A week of firsts...but a sad one at that.

Sadly on July 12 Brian's Grandfather, Jesse Champion, passed away. We went to Brownsville to attend the funeral. As sad as we are about his passing we know he is in a better place now looking down on all of us, especially his Great Grandson whom he never had the opportunity to meet.

On the "lighter" side of things. Gabriel did get to go on his first airplane ride, stay in his first hotel room, and met his Great Grandma and Brian's other Champion relatives.

Here are the guys getting ready to head to the airport...

Gabriel has to be the best baby I've ever encountered on the plane. On the way down he ate during take off and fell asleep during landing. On the way back he slept during take off and just smiled and "talked" to me during landing. :) He got wings and a certificate for his first flight.

The stay in the hotel room went surprisingly well also. We tried to stick to night time routine as much as possible. (No easy task.) I love this picture...

Poor Great Grandma Champion. Gabriel was always upset when she was feeling up to visiting with everyone. He was either hungry or sleepy. Finally we caught him and her in the same room while he was in a good mood and fun ensued! :)

We're so glad we were able to be there with the family. I know Gabriel was able to bring a lot of happiness to a sad situation. The circle of life continues...

While we were there Gabriel celebrated his 4 month old birthday. The 2 pictures above were taken on his birthday. But, I will take an "official" one (even though it a few days late) and post it tomorrow.