Trip

I just got back from a trip to IL for a few days. It wasn't the happiest of reasons to go home (my Grandma passed away), but as always, it was great to see my family. All of my sibling came except for Jennie (who is due on the 12th, so that would not have been a good idea!) and we also go to see Aunts, Uncles and Cousins. It was great! Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera, so I just took a few pictures/videos with my phone. Everyone loved Steven. It was really great to have him there. I was a little unsure if a funeral was the best place for a baby, and though it was hard to keep him quiet all the time, he brought a lot of joy to an otherwise very sad situation. It was impossible for people not to smile at him, and he always smiles back. He started reaching for everyone when he was being held, and ended up just being passed around between everyone. I really got a break because everyone was so great and helped take care of him. Anyway, I wish I would have taken more pictures/videos, but this first one is of Hillary playing with him at my Grandma's house. I just thought it was super cute :)

This next one is of Steven with my Uncle Perry. He had just been doing his Donald Duck voice, which Steven loved, but I didn't catch it. I still thought this was precious, though.

The flight there and back were a little difficult, however. On the flight there, Steven was pretty happy most of the time, but didn't sleep at all. That was no good, since we didn't get into St Louis until 11:45. The night before the flight back, Kelly and PJ were nice enough to let us stay with them so we didn't have to wake up so early, but I still had to wake Steven up before 6, which he didn't love. Once we got on the plane, I started thinking a replica of the flight there wouldn't be so bad. I wasn't that lucky. Steven was really unhappy and I could tell he was just exhausted. Unfortunately, Steven will almost never fall asleep with me holding him. So instead, he screamed for probably 45 mins straight. I didn't want him to disturb the entire plane, so I put my hand over his mouth a lot to try and muffle the sound. I'm sure that didn't sound very good either, though. Finally, after 45 mins of him screaming, me rocking back and forth and trying everything I could think of to comfort him, he finally wore himself out. With him looking like this, I almost forgot what a terror he had been just a few mins before.

At that point, he luckily slept for almost the rest of the flight, and was much happier when he woke up.

Overall, it was a really good trip. Pretty exhausting both physically and emotionally, but good.