Whirlwind Week in Indy

As promised, I have pictures to share from my wonderful week in Indianapolis! My main purpose for going out there was for this:

Benjamin Andrew Hannan - Nephew #5

Benjamin was born right before Thanksgiving and this was my first opportunity to meet him. He's gone through a lot during his first two months, and it was so hard for me to not just hop on a flight right away to be with him and my sister!! Now that he's home, he is making such progress and I wanted to smoosh him all week long. How can you resist a baby who meets you at the airport sporting his Terrapin pride? I won't bore you with all the details of the week, but it chockabock full of smiles, giggles, snuggles, and naps with this one.

"What is this crazy lady doing to my foot?"

Sound asleep....

I love the expression on his face...and the outfit is just too cute!

"Okay lady, you look a lot like my mom, but you're not, and I'm HUNGRY! I'll just suck on my hand for now, but I want my Mom!!!"

He gave BIG smiles the whole time I was there. However, he reserves
the biggest ones for his big brother.

Speaking of his brother, my 4-year old nephew, Noah, is just wonderful with his baby brother. He's always ready to come running with a burp cloth and to find the pacifier that's been missing for 2 days. He dotes on his brother with lots of hugs and kisses all the time. He also likes to...

give piggy-back rides!!!

On one of the days, I was giving Noah a bath while my sister was finishing feeding Benjamin. During that time, Benjamin proceeded to "erp" up a lot of what he had eaten all over himself. So, my sister being the quick thinking mom stripped him down to his diaper and gave him an impromptu bath with his brother. Noah loved it!

I did manage to get a little knitting time in while I was there. I've been working on Benjamin's blanket for about a month now, but it's no where near finished. Some might say it takes away the surprise of the gift to show it to the recipient before it's done, but I couldn't resist. I'm having so much fun with the Renee Baby Blanket that VeryPink designed that I had to bring it with me to show my sister. If you haven't seen this pattern, check it out. There is a great story behind it which makes it even more special!! I'm using Tess' Super Socks and Baby hand-dyed yarn. This is my first experience with hand-dyed yarn, so I was a bit surprised and concerned when the dye starting to come off on my fingers, but after some quick emails to Tess and my fellow knitters, I relaxed. I'm going to have to do some washing to set the color before I block the whole thing. But I think he'll like it...what do you think?

"Aunt Bri - it may only be 1/3 done, but I love it!"

The other highlights of the week included eating lots of yummy food while watching the Giants roll over the Packers. Here you can see Noah all set for the game...

I have always been amazed by my older sister, but this week in Indy just made me admire her even more. She has 2 children that she gives all of her time to, and what little is left over she gives to her husband, and she still manages to maintain her sanity. I was so exhausted at the end of each day and I would just look over at Ann and she looked like she could continue to go for hours more! She is an amazing mom!!! Not to mention, one hell of a sister! How many moms do you know that can do this:

Playing Guitar Hero while feeding your child

That week just makes me want to work that much harder to get done with school and move closer. I miss playing CandyLand and Tractor Tipping (see the Cars movie) with Noah. I miss waking up and having a nice breakfast of Cheerios and milk, just me and Noah. I really miss the snuggles, giggles, and smiles from Benjamin. But most of all...I miss my sister!