Gagabber: Huxley Meets the Family

Our first trip home to introduce Huxley to the family surpassed all expectations. Jeff and I hadn't been home in over a year and a half so we were excited for a dose of America and of course overjoyed to show off our amazing baby. We knew that the 20+ hours of travel with a baby would be tough so we buckled up for anything that would come our way and had bags and bags of diapers, wipes, burp bibs, toys, extra outfits, etc. Before our flight from Taipei to SFO, we didn't even think to buy extra waters and wow breastfeeding on an airplane for 12 hours can really dehydrate a rookie mom. Jeff and I took turns sneaking back to the kitchen area to grab the extra 8 oz water bottles. We won't make that mistake again! We focused so much on the flights that we didn't think much about baby jet lag and how big of a challenge that would be. Luckily all of Hux's lost sleep was made up for in extra love and cuddles from family.

Leaving Taichung

Gone are the days of traveling with just a carry on. On the way back we had 2 additional bags!

Hux is ready for his first plane ride

He managed to sleep a few hours in the bassinet, seems miraculous that he didn't feel claustrophobic

Hux was excited to meet everyone and managed to push past his exhaustion in order to charm his new admirers. We recruited my parents to baby sit one night and Jeff and I hit the town for our first date in several months. We arrived home in time to witness the little man polish off the last of 15 ounces of breast milk that we left with Grandma and Pap Pap. This number doesn't mean much to most people, but it is a LOT for a 3 month baby to eat in just 2 hours. We were hoping it would translate to a full nights sleep but the jet lag still got the better of us. While we were in Carson, we also managed to take a trip up to Lake Tahoe and didn't take even a single picture. I give you my word that it was beautiful.

Meeting Desta and the cousins

Nap time with Cousin Morgan

Cuddles with Great Grandma

Bundled up for the snowy weather

Snow strollin'

First time facing forward in the carrier, Hux was thrilled to take in the view

For our short time in Portland, Jeff found us a great BnB with 2 bedrooms so we could stay together with Grandma G. She checked out every single children's library book in Salem and took on story time. He's going to be reading in no time! We caught up with our friends one night at the delicious Mexican restaurant Xico - yummmm. We also made it to the employee store where Grammy bought Hux his first pair of air maxes. They are adorable but getting shoes on a baby requires a lot of patience and is often followed by one falling off within the first 10 minutes. Jeff also took us all on an outing to eat at some food carts and walk around the park under St. John's bridge. What a beautiful neighborhood and such a nice ending to our 3 week trip that flew by. We arrived home exhausted but so glad we made the trip and very happy to be reunited with Oolong.