We are back in Maryland after a wonderful visit to Kentucky. Now that the trip is over I will admit that I was a little worried that everyone who said we were crazy to take a 7-week old on this trip was going to be right and it was going to be disastrous. And we probably were crazy, but it was not disastrous. I am not any more tired and frazzled than I would have been after 5 days at home with both kids and we got to spend some good quality time with my grandparents as well as some of my aunts and uncles and cousins.
Both kids get gold stars for the travel. Nicholas is a well-seasoned traveller and almost always does a good job, but he did a super-impressive job on the way back, helping out with the craziness of security and not even asking to use any electronic devices on the plane. Joe hasn't flown with Nicholas very much and so is still impressed by it, which was a good reminder to me of how good Nicholas really is. In fact, Joe remarked on the way out about how well-trained I have Nicholas at airports and flying. And it is true--we are a well-oiled machine when it is the two of us. I was less certain of how we would do with the extra kid. Elizabeth basically slept the entire time both at the airport and on the plane on the way out, half-waking to nurse during takeoff and landing. She had more awake time on the way back, but we were doing really well through landing. Then we sat on the taxiway at BWI for half an hour after landing before going to our gate. She started getting fussy a few minutes into the time on the taxiway and I figured we were in trouble. But we got her back, had some good awake time, she started to lose it again, we got her back, and repeated that a couple more times.
She finally was really done when the plane was 3/4 empty. As the last few rows of people walked by (we let everyone else get off the plane before we attempted to gather up all of our gear and get off), multiple people commented, "That's how I feel" in response to her crying, but no one seemed annoyed in the least. It helps that she didn't start until they knew they were getting off and could escape. And at 7 weeks old she made it through 2 flights and a ground delay with hardly a whimper before those last few minutes. And then both kids did a great job through a ridiculous delay waiting for luggage, walking through the airport, getting carseats reinstalled, etc. By the time we got in the car it was 3 1/2 hours after Nicholas' bedtime and he was still being a big helper pulling his own suitcase and waiting patiently. So, gold stars for them both. They don't realize it, but their performance on this trip has likely bought them an extra vacation this summer, as we won't be as scared of the travel.
On this trip to Louisville we did more activities than usual, since Nicholas is getting older and so more interested in the things I remember from my childhood. In addition to the regular trip to the zoo,
we went to the science center this time around and had a great time! Two of my cousins went with us, which would have been fun anyway, but was extra fun because they have both spent time volunteering at the science center and so knew the ins and outs of the place. There was also very little traffic, which made the experience much more fun. We got to my grandfather's house from the airport around 11am and the plan was for my cousins to meet us at the house around 1 to leave. But then Nicholas actually fell asleep when I took him upstairs with me to rest and I let him sleep for a little bit before waking him. And then Elizabeth needed to eat. And then we had to get ourselves organized. And so on. And so it was 3 before we got to the science center. Apparently all other parents operate under our usual plan of doing outings in the morning because the crowd was thin. But we had so much fun! Elizabeth slept through the whole thing in the BabyBjorn and the four adults got to play with Nicholas at a bunch of cool interactive exhibits. I honestly think we enjoyed many of them as much or even more than he did. My favorite was trying to build an arch that then collapsed on our heads.
Nicholas' favorite was a wind tunnel that blew foam pieces around and out.
Other than that, we mostly hung out at my grandparents' houses and enjoyed time to talk, catch up, and play. Elizabeth has become little miss social. For the first 3 weeks or so of her life she had no interest in people, to the point that it seemed like she was actively avoiding making eye contact or looking at us and I was getting worried. Then she started to look at us but seemed to mostly be looking at our hairlines. But she now loves people and will eye lock you. She could probably win a staring contest. She tends to give big smiles to new people and in every group we were in she picked a favorite person who she focused on the most and saved her biggest smiles for. She still doesn't smile all that often in a given day, but she does give big intentional smiles to certain people and in certain situations.
She had a couple extra fussy days, which I suspect is because she was working so hard processing all the new people and places. She just wanted to walk laps around my grandfather's house for hours, which was giving me flashbacks to Nicholas' first Christmas there when he would make us walk laps with him so he could explore. And all things consider I'd prefer to carry a 7 week old around than walk on my knees with a 7 month old who insists on walking himself even though he is too young to actually walk.
When Nicholas was a baby and toddler we always noticed cognitive leaps after trips when he had been around lots of people, so we're curious to see what the last few days have worked on Elizabeth. Then again, it is hard to know where to bound the "trip" and if we include the entire 2 1/2 weeks (which could make sense given that we had a bunch of my high school friends over today, are having a bunch of grad school friends over tomorrow, etc), it is impossible to know what is the result of the trip and what would have developed anyway between 6 weeks and 2 months of age. It is hard to believe, but by the time we get home she will have spent more than 1/4 of her life outside of Massachusetts!!!
There are approximately a bazillion pictures in the album (click on 2013 December below any of these pictures to see the whole album), but here are a few more of my favorites:
