Labor Day

I've been meaning to share our Labor Day weekend trip to Iowa, and Eli is currently taking a nap, so I thought now would be a good time! We were hoping to head up earlier, but because Mason had back-to-school workshops we had to wait until he got home. Since I have chosen to take some maternity leave I didn't have to attend the workshops, which didn't totally break my heart! ;) I have a handsome little man I got to hang out with instead!

Anyways, we got on the road slightly before five and were Iowa-bound! Surprisingly, we made it in almost exactly seven hours! We only had to stop twice to feed Eli, but honestly, we were ready for a break as well. And we would have gotten there much sooner, but it rained for the majority of the drive because of the hurricane, so we had to take it slow.

We ended up staying with JJ and Bailey at their new house, which is adorable! And I have to say that it was incredibly nice not having to drive all over Iowa and back again to see everyone. Instead, we stayed in Dunkerton on Saturday and everyone came to us! Eli not only got to watch his first Iowa game (they won!) but he also got to meet several family members, including great-grandparents, great aunts and uncles, and some cousins! He also got to meet some of our friends. That evening we went to the OP in Evansdale. Mason is slightly obsessed with the taco pizza they have so we had that for dinner. I do have to say, it's pretty tasty! Overall, it was wonderful getting to see everyone and we appreciate everyone who came over to visit!

After church on Sunday we went to Waterloo to visit my Grandma Olson in the hospital. For those who maybe didn't see my Facebook post, she fell and broke her left wrist and right shoulder and had to have surgery on both. Despite being in some pain, she seemed very upbeat and happy to have lots of family around. It is still going to be a long road to recovery for her, but she seems to be moving in the right direction!

Monday morning found us packing up once again. We were fortunate enough to have a beautiful drive home without any rain. And on top of that, Eli did very well - only two stops were made! We hope that he continues to enjoy long car rides since a lot of our family (especially mine) live a good distance away.

I didn't include all the pictures I took, but here are a few:

Eli doing his impression of Zoolander on the way to Iowa.

Watching the Iowa game. He was thrilled. ;)

Meeting Great Grandma Steffen

Meeting Great Grandma Olson

And one more quick update on Eli - at his two month appointment yesterday he weighed in at 11 pounds 1.1 ounces and is 22.8 inches long! He was a trooper and endured three shots like a champ, with only a minute or two of blood curdling wails! He is definitely a growing boy!

He has started smiling quite a bit, I just haven't been able to catch him on camera. Everytime I pull out the camera he stops. Little turd...