Kentucky Trip

June 10 - 17

The boys and I flew to Kentucky with Mema, Papa, Uncle Russ, Aunt Andi and the triplet cousins to visit family.

We had an insane delay out of Phoenix and our plane didn't take off until almost six pm, five hours after our scheduled flight. We had a gradual delay so we couldn't even leave and come back later. We blocked off a section with bags to keep all four babies contained and everyone took turns walking around with Silas to keep him busy. Once we got on the plane we had an uneventful flight, which is exactly the type of flight you hope for.

All five of the boys did really well until we departed the plane and had to get the rental and pack up into the van. Everyone was super cranky but eventually fell asleep once we got on the road to Owensboro. Little Shawn made it until about half an hour away from the hotel, but thankfully he didn't wake anyone up. We finally got to the hotel and settled in to bed around 3 am KY time (midnight our time) and we were all up by 8 am.

After breakfast and a trip to The Walmart, we headed over to Aunt Nell's. We spent a lot of time at Aunt Nell's house, which made Silas very happy because all of the cousins he got to meet and play with. Mom was happy because she got to see two of her sisters and many of her nieces and nephews. It was pretty stormy and we were nervous because the next day we planned on going to Holiday world. The rain cleared up though.

Holiday World was so exciting. Silas rode several rides with Mom and Dad and we had lunch in a kid friendly area where he rode his first roller coaster. After we went to the water park and had a blast going down slides and playing in the wading pools. Silas did great and so did the babies. We stayed until closing and had a very late dinner when we got back into town.

We met Uncle Sam for breakfast the next morning. After paying respects to Grandma Cotton, Granddad Vic, Uncle Vic, and Uncle Mark we went back to Aunt Nell's for lunch and watched movies/worked on laundry until Friday after Five at this amazing park by the river. Silas had a blast playing in the splash pad and all over the playground equipment.

On Saturday we had the family reunion bbq. Uncle Frank got into a motorcycle accident so mom and all the siblings missed most of the festivities. Silas had a blast playing with all the kids his age and I enjoyed showing Declan off and chatting with my own cousins. When mom and the rest of the siblings came back things were winding down and we stayed to help with the clean up. We got some great family pictures by the pond before heading back to the hotel for the night.

Sunday, which was father's day, we hung out at Aunt Debbie's house and then had dinner out. We took up almost the entire patio! Unfortunately we had really poor service when we arrived at the restaurant (and by the general manager of all people!), but we spent the evening chatting and eating before going back to Aunt Nell's to finish up laundry. We didn't get back to the hotel until real late and we didn't sleep much because we were trying to get everything situated for our trip back down to Tennessee.

We ended up getting on the road about two hours later than planned, but were able to get down to Great Aunt Pat's (or maybe it was Peggy's) in time for dinner. The boys started to get real cranky after we ate, so we went back to the hotel and repacked bags so that they met weight requirements for the flight back home. We made a few detours before reaching the airport the next afternoon, but we didn't have any issues with delays so we got home on time. We had a very rude lady who made it publicly known she didn't like kids and was upset that the only available seats were next to infants. All of the boys slept the entire flight back to Phoenix, so she made a fuss for nothing.

The boys were so happy to see Josh at the airport! Andi had some battery issues with her van at the airport and we almost had to head back to pick them up, but fortunately someone was able to jump them so they got back home too.

Nine months old!

Declan is nine months old! How has it been 2/3 of a year already?! My baby is getting so big and on the go constantly. He is full on crawling now, but frequently switches back to army crawling. He sits himself up and has just started to pull himself up. We had to remove the bassinet attachment from the pack and play and I need to lower the crib mattress as well. Declan has both his bottom teeth and the top two have broken though. He hasn't shown much interest in food beyond purees. Solid foods become more sensory play and most of it lands on the floor or in the high chair.

The difference are really starting to become more apparent in my two boys, but they are still so similar! The Davis genes run deep in these two, but there are still touches of their daddy there, too. Silas has Josh's heavy brow line and chubby checks, while Declan has his deep eyes, oval shaped face, and also his chubby cheeks. Though, they get those from me too. I really ought to get baby pictures of Josh from his dad and post comparisons of the boys to both of our baby pictures. 

Declan had a fun month! We went swimming several times, celebrated big brother's birthday, and ate lots of new foods (puffs, black beans, whole grain rice and fresh melon, to name a few). 

Later this month we'll be going on an airplane for Declan's first trip to Kentucky. Both boys, the triplets, my sister and brother will be flying with Mema and Papa to visit family back east. It should be an adventure for sure!