Nanook of the South

It has been a while since my parents saw Oliver - almost two months. While I call each week (what a good son), I've been bad about remembering to add pictures to the online gallery (what a bad son) and there is really only so much that you can get from pictures anyway. My wife and I were supposed to travel up a couple of weeks ago, but I screwed up the date and bought tickets for the wrong day. Long story short - this weekend we're taking the train up to see my parents who are looking forward to seeing us.

I don't know that the enthusiasm is matched from this end of the state though. My wife is not really thrilled with spending the whole weekend with my folks. She likes them well enough but finds them easier to take in small doses. Two full days is just about enough. To be fair we spend more time with her family, but generally that does come in smaller doses.

This morning I packed a bag of clothes for Oliver and I, a bag for my wife, the diaper bag stuffed to the gills with diapers, the day care bag, snacks for the train ride, lunches for work, my work bag, my wife's laptop, my wife's breast pump, the car seat, and my wife and son into the car. Some of that will be redeposited before we leave, but I still feel like I should pack some fish in case our polar expedition runs aground somewhere. We're definitely a far cry from a recreational jaunt to Chicago. I like seeing my parents, but it was much easier travelling when we didn't have to load down the car like we were never coming back.

I hope we like the train trip. This will be a bit of a new experience - on a train with a baby. If the trip goes well, this could be a journey that we end up taking frequently. At least until Oliver can sit still for a car trip - so until he's 25 or so.