in which our plane was delayed 5 hours...

there are so many good, kind people in this world.  when they see a mother in distress, they will literally go to extraordinary lengths to help her.  that's what i found anyways, when we were flying out to utah.

it all started with a cranky toddler.  

our flight was scheduled to leave jfk at 7:15pm.  so i tried to keep hazel awake that whole day so she would just go right to sleep on our flight, but of course she fell asleep on the car ride over there.  but, since she got a decently long nap, i thought she would be okay in the airport.

boy, was i wrong.

i had to carry a screaming toddler into the check-in counter, where they put infant-in-arms on my ticket.  

nice person #1: the first tsa agent who let me go into the priority line.

#2:  the other tsa person that lifted up the line divider so we could squeeze through.

#3: the third tsa person who told me "not to worry about it" when i spilled hazel's milk and it didn't get tested.  

i begged hazel to walk but at this point i realize she is not only exhausted, she hasn't eaten anything in hours.  so i head over to wendy's for 10 chicken nuggets.  

nice person #4:  the cashier who told me (while hazel continued to scream much to my behest) that he was doing his best to hurry and take my order.  

#5:  the delta pilot that gave hazel some wings (the pin kind) while we waited for our food.  hazel still rudely crying by the way, despite my greatest efforts.

#6: the other cashier that gave us a free kids meal toy to distract hazel, even though we didn't buy a kids meal.

#7: the nice lady who offered to carry our food to our gate since i'm plum out of hands and the arm carrying hazel is about to fall off.

we made our way to the gate, and i spot one - that's right, one - empty seat.  so i sit hazel down, and then nice person 

#8 gets up from the seat right next to her so i can sit saying, "it looks like you need this seat more than me."

i thank the lady who carried our food, and the man who gave up his seat for me, and started feeding the toddler, who abruptly stops crying.  

they call for pre-boarding and i get a person shout-out from the delta man taking boarding passes to board.  he's #9.

i get on the plane, and person #10, who i never get to meet, has given us an extra seat.  bless their heart.

i sit down and text john, "i  was in my own personal hell for 30 minutes but now we're on the plane and ok."

the two flight attendants who were in the back of the plane with us are #11 and #12.  while the plane was delayed for maitenance, they gave us loads of snacks, and even held both girls for me while i was changing the others diaper, or using the restroom, etc.  

all in all, we were stuck on the plane for a full 10.5 hours.  luckily, both girls slept for about 4 or 5 hours of it.  and, all things considered, were really easy.   i was so grateful, over and over again that night, for nice people who offer a helping hand to those in need.  and grateful to my poor mom and sister, who picked us up at the airport at 5am.  if you're a mom and in distress in an airport, pinch your toddler and get them screaming.  it's sure to get you some help ;) 

yesterday, we went to the zoo.

and it was so incredibly fun, and so incredibly hard.  my two-year-old is testing limits in every possible way these days!  but i love her to pieces.  who would have thought that a toddler would be more challenging than a 3-month-old?  not me!

 this is us, on the train.

hazel was in absolute heaven on the train, and she also loved "nemo" and feeding the birds!

but we were SUPER suspicious of the penguin chart.  it was too funny.  so glad we get to go to the zoo anytime we want and have these fun memories!  love my girls so much.

oh you know, just a little video of the best sound in the world.

Cora Giggles from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

life lately!

what a whirlwind few weeks it has been since we moved out here.  between unpacking, exploring our new surroundings, taking care of two littles, and cooking and cleaning and all that other fun stuff - i feel like i've hardly had two moments to sit down at my computer!  but, here i am, and here's a glorified pic dump of things we've been up to lately:

1. communal sunday afternoon nap in our blow-up bed our first sunday in nj
2. adding some color to our front porch
3.  cora, showing off her double chin
4.  on a sunday evening walk with our harman cousins!  they are the best!
5.  cora kicks wildly during her entire bath these days.  so fun!
6.  riding on the staten island ferry

1.  i love it when i can snuggle cora down for an early morning nap/snuggle
2.  trying out a new park.  it had dinosaur stuff!
3.  eating at the river grille.
4.  swaddling this little love.
5&6.  our family on a kite expedition wherein we mostly just ran around for an hour trying to get the kite off the ground, instead of actually flying it.

hurray!  tomorrow is friday!

cora on this day

IMG 3785 from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.

(also, we say "hi honey!" in a lot of these videos because, of course, we are going to be sending them to our honey.)

lovin life!

movin to new jersey really kicked my butt. i don't know what it was- a stubborn, difficult toddler? sleep deprivation? moving away from dear friends and feeling lost in a city i'm not used to? feeling totally out of control of my life? probably all of the above.

so i thought it was probably time i write down what i'm really grateful for in my life these days....

watching the thunderstorm outside with the girls sitting in my lap

toy car races with hazel

swedish fish

our porch succulents

binge-watching parks and rec with john late into the night

my steam mop(do i get nerdy points for this?)

early morning, snuggling the girls in my bed

helping the B color with chalk on the front porch

the turtleback zoo!

we got a zoo pass! there's this darling little zoo near by us in jersey. we went to check it out last week and bought an annual pass because gosh, hazel loves animals. she could not stop talking about riding the zebra on the carousel. cannot wait to go again with her. when she's happy, i'm happy! ;) thanks to our cute new friends for coming with us!

some things about new jersey:

the roads are extremely windy and confusing

you can't tell where anything is or where you are headed because there are too many trees

there is little to no mexican food, and what mexican food there is, is pitiful 

you cannot pump gas yourself- it's illegal. when you pull up to the gas station someone walks out to pump gas for you

the grocery stores are tiny with low ceilings(all you've been to have high ceilings- think about it.) and minimal stock

there is literally an italian place and a deli on every corner- and it's delicious!

people drive super aggressively, and honk lots!

there are road signs saying things like, "opposite traffic has extended green light" because people are so gas-happy here that they'll run the red light when they see cars moving

there are no convenience stores(where am i supposed to get my diet coke?!)

the towns are small and close together

people are rough and tumble, but usually pretty nice once you get to know them

in the city!

on saturday we decided to go into the city.  we are just a short 30-minute drive from manhattan, so why not?!  we found street parking in the west village, and took a stroll down to the world trade center memorial.  it's such a beautiful tribute to those who lost their lives.  i think hazel could sense the somber, reverent feeling there.  

we then went to the staten island ferry and took pics with lady liberty.

 perfect view, and the boat ride was free!  hazel loved it.

check out those piggies :)

this bridge!  so pretty.

then we perused through chinatown, and found the best taiwanese drinks and most amazing fried dumplings!

then we walked up bleecker street (and fawned over cute little boutiques along the way) and had the most delicious banana pudding from magnolia bakery.  i should have gotten the large.  we enjoyed that while hazel played at bleecker park.  it really was an exhausting and fun day!

we are alive and in new jersey!

we have had a serious whirlwind of a week!  in the last 9ish days we have driven to new jersey, gotten all of our stuff moved in and about 80% of it unpacked, gone into the city once, gone to turtle back zoo, plus lived with only one car until our second one got here... we've been so busy i feel like i've been going nonstop!  it is super exciting to move to a new place, and also stressful and i'm just trying to take the organizing/cleaning/cooking slowly and giving myself a break if i don't get completely unpacked within 1 week.  i'm sure we'll get there some day....

anyways, we made a little video of our road trip to new jersery!  it isn't anything too special or exciting, but i'm sure i will watch it in the coming years and think back fondly on how fun our girls were at this age!  enjoy!

Road Trip!  from Paige Brunt on Vimeo.