We started out on Friday, 7/29, at 4:00 AM! We couldn't fit everyone and our luggage into one car so Daddy dropped Kali and me off at the airport first. Too bad the ticket counter didn't open until 5:00 AM, so we had to wait in line for an hour which Kali didn't like at all. While we waited, Daddy headed back to the house to pick up Qiana and Candy and the rest of the luggage. We all made it through security and to our terminal with plenty of time to spare and without incident. We boarded the plane and settled into our seats near the back, so we could be close to the lavatory. I don't think Kali knew what was happening but she seemed happy to be on the plane and not in the least be afraid. Once we took off, she kept saying, "whoah mommy whoooooah!!!!" We told her we were flying and she laughed and smiled. We let her look out the window and she seemed amazed. She was the perfect baby and didn't cry or fuss at all.
The flight to St. Louis was about 3 hours long. So by the time she got restless, it was time to land. We didn't have any issues with her ears popping or anything. She even used the lavatory and of course told everyone within ear shot, "I pee pee potty!!!" PawPaw met us at the airport and Kalissa was so happy to see him. She looooves her PawPaw! PawPaw took the older girls with him and Daddy, Kali and I went to get a rental car and stop at Daddy's favorite restaurant for lunch: White Castles! When we got back to the house, Nana was there and Kali gave her lots of hugs and kisses! Her Uncle Damon and his daughter, DeeDee (Kali's cousin), were there too. Kalissa quickly remembered Damon's name and formed a fast bond with him as well.
On Saturday, we went to visit Big PawPaw (Nana's dad, Kali's Great Grandfather). He is in a nursing home but you would never know it if you met him on the street. He is sooooo full of life (must be where Kali gets it) but he does have dementia so he needs to be in a home where he has people looking after him. When we got there, Big PawPaw was in the dining room having lunch and Kali happened to be asleep in my arms. When we entered the dining room, a group of ladies spotted Kali and wanted me to bring her over to them. I explained that she was sleeping and so they just looked at her and smiled. A few moments later, I woke Kali up and she sprang into Ms. Congeniality! She said hello to Big PawPaw and sat in his lap. I also took her to meet the other ladies and they loved her. Kali sat in their laps and gave hugs to everyone. She really brightened their day and it warmed my heart. Much later when we were in Big PawPaw's room, one of the ladies found Kali and just stood at the door watching us all with a big smile on her face. You could tell that she didn't want to leave our family visit. She probably doesn't get to see babies very often so I was glad that our Kali was able to fill a void for her.
Sunday was a very busy day! Kali went to Sunday school with Nana first and then joined us for regular service later. In true Kali style, she did not sit with us during the first part of service. Oh noo....she had people to meet! There was a mom with her son & daughter in the row in front of us and she just invited herself to sit with them! *lol* It was the cutest thing...she kept telling the girl, "I like your hair" or "I like your dress". Finally I put her back with us and she ended up falling asleep for the rest of the sermon. After church, Nana and PawPaw had a big barbecue at their house. The rest of the family came over and my head was spinning after meeting so many aunts, uncles, and cousins! Everyone was so nice and the food was delicious!!! Kali spent most of the time in the kiddie pool. I had to literally drag her out of it! She kept saying, "look mommy, I'm swimming!" *lol*
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday was more family bonding and outings. We visited downtown St. Louis and saw the famous arch...it was at night though so the pictures aren't very good. Kali was sooooo tired but she stayed up to experience everything (even though she was too sleepy to smile). We also went to the Children's Museum and Daddy and I even got to sneak away and visit the Budweiser brewery.
We had such a wonderful time making and strengthening bonds with our family. It was hard and sad to leave but.....Wednesday night we said farewell to St. Louis and Daddy, Kali and I packed it up and headed to Philadelphia!
We arrived late Wednesday night in Philadelphia after another stellar performance by Kalissa on the plane. She must have thought she was the mayor of the plane or something because as we were walking down the aisle after a potty break, she was waving and asking everyone, "How you doing?" They all got a kick out of her and the flight attendants loved her too (probably because she wasn't one of the screaming kids on the flight)! It was raining pretty heavily so I was glad that I had planned for us to stay the night at an airport hotel and then drive into NJ the next morning. By the time we got to the hotel, it was after midnight so we quickly called it a night!
Thursday morning, we got up and made the 40 minute drive from Philly to New Jersey, checked into our hotel and called up Uncle Felcie. I had been telling Kali that she was going to meet him and she didn't forget. As soon as Felcie got to the hotel, she made another buddy. She can say his name really well too. At first, she was calling him Michael (because she remembered the pictures of Michael on our mantel at home...I guess he looks like Michael to her) so I had to keep telling her that he was Uncle Felcie. She got it pretty quickly though. We did a little shopping, had some dinner and made plans to take a charter bus to New York the next day.
Friday morning, Kali was ready to hit the streets. Here she is testing out the jumpability of the hotel beds:
While we were waiting in the lobby, Kali apparently caught the eye of another guest. Next thing we know, a lady left her table where she was having breakfast to come over and tell us what a gorgeous daughter we have. She went on to say that she was watching Kali for a while and she just had to come tell us how beautiful she thought Kali was. Of course I was just beaming! Then Kali spotted a whole bunch of ducks outside and she thought they would let her pet them. Uhhhh....wrong! Next we boarded the bus and headed to the Big Apple! We had a great time in Times Square. I had the most delicious cupcake EVER....no, I mean this cupcake was like no other and from a place called Crumbs. I took a picture with a NY icon...The Naked Cowboy! And we visited the mother of all toy stores: Toys R Us in Times Square. This store is so huge that it has a ferris wheel inside! I've never seen anything like it. Unfortunately, Kali was sleeping pretty much the whole time so she really didn't get to enjoy much of anything. We also got Kali's portrait done by a street vendor.
Al did not like the drawing. He doesn't think it looks anything like Kali, but I love it! Speaking of drawings, when we got back home the pictures that he drew Kali for her birthday were ready. The framing came out beautifully!
I guess Daddy will have to do a portrait of Kali next since he hates the one from NY!
At around 4:00, we noticed that Kali was very warm. I didn't know if it was sun exposure or if she had a fever. Turns out she had a low-grade fever. That would explain why she slept most of the day away and now that I look at the pictures, she was very droopy-eyed in the bus ride photo. Hindsight is 20/20 *sigh*. We got her some medicine and headed back to the Port Authority to catch our bus back to NJ. I was worried about my baby and also upset at myself for not noticing her fever earlier. It was a sleepless night for us because Kali was burning up all night and we were trying to control her fever.
Saturday morning we checked out of our hotel and made a 45 minute car trip to Barbara's house and our family reunion with my dad's side of the family. As soon as we got to Barbara's house, Kalissa had yet another new person to bond with. I introduced her to Grandma and Kali loved her. If Barbara left the room, Kali would ask, "Where's Grandma?" and then run through the house calling out, "Grandma!" The family reunion was nice. Unfortunately it wasn't a huge turnout but it was really good to see all who did come out. Kali jumped right in and joined in all the fun.
I am so upset with myself that I didn't get hardly ANY pictures of the reunion. I was so busy keeping an eye on Kali's fever that I just wasn't taking photos like usual. After only 3 hours, it was time to get Kali back to the house and to bed. Her fever started coming back and I just wanted to get her in bed. She wouldn't eat very much and hadn't had real food since Friday's breakfast. I resorted to feeding her ice cream because that's all she would eat. We spent the night at Grandma Barbara's which wasn't very comfortable because Kali kept waking up crying. I felt so bad for her.
Sunday morning we woke up to a delicious breakfast that Barbara made us and then headed to the airport. Kali still wasn't eating and I was really worried about her. Once we got to the airport I bought her some yogurt and tried to feed it to her. After two bites it all came up and then some! She has never thrown up (other than her spit up as an infant) so I was really worried at that point. We had to buy her some new clothes and a blanket. I purposely didn't book a nonstop flight back to San Diego because I figured she would need a layover so she could walk around halfway through out trip. Once again, I'm glad I did that because she really did need a break in flying especially since she was sick. On our final leg of the trip, she had issues with her ears popping and cried a little bit. She just kept saying "mommy, my ear hurt!" Poor baby!
After 9 days on the road and coming home with a sick child, I have never been happier to see San Diego!! I'm sure if she hadn't gotten sick those last few days, then it would have been a perfect trip. All in all it was still a great trip (just super long!). I wish we had spent a little more time in NJ. But there's always next time!
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LOOK AT YA'LL ALL OVER THE WORLD :)
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