Labor Day Weekend in AZ

Don't say you haven't been warned - there are a lot of pictures here but we couldn't narrow them down so you're getting all of them!! We decided last minute to go to AZ for the Labor Day weekend, even taking off Friday to extend the long weekend even more! It helps that Trevor is an excellent flier! :)

The Hillins were still in New York visiting Grandma Hillins so we had Casa Hillins to ourselves for a few days, which was a bit different but it was nice to have some family time! On Friday after we got in, we had an early lunch at our favorite burger joint - In and Out. Yum! Otherwise, we got settled in the house, ran to get groceries and whatnot, and just hung out.

Saturday we went to our favorite pancake place - The Good Egg and got breakfast. Trevor was a hungry boy (when is he not though)...

...even swiping Mama's chocolate chip pancakes! Stinker!


Big boy has to do everything himself, including holding his own cup and using a big boy fork. He's over sitting in a high chair or a booster seat, using a bib, or even using kiddie utensils.


After breakfast we headed to the train park, where Trevor was in choo choo heaven!


When we rode the train he stretched out both arms like he owned the joint!


Checking everything out!


Trevor also spent some time in the play area, but in 100+ degree heat, it wasn't too long!


When the train went by as he was playing he didn't quite understand why he wasn't on it. He kept saying more please over and over!


The heat must have really gotten to T because before we knew it he was lifting up his shirt for all to see his big belly!


So it was time for a Popsicle - or 'pop' as Trevor calls it!


One last time around on the train and Trevor was riding in style in Mama's sunglasses.


Cheese!


So we weren't too sure if Trevor would want to ride the carousel after his freakout the last time he was on it but this time Dada was smart and decided to sit on a bench and T loved it!


When he rode for a second time with Mama, Dada got a cute picture of T peering over the back.


On Saturday afternoon after nap, we spent some time in Grandma and Papa's pool. Trevor loved every second of it. Big boy floated and swam all by himself with the assistance of his floatie!


He doesn't have 'monkey cheeks' down so swallowed some water. We taught him to spit it out (which wasn't really spitting rather more like making a spitting sound).


He had no fear in jumping off the beach area or off the side:


He copied everything we did...floating on our fronts, our backs, kicking...you name it!


We even had time to check out the jumpy waters at the nearby park. But, we weren't too smart and left his clothes on - which got soaked:


And we didn't have a swim diaper on. Ooops!


He loved running to catch Mama - even in a diaper that weighed 100 pounds!


Run, run, run!


Seriously, how uncomfortable could this be?


Another thing Trevor is really into is drinking from a bowl - cereal bowl, fruit bowl....it's the little things :)


On Sunday we headed to the park in the morning before it got too hot. Trevor must have had a growth spurt in the last week because clothes that fit just a week ago are now a bit tight!


Trevor was fascinated watching this 3 year old girl who was also at the park. No surprise here that he had to copy everything she was doing including trying to swing from this bar!


We were a bit smarter this day and put a swim diaper on him for the jumpy waters!


He would get so excited to press the button to turn them on!


Fun can really be had anywhere!


At Target when we did our shopping Trevor spotted a big bag of M&Ms so of course it made its way into our cart...and into the mouth of Trevor every once in a while at home. He thinks they are the best thing ever!


More pops in the afternoon after the pool!


Showing off his floating skills:


On Sunday evening the Hillins got back from New York and Trevor couldn't have been happier. He had been wandering around the house calling for Papa and Grandma the whole time we were there so when they walked through the door he screeched in delight and gave them big hugs!

Once they got a bit settled we went out to take some family pictures. We skipped T's professional 21 month photos so consider these his 21 month photos :)










Papa makes a good photographer! And don't you love Trevor's shirt? Looks like he's ready to go to Hawaii!!

Mommy is a bit obsessed with photos lately (um can you say 300 photos for a 4 day getaway), but here are a few of her favorite sunset photos:






We took these photos on the golf course across the street from the Hillins' house. Papa taught Trevor how to rake the sand!


And a few more family photos!


And one with Papa!




Our little golfer:


Before bed, Trevor helped celebrate Papa's belated birthday by opening up his gift and card. Trevor is going to be so much fun for his birthday and Christmas this year - he's really into opening gifts and seeing what is contained in each package. "ooooohhh"


And on Monday before we left we had one more outing in the pool! Trevor was showing off for Papa and Grandma. Our fearless boy....


All in all, we had a great time! Well, minus Brian's bout of food poisoning for about 24 hours but that's another story! Lots of special memories were created on this trip and ones that we hope will stay with Trevor. He's just growing up too fast!!

State Fair Time!

Last Friday after work we headed to the State Fair for some fun, er food :) Trevor was in Heaven trying a bit of this and a bit of that. After the fries and sweet corn he tried out a Pronto Pup!

And after those food items we passed by the giant slide and there was nothing else that mattered. He loved it!! More, more, more was all we heard after his first time down so our spoiled little guy went three or four times - who knows really, Mama lost count!

Trevor seemed to really enjoy the fair and the people watching and the food. He took it all in!

Super cool in his shades!

Oooh, even horseys. What a place to be!

Last stop of the evening...Sweet Martha's Cookies! Trevor was squealing in delight!! Oooohh! Cooks!

Yum!

And even walking out 2+ hours past his bedtime, he still wanted to see all of the excitement going on!

Neighborhood friends

We have quite a few kids in our neighborhood for Trevor to play with including one 7 months older than him - Julia (who we met at ECFE) and Mac (who is 16 months younger than T) but there are some bigger kids that just love taking Trevor under their wing. One of whom is Myles - who has a younger brother Kyle (who is 9 months older than T) so he knows just what to do. And boy does he love to help. One night we were at the park and Myles carried him all the way home, which Trevor just ate up!

At national night out Myles's 4-wheeler was a big hit with Trevor:

Trevor you can ride this one, but that's it. OK? And honestly, stop looking so grown-up :)

Our neighbor right next door have two kids. Ben who's 10 (? - he and Myles are the same age and are BFFs) and Tara (who is starting kindergarten this year). Tara and Trevor go to the same daycare so are quite familiar with one another. Tara likes taking care of Trevor as well and as you can see Trevor likes it too!

T's Girlfriend

Here is a recent conversation we had with our little ladies man.

Mom and Dad: Trevor, do you have a girlfriend at school?

Trevor: Yes

Mom and Dad: What is her name?

Trevor: Emma

Dad: Do you have any other girlfriends at school?

Trevor: Yes

Dad: Who's that?

Trevor: Tess

Mom: Oh, so you have two girlfriends at school?

Trevor: No Mama

Mom: So who is your girlfriend?

Trevor: Emma

And the notes we get from school back this up:

"Today at breakfast, Trevor kept calling for Emma! Emma! At one point Emma looked at him and smiled - Trevor smiled back - what a cute couple :)"

Although we also got his note:

"Trevor had fun playing with Elise. They ran around the playground together - then would stop - give hugs to each other, then run again."

So glad our little guy is social with the ladies!!

Another fun note we've received the past few weeks:

"As we were playing outside - we heard all kinds of big trucks - so we watched for them through the fence - when out of nowhere - Trevor came up and started to blow raspberries on my arms. We laughed!"

But this is the one that makes our heart smile:

"Trevor saw that one of his friends was sad. So he walked up to them and rubbed their back and sat by them. He truly is a huge sweetheart!"

And yes, we see that too. We hope he never loses the empathetic and compassionate heart he has at just 20 months old!

Visit to See Grandma Hillins

We received word that Grandma Hillins wasn't doing so well on Wednesday so Brian flew out at 6:30am on Thursday to see her and spend time with her. He said she was coughing a lot but still was a bit of herself. Remember that she is almost 103! Jeff flew out Thursday night and they went to see Grandma and get a quick pic!


Because Mommy wanted to create more memories with Grandma Hillins while she is alive, she decided to fly out with Trevor early Friday morning. Mommy and Trevor make great travel buddies! All went really well!

In Cleveland during our layover Trevor picked out a granola bar, paid for it, waited for his change and then found a place to devour it while being able to look at airplanes. So many people commented on how cute he was and he wasn't afraid to put on a show giving out high fives and big smiles!


The flight from Cleveland to Syracuse Trevor fell asleep during take-off and stayed asleep the entire 90 minute or so flight. If only Mommy could have taken a nap too. Ugh!


When we landed Trevor was so excited to check out the plane he was on. He kept saying "Mom - look!"


Our first step after landing was to go and see Grandma Hillins. At first Trevor was pretty quiet as he took in the situation. Because of that, he went with Grandma Pauline and Grandpa John to the courtyard to see the fishies so Mommy and Daddy could talk with Grandma Hillins privately.

They also had a statue of Jesus's Mommy which Trevor was fascinated with. He kept repeating "Jesus Mama" :)

When it was time to go back up and see Grandma, Trevor was all about it. They picked up like no time had passed. Giving kisses (PRECIOUS)...

...and playing peek-a-boo!

We had a nice time talking with Grandma who still is reciting her limericks/poems, cracking jokes, and giving advice. Some of the funnier moments:

- Grandma asked Jeff to put her glasses on. After doing so, he asked if she could see better and she said "No, but I look better!"

- Brian and Sara said we were going to leave so that she could talk to Jeff alone and she said "Why? There's nothing I would say to Jeff that I wouldn't say to Brian."

Grandma who isn't so sure about all of the pictures, actually asked Sara to take her picture eating a donut hole that Jeff and Brian brought her. Not only did one of her nurses comment that Sara looks like Grandma Kay, but they also have in common their love of donuts!

We also were able to snap a quick picture of four generations of Hillins - and per Jeff the only one who is going to carry on the Hillins name. Sara was quick to remind him that one of his girls may buck the tradition of taking the guy's name when she gets married though :)

Brian's cousin Sarah and her daughter Adeline also came back to see Grandma so we got a picture of the four of us (too bad we missed one with Jeff and Emily too)!

And here is Sarah's daughter Adeline. She was very good at sharing her pretzels with our hungry boy!

And here's one of Uncle Bob, Adeline, Trevor, and Papa (Trevor was all about Papa - often calling for him and asking for him to come sit by him).

Before Sara and Trevor needed to head to the airport we got to say goodbye to Grandma Hillins. Sara and Brian had a 30+ minute conversation with Grandma - such special memories - and Grandma even asked Sara to pray with her. So we read the Prayer for Illness and the Prayer for Health. Trevor too got in some more kisses and peek-a-boo!

While we waited for Papa to get the car, Trevor enjoyed a special treat - a strawberry donut! Donuts will always connect us to Grandma Hillins :)

On the way to the airport we stopped quick at Grandma and Grandpa Stepien's gravesite. The pinwheel that Trevor left there a year ago was still there. Trevor liked blowing on it to make it spin!

At the airport we learned that Sara and Trevor's flight to Chicago was delayed to the point that we would miss our connecting flight to Cedar Rapids to meet up with Grandma Jeanne, Grandpa Steve, Annie, Jim, Sam and Sara's Aunt Faye and Uncle Francis. Boo!!!!!!! And then we learned that the flight from Chicago to Cedar Rapids was cancelled because of weather in Chicago. Double boo!!! Mommy was very sad but Papa and Brian (and the best Delta rep ever - Tina R) did great work at least getting United to change her flight to MSP since the flights on Sunday into Iowa wouldn't get Trevor and her there until well after everyone had left. Delta even took over the flight and got Daddy's flight time changed to earlier in the day so the three of us could fly home together. Thank you Tina R! And thank you to Papa and Grandma who kept Trevor entertained at the Syracuse airport for two hours while we got that all squared away.

Thank goodness the airport is kid-friendly with an entire area built for kids. Trevor loved pressing all of the buttons and making the plane fly!

And pretending to drive the helicopter:

After the flight situation was all squared away Mommy wanted in on the action and crunched herself into the helicopter so she and T could play!

Backing up a bit - on Friday afternoon after lunch, Jeff and Papa went back to see Grandma Hillins and Brian, Sara, and Trevor went to see Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Roman. Trevor put on a good show and even gave Aunt Lorraine squeezes and kisses!

Uncle Roman brought out a huge gorilla for T to play with and he loved it (ignore the naked baby - we had to change his clothes since big boy won't wear a bib while eating any more and had his lunch all over his outfit)

Aunt Carolyn stopped by too so we used the opportunity to snap a picture (did you expect anything else?)

And once again, Trevor gave squeezes and kisses!

Back to after the airport....we had lunch at Heid's (an institution in Syracuse for coney dogs) and ice cream next door at Sweet Treats (which Trevor discovered all on his own!). After that we went back to the hotel and Grandma and Trevor took 2+ hour naps! They wore each other out with all of the playing at the airport!

After that we headed to Aunt Barbara's house and although Trevor wasn't sure at first, once he got outside he was his normal happy, playful self. He took out most of the balls they had in their garage and played away!

Ready for winter?!?!?

Picture with cousins Craig and Brad (also known as wonder-workers for fixing our Internet issue!)

Being silly with Aunt Barbara!

And a picture with Grandma Pauline's other sister so no one feels left out :)

Brian squeezed in one last visit with Grandma Hillins :) She's still eating, drinking, and talking. She even recited the 'pramulator' limerick that she first told us when we told her we were expecting a baby! Oh Grandma Hillins, we love you so much!! We are so blessed to have you in our lives and whatever happens we know you will watch over us whenever it is your time to go up to Heaven. Don't get frustrated in the interim!

After that we headed to Uncle Bob and Aunt Kathy's to say a quick goodbye and snap one last pic!

And so that the cousins could have one last squeeze. It was cute up until the point that Trevor and Adeline toppled to the ground. Who knew that one hug could be so forceful?!?

We had a late dinner at 'Steak and Sundae' - two of Mommy's favorite foods and a favorite restaurant of Grandma Stepien's. As usual, Trevor put on quite a show and all of the patron's at the restaurant soon had Trevor wrapped around their fingers. When we left, everyone said 'Bye Trevor!' Not exaggerating one bit. Crazy!