Galvinized!: April 2009

We flew out Saturday night before Easter on the red eye to Virginia. The flight went.... ok... not terrible by any means but I don't see us taking a red eye again anytime soon. Tommy slept about half the flight, I slept none of the flight and there's nothing on tv in the middle of the night!

Papa Tom picked us up very early in the morning and we went to Denny's (of course) for breakfast. After we all took a long nap we were ready to hunt for eggs.

You can also see what Papa Tom got Tommy for his birthday. Tom had been hunting for a tee and we found a great one that would fit in our suitcase.

After a couple of relaxing days vegging at Papa Tom's house the driving and hotel staying portion of the week began. First stop was Philadelphia. We were there less than 24 hours, actually, just enough time to meet a whole bunch of cousins that Tom had never met. My mom asked if Tommy was noticing any family resemblances at this family reunion. I'll let the photos speak to that. (foreheads!)

We met Papa Tom's 1st cousins Jack, Joan, and Patty along with Patty's kids, granddaughter, and other assorted cousins. Jack's claim to fame was that he was the only person to have met all four Thomas Galvins. Thomas Patrick, his uncle. Thomas Patrick, his cousin, and the west coast Tom Galvins: Thomas Edward and Thomas Arthur. A photo opportunity was in order with Jack and 3 of the 4 TGs.

Patty's granddaughter Sophia just turned 1 in March and she and Tommy had a lot of fun together.

This is Tom and Patty's daughter Moira. While I think there's definitely a resemblance between Moira and Tom, I also think that Moira looked like Brooke! It took me all night to figure out why this gal looked so familiar!

After a night at the Holiday Inn, we were off on the 2nd leg of our drive from Philly to New Jersey. Thanks to Papa Tom for escorting us up the East Coast! We were the first to arrive at the Marriott and were so happy to see the Pack and Play in the hotel room. Seriously, I almost hugged it. Soon we were joined by Barbara and Tony - who Tommy finally got to meet and immediately loved. Then Tommy got to meet cousin Susan, the bride, and after that the family members poured in: Nana and Jennifer, Maureen and Ray, and Jim & Peggy. We ordered pizza and crashed the lobby.

By Thursday, Tommy was totally sick of his parents. We'd already been together 24/7 for 5 days and he's used to going to daycare and being around other kids/adults so he was so done with us. Thankfully, Carol took Tommy for like 16 hours on Thursday as Tom, Jennifer, Barbara, Tony, and I got on a bus and headed for New York City! Tom and I walked miles around Manhattan and then Jennifer and I saw an awesome production of Waiting for Godot. For my baseball fans out there, I obviously wasn't at the game but I was in New York the day Yankee's Stadium opened. Meanwhile, Tommy entertained all he met in New Jersey and enjoyed an afternoon at Peg & Jim's house making friends with "Misty Girl." He barely blinked when Nana, Maureen, and Peggy left to get their nails done and Jim and Uncle Ray took over babysitting duties.

Tommy & Misty

Friday we went to a fun, albeit crowded, playground and children's zoo. Then back to Peg & Jim's to welcome Eileen, Neal, Ryan, and Sean who drove up from Maryland. Tommy met the Harringtons last Christmas in Virginia so he warmed up very quickly to Ryan (5) and Sean (almost 6) and they immediately got to playing.

We then returned to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal dinner. We had a great time at dinner, though we snuck out early to get the boy to bed.

Saturday was the day of the wedding and the Father of the Bride, in between driving ladies to the hairdresser, really wanted to bring Tommy to the firehouse. Tommy and Tom loved trying out all the firetrucks. Thanks Jim!

Then it was back to the hotel to get all spruced up for the wedding.

It was a beautiful wedding and Tommy slept beautifully through most of it! The reception was lovely as well but a little too loud for Tommy so he and I ended up asleep upstairs in the hotel while the others kept the party going all night long.

Sunday we had a nice breakfast, bid farewell to the Jersey cousins, and hopped on a plane back home. Tommy was a zombie on the flight watching Sesame Street and Jack's Big Music Show on Tom's laptop. He also managed to stay awake the whole time, which meant when we got home at 8:30 it was his normal bedtime, he slept all night, and joyfully went to Paula's Monday morning with no signs of jetlag!