It's been a little crazy here! Not only has the newborn kept us busy but my brother was getting married {in Dallas} and my husband and son were both in the wedding party. While we bought plane tickets to travel to Dallas months before the baby was born, we were on the fence whether or not the baby and I would go since he would be less than 2 weeks old.
We had a couple of doctor appointments with the pediatrician and after getting the pediatrician's clearance and the okay from my OB we decided to make the trip. My husband and I were both a little nervous.I bought a baby sling to help keep the baby concealed and a travel boppy pillow for the plane. I was concerned about the baby and he was concerned about me and my recovery when we both should have been more concerned about Lily. She was pretty restless during the 2.5 hour flight.
We packed the night before, maxed our number of carry-ons to check only one bag and arrived an hour and a half before our flight time (unheard of for us).
Our flight was delayed, then on time, then delayed, then cancelled, then rebooked. After all that, we were only about 30 minutes behind schedule. Aside from Lily bouncing between seats, getting hopped up sugary sweet bribes from us and ending up on the floor at our feet to play, it was all good. But the thing I was most excited about was that the plane was equipped with a changing table!!! FINALLY!!!
Our stay was definitely a challenge because Lily was out of her routine. She wasn't taking naps or getting nearly the amount of sleep she needed but she was a trooper. Parker Townes pretty much slept and ate his way through the trip. He could sleep just about anywhere so he was a piece of cake and Jacob loved visiting his cousin Julia, seeing his uncles and being "mom-free" for a few days.
All and all I'm glad we made the trip! It was great being there to see my brother marry his best friend! And I loved seeing my parents, siblings and cousins! Good times were had! However, with my husband being in the wedding, he was gone quite a bit with wedding party activities so it was me, the toddler and the newborn – there were a few breakdowns and tears {from all three of us}. We were always running late and things didn't go quite as planned but it was worth it!
Here are several pictures of our trip.
The Rehearsal
The bride and groom to be
We had some down time so I used the opportunity to test camera settings and take pics of Lily Grace. Her hair is a mess and the pictures aren't anything special but I still couldn't filter them down to one.
I love those big blue eyes!
My handsome husband
The ring bearer and flower girl (Jacob and his cousin Julia)
So the Tuesday before we were due to fly out I was getting my hair cut and Walt shows up unexpectedly. He received a call from the Skate Camp Jacob was attending that he fell off a 5 foot ramp on his face and that they were transporting him to the ER via ambulance. We rushed to the hospital to learn he had a mild concussion, a goose egg size bump and bruise on his face and a sprained wrist. Thank goodness it wasn't any worse!
My sister Mel and Parker Townes
At Dinner
My brothers (the best man and groomsman). They fought hard for the best man spot so it was an ongoing joke in our family.
My brother Phil (the groom) and his daughter Julia (my one and only niece).
My baby sis Nina and Matt
Jacob with my parents.
Walt, me and Lily. This was the beginning of her exhaustion! She only takes a pacifier at night and we are wanting to break her of it but we made an exception for this trip – yikes!
The Wedding
The beaming bride!
My handsome husband. He is rarely in a tux so I had to document this event.
Exchanging the rings
The kiss
Mr. and Mrs. Lopez
Me and Lily (Parker was sleeping)
I love the Just Married banner!! What a cute idea!
The Reception
Announcing the couple
The centerpiece. The colors were teal and orange. The table numbers were bottles of wine.
The cake was elegant and delicious!
Jacob was fascinated by the tuxedo strawberries.
My mom and dad!
My dad and my stylish and sophisticated sister.
My mom and Parker
Let's get the party started!
You couldn't keep Jacob and Lily off the dance floor. Surprisingly our shy little Lily was out there before the party started. She was non stop and she didn't care if she was the only one out there. During the toast she stood in the corner repeatedly saying, "I want to dance". This has to come from her father's side.
Love this picture. This is also when I noticed the hairbow I made her was missing. 
Dancing on her daddy's feet brought back memories of when I danced with my dad like this 
Lily is cheers – ing her daddy with a wine glass of ice. Really?? Why would the bartender give her a glass much less one with a stem – he must not have kids?
Yes, I changed into the dress I wore the night before. It was more comfortable and I'm all about comfort as I recovery from the surgery. By the way, Walt found him an adorable onsie with a tie but he peed on it as we were leaving for the wedding – bummer.
Family Fun
We wrapped up our trip with a Rangers game. Jacob had never been to a Major League game so we took him to see the Rangers play the Red Sox. I'd planned to stay home with the kids but my parents decided to go. They could help me with the kids and give me a ride if we needed to leave early. I'm glad it worked out because we had a great time! I'm not sure who had more fun – Lily or Jacob? Lily kept asking for more. She was yelling and cheering with the best of them.
Oh and on the way back we were better prepared to entertain Lily. She also had plenty of snacks and movies. Travel is nothing like it used to be when I was a kid. 
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Worth it….. That was pretty much the feeling of my toast, but maybe i didnt communicate it well enough.
Your toast was awesome!! I wish we had it on video! I hope Tony can come through for us!
Jeezz how did you do it all! I'm exhusted just from reading it. Glad you had a nice time and are recovering quickly. Kit
What a fun trip! You guys are troopers for sure. Poor Jacob..I hope he's mending ok. Was he at the skate board camp at the Y? I saw a couple young boys with their skate boards the other day when I was picking up my kids from camp.
Crystal, He was at Grayson Skate Park over on Eastway. I forgot about the Y. We are in need of another camp for a couple of weeks so thanks for the suggestion!! He is driving us crazy sitting around playing video games all day!
Welcome back to Texas, sounds like you had a great time. Wow, I didn’t know you had a Brady bunch family
. I thought it was just you, Melissa and your younger brother. You story gives me hope. We have a wedding in February to attend and we will be flying with a new born and two year old. Now that you back home hope you get a chance to relax and recover.
There is a gap between the older three and the younger three so we were almost raised as two separately families and many people didn’t know about the others. Congratulations on the pregnancy!! And good luck with your travels in February. It’s very doable. We were prepared for it to be crazy so we were pleasantly surprised! Thanks for visiting the blog and leaving a comment!
Wow!! What a trip. You did more in a few days than many do in one year and for some….a lifetime. When I said PIECE OF CAKE I did not mean the entire top layer. YOU did a marvelous job and kudos maintaining the positive attitude and big smile! Oh Jacob, Ms. Sue feels for you. I know that hurt but you are still smiling and dancing. Great Job. Lily is a real performer and I can see the shyness has faded away. YOU are so lucky to have such a patient, caring husband. I would never NOT want to share in all of this so thank you for incuding me in your blog. Your Mom and Dad are gorgeous and what a great family……hope you received the card….hugs…sue
angela – i can't believe you made that trip at 2 weeks post-op!!! you are so brave!!! i was not feeling good at that point yet. and you look amazing
i can't wait to meet parker and catch up with you. 
Hey Crystal, I was really nervous about the trip and don’t get me wrong it wasn’t always easy but I couldn’t imagine missing my brother’s wedding. I look forward to catching up soon I hope!