Whirlwind Weekend

At the beginning of August we took our first big trip (by "big" I mean, traveling with the Tiny Little Super Guy) back to Chicago. The purpose of this trip was multi-faceted:

1. Caiden's baptism
2. Attend the wedding of one of B's childhood friends (bonus date night!)
3. Introduce Caiden to his great-grandparents

Of course, this meant that our short time there positively FLEW by and we were back on a plane bound for Seattle before we knew it. :( But still, we had such a fun time and got to see so many wonderful people during our stay!

We got in late Thursday night and flew into Midway. We booked our trip out on Southwest and were very relieved that our flight was on time and all our luggage arrived in tact. (Holy CRAP you have to lug a lot more gear when traveling with a baby!) Caiden did really well on the flight and we even managed to score an extra seat at no charge so we could strap in his car seat and use it as needed. I nursed him on the ascent and descent so his ears didn't hurt him and he napped for about 1/3 of the flight. As we were landing he became positively fascinated with the lights outside the plane and could not pull his gaze away from the window. :)

Friday B's grandparents, aunt and uncle drove up from Missouri/Florida to visit for the weekend and meet Caiden for the first time. Here's a photo of the 4 generations on B's side of the family:



That afternoon was the Fry/Clark wedding to which we brought Caiden. He did great during the ceremony and he even got the special privilege of seeing the bride just before the ceremony! We dropped him off back home with Aunt Barb and Uncle Jess and then headed back out for the reception. Here's a link to photos from the wedding.

Saturday afternoon Amy, Patrick and Jerry came up to the Ducheks' so that they could meet Caiden. We had a fun BBQ that afternoon, and one of B's old high school friends stopped by for a visit.

On Sunday we made the trek up to Arlington Heights for Caiden's baptism at St. Peter Lutheran Church. This is the church/school I grew up in, was baptized at and married in. I am really happy we were able to baptize Caiden there. My best friend Summer (Caiden's godmother) and her husband and parents made the trip in from MN and WI, and my dear friend Erin found a way to get out to the 'burbs for the ceremony and celebration! Caiden was on his best behavior for the baptism and for much of the church service. Pastor Andrada did a lovely job and even incorporated Caiden into his sermon. We had quite the crowd present for the ceremony! :D





After the ceremony, we drove out to my mom's house for the celebration. It was awesome having so many of our family and friends there!! Photo link from the baptism and party.





My sister Cathy took Monday off to hang out with us. (Who am I kidding? We parents have taken a backseat. She just wanted to get her fill of Caiden. :) ) and we hit some favorite local spots for food and shopping. Tuesday was full of visits from more friends and family, and all to soon we were packing up and getting ready for our trip back home. Up at the butt-crack of dawn on Wednesday morning, we were on the road by 6:15am for our 8am flight back - better odds of an on time flight out of O'Hare when you are the first flight of the day! Once again, Caiden was a happy baby on the airplane and we made it home safe, sound and no worse for the wear.

Did I mention we now have a Biker Baby?


Here's a link to pics from the rest of the trip. Enjoy!