Liam's Big Adventure Off the Rock

In his short 5 months on Planet Earth, Liam has had several adventures (hitting up the different beaches of St. Thomas and St. John, taking the car ferry to St. John, going to daycare), but all of these adventures have been in the USVI.  On June 8 he started his first big adventure off the islands. And he started it with a little bit of class... first class to be exact. Because we bought tickets with our airline miles, his very first flight was first class on US Airways.

Liam and Daddy waiting for our flight in St. Thomas.

First class - yay!

The flight was to Charlotte, NC where we spent the night at a hotel and then headed east to Emerald Isle for Liam's first beach vacation with the Smith/Scheetz/McMahon family and the Perrys. The flight and night at hotel went well, but the 5 1/2 hour drive (which ended up being 7 hours) was a little much for the little guy. He took it like a trooper though, and really only protested at the very end. We arrived at the beach house to a fairly hilarious entrance. Everyone was so excited to see Liam that when someone noticed a new car in the driveway they all rushed out the second floor stairway. Meanwhile Tyler, Liam and I had already come in the bottom floor door. We surprised them by sneaking up behind to say hello. A very happy reunion and meeting followed and that night it was my turn to be surprised by a wonderful belated birthday celebration.

My birthday cake at Emerald Isle. 

We spent the rest of the week with the Smith/McMahon/Scheetz/Perry clan beaching it up. Liam got to be held by everyone and was showered with attention by cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends. He loved every minute of it and regaled us with wonderful smiles and laughs every day. He spent time in the waves and in the pool, including his first dunk underwater. One of the days Tyler captained a rented pontoon boat for the B and C generations. Liam and I hung back so that I could catch up on some rest (Liam was not a big fan of sleeping in NC - the excitement of vacation I guess).  It was a great success despite some cloudy weather and they only went aground once (ha ha not really - ok, well talk to Tyler about it).

Liam's first dunk in the waves. He garnered quite the crowd!

Relaxing with Gaga. I think this was probably his favorite part of the beach.

"Reading" his crinkle book on the beach with Gaga and Poppy.

Ten days was not enough, but low and behold we found ourselves back in the car on the way to Charlotte. No first class this time, but it was a short flight to La Guardia and Liam did great once again. We were picked up at the airport by Grandma and Grandpa Brandt. It was a bit of a brutal ride home because Liam made it abundantly clear for about 2 hours that he no longer wanted to be in his carseat. But once we were at the house in Woodstock and he was tucked into the beautiful crib that Grandma and Grandpa Brandt provided, he slept... well... like a baby.

Enjoying his beautiful new crib. If only we could've packed it and brought it back to the island!

NY was a series of more firsts for Liam. Two days after arrival we took him on his first trip to the big city, including his first ride on a train, Metro North, from Poughkeepsie to Grand Central. Then he had his first trip on the NYC Subway up to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we met up with friends Chung, Mike and their 1 and 1/2 year old twins Ernest and Elise. That was his first exposure to high art. I'm not so sure he appreciated it. But he loved the twins and they loved him. Then we took a first stroll through Central Park where he saw his first Peregrine Falcon. All in all, it was an intense and exciting day and he crashed hard that night.

Grand Central!

Enjoying fine art at the Met with Ernest and Elise.

Central Park! (I'm pretty sure Liam was mostly interested in the ice cream cone Ernest was eating at the moment)

The next day we took it easy and then met up with the Norton-Brandts. That was his first trip to Ed and Kelly's and his first introduction to the rest of the Nortons, including John, Ellen and Adam who was up from Orlando with his girlfriend. He was so excited to see them we had to change his outfit when we arrived!

Dinner with the Nor-Brandts on the Hudson!

The next day Liam took his first trip to an outlet mall (ok maybe that's not so exciting, but we spent quality time with Ed and Kell!). The last two days in Woodstock we spent hanging out with Grandma, Grandpa and Ed and Kell and visiting with high school friends Vanessa and Sarah and their families. As with NC, too soon came our departure. But at least we were flying first class back to St. Thomas. All this first class flying and Liam will probably expect a hot towel and glass of champagne on all his flights!

Breakfast with Grandma.