First, I’d like to send Aunt Claire a Happy Birthday shoutout! Thanks for letting me celebrate with you!
Ok, it’s official, my parents are crazy. I’m exactly 12 days old, and they decided it was a good idea to take me on a 276 mile road trip down to Bloomington, IL. Since I had been so cranky the night before, they rescheduled my 8:00 feeding to 7:30 and we were rolling out of the garage by 8:00.
Dad drives SO FAST. Man. We got down to Bloomington by 10:00. I’d comment on the lovely, I’m sure, landscape of Illinois that we drove through, but I slept for exactly 100% of the way there and 100% of the way back. I loved it, and I’m pretty sure the six other people in the Chrysler Aspen they rented did too.
I finally discovered what was in Bloomington that would make such a trip worthwhile: more family! Most of Mom’s family lives in southern Illinois and six people made the trip up to Bloomington just to meet me: Great-Grandma Droste, Great-Aunt Debbie, Great-Uncle Mark, Great-Aunt Joanne, and two cousins, Sam and Hunter. Everyone was so excited to meet me!
It was so wonderful to meet Great-Grandma Droste, who had been praying for me for months before she even knew me. We took a four-generation picture with me, Mom, Grandpa Droste, and Great-Grandma. And my cousin Hunter was so cool! He’s the closest family member to my age (he’s in second grade!) and he did such a good job holding me.
After the uneventful ride back home we had Aunt Claire’s birthday dinner, which involved a grease fire in the oven and a cloud of smoke throughout the house. After that we had birthday cake and Oberweis ice cream (chocolate peanut butter, of course).
Much to the relief of Mom and Dad, I went to sleep pretty much on time (in Dad’s lap, after Dad himself fell asleep in my glider). I only slept until around 5:00 am, when I was just too hungry to take it anymore. I ate and then napped and snacked for a couple more hours. I’ve already heard Mom and Dad strategizing about how to restructure my sleep patterns — talk about micromanaging!
margaretyagan 
Maggie,
We so enjoyed seeing you for the first time. You are one sweet, cuddly girl! Hunter loves looking at the pics that we took while we were there! He is still talking about how sweet you are! Your parents are doing a wonderful job! Can hardly wait to see you again!
Hugs and Kisses,
Uncle Mark, Aunt Joanne, Sam, and Hunter