Road Trip to Pennsylvania

Last weekend, Mark and I took Simon on his first driving road trip to Pennsylvania to meet our family and friends there. We had been able to visit with my Mom, Dad and Aunt Barbie on our way home from Ethiopia thanks to a long layover at Dulles airport. But many others were anxious to meet Simon so off we went. He was an awesome traveler! He did great on the long drive. We arrived on Saturday afternoon and had just a few hours before heading off to a shower in honor of Simon.

My Mom and sister Heidi hosted a fun shower for us with many family and friends. We had dinner together and then Simon was showered with more toys and gifts than any little boy could dream of. He especially liked eating this delicious cake ... isn't it adorable!?!?


Our oldest nephew Brandon wanted to stay and help at the shower. He is officially Simon's first babysitter. I gave him $5 for being such a good helper with Simon and all of the presents.

Simon and his cousins Mason, Brandon and Andrew got along super! I was especially excited for all of the boys to be together. Andrew kept saying, "he's so cute" and all three boys were great with Simon. A dream come true for me to have all four boys together!

And here is Simon with his Aunt Heidi and Uncle Thinh. They loved playing with Simon but both agreed that they were glad to be out of the diaper stage of children!

Simon and his Mimi got along well too. Mimi just wanted to cuddle and hold Simon and thankfully, he did slow down a few times so Mimi could do just that. I think that he's even making some expressions and laughing a bit like my Mom since we've been home -- pretty funny!

And here's Simon with his Papa. My Dad gave Simon his first fishing pole and he loves to carry it around, even though it's still in the packaging! They became fast friends and had fun playing together. Simon and Papa both even eat the same kind of oatmeal each morning.

And I was especially glad that Simon got to meet his Great Grandma, or as we call her, Grandma Grandma. That's not a typo -- my sister's boys started calling her this years ago and it's stuck. Simon gave her pucker kisses and had fun playing with Grandma Grandma's electric recliner -- he gave her quite a ride up and down! Grandma has made two beautiful sweaters for Simon and we are so glad that these two became fast friends.

And I couldn't resist this photo. Simon did great in the van. Even on Wednesday when he was in the van for nearly 12 hours -- he got a little bit whiney but never had a meltdown. We stopped at a Panera for lunch ... can you tell that he likes their macaroni and cheese?

It was a fun trip that went by too quickly! But we're so glad that Simon got to meet more of the many people who love him so dearly. We hope that maybe some of them will come to visit us soon!