We passed the Mason Dixon line....

and traveled into Maryland!
The place where I was "birthed"...

This picture represents my childhood. In a small way. I can remember at every family gathering (on the Italian side) we almost always have crabs. When I say "eat crabs" in Kentucky, people think I mean King Crab Legs, not these Maryland Blue Crabs. Where you don't just eat some bland meat that's easy to pull out of a leg...you disect the entire crab (yes, you even pull out its stomach and see the POOP)....then you get to the good stuff, the meat. Spicy and salty....I love crabs. This trip they were not for me though....nursing mommy's shouldn't eat shellfish. Next time, next time.

Mady and I had a wonderful time. We really enjoyed ourselves. It would have been a perfect trip if Bryan could have come. We missed him, but he needed the quiet to help study for his finals week, which is this week. So it was perfect timing.

I did enjoy being with my family without the distraction for work. This was the first trip to Maryland in over four years where I have not had to worry about my store and our numbers while I was away. No phone calls or crisis' to handle from afar. No sleepless nights worrying about if inventory counts were getting done and if shipment was put away properly. And the best of all, no worrying about the thieves coming in, while the manager was away (I swear they waited until they didn't see me for a few days) and steal! All I worried about was making the most of every moment with my family. Did I mention I LOVE being a stay at home mom and only running a household, not a retail store? Just thought I'd mention it!
Mady did WONDERFUL on the flights. Both flights were not full, so we were able to bring her car seat on. She sleeps so well in her car seat, and being the social butterfly that she is, she doesn't sleep very well in my arms. I was thankful too, because both flights were right during nap time. We almost missed our returning flight!!! And I did not have to stand up in the BWI airport bathroom breastfeeding Mady! No, not I! Ha. Another story, for another post.

Here is Gi, Gi, or Great Grandmom with Mady after her bath. Mady wasn't too happy to get out of her bath, but she loves her Gi Gi. My grandmother has been able to give all the grand children their first baths. Mady is her first Great Grand child and while she was not able to give her the first bath (because we live states away), she was able to bathe her...which was still special. Actually my mom, Mady's grandmom gave her the first bath. So I guess the tradition continues.

Mady adored my grandmother. I think that is because she knows how very special she is to me. I always connected with my grandmother on a deeper level. We always "got" each other. We are a lot alike. Our personalities are different, but our experiences are similar. She has always been there for me and loved and accepted me no matter what. She is the most loving person you'll ever meet...and the most incredible cook. I came home with lots of new recipes I want to try.

Doesn't she look great? She looks like she's in her 50's...I pray that I age as gracefully as she has!

Here is Mady with her Uncle Christopher. She LOVED, LOVED, LOVED him! She loves men. I think this is mainly because she loves her Daddy so much, she associates any deep voice with him. She loved it when Christopher would blow raspberries on her belly. She laughed and squealed with joy. He had her laughing within five minutes of being around him on the first day!
I love my brother, he is so fun. We had a blast playing 500 Rummy together. We're both very competitive and keep close score. I actually beat him a couple times. I learned that I had to keep him laughing to get him off his game. We laughed so hard my sides hurt. I miss laughing with family. There is something special about it, no one else can make you laugh like them. They truly know what gets you going!

Here is Mady and her Grandpa, my dad. She loved him too. My dad is very loud (that is where I get it) and it took Mady a little bit to get used to it. It wasn't long before she was able to sleep through his talking in the car. My dad's wife, Susan was also able to meet Mady and took some great shots of the three of us together. She is a fantastic photographer, I was glad she was able to take some of the three generations of enormous heads. Did I mention Mady's head is in between the 75th and 90th percentile!! Look at those big heads!

This is my Aunt Sue and her son Nicky and his girlfriend Katie. My Aunt Sue is my mom's brother's wife. My Uncle Marc, my mom's brother was not in the picture...but they all enjoyed Mady and she enjoyed them as well. Especially Katie's glasses!

From left to right. My Aunt Lee Ann, Aunt Wendy, me and Mady and my Aunt Judy. Where I grew up it's a sign of respect to call everyone older than you that you are related to Aunt or Uncle...even if they were a second or third cousin. For instance, my Aunt Lee Ann and Aunt Wendy are sisters and my mom's cousins. My Aunt Judy is their mom and my grandmother's sister in law. My Uncle Bob (Aunt Judy's husband) was one of my favorite Uncles, he was my grandmom's brother. They owned boxers and that is who you can thank for my addiction to the breed!

My cousin Jill's little one, Ella. She's adorable! Loved Mady and Mady loved her. Not pictured are my other cousin's kiddo's Melania and Domenico. They are 3 and 11 months. Also adorable.
We had a fun play date with them.


This is my Aunt Terry, my dad's sister. Ella, in the picture above is Aunt Terry's grand daughter.
We had the crab's at my Aunt T's house. She was nice enough to whip me up some amazing spaghetti with authentic Italian, homemade sauce...it was amazing!
This is my cousin Sarah. Aunt Sue and Uncle Marc (my mom's brother) oldest. She is an architect and currently lives in DC with her architect hubby. They just recently bought a house. We are very excited to see how long it takes them to fill the extra bedroom with a little one of their own!

This is my cousin Eric. He is my Aunt Lee Ann's youngest son. He is amazing. Wants to join our hypothetical church plant (if we plant in that area, if we even plant) as a youth pastor. He loves the Lord and it shows. Hes a great friend to my brother and I am very thankful for him.

All in all we had a great time! We visited even more family that I have pictured, believe it or not! It was not as painful as I thought, crossing the Mason Dixon line; we did great. Mady fit in quite well with all the loud Northerners. She isn't too quiet herself.

I loved seeing my family and introducing little Mady to everyone. Thank you for everyone who prayed for us and our travel mercies. Their was no issue in transitions for Mady, she did very well! The only problem is.....now we miss everyone!