200 Pictures Later...

(Alternate name for this post: Auntie and Ethan take on Buffalo)
Where to start, where to start? I guess with a brief background. My grandfather is in the process of selling his house in Hamburg to move into an addition that is being built at my aunt and uncle's house in Orchard Park. Grandpa's house sold a little faster than expected, plans went a little hay wire and about 3 weeks ago my mom called to let me know she was going to Buffalo to help sort through all of his things before the big move. She said she would be leaving in 2 weeks, on the 30th of August. She is our day care and therefore, if she takes vacation, I take vacation, so, when she offered the tiniest inclining of an invitation my bags were already out and being packed. My sister also decided (after only a small amount of persuasion) to tag along.

As the trip grew closer, my anxiety got worse. This was the first time I was taking Ethan, basically anywhere, without Daddy, and this was a big trip for a first time. I had to keep reminding myself that Auntie and Grandma would be there to help. I tried to prepare Ethan for the trip, telling him we'd be going on a plane ride and it would be really boring but we had to be still and quiet and then once we got there and at the airports we could run. Every time I mentioned the trip he'd ask "Auntie?" and I'd tell him "Yes Auntie is going too" and he'd get very excited.

Since Michael would be staying home for this adventure, I promised to take LOTS of pictures, hence the title of the post, I took 200 pictures so he could feel like he was there. I cut out the majority of the 200 shots but included a decent sampling to this post.

On Sunday, the 30th at 7am, we headed up to Denver to start our journey. Check in and security at the airport went fairly smoothly (although by this point I already knew I would check the umbrella stroller I had brought with me, I have to learn that with Ethan, strollers usually don't work).
Being the smart travelers that we are, we booked a flight that was right at Ethan's nap time, thinking he would sleep on the 2 hour flight to Chicago. Wrong, kids rarely do what you expect. But, Ethan was great, I brought him a 'busy bag' full of different goodies, plus, my mom had booked seats in a row of the plane that didn't exist so we got bumped up to economy plus (5 extra inches of leg room!) Our layover in Chicago was very short and I spent most of it trying to wear him out. The second flight consisted of spending 10 minutes or so eating a fruit salad and then I brought out the big guns. Ethan loves Thomas the Train, I mean LOVES, and they had a set of 3 of the engines at a consignment sale that I went to, one of which happened to be Gordon, his favorite. I pulled Gordon out of my bag and he played quietly with him until the captain made the call for the flight attendants to prepare for arrival into Buffalo, at which point he promptly passed out.

He slept through departure from the plane, putting him into his stroller, getting our bags, and woke up to the chilly Buffalo air as we went out to meet my Uncle Perry. He stayed awake for the rest of the evening, which included some spaghetti (his favorite) and lots of exploring

as I said, Thomas the Train is a favorite so, the train tracks behind Grandpa's house were a hit

The most difficult part of the trip was getting Ethan to sleep. He's very slowly getting his molars so I'm not sure if it was a combination of teething, a new environment, wanting to play with Auntie and Grandma all night, but he sure could scream!

The next day started the process of sorting through all of the possessions in my Grandpa's house, including this awesome mailman hat


Luckily, my Aunt Linda brought over a bunch of toys, including tractors and a shopping cart. It kept curious little fingers away from all the breakables

While the rest were working (minus Bri and Grandpa who went gambling) Ethan and I headed for the lake. It was gorgeous!!!! And a good, long walk to get there and back.

That night we planned to go to a restaurant to have one of my mom's favorite Buffalo meals. About 5 minutes before we pulled into Uncle Perry's house, Ethan crashed (notice a trend here?)
He slept in my arms until our food got there, I did enjoy the cuddle session
After dinner we tried to get to the beach for sunset and made it just as the sun was sinking into the water
and this is what we get when trying to take a group picture, somehow Auntie was the only one that managed to look good in all the shots

That night ended up much better than the first, Ethan actually slept in his own bed and woke up at a decent hour. The next day he even took a 2 1/2 hour nap, when I went in to check on him this is what I found:
no way was I waking him up! I don't remember how this picture came to be, just some birds on a wire.
We played a lot in the front room. Ethan turned an empty box into a garage for his tractors and another into a hiding spot for ZaZa (blankie). I really want to teach him to get excited about vacation so we stayed up late, played, ate lots of yummy foods, watched Thomas, etc. Here he is enjoying the lazy side of vacation, not even holding ZaZa in his hand
Super Ethan "Da da da dut da da!"


The second night we were in Buffalo we went back to my Uncle's house (Ethan managed to stay awake this time) and parked just in the perfect viewing position from the car was a real tractor!! Needless to say, we spent a lot of time on the tractor.
A gigantic dragonfly that landed on my Grandpa's shoulder
After spending adequate time on the tractor we went down to explore the creek (for anyone that doesn't know, my Uncle and Aunt's house is like a kid's dream, huge yard, a barn, a tractor, and a creek!)


When we were done exploring my uncle brought out some of my cousins old John Deere tractors for Ethan to push around (anyone looking for Christmas ideas *hint, hint*)
My uncle, mom and grandpa had to leave to sign some paperwork for my grandpa's house. When Ethan realized his Grandma was leaving, he lost it, but wouldn't leave the tractor to run after her.
That night we had wings and pizza, a must whenever we are in Buffalo, Ethan cleaned up! He ate a piece and a half of pizza and loved the blue cheese for dipping. We dug out my uncle's Tickle Me Elmo (he works for Fischer Price), but I think the adults enjoyed it more than Ethan

The next morning was much of the same, playing and taking walks


Then, during nap time, my grandfather, sister and I went gambling at the local casino (it was my first time ever gambling!) I lost my whooping $20, but Bri walked away doubling her money, so I'd say it was successful.
That afternoon we went back to the lake with Auntie and Grandma. I thought the lake would be chilly, the week before we had gotten there the weather was wet and chilly, but we were surprised that it was the perfect temperature. We finally got Ethan t put his feet in and he ended up soaking wet, head to toe. It's a very rocky beach and he'd bend down, pick up a rock and throw it. This resulted in the waves coming up and splashing his face while he was bent over. Luckily, Auntie wore a tank top under her shirt and let him borrow her t-shirt for the ride home.



Our last night we spent at my uncle's. This is the progress on my grandpa's addition before we left


We finished off the night with a big bonfire! It was the perfect ending to a short, great trip.

On Thursday morning we packed up and drove to the airport. Our flight ended up being delayed about an hour but we found a Fischer-Price play place in the terminal. The flight being delayed caused a bit of anxiety, we had barely a lay over in Chicago and now would be cutting it really close. The flight attendant told us not to worry, they have a flight to Denver every hour so if we missed it we would just get moved onto the next. Ethan slept through the majority of the first flight. After departing our plane we ran to the next and got there just in time! Hungry, tired but on time. Michael was waiting for us at the Denver airport with pizzas! We chowed down once we got in the car. After a little while of driving Ethan asked for another piece, something in my mom radar should have been flagged, he took one bit and gave it back to me, followed by promptly getting sick all over himself and his car seat. Good thing we had just travelled and had spare clothes! We pulled off the highway on a dirt road to get cleaned up. All I have to say is I am thankful it wasn't on the plane.
Aren't you happy we're home Daddy?
*Side note* the reason for the alternate title is that throughout this trip, Ethan was practically inseperable from his Auntie. Aunite had her own tractors to play with and watched Thomas with him. He did not want to leave his Auntie. She may have been exhausted but I know she loved it!