For Christamas, Jenny gave me an airplane ticket to visit Codi in Pennsylvania. I hadn't seen her family since August and none of them had met Ezra yet, so I was very excited to get this gift. The gift also came with my brother-in-law, Matt, acting as our personal travel agent. He took care of everything when my first flight was delayed, which would have caused me to miss the second. Thank you, Matt!
Flying with Ezra was not my favorite thing...I'm sure all other moms understand. I realized how social he has become, however. He loved to smile and talk to everyone around us on the plane and in the airport.
THE BARNES GIRLS
Ezra loved all the attention he got from Iris and Willa. They played with him and entertained him so much I'm afraid he is now super bored with just me back in Texas.
Olive didn't pay much attention to Ezra. She was too busy in her own little world. I couldn't believe how much she has grown and how much she talks. Sometimes she would give Ezra toys and then just watch him, but I don't think she ever figured out how to play with him.
No, Ezra really can't sit up on a stool by himself. I was close behind balancing him while Codi took this photo.
And I guess when your in a house of all girls, this is bound to happen even to little boys :)
LANCASTER COUNTY
We took a drive out to Amish Country on Saturday. Apparently Saturday is laundry day because we could spot the Amish homes by the clothes lines full of clean laundry in their yards. I always imagined the Amish living in their own isolated community so I was a bit surprised to see they that they live along side the "non-amish". I didn't really get any great photos except for a few of the kids playing on the playground near the Amish market.
PHILADELPHIA
On Monday we spent most of the day in Philadelphia touring Constitution Hall and the surrounding area.
The girls loved to take turns helping to feed Ezra...
....and helping to push his stroller. However, Oli couldn't get too far with Ezra.
Do you recognize this room? After watching the BYU movie about the making of the constitution in high school, I felt like I had been here before.
I love these photos of the girls having their pictures taken by Codi because they show Willa's personality so well. She obviously wants to do what her mom asks and smile for the camera, but she can't seem to help but be distracted by her surroundings.
THE PARK
On our last full day in Pennsylvania, we stopped by the Park after picking Willa up from preschool. Ezra loves the swings, and he enjoyed his first time on the slide as well.
I think Ezra looks so much like Marc in this picture. His hair is getting more like his moms, wavy than straight, especially in humid weather.
We had so much fun with Codi and her girls. I miss all my nieces and nephews. Hopefully one day we'll all live within driving distance of each other so the cousins can play together more often.