We're baaaaaaaack...

It was a very long and enjoyable time spent in upstate NY, but now we are back in NJ and back to our little (but still cozy) apartment. Keith was a bit sad to leave the comforts of home initially, but had he stayed any longer, he wouldn't be able to see his toes after gaining all of the weight that would accompany his mother's home cooking (more specifically, baking).

Keith would like to thank everyone for:

• being so accepting of his cold and hacking cough over the weekend (it wasn't a pleasant thing to be around...trust us)
  

...and...

• most importantly being so loving and caring towards Austin...we left Hannibal yesterday realizing more than ever how lucky we are to have the family that we have and the tremendous amount of love that accompanies it
  

A brief synopsis of our Christmas weekend:

Saturday (12-22): We hit the road on our way to Hannibal at around 8 am. Christine drove most of the way, because Keith was still recuperating from his evening out with his friends from work (which included an abundance of fun, laughing, and JD). Austin slept in the car from Park Ridge all the way to Preble, NY before needing to stop to fill his little belly.


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I would love to tell you about all of the exciting things we did while we were there (at Grandma and Grandpa's house) the first day, but we really just hung out and watched everyone play with Austin most of the time.

Sunday (12-23): Another fairly uneventful day spent in the home today, Keith and Grandpa went into town to run a quick errand, but otherwise...just another day with everyone giving Austin all of the attention. After a bath earlier in the day, he was fortunate enough to have some friends come over for a visit to meet him for the first time: Kendal/Heidi, Ellie, and Gloria all came over in the early afternoon to say "Hi" to the little guy and wish him a Merry Christmas. We were lucky that he was so well behaved and pleasant...he has them all fooled into thinking he is this pleasant, docile, and angelic little boy.

The highlight of the day, however, was watching Grandma get an opportunity to feed Austin a bottle for the first time...Christine walked into the living room with a fresh bottle after pumping and asked if anyone had any interest in feeding him...Grandma jumped right up enthusiastically (as if she had been waiting patiently for 8 weeks) and had a wonderful time helping our little boy gain yet more weight.

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Christmas Eve (12-24): All of the gifts were exchanged after lunch on Christmas Eve to allow Keith and Christine the opportunity to go to mass at 4pm while also allowing the boys to watch the second-to-last MNF game of the year. Austin made out like a bandit (with gifts) once again, and everyone had fun. Thanks to everyone for our gifts, and in particular, all the great toys for Austin.

A funny little aside...Gloria sent a nice little Merry Christmas floral arrangement to our home after she had left. Moxy, as smart as she is, knows that crimping ribbon usually accompanies fresh flowers and was on the hunt for something to chew on (yes, she chews on crimping ribbon like Lenny Dykstra on Kodiak)...she was very disappointed in the end that there was no ribbon to be had (but it wasn't from a lack of looking).



Christmas Day (12-25): After a nice (and very filling) brunch, everyone packed into the Pilot and traveled to visit the Great-Grandparents in North Syracuse.


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Great-Uncle Carey (Grandma's brother), Great-Aunt Candy, Adam, Kyle and Alissa also came and picked up Great Aunt Linda on their way there. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa really seemed to enjoy having a full house...and, of course, having Austin there made things nice as well. What made things really nice was how great Austin was...by that we mean that he slept almost the entire time. Usually, you wouldn't want him to sleep so much, but it gave both of his Great-Grandparents a considerable amount of time with him without having to worry about him being fussy.

Another highlight of the evening was Great-Grandpa getting an opportunity to feed Austin...it was just a wonderful sight.

Wednesday (12-26): It would eventually be time to go home, but not until Keith and Christine slept in past 11am (while the rest of the family dutifully baby-sat) and one last cute photo-op happened. As we were eating lunch, it struck Keith as a good idea to put french-onion dip on Austin's finger and see if Moxy would come over and partake in some of her favorite dairy treats. Austin wasn't amicable with the idea for too long (it required him to sit still in the same place without bouncing or being entertained), but Moxy had no problem walking right up to Austin and receiving her first treat from him.

After Austin woke up from his afternoon nap, we left for NJ (it was around 5pm). Once again, Austin surprised us and made it a good portion of the way home (nearly to Port Jervis) before needing to stop to eat. After he was done eating, we hit the road one last time to arrive in a soaking wet and raining northern NJ by a little after 10:30.

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Once again, thanks to everyone who helped make Austin's first Christmas holiday such a memorable one. We love you all.