Our first trip in 6 months

Last Thursday we made our first trip back home to Nebraska since Thanksgiving.  Mommy, Daddy and Kyley were all very excited to see all of their family as it had been longer than ever.  It never seizes to amaze me how long it takes to pack 3 people.  And, packing up a little one is crazy...you have to pack everything that is involved in their daily routine.  Kyley was a great supervisor as she sat on the bed and watched me throwing my bag together last minute. 

She made sure to let me know that we better not forget a few of her favorite toys...water bottle included.  She ran errands and to the office with me that morning, napped well and seemed pretty happy.  Well that lasted about 45 minutes into the drive when the first poopy diaper came, and it was downhill from there.  We did not have our same awesome traveler from 6 months prior.  She had grown older and wiser...wise enough to know that the car seat was uncomfortable and she wanted out.  The drive to Omaha took us about 7 hours...realistically with an infant about only 1 extra hour, but it was a long drive.  Kyley cried more in 4 of those hours than she had in the past year...it was not fun for any of us so we made lots of stops to calm her down and make her happy.  Then, she went back in the car seat and we repeated this process over and over until finally...I got her to sleep when we stopped before jumping on I-80.  She slept the rest of the drive to Omaha whimpering lightly in her sleep, and daddy and mommy did not make a sound until we got there!

Kyley got some much needed sleep (the first night of not so great sleep and sleep with mommy) after saying hello when we got there as she had a big weekend ahead.  So many of her favorite people were just as excited to see her as she was to see them.  It had only been a few months since she got to see Aunt Dale and Grandpa Bob, but she sure had a lot to tell them and foolishness to share with them! 

Kyley sure missed her Grandpa Des and gave him lots of smiles and hugs.  She sat on his lap and showed him all kinds of laughs and giggles.  Kyley also got to meet her cousin Mason (now 3 months old) for the first time.  They sat for quite a while together without any tears or fussing.  I think Kyley tried to pull his ear a few times and he watched her play with her toys in awe!  He is about the same length as Kyley but she has a few pounds on him:).  Mason is such a happy baby and looks just like his daddy...this is a common theme for the new babies in our family...they all look like their daddies.  This was the highlight of our day and probably weekend as we had not been able to get back to see him per doctor's orders until now.  We look forward to lots of fun and memories with the little guy!

Overall, I think the day was a hit.  All of the smiles and silliness make it glaringly obvious how much we missed our family and they missed us...well Kyley anyway!  It was a pretty quiet day of nice visits as most of the family was not getting together until late evening or Saturday.  We were just getting revved up for the big day!