Kelly Reunion Part II

The Kelly Klan descended upon Los Angeles this past weekend. We started it off by eating dinner at Pizzeria Mozza Friday night with Fred's family. Dinner was incredible as always. We were all starving, so the minute the plates hit the table, we all devoured the food without any pics being snapped. Sorry! I'm craving the squash blossom, tomato, and burrata pizza and butterscotch budino as I type this. 

Saturday, we woke up early and headed to their hotel (Roosevelt Hotel) to hang out and swim in the pool. This was where Matt and I had our wedding reception, and the first time we brought Leah. It was surreal walking into the lobby now with Leah. We used to go here as a couple to hang out with friends by the pool, eat lunch, and grab a cocktail. Now we arrived with our baby, slathered on sunscreen, and made fun of the young crowd lounging and drinking a couple cocktails. ;) We headed back home to let Leah nap before the rest of the group arrived. 

Photo by Beverly Israely

When everyone arrived at the house, Leah was in heaven. She loved the attention, and she loved playing with the kids! They take such good care of her. She really is blessed to have such loving family members. 

Sunday, we met up one last time at the Hollywood Farmers Market to say our good-byes. We were sad to see our NY family members go and can't wait until the next time. What a fun couple of weekends! 

Family Reunion

Baby Crocs are the cutest!

Over the weekend, we drove down to San Diego for a little family reunion. Matt's brother's family is visiting for the week, so we had the whole Kelly family together. We stayed at the Hotel del Coronado, which has become our favorite hotel in SD. We stayed in a junior suite, which was perfect for our mobile toddler. Leah had plenty of room to run around and explore. There are so many other kids running around the resort which kept Leah throughly entertained. 

Leah could live on the beach if we let her. She was so fascinated with the sand and water that we couldn't get her to look up for a picture!

Photo by Beverly Israely

Photo by Beverly Israely

Photo by Beverly Israely

Sunday, we all hung out at the house for lunch. The cousins are the sweetest with Leah. The girl cousins spent the entire time hanging out with her. When I look at them all sitting next to each other, they actually all do look like they're related!

Leah had so much fun that she pretty much passed out the minute we got in the car to go home. FamilyReunion Part 2 coming up this weekend in Los Angeles!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

This weekend we experienced our first night away from Leah. We went to a wedding at Colony Palms Hotel in Palm Springs.  The Colony is a small, boutique hotel which has old school Hollywood charm. It's the perfect romantic getaway for a couple but not very kid friendly. In their confirmation email, they specifically state that the hotel caters to an "adult experience" and that it's not always ideal for children 3-16.  

While we enjoyed our weekend away to celebrate our friends' marriage, we totally missed Leah and constantly looked at pictures/videos of her.  We tried not to be those parents that only talked about their kid though.  ;) We briefly Facetimed with her, which I think made her a little upset that she could hear and see me but not touch me.  My parents sent us videos and pictures of her (like the one above) to ease our anxiety a little.  So now that we survived one night, maybe it's time to plan a longer getaway....

Thailand: Ko Phi Phi

Our final destination in Thailand was Phi Phi Island.  This place is truly paradise.  In order to get there we had to fly to Phuket.  The guide picked us up and drove us around the island to see the 3 main beaches and then we stopped for lunch.  We were then dropped off at a marina where our hotel arranged a speed boat to take us to Phi Phi Island.  

Thailand: Chiang Mai

We left for Chiang Mai on the 9th.  We were greeted by our guide at the airport and went straight to the Doi Suthep Temple.  It's perched high above the city and offers amazing views of the city and countryside.  Leah took a liking to the guide, and she let the guide hold her without any protest!

Thailand: Bangkok

After Hong Kong, we went to Thailand.  First stop - Bangkok.  Leah has now gotten used to planes and knows people sit behind us.  When we board the plane and put her down, she will stand up on the back and smile at the people behind us.  We also caught her sticking her hand through the crack to touch them.  She made friends quickly with everyone around us.

Hong Kong: First Few Days

On November 1st, we left for Hong Kong.  Our flight was at 1am, so I was super nervous how Leah was going to be.  After we went trick-or-treating, we did our normal bedtime routine with Leah.  We then woke her up and left her in her PJs when our van arrived at 10:15pm.  She napped a little bit in the car, but was awake the entire time at the airport.  I carried her in the MyCarrier, so I think she stayed pretty calm because of that.  While I wish she would have just slept the entire flight, she still did really well.  She slept in 3 hour chunks, either on me in the carrier or lying on the seat between Matt and I.  When she was awake, she ate and played.  No meltdowns!!  When we arrived, all the passengers around us complimented her on how well behaved she was!  

East Coast Trip: New York

Very happy to be out of the car and in the hotel room

The final leg of our trip was in New York.  It was a nice drive from New Jersey to New York City, except for when we crossed the George Washington Bridge it cost $12!  I'm so glad we don't have to deal with bridge tolls in Southern California!  

East Coast Trip: New Jersey

After a couple days in Philly, we drove out to New Jersey for Matt's cousin's wedding.  I kind of like the fact that it's so easy to drive to different states when you're back East.  This was my first time meeting so many people from Matt's dad's side.  He tried to prep me on who everyone was, but it was pretty overwhelming!  I knew a few from our wedding and recognized some others from Facebook, but if Matt gave me a quiz, I'd totally fail.  Everyone was so nice though that I felt like I always knew them, and of course everyone couldn't wait to meet Leah.  

East Coast Trip: Philly

Last Thursday we left for the first stop of our East Coast vacation - Philly.  Matt lived here for a few years, and when we decided we were going back East, he wanted to show me his old stomping grounds.  Leah was amazing on the flight there.  We were fortunate to have the third seat in our row empty, so Leah had a lot more space to move back and forth between Matt and I.  She slept for about an hour and half and laughed and waved at everyone when she was awake.