New York!

A visit to Grandma's house was on the books months before Claire was even born. And after skyping a few times and seeing her get all teary-eyed when she saw Claire, I figured it was high time Grandma meet her great-granddaughter in person. So I booked a flight ( Delta had some awesome deals going!) and flew the 5+ hours direct to JFK.

It was love at first touch.

Grandma, who now officially goes by "Gran" to establish the difference between her and my mom, fell in love with Claire--and Claire became quite fond of her! Jonny came out as well, and of course, Claire loved hanging out with him. :)

In addition to hanging out in Hicksville, Jonny and I took Claire on a fun day trip into the big city to visit Aunt Bina and Uncle Arty. They actually live in Hoboken, N.J. but I consider it the city since their house is 2 minutes away once you emerge from the Lincoln tunnel. Plus, in order to get there, we had to drive through the heart on midtown on 37th street. Jonny and I got our full New York City experience that way.

The purpose of this trip was to introduce little Claire to her extended family. Gran, who was the most anxious of all to meet her, naturally got the most time with her. But she also got to meet our cousin Josh, his parents Aunt Bettina and Uncle George,  her aunts and uncles from my dad's side: Aunt Bina, Uncle Arty, Uncle Ico and Aunt Cindy and our cousins Matt and Jessica.

our cousin Jessica

Aunt Bettina, Uncle George and Josh

Aunt Bina, Aunt Cindy and Uncle Ico

Matt busting some PT moves on Claire

Lots of good family bonding time. :) Jonny and I got a lot of one on one time too, which was really nice since he will be leaving on his mission at the end of the summer. It was nice to be able to spend some quality time with my baby brother. We are 9 years apart, which used to be a big gap, but it's interesting how as the years pass that gap becomes smaller and smaller.

It was a great trip and I am already scheming about how I can get back in the next few months! I love my family and wish I could live closer to them. But since that can't happen right now, I guess I'll just have to keep making these fun trips out to see them!