Ok, ok, this newsletter is really late, but I have really good excuses. We were on the mainland visiting our family for most of October. Then when we got home our brand new computer died.

     Before we left for the mainland one of Todd's customers took us out to dinner at the Ke'ei Cafe. Tom and Donna are a great couple. They insisted that they take us including Josephine out to dinner. She was a well behaved baby and didn't not cry at all. Before dinner we went to Kona Stories and bought Josephine's first book. We purchased Curious George and the Puppies. On October 4, Josephine rolled from her belly to her back.

     It was hard getting ready to take such a long trip. This was the first time Todd was going back to the mainland and it was Josephine's first plane ride. Right before we left, Buddy got a large sore on his nose so Todd took him to the vet. The vet thinks Buddy may have a form of lupus. Poor Jodi has to try to give Buddy large antibiotic pills. He is very suspicious of the peanutbutter jar now. He used to love peanutbutter and now he thinks there is a pill lurking in the treat. He is right. Also before we left, our Iron Man guests arrived. They were a nice family. Mahalo to Jodi and Joe for taking care of our guests while we were in Pennsylvania.

     Our trip was good except we had plane scheduling and just plane issues. That is sort of a funny pun that I wasn't even trying to write. First issue, they moved our flight up to leave an hour earlier. After we got on the plane, United decided that the plane was broken. It could be fixed but not fast enough to make east coast connecting flights. So we got off the plane and booked onto another plane. They had to go get our stroller from the other plane. Our luggage stayed on the other plane. Luckily we sat together on the plane. We arrived in LA just in time for our connecting flight. We had no pee or diaper change break. Our flight was already boarding. We didn't need the diaper break since Josephine already pooped on plane number one which was really plane number two (in more ways than one). Our first (broken) plane had changing tables, however the second plane did not. The grumpy old stewardess told me she changed her kids without changing tables so I can do it. So Josephine, Todd and I went into the bathroom. Todd sat on the toilet and placed J on his lap. We changed her poop diaper. Todd did well since he doesn't like changing poopy diapers in large ventilated areas. It was chilly in the Philly airport so when we arrived, I dressed Josephine in her first pair of long pants, long sleeved shirt and socks. Dad and Al picked us up. J smiled and laughed at Poppy as soon as she saw him. Todd and I ate some absolutely delicious Philly soft pretzels in the car on the way to Nazareth which was J's longest car ride to date.

     On our first day in Nazareth, we visited Uncle Scott who met J for the first time and also Grandma. J also met Uncle Scott's big dog, Chevy who thinks he is a little lap dog. That night we ate yummy real Italian pizza. J met Aunt Sissy, Al and her cousins, Tyler and Casey for the first time. Oh by the way, besides the poop, J did great on the planes. She didn't cry and didn't seem to have any trouble with her ears.

     Before we left for the mainland, we started putting J down in her own crib at night to sleep. J cried and so did mommy. On our first Saturday night at my parents' house, we decided to put J down in her crib and not give in. Everyone told us she would cry 45 minutes to 1 hour maximum. Well, J cried for 2 hours and 20 minutes. I am glad we had the support of my parents since it was as hard on us as it was on the baby. Each night after, she cried less.

     While on our trip, J went to her first shopping mall. She liked the stroller ride and having a snack in the shoe department. We stayed at my parents for half our visit and at Todd's parents for the other half. Right about half way through the trip, we went to Scranton to have J baptized at Todd's parents' church. J looked beautiful in her dress. Aunt Sissy, Uncle Scott, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jim were her godparents. The ceremony was very nice. The priest was gentle and kind. She enjoyed his shiny tall hat. Todd's parents threw her a wonderful party after at Todd's cousins' restaurant. The Italian food was delicious. The cake was pretty and the cookie favors were so cute. They were little baptism dresses. Thank you so much to everyone that came to the baptism. It was a special day that I am glad we spent with family. It was also J's first hotel stay. We stayed two nights so J could meet and visit with her cousins Sarah and Jessica and her Aunt Lisa and Uncle Jim. We also visited Great-Grandma and Aunt Jeanne before we went back to Nazareth. The fall foilage was beautiful on the way back to Nazareth from Scranton. Scranton is in the mountains so the trees change earlier in the year.

     We did so much and visited so much that I will be typing forever to include everything. Don't be offended if I don't write about something. We had a great time. It is just hard to recount everything in the newsletter. I went into work several days. It was really, really hard. I think any woman that goes back into the office full time and continues to breastfeed deserves a medal. I couldn't make it the whole day. I brought the breastpump, but it is hard to do that in the bathroom. It was nice to see my co-workers in person again. My friend, Pete was so nice to have a crepe party at his house for us. Pete lived in France for several years so he makes really good crepes. We were able to visit with everyone from my work including their significant others. We also got to see some friends that we have not seen in a long time. We met Scott and Maureen's twin boys. We say Amy, Dave and their girls Megan and Sarah.

     Of course we ate lots of good pizza while were in Pennsylvania. Josie slept through her first trip to a real pizzeria. I think some of the times I most enjoyed on our trip were taking walks with Josephine, Grandma, Grammy and Aunt Sissy. The time we spent at the grandparents' homes playing with J on the floor and just hanging out was the most enjoyable. Those are the times I most miss being far away. Daddy got to quench his gambling thirst. He went to Atlantic City with his parents. Unfortunately, he didn't win any money.

     Our flight was cancelled on October 30th and re-scheduled to the 31st. I couldn't get us seat assignments online nor could Todd get them when he called United. Air travel is such a pain now. Thank goodness Todd's mom drove us down to Philly to stay overnight in a hotel near the airport so we could check in early. Right before we left Nazareth, Todd's dad got sick and shared it with Todd. On the flight to California, we sat next to a nice guy from Philly whose wife was having their first baby in a few weeks. The next flight was not full so we got to have an empty seat between us. Joe and Jodi picked us up. They brought us leis, even one for J. It was wonderful to visit, but just as wonderful to come home. On a sad note, our friends Anna and Kale and their baby Isabella moved back to Boston. They moved on the 30th so we didn't get to see them one last time. We will miss you. We didn't get to have a baby and doggie play date at Ke'ei Beach.