3 Down, 1 To Go

I promise that we actually live in Argentina, although we just returned from our third trip back to the US.  This year has been good to us, we have been able to attend two very important weddings (Dan and Lian in June and Sarah and Josh in August) and we plan on spending the holidays stateside with our families, since they were so great and all came to Buenos Aires last year.  But in between these events, Jon had a work training at UNC, and Gretchen and I just couldn't miss out on the fun of traveling.  Some (myself included) may call this crazy, and as Gretchen grows before my very eyes, I completely understand this sentiment.  I will say this, although we are tempting fate, she has been an angel on all of our flights so far.  I know this doesn't apply to everyone, but so far, I feel that traveling with an infant/young baby has got to be fathoms easier than traveling with a toddler.  I'll keep you posted with my feelings on that subject next year. 

Anyways, we had a fantastic trip home, chaotic at times, but we were able to see quite a few of our friends and remarkably, all of our immediate family (almost all, we missed you Lian!).  I fully intended to copy photos from everyone's photo cards, but alas, I did not.  So, with a completely disproportionate amount of photo evidence, here are some highlights of the trip:

The day we arrived, we traveled to Jon's parent's house where we showered, ate, and waited for the crowds to ascend.  A HUGE "Thank You!!" to everyone who drove or flew or flew then drove to come and see us, we appreciate it so much.  The following day, we gathered up the troops and drove down to Virginia Tech to watch the Hokies play Miami.  It was a beautiful day in Blacksburg, and we had a great time tailgating, though it was quite different from the tailgates we used to have. 

For example, this is the first tailgate that included an exer-saucer, and it was a hit!  Gretchen, Evan and Jude all took turns playing with this amazing toy.  If you are taking a baby to a tailgate, this is a must.

The line for the exer-saucer was all queued up

It was also the first tailgate that we had that included a napping corner.  Here are the first round of nappers, Jude, Bridget, Gretchen and Evan lead the pack, Harper joined soon after.  We had to push the strollers next to the cars to keep them in the shade, and there were so many sleepers that we started a new row of strollers next to another car. 

Nap Time

While Gretchen was awake, and not playing in the exer-saucer, she was busy being entertained by Poppa and Uncle Dan.  This little one was the star of the show, especially in her head-to-toe Hokie gear.

 Daddy took a quick time out from manning the grill to snap a quick family photo.  We could not believe our luck with the beautiful weather.

 It doesn't matter how long it's been, it's always great to see all the German Club guys (and girls, and families) at the tailgate, and we were so happy to fit right back in the mix.

 While the guys went to the stadium, Kristen, Kelli, Lornie and I stayed back with the kiddos.  Evan, Harper and Gretchen were busy little bees during the game, though not actually watching any football.

 After the game was over, we parted ways with Daddy while he attended his work training. Gretchen and I spent the rest of the weekend with Gran, Poppa and family.  Gretchen was especially enamored with the pups, Buckley and Baxter, way more so now than when we saw them back in August.  She especially loved to pat their fur, and luckily, they were happy to oblige.

 Gretchen was thoroughly spoiled throughout the visit, with lots of snuggles from everyone, she's a super fun snuggler, as captured in the photos below. 

Big hugs for my girl

Snuggles with Uncle Dan

And a few more from Uncle Ted

 We spent the remainder of the trip up in Northern Virginia with Grammy, Papa and Uncle Chris where we had a few relaxing days.  A few highlights were me going out for a girl's night with Cara and Stephanie, visiting with our friend Ellen and meeting up with previous boss Louise and her husband John who drove down from Maryland.  I fortunately got this nice picture of Gretchen with Louise, though I unfortunately did not get any other photos to document the week. 

Aunt Louis gave Gretchen this precious apple jumper when she was born

 As usual, we had a great time, everyone was incredibly helpful with taking care of our little peanut.  Honestly, the help and support that our families give us really make these trips worth while.  We certainly missed Daddy throughout the week, but took comfort in knowing that he was undoubtedly getting more sleep than I was.  Let's hope our luck continues and our December travels are just as smooth, as usual, it will all depend on our little traveling girl.