This year's Easter celebrations were extra special for more than one reason! Not only did we get to celebrate our Savior's love for us by sending his only Son to die on the cross for our sins, but we also got to spend it with our 2 newest family members.
Alec's sister and brother-in-law live in Santa Fe, NM and were pregnant with their first baby, a little boy. We were thrilled when we found out (back at Thanksgiving) that Weston would be getting a little cousin to grow up and play with only 5 months younger than him. As you can imagine, as her due date approached, the family was on pins and needles to get from DFW to SF. Finally on Friday, March 29th, we got word from Alec's mom that his sister was actively in labor. With it being her first baby, we of course had no idea how long it would take for him to make his big arrival. So while we sat in anticipation, we continued on with our Easter weekend plans which consisted of a family date night that Friday evening.
The next morning, Saturday March 30th, we found out that Beau was officially here and both mom and baby were doing great! With all the excitement and joy, Alec and I made the decision to buy last minute plane tickets to surprise the new parents and meet our little nephew. So that morning I quickly started packing our bags and getting us ready for a 24 hour trip to Santa Fe. Luckily this wasn't our first trip with Wes so we felt very comfortable knowing what we needed and could get everything gathered pretty quickly. After I finished packing everything up, we went to a local brewery to meet my family for a little afternoon get together. While we were there, we asked my brother and his fiance to be Weston's godparents, which was another very special moment for everyone. Then we played a quick round of Catan to comemorate the moment before taking Wes home for his Easter craft. Each holiday I have been coming up with some sort of craft (which involves his hand/footprint) because I'm extra sentimental and sappy like that.
Sunday morning, March 31st, we got up bright and early because the Easter bunny had visited our home just before we had to leave for the airport. Of course we had to dress Wes up in his carrot, Easter bunny costume (which he loved) and let him open his basket before we left. The Easter bunny brought him some new toys, books, and lovies in the cutest embroidered basket from Pottery Barn Kids.
Once I finished pumping + Wes was fed, we quickly loaded the car up and headed to the airport. After we checked our gazillion bags and got through security, we found a family lounge area where I could pump (yes, again) and we could feed Wes. It was super nice to spread out before getting on the plane at the last possible second. I think it's just safe to say, every flight with a baby is "just ok" at max. Wes did fine on this flight. He didn't sleep, like we had hoped, but he was relatively quiet and entertained most of the flight. Once we landed and got all of our bags, Alec's mom snuck away from the hospital to get us from the airport.
Out of respect for the new parents, we didn't really film anymore during our visit because we just wanted to soak up as much time with them + the baby as possible. I will never forget though, when we got to the hospital and he nurse walked us back to meet baby Beau. As we stepped into her hospital room Alec said, "I heard someone just had a baby!" His sister's jaw dropped to the floor and she was shocked to see us there. It was such a sweet moment that we will cherish forever and a good reminder that family is everything.
The rest of our time in Santa Fe was spent cuddling these 2 perfect boy cousins, snapping as many family pictures as we could, and enjoying the cool mountain air. Unfortunately with it being such a last minute trip, we were only able to stay one night but made the most of it for sure.
Now the flight back...was one we will never forget but boy do we try to! I truly can't relive it through typing it out so if you want to hear all about the horrendous flight home watch the vlog below. All I'll say is this, ladies and gentlemen, is why you never take milk from a baby 😉
XO,
The Stegalls
Comments