Week 2

What a week! One major accomplishment of Week 2 was our first official "outing" with Colin when we went to Karen's haircut and highlighting appointment (it could not be missed with Lisa's wedding coming up!). We planned the entire day's most important events, i.e., feeding and diaper changing, around the appointment. We arrived early, parked in the parking structure where Karen fed and Gabe changed him, Karen ran to the appointment while the boys went to Champs to catch a game, and then Karen ran back down to the car just about when Colin was ready to eat again...Karen fed, Gabe changed, and we were on our way back home! We felt like real pros. :)

As the week progressed, we got to know Colin a little better each day. We definitely got a kick out of all the funny faces he makes!

His (nasty) umbilical cord fell off (THANK GOODNESS!).

Gabe had to go back to work during Week 2. On his first day back, he got there by noon - oops. On top of that (plus taking care of little C), we also started getting ready for the big Minnesota trip. Between running necessary errands (like Karen's dress purchasing and fitting appointment and diaper run emergencies) and packing, there was no time for anyone to sleep...literally. We figured out that in the 48 hours before arriving in MN, Karen slept 4 hours and Gabe slept 7. Needless to say, we were overjoyed to see Grandma and Grandpa McGinnis when we landed in Milwaukee!

We stared our roadtrip from Milwaukee to Minneapolis with Grandma and Grandpa on Thursday morning. We stopped every few hours, and each person took a job - Karen fed, Grandma burped, and then the "Diaper Dudes" in the front seat changed the mess...

When we got to Minneapolis, we got to see everyone at the rehearsal dinner where Gabe hung out in the designated "Dads and Babies" area for a while while Karen abandoned them and started heavily drinking red wine. The dinner was delicious, and Lisa and Greg were already having a blast, of course. They were born to be a bride and groom! That first night we got one of the best presents anyone could give two new, deliriously-tired parents...SLEEP!! Grandma and Grandpa McGinnis took Colin for the night, and we slept SIX HOURS in a row! Here's a picture of Grandpa bringing Colin back to our room the next morning (after his trip to the gym, that health nut!).

That day, the fun continued when Karen got her nails done with the bride, Gabe got to work out for the first time in weeks, and then Colin got to spend time with his Aunt Julie and meet his Auntie Sarah D in town from Denver!

That night, the three of us braved the -40 degree weather and walked (with a little help from the Minneapolis skywalk) over to the bar to meet the bride and groom and all their friends and family. Colin was a hit with the ladies!

The next day was the wedding day! Colin was lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the bride in the hotel lobby on her way to the beauty salon - she was happy already!!

Then Gabe and Colin had fun hanging out with the Hemmings...Colin is determined to catch up to Carter in size and cuteness!

We don't have a single picture from the wedding or reception, but boy did we have a blast! And Colin wore his new tux for the celebration. This pic was taken earlier in the week while he was trying to decide what to wear...

We had so much fun at one of the best receptions in the history of the world. And with the help of lots of family and friends, we got to relax with some drinks and lots of dancing to celebrate with the bride and groom. And the end of the night, Grandma and Grandpa McGinnis flew in with another amazing gift - MORE SLEEP!! They were having an after party in their room with all their friends, so we dropped off Colin to join the party animals and we hit the sack...FOR NINE HOURS OF SLEEP!! There are no words for a stretch like that. And this time we got coffee with the return of our baby. Amazing. We never could have pulled off such a successful weekend without the endless good advice from super mom, Jamie. Most critical - tips on pumping and using a different bottle that Colin could actually drink out of! THANK YOU Mama A! :) On Sunday, we headed back to Milwaukee for a night of fun with Grandma Kay and Grandpa Jim, as well as Aunt Christine! One of the best lines of the night was when Colin started fussing and sticking out a pouty lip, and Jim said, "Hey, he looks like you, Gabe!" The next morning, we headed to the airport for our flight back home (filling no less than 7 buckets in the security line again!). What a fantastic wedding weekend! Not to mention crash course in baby. In the span of four short days, we definitely learned to let go of (at least some of) our neurotic new parent worries and just go with the flow, with little C proving to be a lot tougher than we ever imagined. And after that experience, we feel like we can go anywhere and do just about anything with him!