On the day before you turned 18 months old, we boarded a plane from Raleigh to JFK, New York, on a trip we were taking with Grammy and Pa to Iceland and Paris! Our trip got off to a very rocky start when we missed our connection at JFK and had to send Grammy and Pa on without us.
Not to fear though - Daddy booked us a room at the Parker Meridian in Manhattan. When we arrived at 1 am though, you were NOT a happy camper. We finally got you down to sleep and all slept peacefully until you woke up promptly at 7:30 am. We hung out in New York for the day - explored Central Park, tried to take you on the carousel (much to your displeasure), ate delicious Patsy's Pizza, and then headed back to JFK for our flight. After the most massive blow out of your life upon take off, we had a peaceful flight to Iceland.
Hanging out in Central Park!
Arriving in Iceland
Free baby strollers in the Reykjavik airport!
Grammy and Pa picked us up at the airport in Reykjavik. It was cold and rainy, but we all made it in one piece to the Blue Lagoon! You were pretty tired, but you were a trooper. You HATED The showers at the Blue Lagoon, but once we got you in the warm lagoon, you were so happy. We floated around in the lagoon for a while, and then headed back to our cabin for some R&R. You slept in the car, and we all napped when we got back to the cabin.
The cabin was awesome - it had heated floors, which you loved. We were in the wilderness. We were close to the Golden Circle sites, so we went to see Gulfoss waterfall, Geyser, and a huge crater! You also got to pet and feed a wild Icelandic pony!
At Geyser! (below)
The Crater
The next day we drove down the southern coast and saw amazing sites. We saw waterfalls, caves, and a black sand beach! The wind was whipping at the beach, but you loved it and wanted to run around on your own. That evening, after the long drive back, we went to a delicious lobster dinner. You loved the Icelandic langoustines and were happy to help everyone eat theirs.
Daddy also was able to scatter the ashes of your Grandma Resa on this trip - which meant a lot to him and was a beautiful way to celebrate the trip that he took with her to Iceland several years ago.
At the black sand beach in Vik (below)
Mama eating all the langoustines!
We saw many things in Paris - the Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, the Eiffel Tower, the Luxembourg Gardens, Montmatre, and the Sacre Ceour. We also rode around on a bus and a boat. You were generally happy and loved running around parks whenever we found one. Your favorite was the park behind Notre Dame.
Notre Dame at Night
You were NOT happy that you could not run around on the Eiffel Tower deck.
Luxembourg Gardens
Sacre Coeur
We're on a boat!
You also loved the crepes and other delicious food we had in Paris - though you're still a spaghetti girl at heart.
We flew home after a nice trip and somehow made it on the 9.5 hour flight with you from Paris to Raleigh. At least we didn't have any connections to miss. This might be your last big trip for a while though - maybe next summer when we go to California!
At 18 months, you're a sweet and funny girl, but you're also challenging sometimes. Toddlerhood has come and you want what you want, when you want it. You're a big fan of getting into everything you can and grabbing things from mama. Your vocabulary is amazing - you can identify all of your body parts and other people's, you know everyone's name, and you know many animals and foods. You love watching Daniel Tiger and Dave and Ava. You also love participating in songs now and will yell Hooray when you're doing "If you're happy and you know it."
We love watching you grow and are really excited for Halloween and Christmas with you this Fall and Winter!
Love,
Mama
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