Traveling, Baby Jesus, First Smile, and Sleeping through the Night

Dear Owen,
I am so sorry it's been a long time since I have written you a letter. Once you read this one, you will see how busy we've been and how the last part of my maternity leave has flown by. A couple days after my last entry, we flew to Chicago to see all your Grandparents. I was a little nervous about flying since you were only six weeks old, but I decided to go for it. We even had to change planes in Charlotte! I am proud to say that you slept like a champ through every leg of the trip and were admired by many different folks along the way. It wasn't easy to get through the airport with all your gear, but it wasn't as hard as I imagined either. Lots of people told me to to feed you during takeoff and landings. But you were so sound asleep so I didn't bother and you were fine. You were held by a TSA worker, a baggage handler, and a stewardess during our airport adventure. It was really cold in Chicago and we were meet by Grandma Lumsden who picked up this snowsuit:

You looked like the kid in A Christmas Story. It was hil-lar-i-ous. But you were mighty warm and didn't feel the cold at all. Another shot of the snowsuit followed by some other pictures from the trip:

After hanging out with the Grandparents in Chicago for a few days, we came home to head for the mountains to spend Thanksgiving with your Great Grandma. Your Grandpa Wilkin came down for the holiday and we had a great time visiting. Since we had been gone the previous week, we were all anxious to get home and settled back into our routine. Here are some snapshots from your first Thanksgiving dinner:

On Wednesday, you played Baby Jesus in our church's Christmas pageant. We were so proud of your acting debut. You didn't cry or fuss the entire time. The pageant was so much fun for all the kids and parents alike. I even shed a tear during one of the hymns. Mary and Baby Jesus:

Friday was a big day in the Beale household. You smiled at us for the first time and slept through the night! Well, technically you slept from 11 PM-5 AM. Hopefully we can push you back a little bit and you can start sleeping from midnight to 6 AM. That would make my transition back to work oh-so-much-smoother. Let's work on that, shall we?
I love you very much son,
Mom