Jet lag.

As I wrote in this post, jet lag is a beast that takes far too long to tame and for the ease of international travel, I wish it didn't exist, but alas it does. However, I have realized that it's easier on your children the older they get, and I'd say it's easier on you the older you get, but I don't necessarily know if that's the case. I'm no spring chicken, so I don't just bounce back from a lack of sleep like I use to, but my body is use to interrupted sleep, which I suppose may be to my advantage with jet lag. 

Anyhow, we have been here 11 days now, and I think it took the kids about 7 days before they started going to bed at a normal time. It was really hard trying to figure them out and adjust with them to a different schedule and sleep pattern before they fully reverted to their original sleep patterns. Ryan was hardly awake at all the first few days. I think one day he was awake for like 45 minutes before he went down for his first nap. We were making jokes about him just sleeping the entire trip away. Have no fear that has not been the case. 

The first few nights were the hardest as the boys were literally waking up in the night and staying awake for hours on end. One night Ryan was awake from 10-12 AM and then Jack woke up right after that and was awake till 2 or 3 AM. There were a few nights like that actually. And that was rough as Peter and I just wanted to sleep but our kids were wide awake wanting to be entertained. And Jack kept waking up screaming that he was scared and every single night he has landed himself in our bed, all for the sake of sleep and survival. There were a few mornings where we all slept till ten and I’m sure those were the mornings when they had been awake in the wee hours of the night.

You guys jet lag is real and it is hard and really confusing for kids and for adults as Peter and I have been falling asleep everywhere. And there have been numerous nights where I have gone to bed soon after Jack has. I had high hopes for reading and working in bed, but I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. All that to say, I know it does come to an end, eventually, and then you begin the journey home and have to do it all over again. Haha! In all honesty though, it has helped to look back at the last post I wrote about jet lag and what we went through the first time with Jack.

And I can look back on that now and praise God that this time it is different! I can honestly say if your baby is a good sleeper, then this jet lag thing will be a breeze. Ryan is an incredible sleeper and he has adjusted much more easily than Jack did at that age and even than Jack has now. And maybe we're better at reading him and anticipating when he's tired before he gets past the point of no return, which is where we took Jack far too may times. I have tried my best to honor Ryan's nap times, especially his morning nap, and we normally don't venture too far from home till after that one. And then I normally put him down for an afternoon nap whenever we get home from said adventure and sometimes he'll even have a third nap. It all just depends, but he's going to bed just after six, just like he does at home. And he’s napping around the same time as he does at home. And I am definitely not spending 2-3 hours putting him to bed. Thank you Jesus! He naps with ease and goes to bed with ease and even when he does wake up in the night, I just have to feed him and he goes right back to sleep. I'm sure we'll have to sleep train him again when we get home as he was sleeping straight through the night before we left, but whatever. We can handle that.

Now Jack on the other hand has always had issues sleeping, so I'm not surprised he's decided to forgo his naps and forgo his bed for mama and dadas bed while here, and I'm praying this doesn't continue when we get home. And if I'm incredibly honest, a part of me thinks we created his sleeping issues. We've always done things to facilitate Jack's sleeping whether it's patting his back, lying with him or singing him songs. And I don’t think that’s helped him much. I’m hoping we can get him napping again and sleeping in his own bed all for the sake of a bit of sanity for everyone once we get back home.

All in all, the kids have been a dream. Ryan’s just as sweet as always, with a few more tears and whimpers thrown in there simply out of sheer exhaustion. And I get it. I’m tired too. And he’s definitely a little mamas boy, but nowhere near as bad as Jack was when we were here last. He’s more than happy to go into other people’s arms just as long as he knows mama or dada aren’t too far away. And Jack, well he’s still crazy. That kid has so much energy and he just goes and goes and goes. And he goes stir crazy if he doesn’t get outside at least once a day, which is fine and all, but the weather hasn’t been all that great since we’ve arrived. However, we haven’t let that stop us!

But let’s just say by the end of the day Peter and I are tired. And there have been a handful of times where I have put Ryan down for a nap or put him down for the night and I find myself crawling into bed and pulling the blanket up in hopes of getting a quick nap to get me through the rest of the day/night. And I don’t think a night has gone by that Peter hasn’t fallen asleep himself while putting Jack to bed. I’m now in the habit of going upstairs to check on them (and waking Peter from his slumber) an hour after their departure from the living room.

All that to say it’s all so worth it. This I know. And these moments with Peter’s family and our kids are moments we will treasure always. And the jet lag and sleep deprivation will come to an end, but the memories will remain. And for that, I am grateful.

Things I've Learned from Traveling Internationally with Children

Oh the joys of traveling internationally with children and the jet lag that ensues. I think it's wise to have very low expectations, to be extremely flexible and adaptable, and for grace to abound. And to remember that the cranky kids and the sleepless nights will come to an end and in the end it's all worth it.

I think the hardest part of traveling with children though is everything that happens before you get to your gate. You just have ALL of your stuff - your suitcases, your carry ons, the stroller, etc, and once you check your bags, you then have security, which entails unpacking all your stuff you had just packed that morning, and taking your shoes off and your coat off, all while wearing a baby, and then having to pack everything back up, put your shoes back on and your coat back on and that baby back on. It's just complicated and I dread it every single time. But once you're through security, everything after that just feels easy.

The flight over here wasn't bad at all. We departed Seatac around 1:30 PM and flew straight to Amsterdam. We were incredibly blessed with a row of four seats. Jack had his own seat this time around and Ryan was on my lap, but once the plane took off, I was able to put Ryan in his own seat. It was so nice to have my lap if even for a short time. The flight to Amsterdam was about 10 hours, and I know some of you may be thinking that is SUCH a long flight with two kids, but honestly, I'd take a long flight over a shorter one any day. It allowed us to truly get settled in as we knew we would be there awhile! And it also allowed the kids to sleep a bit.

And they did really good for the most part. Jack watched a few movies, behaved himself for the most part, and finally fell asleep about an hour or two before we landed. So he was an absolute mess when we woke him up to get him buckled in for landing, and he proceeded to whine/cry for the next 30 minutes (or maybe longer) while we landed and taxied on the runway. It felt like a lifetime, but I suppose it could have been worse. I just kept saying, "I know...you're just exhausted" hoping that would excuse his behavior while I tried desperately to calm him down. Ryan was a little bit more work and required a little bit more entertaining, but that's just his age. He's such a wiggle worm these days and wants to be everywhere at once. But when we got off the plane in Amsterdam, I was so relieved! I turned to Peter and said "We did it!" The longest and hardest part of our journey was over. I assumed the rest would be easy.

And I was right. We had a two hour layover, which flew by and then our next flight took us from Amsterdam to Dublin, and it wasn't even a two hour flight. But somehow Jack managed to sleep nearly the whole flight. That kid was exhausted! As was Ryan, but that kid just wanted to take everything in and smile at everyone rather than close his eyes and sleep. And before we knew it we had landed in Dublin and Peter's sister Ruth was awaiting our arrival and all we had left of our long journey was a 2 hour drive to Belfast. As far as I was concerned our journey to Ireland was more or less finished and the next journey we would embark on would be adjusting to the 8 hour time difference. But the jet lag journey deserves it's own post for another day. As far as I'm concerned, jet lag is a beast that takes far too long to tame and for the ease of international travel, I wish it didn't exist, but alas it does.

Here are nine things I've learned from traveling internationally with children.

1. Book a flight pattern with a LONG flight and by long I mean more than 6 hours. I love LONG flights and I'm perfectly happy to do a direct flight to Amsterdam or London every time if that's an option and a reasonable price as a 10 hour flight vs a five hour flight provides you with more opportunities for the kids to sleep and more movie time for the parents. You guys, I somehow managed to watch three movies, from start to finish.

2. Even better, book a LONG evening flight. An evening flight is probably more ideal than an afternoon flight, but again, only if that's an option and a reasonable price. We would have had to pay a couple hundred extra to leave at 6 PM, so we passed on that option, but if money wasn't an option, we'd book the evening flight. Again, increases the probability that the kids will sleep and more movie time for the parents.

3. Pack your carry on wisely. I thought I had, but realized after the fact that I packed WAY too much stuff for them on the flight over and there were quite a few things we didn't even touch like blankets and toys and books.

4. The little screen on the back of the chair will be your best friend. Announce to your toddler that today there is no limit to screen time! Your toddler (and everyone else on the plane for that matter) will benefit from the additional screen time said toddler will get. It's okay if he watches 2 movies in a row. It's not the end of the world and tomorrow is a new day!

5. Little wrapped gifts may be a waste of time? I had wrapped up a bunch of little presents for Jack to unwrap as the flight went on. And if I'm incredibly honest, he wasn't all that intrigued by them and they didn't really entertain him for all that long. I won't be doing that again.

6. Test out Benadryl or drowsy medicine before you fly. We had bought some Benadryl for Jack to take for the plane in hopes of making him drowsy. And he was sick before we left, so I gave it to him a few times at night time, and let me tell you, it had the opposite effect on him and actually made him hyper.

7. Bring our own car seats. This is something we have never done, but we will definitely do this next time in order to save everyone the hassle. The car seats are different here, which seems strange to me just because every country has car seats and I just imagine that they'll be just like ours, but they're different I tell ya! The brands might be similar, but the make of the car seat is actually different.

8. And bring a stroller. We never use to travel with one, but now that we have two kids, it's glorious to have one at the airport so that you can strap one kid in and wear the other.

9. And lastly, extend grace to your kids and to yourself. And know that patience and flexibility goes a long way during your travel journey and when you arrive.

And that's all I have for now folks. I'm sure I'll learn even more things after our journey home.

The North Coast.

A few days ago we traveled to the North Coast - Portballintrae to be exact.  I love the North Coast, and maybe that's because I love being so close to the water.  Or maybe it's because that's where Giant's Causeway is, and I think the hexagonal stones are the coolest thing.  Or maybe it's because that's where Peter proposed to me all those years ago (read about that here).  Anyhow, regardless of the reason, the reality is I love this place.  So the road trip up north was blessed and filled with anticipation.

And it just so happens that Peter's grandparents have a house in Portballintrae right across from the beach where they spent much of their childhood.  So of course we had to make a stop by the house to document our presence there.



Me and my little lovie.



All of these photos are taken by the one and only Peter Drennan.

The house is called Green Gables.

The house from across the road.

And we were so lucky to have Auntie Ruth come visit us from Dublin for the night.  And I was so blessed by her joining us on our journey to the North Coast.  We love her so, and I especially love the new hat she knit Jack to match the sweater she made him months ago.

And we couldn't drive to the North Coast without making a stop at Bushmills.  We just visited the gift shop so we could bring a few bottles of whiskey home - planning to stow them away in our suitcase.

And that's all folks - we have had many adventures since being here and we have spent quite a bit of time in the car.  Keep you posted on the latest!

Much love,

The Drennan's

Our time.

As I said yesterday, we have been here 5 full days, and it's crazy to think we have only been here five days considering we have done so much and seen so many great people.

Considering we are really only here for 14 days, we realized pretty early on we were going to have to make the most of our time.  Hence, the husband put together a google calendar considering I couldn't keep everything straight - all the dinners, all the engagements, all the people, all the fun.  And once we arrived, we were struggling to find an open night where we could go see the Hobbit.

The reality is...we just don't have enough time here.  Now we know for next time - we really should be here longer than 2 weeks, especially now that we have Jack and the beautiful thing called jet lag.

So what have we done with ourselves you ask?

Well we traveled the distance and flew the miles, and arrived in Dublin via Seattle.  You can read about that experience here.

One of the first things we did was venture to the Belfast Christmas Market, ate a bratwurst, ventured to Victoria Square where we visited Santa, got a photo and a present.

Jack's face in the photo on the left is hilarious..."Dad, what's that thing on your face??"  Jack's present from Santa - Peter kept saying the present was free, and let's be honest, the whole experience, with the photo, the present, and sitting on Santa's knee cost us 9 pounds.  So probably more than the average Santa experience, but it's the first so I can make an exception.

This is Jack's little face when he's angry and tired....and this is his sweet face when he's asleep.  Which do you prefer?  I kind of love the one on the left!  Poor bub and his jet lag (post here).  And more photos from the Christmas market.

And here we have the Santa photo, along with a mustache photo.  All the brothers grew mustaches for Movember, and they decided to keep them until they saw each other so that they could all shave together.  Which one has the best mustache?  I love Peter's face in this photo!  And we also have Waterworks Park in the bottom right.  Love that place.

And here we are with our food photos.  And Jack in his highchair that Grandma Gillian bought for him!  So thankful for that chair.  And I should say there are some things we have continued while away and there are some things we have not.  We have kept up with making our own baby food but we left the cloth diapers at home.  It's been so strange to use disposables for the past few days, and I must admit I feel a little guilty every time I toss one into the waste bin.  But I just didn't want to bother with transporting them across the atlantic and then having to wash them.  And if I'm honest, I'm so thankful with the decision we made, but I can't wait to get home and start cloth diapering again.

And here we have some family photos!  The past weekend was spent with both sides of the family.  Saturday was Gillian's family and Sunday was Jack's (father in-law).  And I couldn't resist this brilliant photo opportunity.  I realized about a month ago that ALL four of Jack's great grandmas are still alive.  Isn't that amazing?  And he's met them all now.

So many more photos to share...but this will do for now.

Sending so much love from the Emerald Isle,

Malia

Jet lag.

So we have been here 5 full days now, and Jack is finally going to bed at a normal time.  Man, I thought jet lag was hard on adults, but let me tell you, the poor baby is suffering the most, well mom is suffering too from the poor baby's suffering.  1 AM is not an ideal bedtime for anyone, and I'd rather not spend 2-3 hours of my night trying to put my baby to sleep.  I'd rather be decorating the Christmas tree, listening to Christmas carols and drinking beer (sounds selfish, trust me I know!).  He is rubbing his eyes and yawning all the time now, and he falls asleep as soon as we get into the car, as do I - Exhibit A in the photo above.  We are tired.

I haven’t traveled outside of the country in a few years, and I think I thought I was immune to jet lag or something crazy like that.  But let me tell you, I fell asleep sitting up on the couch last night and I almost fell out of my seat on the bus and I fall asleep nearly every time I crawl into bed to feed Jack, made us late to dinner yesterday because I fell asleep - oops!  Stuart, Peter's brother, said ...you don't seem to be suffering from jet lag much, and Peter said, well probably because we have been jet lagged for 11 months now.  So true!  I just said, I'm use to the lack of sleep now - so I think my body is starting to function on less.

And yes, jet lag for babies is rough as it's so confusing for them.  And we have Jack on such a great schedule at home that's predictable most of the time.  His morning naps are getting less predictable, but we know around when he naps and how long he will nap for, and we know when he goes to bed, and he falls asleep so easily at home, normally begging for bed time.  And here nothing is constant or predictable, and that's hard for me.  He may sleep for an hour at night and wake up ready to play until 12 or 1.  And he's so overtired that getting him to sleep is my worst nightmare.  I have never heard this child cry like he has here...oh it's so sad.  Breaks my heart to think about it.  Last night I literally just put him in his crib and crawled into bed and put the covers up over my head and bunched up into a ball.  I too wanted to cry.  And when Peter came upstairs to check on us, I just said, I don't know what to do...as the only thing that consoles him is feeding nonstop and sleeping in bed with us.  And all I wanted to do was join in on the fun with the adults.  

And as I type this, I'm realizing just how selfish that is.  The poor bub just wants his mom.  And he is definitely suffering from separation anxiety and he loves to have mom within eyesight.  Who knows if this is because he is just flat out tired or if this is a stage he is entering into, or perhaps both?  Don't get me wrong, I love my child, and I’m so thankful for him, and I love the fact that he reaches for me and knows me, and finds comfort in me, but I must say it's utterly exhausting when you're tired and you are THE person for this one little being.  I think I just figured that we would have extra help with all the extra hands, and I never once thought about how Jack might respond to all those extra hands or how he may favor one set of hands over another.  However, I can honestly say, he's changing.  He's getting use to all the sweet faces and all the love and the extra hands, and he's showing more of his true self.  And I know this stage won't last forever, and I should truly be cherishing this time and these sweet moments we have together and the comfort he finds in me as I am truly blessed.

I mean look at this sweet face!  How can you not want cuddles from him?  How can you not want him to nuzzle his little face into your neck?  

And this one...

Tonight was a different night though - Jack actually went to sleep around 8.  Christmas miracle I tell ya, well Jesus is the real Christmas miracle, but this was pretty great.  It's wonderful to have some time in the evening to just sit and rest, even if it was only an hour.  

However, I did fall asleep while putting Jack to bed, and woke up and immediately glanced at my phone, which said it was 4, and I instantly presumed it was 4 AM.  I was shocked I had slept for so long, couldn't believe my husband wasn't in bed yet.  And as I heard the rumbling sounds of laughter coming from downstairs, I instantly thought oh no...haha! The boys (men) are still up...which means Peter may not be his best self tomorrow, which means we may get a later start on everything than I wanted, which means I may be on my own with Jack in the AM so that Peter can sleep.  And then I realized it was only 10 PM, and I remembered my phone was 6 hours behind.  Best news of the night...the night was still young.  So of course, I ran down the stairs as fast as I could to join in on the fun...didn't want to miss another moment.

And then the baby woke up ...an hour later.

But don't worry he went back to bed in no time, so I was able to finish this post.

Sending so much love from the Emerald Isle,

Malia

The Flight.

So we have been here a few days now, and I can already tell you that our time is going to go by too fast.  I can already say, I wish we had more time.  I mean when you go three years between visits that’s bound to be the case.  There are people that want to see you and family that wants to spend time with you…and let’s be honest they also want to meet the newest addition to the family.

Even when we booked the flights I don’t think we realized just how fast our time would go.  And when we were on the plane enroute to Dublin, I was wishing the hours and minutes away. So ready to get off the plane! 

Traveling with a baby isn’t terrible, it’s just extremely different than flying without one and a little more interesting.   First you have security, which I already slightly despise to begin with. You have to take off all your clothes – well your shoes, your sweater, jacket, etc, your watch, your scarf, your belt.  And add a baby to the mix, and all of that is just a bit more complicated. 

I had brought magazines and my kindle, and I had hopes of watching movies and closing my eyes.  Think again right?  This little man loves to grab everything….he was grabbing my magazines, my kindle, my food, my coffee, my hair, my scarf, etc…I think you get the point.

The first flight was only 3.5 hours – a breeze if you ask me.  We let him sit on the floor and play with toys – ew germs right?  To be honest, I didn’t care at that point, I just wanted my lap back. 

And the layover in Chicago was an hour or so, which was just fine.  It was the flight from Chicago to Dublin that I was really nervous about as that flight was 6.5 hours.  And I don't know about you all, but I have been on flights where babies have been wailing the majority of the flight, and that my friends was my worst nightmare.  I mean I know Jack is a fairly sensible child and rather calm, but throw extreme exhaustion into the mix with a confined space and a limited play area, and you just may have a recipe for disaster.

If I'm  honest, he did just fine.  He fussed a little, which was expected, but what wasn't expected was the fact that he didn't sleep at all.  And I spent the entire time - at least 2/3 of our flight trying to get him to sleep.  Waste of time? Probably?  

We had a little bed for him that was basically a cardboard box hanging off the bulkhead, but we didn't get much use out of it.  However, it was nice to have a place to put him that was somewhere other than my lap seeing as that little bundle tucked up next to me, as fantastic as it was, just made me sticky and sweaty.  But the bed did make watching movies and eating meals a little tricky seeing as my meal tray only unfolded halfway and our little screens came up from our seats, which were blocked by the bed. I did manage to watch one movie as I was rather determined to at least watch one.

Anyhow, we finally arrived in Dublin, and we were greeted by Jack's grandparents (the in-laws) and so began our journey up north to Belfast!

All in all it wasn't a disastrous experience, not necessarily one I will look forward to with great anticipation, but not one I will necessarily dread, which is good right?  Just realizing that the whole travel experience is extremely different with a baby and not quite as relaxing as it is when you travel without one.  And I also realized that he doesn't need all the extra things I packed for him - like extra clothes, and all the toys - so my carry on bag for the both of us will be a little lighter on our journey home.

Greetings from Belfast,

Malia

An adventure awaits us.

This time next week we will be in Ireland, and I will be saying Merry Christmas Belfast!  I haven't written anything about our trip to Ireland for fear that me putting words to this adventure would simply jinx it or something.  Remember what happened last year?

I can't believe it's nearly been a year since we were told we wouldn't be venturing to Ireland.  I will never forget that day - we had both signed off at work, and we had one last appointment with the midwife before we depearted on a plane for the motherland.  And guess what the midwife told us after she had already signed the Drs. note for the airlines?  She told us that we wouldn't be going to Ireland. The emotions are still there - ugh - I was SO mad!  Mad that Jack wasn't growing as he should, mad that didn't have control over it all, mad that our plans were thwarted, mad that we wouldn't be in Ireland for Christmas.  I was so angry - at the midwife, at my husband (what did he do?? absolutely nothing!), at God, at the entire situation.  And I was such a mess - the husband couldn't console me, the tears were streaming, and the snot was smeared all over my face.  It was bad, so bad.  And it was sad, so sad. I mean it had been 2 years since we were there.  Anyhow, you can read the whole story here if you would like.

Anyhow, it looks like nothing is going to stop us from getting on a plane next Wednesday and trying for round 2!  We didn't buy our tickets so early this time, and part of me feels like it's not really happening.  It just feels so surreal - it has been so long - nearly THREE years since we were there. And last time we were there it snowed ALOT.

Last year I wrote a blog post about the things I was looking forward to...let's just say not much of that has changed.

Things I am looking forward to this year...

Getting to travel with Peter and our little man Jack!  Can't wait to see how Jack does on his first airplane ride.  And can't wait to see how I do on my first plane ride with Jack.  Will I be able to rest at all?  Read a book?  Watch a movie?  My hope is that the little man will charm everyone next to him with his little smile and that he will sleep alot. And I can't wait for Jack to get his first stamp in his passport - his passport picture is the one on the bottom left. 

Seeing family - in-laws, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.  I can't wait for Jack to meet his Uncle Stuart...ahhh, I can't even wait to see Stuart's face as he squeezes his nephew and snuggles him.  I can't even wait. And I can't wait for Gillian, Jack, and Ruth to see just how much Jack has grown since they last saw him. And I can't wait for the little man to meet his great grandmas and his extended family.

Going to the Christmas market - everything about it just feels like Christmas!  Can't wait to get some food from the stalls and drink some hot cider and/or beer.

Visiting some of our favorite places - Queens, Botanic Gardens, Portballintrae, Cave Hill, the Lagan Towpath, Fisherwick, and the list could go on.

Many games of Wizard.  I think we only played it once last time we were there and oh what a memorable night that was.  Can't wait for all the laughter and all the love that fills that household.  

And much, much more!!  We are also going to visit the Titanic Museum in Belfast.  Anyhow, I love this place and I can't wait to share this place with Jack!  Crazy to think he hasn't experienced Ireland yet, the place where his dad grew up.  So much to show him and so little he will actually remember!

Please pray for us - for the long flight there, for patience for Peter and I and all the passengers, for grace, for our time with family and friends.  Thanks in advance!

xoxo,

Malia

Posts from our last time in Ireland ...

We have Arrived

Let it snow

Sweaty Palms

Ireland.

We bought tickets to go to Ireland for Christmas back in March of this year, and we got a sweet deal on the tickets, and we were so excited!  And then we found out we were pregnant sometime in June, and don't get me wrong, we were excited about that, but I couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen to those Ireland tickets.  And if I'm honest, I was kind of sad.  Were we going to be able to stick to our original plan and go to Ireland for Christmas?  Or were we going to have to get a refund on the tickets?  Or were we going to have to go at a different time?

Anyhow, we had to wait to make the call....we had to wait to hear from the midwives, the doctor, all the professionals for them to give us the go ahead and they couldn't be 100% certain until I reached a certain stage in my pregnancy.  Well let's just say the suspense was killing me and Peter kept talking as if there was a chance we might NOT go to Ireland and I kept talking like we were for SURE going to Ireland - made for interesting conversations with people when they asked us our Christmas plans.

And finally after so many weeks of waiting, we finally got the go ahead.  But the doctor did state, "It's not going to be the trip you envisioned it would be."  And I chuckled, and said, "Trust me, I know!"  And if I'm honest, I have already grieved a little and shed a few tears, probably because I'm imagining I am going to be extremely uncomfortable and the flights are going to be really long and interesting, but I am so excited to be boarding a plane in a month to see family and everything else is worth it!  Plus, this is going to be the Drennan's first little buddy encounter.  Well it will be Stuart's (Peter's youngest brother's second) considering he is coming to visit TOMORROW!

So we will be in Ireland for Christmas and for a few weeks after and I am truly counting down the days until we depart.  Last time we were in Ireland for Christmas it snowed...ALOT!  Wonder if it will do that this time around?  Guess we shall wait and see!

Things I am looking forward to...

Finally getting to travel WITH Peter!  I love traveling with that man, there isn't anything sweeter than an adventure and one with my husband is just the best!  We travel really well together, but this time will be interesting and funny and probably slightly amusing.

Seeing family - in-laws, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc.

Going to the Christmas market - everything about it just feels like Christmas!

Spending quality time with friends!

Laughter and so much love at the Drennan household!

And much, much more!!  I love this place and I can't wait to share this place with Little Buddy!  Crazy to think this will be LB's third plane ride in the womb.

xoxo,

Malia