Ella is quite the seasoned traveler these days! She took her second airplane trip to New York where we celebrated Cody's grandparents 60th wedding anniversary. We arrived in Newark and drove to Long Island the next day where Cody's relatives live (Cody's dad grew up on Long Island and his parents, brother and sister still live there with their families). The surprise celebration was planned for the day after we got there. Unfortunately, we were delayed to the party as Ella woke up with a fever that kept rising throughout the day. We called our doctor, and she told us that it was probably smart to take her into the ER to check what the cause of her fever might be. We ended up spending half the day in the ER and almost missed the dinner for Cody's grandparents entirely. It seems that Ella contracts viruses on airplanes fairly easily as she ended up getting sick the day after we got to Arizona too!
We were glad we took her in to the Good Samaritan hospital as she was admitted shortly after they took her temperature. It had gotten up to 101.1, which is still considered a low grade fever, but with her still being so little, they wanted to run some tests to rule out all causes of the fever.
Here she is in her little hospital gown...doesn't she look so sad!?
Our poor baby was poked and prodded, given a catheter, taken for x-rays, and given multiple tests on top of not feeling well. I don't blame her for being upset and crying. Just when she would fall asleep in our arms, a doctor or nurse would come in to check her for something else.
She was such a trooper considering everything she had to go through. The fever turned out just to be a viral infection and tylenol seemed to help bring her fever down within 24 hours.
We ended up making it to the last part of the anniversary party and Ella was in a surprisingly good mood while getting to meet lots of relatives. Cody's grandparents had no idea we were coming so it was very special for them to meet Ella and for her to get to meet her great-grandparents. Cody's grandma told us a number of times how happy she was to meet Ella and how she never thought she would get to meet her great-granddaughter as traveling is tough for them these days. It was so sweet to see her with Ella!
Cody's grandparents are such a darling couple and it was clear how happy they are together after 60 years of marriage!
Ella with her Grandma Lamens
Cody's aunt Debbie hosted a delicious dinner at her house the following day.
Ella with all the Lamens men - Great Uncle Neil, Cody, Great-Grandpa Everett, Uncle Beau, and Grandpa Ed
The Lamens Family
Cody, Ella, and I took the train into New York City the next day. This was Ella's first train ride!
We stayed at the Park Central Hotel which was just a few blocks from Central Park and Times Square. It was so cold out so we didn't do as much as we would have liked to, but it was still fun to be in the city. Central Park was beautiful all covered in snow!
We then walked to Times Square. Ella has always been mesmerized by televisions, but she wasn't sure what to think with all the humongous big screen TV's in Times Square. We woke her up from a nap when we got there so her expression shows how confused she was trying to take it all in!
Since we don't make it back east very often, we decided it was a good opportunity to go visit my cousin Linda and her family who live in Rhode Island. We took the train back to Long Island where Cody's parents picked us up in the rental car, and then we drove out to the tip of Long Island. From there, we took the New London Ferry across the water and arrived in Connecticut. We drove about another hour to get to their house in Rhode Island. Even though it was a long day of travel, it was so worth it to see them!
Here is Cody with the Keegan kids - Jed, Drew, Alaina and Jessica.
Me with the girls - they were so sweet with Ella!
They even included her while playing dress up :). Alaina accessorized Ella with a pink boa!
Linda with Ella
On the ferry ride back to New York
After rereading this post, I realized how much we actually packed into our week long trip. No wonder we were exhausted when we got home! It was great to spend so much time with family and I'm so glad we went, but I think we'll wait a little while before we travel again :).
Sitting up with our assistance and helping dad do some work on the computer
Loving standing up any chance she gets! We love our chunky monkey!
Getting kisses and arm squeezes from her boyfriend Nate ;)
Grabbing her toes
Doing acrobatic moves and turning completely around in her crib. We often go in and find her on the opposite end of the crib from where she fell asleep. Notice where her binky is - that's where her head was when she fell asleep! She provides quite the entertainment when we watch her moves on the video monitor :).
Loving "playing" with Lily - she gets a big smile when Lily gets close enough for her to pet (or grab her fur - Lily is very aware of those little hands!)
Just looking pretty!
And because nothing makes me happier than hearing her laugh, here is a little video of Ella!
