a mouthful, so she'll now be known as Grandma Rene, which is especially appropriate since Elle and I share the middle name of Irene.

Elle initially was all up in Abby's business:



Grandma Rene spent a lot of time imparting wisdom on the two little ones:



More video here and here.

Day 3:

More family time with Ashlee, Abby, Grandma Rene, Grams, Gramps and Uncle Doug. Elle spent some time with Gramps watching music videos. Here, Elle is educated about Fleetwood Mac.

Ashlee and Abby had to leave that afternoon, and Elle and I met up with some of my closest college friends for dinner.

Elle was thankful that Aimee gave her a bottle and Claudia helped burp her.

Day 4:

Grams and Grandma Rene ran some errands while Elle and I met up with a high school friend for lunch. Lisa and I were in band and German Club together - her daughter, Elizabeth Anne, or Ella, was due about three weeks after Elle. We got the girls together to "meet," although Elle slept through the whole thing :)

That afternoon, we headed south to rendezvous with Aunt Marti. Grams and Uncle Doug dropped Elle and I off. Grams bid Elle a temporary farewell.

Then Aunt Marti shuttled us to Columbus, where we met up with my good friend Teren for dinner.

Uncle Jeff also joined us. It was a par-tay! Then we headed back to Marti and Jeff's so that Mommy could have a glass of wine or three and Elle could take a break from the car.