The Pucci Family (minus two doggies
..that we were not ready to handle just yet
) headed to Champaign this past weekend to celebrate my sister Kayla's graduation from U of I. Now that she has her Bachelor's Degree, she has decided to heed the eloquent advice of Mr. T (that Ben quoted in her graduation card -- "Don't be a Fool...Stay in School!") and will head to the D.C. area this fall and further her education in the area of education (i.e. she is going to get her Master's in Education). That's a lot of education. We are very proud of Auntie Kayla and know she will succeed in anything she does.
Griffin was very well behaved on his first road trip and only had one meltdown in the car, which was only because he was hungry. We cannot blame him, as daddy had a meltdown, too, before we found him a McDonalds. :) But a little sustenance helped everyone and the trip continued quite smoothly. We went down on Friday night to my grandparents' in Decatur and then headed over to Champaign Saturday morning (back to Decatur that evening for some more family time). Ben and I commented on the way home that the "parenting on the go" went quite well, and we were definitely able to manage the feedings/soothings/changings/pumpings/hauling of baby stuff while being out and about.
G-man even lasted through about 1/2 of the graduation ceremony until he got hungry (or until he faked hungry...let's be honest, I think we all were looking for an excuse to bolt after hearing some of the run-on-should-be-three-sentences-long-completely-useless-doctoral-thesis titles that the faculty would be foolish not to list separately for each student...or the major unnecessary ego boosts that the faculty felt they had to continuously exchange with one another). He was pretty quiet, but did not like the applause too much, and really didn't like the superfluous air-horn blowing (at a college graduation? c'mon!). So G had a snack at Assembly Hall in an elevator lounge and was good to go until the time came to cheer for Auntie Kayla.
Ben was very good at keeping G entertained, and at one point pondered the reality -- here he was, in a college town on a weekend; if you had asked him a while ago what he would be doing, it's likely that he would have guessed he would be sitting in a bar with a pitcher in his hand deciding whether he should stay where he is, or go to a bar with better specials. Instead, however, he was walking the concessions of Assembly Hall, wearing a Baby Bjorn with a baby afghan around his neck...an empty bottle of breast milk in his pocket and a pacifier backwards in his mouth searching for the best place to accomplish a diaper change. That realization combined with the fact that neither of us were carded when we went out to get some lunch and celebrate with Kayla was new to us...but we managed. My how times change. :)
Feeding G at Assembly Hall with the aforementioned gear
All ready to go (G was a little apprehensive about all of the people he'd see)
Grandpa Bill with G
Napping with Auntie K...graduating is hard work! As you may be able to see from this shot, Daddy packed my IU pajamas to remind me where my first loyalties lie
Meeting Great Grandpa Henry and Great Grandma Lea for the first time, and being vocal about it. Yes, my collar is popped -- isn't that what the cool college kids do these days?
Grandma Cathy was very excited to spend the weekend with me
It's hard to belive that Griffin is now four weeks old...he has changed so much in the last month! He is doing much better with his sleeping patterns (still up periodically throughout the night, but in a more predictable routine). His favorite activity is still EATING, and when he is hungry he certainly lets us know. It's crazy when he meets people for the first time and they comment on how little he is...to us, he feels so BIG! He is already outgrowing some of his clothes, and if the fit of his clothes is any indication, he seems to be growing quite a bit longer. He is also starting to interact a little bit more with us, which is really a lot of fun...we love watching him coo and bat at the hanging toys on his playmat and his expressions are adorable. And of course mommy still loooves the cuddle time! :) 
