Pictures from Illinois, Pt. 1

A month or so back, Young Old, Mama K, Auntie Ren, Uncle Railroad, and meself headed out East, on The Boy's first plane trip, to visit Mama K's family in Illinois. Flying into Chicago, we rented a car and headed south to the small town of Macomb...Young Old handled the long hours of travel like a G, barely fussing, soaking in all the new sights and sounds, loving all the extra time with Mama K, and just basically have a great time. Arriving in Macomb, Young Old quickly touched all his relatives' hearts with his loving charm (and a generous dose of vomit). He handled the dozens of new faces extremely well, soaking up all the attention as he was passed from hand to hand, and delighted in meeting another baby born only a few days before him. It was good times for all, a true midwestern experience, with time spent at The Pub eating fried things smothered in cheese sauce, walks to the town square, tears shed over the death of the local Made-Rite burger shop/health inspector's nightmare, innumberable cans of PBR and Busch Light consumed, and the amazing experience that is the All-American Chili Cook-Off.

All in all, a great experience for the little one, though, goddamn, if it wasn't the dal-garn hardest thing to get him back on his sleep/feed/shit routine once we returned. We're only now coming back into focus around these here parts.

Anyway, thanks folks for the hospitality and the love. Young Old misses you already.

The inevitable barrage of pictures, with more to come tomorrow:

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Young Old enjoying his first visit with Great Grandma J.

Auntie Ren feeding Young Old the contents of his previous diaper. We're all about recycling in the Northwest.

Young Old demonstrating the proper way to play with the new toy Great Aunt Mo bestowed upon him.

That's a mischievous grin if I've ever seen one.

Lap time with Great Aunt Janis.

A moment alone amidst the writhing chaos that is a family reunion.

Great Aunt Marsha getting some baby love.

"You guys feast on delicious homemade chili, while I get to gnaw on plastic. What's up with that?"