Trip to Nebraska

We took a trip to Nebraska for a party for Jarrod's farewell as he leaves for bootcamp and Libby's college graduation. We stayed at the Dickes' with the Becker's in Lincoln and had a great time! It was exhausting, but wonderful. We got in Thursday evening in time to hang out a little before bed time. Cecilia was wonderful on the drive. Hannah drove and Ben rode in back with Cecilia. She took 2 two-hour naps and played happily the rest of the time. The great drive was followed by a terrible night. Cecilia does not sleep well in new places, and she was scared and unsettled Thursday night.
Although we were all tired, we still had a great day Friday. Cecilia had eggs for the first time when Sara cooked an awesome breakfast. Then, we went to Omaha and Cecilia charmed everyone at Oma's work and we took great family pictures with Oma, Aunt Allison, Aunt Libby, and Uncle Jarrod. After that, Cecilia delighted in eating Spanish rice. We soon headed back to Lincoln to spend the evening with Grandpa Yount. Cecilia is very wary of men, so it took some time for her to get used to Grandpa Yount. She was playing with him by the time we left, though. That night was some terrible weather, and Cecilia got to experience her first storm on the plains. Although there were tornados around the area, none got close. After seeing Grandpa Yount, Oma and Aunt Arlene sat with the kids and Ben and Hannah joined Sara and Joe for some adult time at the home of one of Sara's friends. It was fun to have some time with grown-ups, but we were thankful to get some sleep. Cecilia slept very well on Friday night - probably from exhaustion!
Saturday was the party, and it was very busy! We helped get things ready, and then the whole family came to the Dickes' house to celebrate. Unfortunately, Cecilia was about done with meeting new people and was still tired. There always seem to be new situations that require us to stretch our parenting skills. Cecilia stayed close to us the whole day, and we did manage to get her to take a 45 minute nap. Even though Cecilia was unsettled that night, we managed to spend some good time with the family. Jarrod stayed all night, and it was good to be together playing games and hanging out. We probably won't get another chance to do this again for a long while, and it was special for all of us. However, it was another rough night with the baby (not as bad as Thursday), so we were all tired on Sunday.
After gathering ourselves together on Sunday, we ate a late breakfast with Oma and Aunt Allison before hitting the road. Hannah started out, but needed a break after about an hour so Ben drove for a hundred miles. Refreshed from a nap, Hannah resumed driving for the rest of the trip. Even though he wasn't driving, Daddy did not have it easy in the backseat with the baby. The weekend had taken its toll on Cecilia and she was a lot fussier on the way home. Ben spent a couple of hours singing to her, which she loves. She took a short nap at the beginning, but didn't sleep much the rest of the trip. Around her bedtime, she fell asleep for a couple hours but woke up when we got home. That got her excited!
Cecilia was SO glad to be home! She was so happy to see Na-naw, Paw-paw, and her toys that she couldn't hardly contain herself. We decided to dress her for bed and let her calm down before we even attempted bedtime. She raced around her toys and was kicking and literally bouncing. It took about an hour for her to calm to a more normal level. We skipped bath and did the rest of the bedtime routine, but it did take a while to get her down. It took a few days for all of us to catch up on sleep and we took part of Monday off to recuperate. Cecilia slept with us for a couple of days. She does not like change, just like her Daddy, so we'll have quite an adjustment when we move. We are so thankful, though, that she clings to us and can be content with Mommy and Daddy near.
Congrats to Libby, Goodluck to Jarrod, and THANK YOU to Aunt Arlene and the Beckers. We love you all and are so thrilled we got to see you! It was a wonderful trip and we would love to post the pictures we took, but they are all on Oma and Allison's cameras. So, guys ... can you send them to me?