Packing for our Trip

Our family is leaving Thursday for a trip "home" to New York. It is where both Eric and I are from and grew up. Most of our family and friends still live there, so it's a great escape to go back and reconnect :) Eric's brother and his wife are expecting their first child this summer and we are eager with anticipation to meet our little niece or nephew. They have decided to wait until the baby's birth to find out the sex, so that adds another element of excitement to it all. We are headed to New York because their baby shower is being held at my mother and father-in-law's house on Saturday. The shower is a co-ed shower. I've never been to one before, so it should be interesting :) We are hoping for good weather that day so we can have the shower outside, but you never know with Rochester weather. There's no place more unpredictable in my mind. I'm really looking forward to it and seeing everyone and being together with people I love and care about :) Carolyn, my sister-in-law, just means so much to me and she is so sweet. I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister growing up, and she is just the best sister I could ever hope for. I am so happy for her and her husband, they are going to be wonderful parents. I'm also really happy that Becca will have a little cousin that is close in age to grow up with. I've always been close with my cousins and I wished for Becca to have the same thing.
Eric and I know how much stuff a baby requires and it definitely puts a damper on your wallet. To help them out, we are loaning them a bunch of our baby stuff for them to use. We don't use them anymore so at least someone else can get some good use for it, while also saving them some money as well, or at least some extra room on their baby registry. Some of these things are....a baby jumperoo, baby bouncer, baby bjorn carrier, and a breast pump. I also threw in a few extra things because I want to help them any way I can. I only wish I could do more, but I couldn't possibly afford everything I would want to get for them. I think baby shopping is the most fun type of shopping there is!
Anyway, I had put all of Becca's newborn and infant stuff away in the back of the downstairs closet, so today I had to take everything out to get back there and sort through bins and bags. I sat there, lost in the moment, as I continued to look through all of her tiny belongings. Little booties....bonnets.....bottles.....rattles. It took me back to that place in time that seems so long ago, yet I can remember it like it was yesterday. I picked up a tiny bottle and thought back to when I cradled her in my arms and rocked her to sleep in the rocker we have in her bedroom. I would just watch her sleep and smell her "baby smell" wafting from her head for long after she fell asleep. She was just angelic. I miss those times. She was so tiny and delicate and fragile. She still is and always will be my treasured jewel, but there is something so innocent and magical about a newborn infant baby. Ahh, memories.
Well, there's not a whole lot of time to reflect on these memories right now, there is much to do. I need to finish the laundry so all the clothes are clean and ready to be packed. I have a list of things to do before we leave. I have to clean the house because I hate coming home from a trip to a mess. Yet, even though I sound organized, I always manage to forget something every time I take a trip.
We are leaving Thursday after Eric gets out of work, so everything needs to be packed Wednesday night. I have to start packing days in advance because I approach things very slowly. I over analyze everything. Plus, I pack three extra sets of clothes in case I don't feel like wearing the ones I already picked out. Then of course if the weather changes, then you have to start all over again. So, that's about all for now about that. Becca will be waking up from her nap in about an hour and then I have to feed her and then get ready to take Max to the vet to get his latest vaccine. Bye for now. :)