The Newest Addition!

During Villanova's Spring Break week, I snuck away to visit Uncle Tim, Aunt Jackie, and Colin in Charleston for a long weekend.  It was a solo trip (for which Liam may never forgive me!), and as much as I wished my guys were with me, I so very much appreciated the getaway for quality time with my brother and his family.

I arrived the day after Tim's 30th birthday (!!), so we celebrated that evening.

Perhaps the last photo as a family of 3?

I loved, loved, loved spending time with sweet little Colin.  The poor guy was under the weather, but we read stories, watched some Blues Clues, did some cooking, and got in some good cuddle-time.  He was a trooper!

I also loved getting to go out to eat (something we so rarely do with Liam's food allergies!) for some great food around Charleston.  Tim and Jackie took me to Poe's for burgers, Toast  for a true Southern brunch (crabcake and fried green tomato with an egg and grits and a biscuit? yes, please!), and to Graze for dinner one night.  And besides all the great food, I had one cute date!

One of the best parts of the area where Tim and Jackie live is how easy it is to get everywhere on foot.  With all that eating, it was awesome to be able to take some good long walks around their neighborhood or even to some great local shopping.  While out and about, I even managed to lull the little man off to sleep for a much-needed nap:

Refreshed and ready to roar after a good sleep!

My real agenda for this trip was to meet my new niece or nephew, who was due right around that time.  I knew I was taking a gamble by scheduling my trip when I did, and when I arrived on the 2nd to Aunt Jackie having some pretty strong contractions, I thought for sure that baby was coming!  But baby G-willie had other plans... the contractions stopped and didn't pick back up again until long after I'd returned to Philly.

And then... on March 8!  Look who arrived!

Genevieve Rose, 8 lbs, 11 oz, 21 inches, and the first girl in this family since 2004!  She is so absolutely beautiful and we just can't wait to meet her.

Be sure to check out Jackie's blog from my trip too-- love the pic of Colin learning to toast "one time around" at Toast!