The Duffy Family: Nate's First Big Trip

We have been quite a busy family lately! My cousin, Meredith, married her high school sweetheart, Greg, in College Station, Texas last weekend, and we flew out to the wedding last Wednesday. Nate was such a great traveler and such a trooper. We sure did drag the little guy through a lot over the course of six days and he only complained a little! He has really become such a happy, laid back baby lately.
We flew into Houston last Wednesday, rented a car, and drove to The Woodlands to spend the night with my dad's brother, Uncle David, and my Aunt Kay. We had not seen them in a couple years and had a fun time catching up with them. And of course, they enjoyed meeting Nate for the first time. Nate actually slept 10 hours straight for the first time (and only time) that night! He also slept right through take-off and landing on the plane and never complained when I had to carry him through the airport strapped to my chest.

Thursday, we drove to College Station to introduce Nate to my mom's sister's family for the first time. We enjoyed hanging out with my aunt, cousins, sister and brother-in-law, Mimi, and my parents. I stayed busy with showers and parties for Meredith most of the time, so Nate got to spend a lot of time hanging out with the guys. Meredith and Greg's wedding was so beautiful and sweet, and we had a really great time. Nate slept until the organ piped up with the Trumpet Voluntary as Meredith walked down the aisle, so Ben and Nate watched from the lobby! By the time we got to the reception, he had had enough wedding fun for the weekend and was pretty cranky. We ended up leaving the reception a little early since Nate wasn't too fond of the DJ's music.

Sunday, we drove back to Houston in hopes of getting on a plane headed home. Ben's dad works for Delta airlines, and one of the perks is that we can fly cheap using Buddy Passes. The downside is that we have to fly standby, and getting on a plane on a weekend in the summer sometimes proves difficult. So after we had turned in our rental car and sat in the airport for a while, we realized we were not going to get home that day. So we had to rent a car for another day, drive back to The Woodlands, and spend another night with Aunt Kay and Uncle David. That was a very frustrating day just because I felt sorry that Nate had to be drug around and kept out of his routine for another day. All in all, we packed and unpacked four times in one week! We were so grateful though that we had wonderful family nearby who were very happy to see us for another night! So Monday morning, we put Nate back in the car at 3:45 a.m. and drove back to the airport to catch a 6:00 flight. We were back at our house by 8:30! Nate took a great two-hour nap (which he has never done) and allowed Ben and me to get some much needed rest as well. We had a great trip and loved being able to introduce Nate to both sides of my family. I am so proud of what a good boy he was during the trip!

Also, last Tuesday Nate and I got to have lunch with one of my favorite patients, Ava. Ava and her family were in town for the week, and Ava has been looking forward to meeting Nate for a long time. She had so much fun holding him, and it was nice catching up with her family. I only have one more month of maternity leave left and I am already sad about having to leave Nate. He is growing so fast, and we are having so much fun with him!