Fall Break in Cincinnati

I decided to go back up to Cincinnati to see my brother and his little family during my time off on Fall Break to spend more time with them, since the last time was only about 24 hours. We left after work/Mother's Day Out on Thursday and drove on up in time for dinner together. Ellie's first adventure - saying hi to everyone. Second adventure - the piano!

After dinner, Aunt JenJen read Ellie a fun book and we ended the night with Ellie getting her first bath in a bubble tub. Boy, did she enjoy that!

The next morning, we played with Langston a little and then went to see Uncle Yar's airplane. I knew Ellie would totally love this. We checked out all of Jonathan's random toys in his hanger and then he took her up inside the airplane to play. She had so much fun! She got to press all the buttons and play with the steering wheel.

She was NOT happy to have to get out. BUT, she got to meet a cool dog that was at the airport with his owner named Rody and got to see him do tricks and she even fed him treats. She LOVED that part. My daughter has no fear when it comes to dogs unless they are hyper. Then, she got to RUN back to the car with Uncle Yar without holding ANYONE's hand...that's a treat for her.

We met Jennifer back at the house and skyped with Daddy real quick so he could see Baby Langston and then we left for a picnic at the park. The weather wasn't that great (a little sprinkle and some crazy wind), but we went ahead and found a shelter to eat under and by the time we were done, the rain was gone (but not the crazy wind). Ellie got to play in the leaves and run around for a bit. We attempted to get a picture of the 2 cousins and below is the best we got. Right after we took this, the cover flew over Langston and even Ellie got a little scared.

We came back to the house for the kid's naps and Jonathan and I headed out for an hour of baby-freeness (thanks to Aunt JenJen) at Graeter's for ice-cream. It was good to just hang out with him for a bit and catch up. I needed that. Before Ellie woke up, I got to spend a little one-on-one time with Langston. She's a CUTIE!!! It's so awesome seeing how she is growing and doing so well after all she has been through. Ellie woke up and we hung out and played with the kitties before dinner. Jennifer made a yummy dinner of grilled chicken and roasted vegetables and dessert was a smore pie.

Saturday morning, we ate cinnamon rolls and hung around the house a bit before walking down to a neighborhood park that was GREAT for Ellie's age. The weather was beautiful except for the wind again, but we managed. The park had a playset that was great for Ellie to climb and go down the slide (see video).

Then, Ellie found the swings (which we all played on at some point - even Langston!). She had a fun time having Uncle Yar push her. They even had a countdown that was really cute for him to let her go.

We had some more fun at the park and then headed back for lunch. Jennifer made some Chicken Burritos in the Crock Pot overnight and they were delicious (Weight Watchers recipe that I will be using). We skyped one more time with Jesse before we got on the road to head back. There was lots of traffic in Cincinnati, but we finally got back around dinner time. It was a great trip seeing a part of my family and getting some quality time with them. Langston is adorable and it's fun seeing the cousins together. I can't wait until Langston is bigger and more mobile to run around with Ellie. Plus, I loved having some male influence around for Ellie. Thanks for a great trip, Hardwicks! :)