Thurs/Fri in Illinois

If I thought traveling was hard before, I had no idea what I was getting myself into with a baby.

Chris and Alexa loaned us this nifty contraption. We added the wheeled-cart to the back of Aiden's car seat so we could get through the airport without a baby on our hip. Though getting through security was a horror show. We had to take this apart so it would fit through the x-ray conveyor belt. Then we had to take all the liquids out of Aiden's diaper bag (I had prepared for this by putting it all in a ziplock), take our and Aiden's shoes off, take our laptop out of the bag and empty our pockets, all at the security gate. Add to that, 50 irritable travelers waiting in line behind us, constantly pushing our stuff forward, and you get a LOT OF STRESS.

Aiden did pretty good on the plane. We took everyone's recommendation to feed Aiden a bottle during take off and landing to help his ears pop during the pressure changes. The only bump in the road was when nap time arrived and Aiden decided it would be more fun to be awake than to go to sleep. After 30 minutes of a cranky baby, Ariel asked if she could let him listen to her MP3 player. I was unsure that Aiden would allow us to put ear buds in his ears, but he didn't even seem to notice. He went STRAIGHT to sleep while I listened through the other bud to make sure it didn't get too loud for him. I will definitely be trading out the laptop (Aiden preferred to hit the keyboard over watching the show) for our i-Pod next time.

When we arrived in Chicago, we took a shuttle to rent a car. We chose a mid-size this time and ended up with a 2010 Chevy Malibu. It was a nice little car that thankfully fit all our luggage. Our driving time to central Illinois was fairly short since we landed in Midway, which is on the south side of Chicago. We dropped Ariel off at my mom's and then we headed over to Travis' grandparents' house to meet them and Travis' mom and step-dad for dinner. We hung out for a minute a their house so everyone could get some time with Aiden, especially since this was the first time Travis' grandparents had met him.

For dinner, we chose a local pizza restaurant that I make sure to hit up every time we are in town. It is THE BEST thin crust pizza I have ever had. I can't get enough of it. After dinner, we sat in the yard for a few minutes so Aiden could see what nice grass is like. We have nothing but rough, itchy St. Augustine grass here in this part of Texas. It hurts me to sit in it, so I'm sure it would be rough on Aiden's skin. The Kentucky bluegrass that covers most lawns in Illinois is far more enjoyable to lay in.

That night we stayed at Brenda and Rich's house in the country. We got to watch a good old fashioned thunderstorm roll in across the corn fields. The rain is softer there, and the lack of humidity is amazing. Brenda and Rich have a great porch that runs across the entire back side of their house, along with comfy chairs for us to rest in while we watched the live nature show. I miss that.

Friday morning, I dropped Travis off at his favorite burrito place in Champaign. He met our friend Jordan (Chrissie's husband) for a relaxing day of golf and beer, while Aiden and I were off to meet Chrissie for lunch. It was hilarious trying to get out of the U of I campus. It's been so long since I have driven around the area that I lost my bearings for a moment and had to get directions from Travis.

Chrissie was ecstatic to meet Aiden, but lunch was short. She had to get back to work. After that, we met Alex and my dad "for lunch" at Monical's (different location than the night before). I put quotations there because I didn't eat but a couple bites of pizza since we had already had our meal. I just had some time to kill and it happened to fall during Alex' lunch hour.

Papa G and Aiden

My brother Alex and my dad's bunny ears

After the lunches, I ran a couple errands for Chrissie (so she could get home quicker after work) around St. Joseph, the town I grew up in. It was surreal to see all the places I used to go as a kid. So much has changed. I have seen some of the changes before, but I always forget about them until I am back in town. There are different restaurants, which is always a big deal when you grow up in a town that is so small it is actually considered a village. I saw a couple people I went to high school with, but none that I was good friends with.

To be continued...

More on Audrey

I have to put up a few more photos of Audrey. She was just too precious. It cracks me up how much Chrissie is into her little girl's style. I suppose I would/will be too. She was trying to pick out what Audrey was going to wear for New Year's Eve and she tried several outfits before picking the perfect one. It's like when you're trying to pick out an outfit to wear to the bar and you don't have time to put everything back on the hanger after you try it on. There is always a disaster waiting on my bed for the drunken me at the end of the night. Audrey probably doesn't have this problem though.

Audrey's hair is long and wavy. It is strange because both Chrissie and Jordan had nearly pin-straight hair when they were little. I guess Chrissie's grandma has hair like that. Chrissie said she blow dries Audrey's hair straight most of the time. LOL!

I had a great time catching up on the life of Audrey. I got to change a poopy diaper and I even got to witness bath time. Audrey loves the water. I need to get the camcorder out so I can get the videos uploaded.

I was wondering what you do to take care of a baby in the frigid winters of the north. I got my answer when Chrissie brought the baby home in this bad mamba-jamba. I took this photo while we were shopping for curtains for the nursery. She slept the whole time we were out. Chrissie had to wake her up for feeding time at Olive Garden (I love the never-ending salad, bread sticks and soup).

Travis was honing his bottle feeding skills. I think he did a pretty good job. His thoughts were that as long as he can watch the football game on TV while he takes care of Lil' Wodie, he'll be able to handle parenting easily enough. GREAT.

Audrey really seems to love watching football. She doesn't really pay attention to the TV until there is a game on. Chrissie thinks it might be because of the bands playing all the time and the colorful crowd. Either way, she enjoyed the show while Travis burped her.

Dad gives it a go! I'm not quite sure what Audrey's face is all about. I think the red-eye reduction light on my camera freaked her out a little. I had to put my finger over it to get shots of her without a deer-in-headlights response.

I am so sad that I am going to miss so many stages of this little girl's life. She is going to be so much bigger by the time I have a chance to visit again. I guess I'll just have to settle for my own little one. =D

Family and Friends and Food, Oh My!

Travis and I made out pretty good this Christmas, and so did Lil' Wodie! After everyone heard the news, they ran out to pick up some stuff for the little guy. So far he has accrued an Illini onesie and hoodie from Daddy, a diaper changing wedge and a BAG of hand-me-down clothes from Alexa (thanks, Alexa!), a blanket, sweater and jeans from Chrissie and a BAG of clothes from Grandma Carol (my mom). Little did Grandpa Greg know that he bought us a video camera for documenting the Life of Lil' Wodie. Yay!

My mom also bought me a maternity outfit and Travis' sister gave me a bunch of her old maternity stuff. Travis gave me a belly band for Christmas which I am super excited about. It's perfect for holding up my pants that I now I have to leave unbuttoned and sometimes partially unzipped, depending on how much I've eaten. It just looks like a have a black tank top under my shirt. Plus, if I want to wear the maternity pants my mom gave me now, the band will hold them up, since they're a little big for me just yet. It's amazing what they have for the expecting mother these days!

It is going to take everything in my power not to run home, take the tags off of Lil' Wodie's new stuff, wash it and throw it on a baby hanger in the closet. My friend Sara put that off until a few weeks before her due date, only to find out she wasn't having a girl - it was a boy! Since everything was untagged, she couldn't return anything. She was however able to return the bedding that was delivered after she found out the change of plans. I think I will feel more comfortable after the upcoming ultrasound this month. The prenatal doctor said he can tell us with 99% accuracy the sex of our baby, assuming he's willing to show us the goods. As of right now, it's at 80%.

Travis and I have been so busy running around visiting all our family and friends. It hasn't been as stressful as I thought it would be though. Here's a couple photos to bring you up to speed.

Robert, Ariel and I went to my dad's work to help him do a couple things. Several trees lost a bunch of limbs during the ice storm.

I was confused for a moment and thought we had somehow wondered into Mexico. We left the Mexican restaurant after lunch with my dad and this frickin rooster came running out the back door with two Hispanic guys. Woh. Alex couldn't get into his car because he was worried the rooster would attack. Seriously.

Travis and I stayed at Chrissie and Jordan's house for several days around New Year's. It was great to spend so much time getting to know Audrey


Audrey and Mom hanging out in Audrey's nursery.

We forgot to take photos with Travis' dad's family when we were there for Christmas, so we stopped by several days later. (Left to right, front to back: Nikki, Travis, dad Curt, sister Crystena, nephew Cole, brother Sean and niece Kaitlyn.)

I can't wait until Travis gets to rough house with Lil' Wodie and his friends! Here he is taking on the kids at his dad's house.

New Mommy and Daddy

Happy new family!

Chrissie, Jordan and the new addition of Audrey

Welcome Audrey!

Congratulations Chrissie and Jordan on your bundle of joy!

Now presenting Audrey Claire, born October 14, 2008.

6 lbs, 10 oz, 18.5 in

I know it's blurry (camera phone pic), but check out that hair! Sweet baby...

[FYI - Chrissie and Jordan are friends from Illinois. I have been best friends with Chrissie since I was about 7 years old, so I almost feel like an aunt!]