Florida Family Fiesta

We took to the skies last weekend for the first time since our move back to the East Coast. It was a little less hectic without the pets, but still a bit of a challenge. I don't plug a lot of things here on the blog, but here's a tip for those of you flying with kids under two - on Southwest, if you don't buy a seat for the little one, you can still bring your car seat to the gate. If there are any unsold seats, you can bring your seat on board and strap the child in. We got lucky and were able to do that both ways with Ryan....I wish I could tell you that this was a typical image of him on the flights, but alas, this only lasted for about half an hour each way.

We made the trip down to celebrate my grandfather's 80th birthday. The party was a blast and Ryan got to meet all of his Florida relatives (and a few New Jersey ones too). This one is Ryan and his great-grandparents. In the chair is the birthday boy with my grandmother behind him. I thought it was pretty amusing that Ryan is the only one actually looking at the camera.This little girl is Brianna. She is being held by her older sister, Alyssa. They are both cousins. To add a little more perspective to Ryan's current size, Brianna is 15 months old.
My brother made it to the party too. This is us with my Uncle Bill - Brianna's dad.
My cousin Billy, my Uncle Bill's little hell-raiser, absolutely loves babies. He is always watching out for his little sister and was more than willing to show Ryan the ropes at our Granparents' house.
I think that my mom and dad held Ryan more than Lisa and I did this weekend. In the back is my Aunt Mary - one of Ryan's loyal readers. This was her first chance to meet him but she told me that she already felt like she knew him. I really appreciated that - with family and friends scattered all over, that was my whole goal with this blog.
This was our first trip to Vero Beach in almost 5 years. It was wonderful to see everyone, introduce Ryan and celebrate someone who means so much to all of us. Happy Birthday, Grandpa.