The Adventures of Anne & Charlie: Car Trip

I have been slacking on the blog entries. Where does the time go? It seems like while taking care of Anne we are busy all day long and yet accomplish nothing. It is, however, rewarding. Anne is now 5 weeks, 4 days old and is starting to become more than just bodily functions. She is awake more of the time, looking around and taking in the world. Today we visited the doctor and Anne weighed in a 10 lbs 10 oz, near the top of the range for her age. She measures 60 cm long (~2 feet), which is quite long for a baby her age.

We spent the last couple weeks travelling and visiting the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, including Auntie Laura who was visiting from Alberta for a whole week! Highlights include:

Two amazing car rides with Anne. On the way to Grandma and Grandpa G's we made the 5.5+ hour car trip with only one half-hour stop to change and feed Anne. The rest of the time she slept. On the way back from Grandma and Grandpa B's we made the entire 5 hour car ride with NO stops. Anne slept right up until the last half hour, during which we fed her and then endured 10 heart-wrenching minutes of crying while we were stuck in traffic.
Anne meeting most of the extended family members on both sides on Easter Sunday. Unfortunately she was extremely fussy that day and so did not put on the greatest show.
A visit from our friends Pam and Jamie. Pam (the baby-whisperer) showed us how to magically calm Anne by holding her and doing squats. This has led to much relief from crying and lots of muscle pain. :)
Max learned to say Anne's name ("AnAnAnAn") although he didn't quite master Aunt "Sue" or Aunt "Lo". Max also learned to do squats just like Aunt Sue and Uncle Jeff.
Grandma B claiming that Anne intentionally smiled at her (for the first time) on Monday. Jeff claimed the same on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure that they are mistaken and that she intentionally smiled at Mom for the first time on Wednesday.

Almost everyone was sick during the trip, so the rest of the time was spent taking care of babies, watching movies, and playing Innovation (a new card game that Gus and Greta introduced us to).

Here are some photos for your enjoyment: