In NJ

On Sunday, Owen and I braved the 4-hour journey to NJ. I was quite nervous driving alone to NJ with Owen, but all went well. The weather was beautiful and the traffic was light -- a good combination for a long drive with a newborn. Owen nursed right before we left and immediately fell fast asleep in the car. He was content until I pulled over for a break about 2.5 hours into the trip. He was quite happy when I took him out of the car... he was smiling and laughing the whole time we were in bathroom! Then, when we got back to the car, he protested! It was easy enough, though... after nursing for a few minutes he was happy again and then slept peacefully until we got to Grandma & Grandpa's.

We were greeted by Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Denise. Aunt Denise helped me unpack the 9 million things from the car (you can never be sure what you'll need... I even brought the tub). I had quite a bit of laundry that I needed to do before going to bed (including my PJs and Owen's diapers). Aunt Denise was already using the washer (surprise, surprise) so I had to wait. Grandma made a nice chicken dinner and we all chatted and cared for Owen. It took some time to finish the laundry before going to bed for a much needed rest.

On Monday, Owen and I went to Aunt Sue and Uncle Al's to spend the day with Scott's family. The Warnasch's were generous enough to invite over Grandma Chrissy, Jerry, Aunt Barbara and Uncle Walt. It was so nice to see them all and introduce Owen. Everyone was happy to meet Owen and he was good most of the visit... not too much fussing. As if being with family wasn't good enough, we had some delicious NJ pizza for dinner and homemade cake for dessert.

We were back at Grandma and Grandpa's around 8 pm. Grandma spent time with Owen and we got ready for bed. Unfortunately, I must have had too much dairy with dinner and Owen was up much of the night crying - likely from gas. Since we didn’t sleep well, we lounged around napping until about 11:30 am today. I guess it really didn’t matter much since it was snowing and I didn’t feel like driving with him in such conditions.

We still don’t have a definite plan for the rest of the week. I hope to visit Joan tomorrow during the day. Also, I'd like to go shopping with Aunt Denise to find a dress for Alycia's wedding - we may go later today. I hope to see Angie, Michel and Marcel, too (and any other friends in NJ). I still want to go home via Brick to visit Babcia, however, all my lack-of-planning may go out the window because of the weather. We'll see...