Ohio River Trip (23 weeks old)

Dear G,

practicing driving

Most of this past week we went to visit your dad's extended family. He's from a VERY small town in southern Illinois. During the summer they have kind of a family reunion at the river. One of your great-aunts brings her boat and everyone skis, swims, plays on the beach, hangs out at the camp, and eats scrumptious food.
It's about an 8 hour drive to get there, so on the way there we split it up and stopped at Grandma's house for the night. This helped immensely. You traveled very, very well. You weren't too fussy, took naps, and we made good time.

While we were there, you met your great-grandparents, several great-aunts/uncles, and other relatives. Everyone was very excited to see you and, of course, you showed off your smiles and strength. You're such a little ham!

G and her great-grandparents

 The sleeping arrangements were not ideal, but they worked out pretty good. You stayed in a room with me, daddy, and your aunt. I really can't complain about how you slept there--it's better than I expected. Your bed times were around the same time as when we are at home, because we know that you are a much happier baby when you get your night sleep. Nap times were not nearly what I had hoped for. I typically tried to get your morning nap in (and you did every day but one--which was the worst day, proving my point).

Most of the day time we were at the river camp. It was really hot, so I probably packed you too many clothes because you were often just in a diaper. Just add this to the list of things I said I'd never do; never wanted to be the mom who let her baby run around with only a diaper on. Things happen, and I was trying to be flexible. I may have had a mini-flip-out over a few things, but, hey, I'm still new at this and I do have a fiery personality...wonder where you got yours from?

Here are some of the highlights of our trip:
You took your first boat ride: love the boat, hate the life jacket. I don't know if you'd ever get used to it, even if we boated all the time. It is just hot and uncomfortable. Next year, you should be a little better because you'll be bigger in proportion to the life jacket so it won't swallow you up.

You played on the beach/ground for the first time: yes, there was a blanket under you and yes, I had to swallow my fear of you being bitten by something. We also took your go pod, and you did use it...but with so many people around wanting to hold you, it wasn't used as much as I thought it would be.



You nursed in nature and it was pretty frustrating for both of us, but we made it work. By the end of the week, it was a lot better because you were used to the weather/sounds outside.
You got kind of overtired because you refused naps outdoors. I really don't blame you, but we did have to leave early to go back to G-Grandma's house to take a bath and put you to bed. We got you to fall asleep on the boat for about 15 minutes one day and another day you took a 15 minute nap at the camp while everyone else was on the boat. Those cat naps got us through so that we could stay and visit more.

You went to mass in the church daddy grew up in. You were very well behaved in mass, but we had to leave right after because you had missed your first nap and were becoming quite the pill. You didn't get to meet daddy's childhood best friend, and we were all pretty sad about that. Hopefully he will come visit us.
You met your other great-grandpa and your great-half-aunt on daddy's dad's side of the family. He seemed to really like you; he even held you! He commented that you were a great baby.
We already knew that though, didn't we! He also said we need to have a boy now...we told him it'd be a few years ;-)

Our return trip was a bit tougher than the trip there. We decided to brave the traveling storm, and not break the trip up. We started out journey at 2:45 ish and got home around 11 pm. This is because daddy did not exactly drive the speed limit. We stopped for dinner at momma's favorite restaurant, Flatbranch, but the wait was TOO long. I was so bummed. We ended up at Cracker Barrel, which was a fine substitute. We also had 2 other stops.

I'm still trying to get you caught up on sleep and back in to the swing of things at home...but that's still a bit tough because Grammy is here!!! :-)

Some other things to note about your past week:
You've really started to use your right hand more. You still act left handed, but your right arm/hand use is developing more.
You are much better at sitting up, I still wouldn't leave you sitting up with out someone right next to you though.
With the way you scoot around, I can't believe you aren't crawling yet.
You've really found your voice. You love screeching, screaming, and making other loud noises, just because you can. Sometimes you even seem to laugh at your new noises. It's really quite adorable.
The worst thing you've started doing: arching your back like never before to express distaste. You've always done it, and been a very squirmy baby, but now that you are exponentially stronger, it's hard to hold onto you sometimes!

Daddy skiing

Momma and Daddy got in plenty of skiing, thanks to all the people who wanted to play with you! You also came on the boat and watched us ski twice. We hadn't skied in about 3 years! I got up after a few (I think 3 or 4) tries and it only took daddy two tries. Our form definitely improved as we got back into the swing (or should I say ski) of things. We love skiing, and some day we will teach you! It's just so fun, being pulled behind a boat, hanging on for dear life, flying across the water...you'll understand when you're older! Everyone on daddy's side of the family skies, so I bet you have a natural talent for it. I'm still learning, and I still only ski on two. It's still so much fun though! I crossed in and out of the wake several times and went around several turns, so I feel I am getting a lot better. We plan to go back next year, when you'll be almost 18 months old! I don't even want to think about that though...

momma skiing