Thanksgiving Week

Since I am still on maternity leave, it seemed a perfect opportunity for a nice long visit to St. Louis for the holiday.  Because Greg is, of course, NOT on maternity leave, we decided to journey to Missouri seperately.  I flew in with Parker on Sunday and Greg drove in with Otis on Tuesday/Wednesday.  I was a bit nervous about flying with the Little Miss by myself, but she did amazing!  Thank goodness she loves the Baby Bjorn, because I had her in that most of my travel day.  She slept the entire first flight to our layover in Chicago.  I fed her in the airport in between flights and then she actually was awake most of the second flight from Chicago to St. Louis.  She just looked across the aisle at the people sitting there and I think she liked the bright light coming in the windows.  One plus to flying in and out of Rochester is the use of smaller planes...they are louder and bumpier, perfect for most babies.  The change in pressure did not seem to bother Parker's ears at all.  I think she is destined to be a traveler!

On Tuesday night, all my St. Louis girlfriends and most of their kids came over to hang out and meet Parker.  Between the 7 of us (me, Jenny, Mary, Terri, Jennifer, Rachel, and Joy), we now have 16 children.  Five of them were not there that night and a few not in this picture, but you get the idea:

We were really lucky with the timing as the Rackers crew was just on their way out of town so we got to have a visit!  All my girls (these gatherings are few and far between):

 

Parker got to meet loads of relatives on Thanksgiving.  My best guess is that she was held by about 15 new people that day and she loved every minute of it.  Here are some photos from Thanksgiving "lunch" at Aunt Jan's:

 

 

For dessert, we had pie and fresh whipped cream.  Jack got a special serving of whipped cream and his Daddy suggested he could lick the plate, yum!

Thanks to my parents and the Claytons, Friday night was double date night for us.  This was the first time Greg and I have been out without Parker!  We had sushi at The Drunken Fish and then drinks at Pujols 5, good times.





We left St. Louis on Saturday and drove half way to Columbus, OH to visit/stay with Nate (friend of Greg's from college).  Parker and Otis did pretty great.  I did sit in the backseat the whole time, so not the most comfortable ride.  Nate and Angela and friends had tacos ready when we arrived.  Otis got lots of attention and trips to the park, so everyone was happy.  All in all, a very successful first major trip for Parker!!