on traveling with a baby.

i have to admit that i was not looking forward to traveling with avery.  she's actually a pretty easy going kid, but she's never been a good sleeper and i was worried that the trip would mess up her sleep habits so much that it would take her weeks to find a new normal again.  i was also worried about the plane ride both because of her ears, the chance the i could have a crying baby on a 4 hour flight, and lastly the fact that entertaining a 10 month old can be difficult in small spaces.  we flew out on a friday night and our flight left right at avery's bedtime.  i dressed her in her pajamas, fed her dinner in the airport, and then nursed her during takeoff in hopes that she would pass right out and sleep the flight.  she ate just fine but wasn't quite ready to go to bed.  i think being on a plane, with so many people to look at and so many different things to touch was much more exciting then sleeping.  she finally fell asleep about halfway into the flight and then slept the rest of the way until we got on the train back to baggage claim at the airport.  so although we were tired from getting in at 1:30 am i considered that first flight a success.  

she did sleep terribly all 9 days that we were traveling.  we were staying in multiple places and the majority of the trip she ended up in our bed, between us, and waking up 5-6 times a night.  it wasn't exactly the most restful sleep any of us got, although she seemed to do okay with naps while we were there.  i was worried about her napping a lot because she's always been a terrible napper and as only recently started taking a consistent morning nap at home.  luckily between some long car rides that she slept through and charlie and my mom putting her down for morning naps she was able to nap enough to get her through the day.  she never adjusted to east coast time, which i did think she would, but instead went to sleep every night at 9, which turned out to work just fine.



i was also worried about the flight back because charlie was flying back the day before so it was just avery and i.  also, since it was during the day i knew the chance that she would sleep at all was pretty slim and the trip flying back to colorado is longer than flying out to d.c..  it really wasn't as bad as i was expecting it to be.  i had bought a lightweight stroller before the trip, which came in handy in the airport and during the trip.  all of the security guards were really helpful while going through security and  i also brought and used the moby wrap when i was boarding the plane since i was carrying two bags and trying to gate check the stroller and our carseat.  she did great on the plane ride back, although she was definitely ready to get off the plane once we landed and i was glad we were sitting up front so we were able to get off right away.  one thing that i didn't know until the day we left was that we needed to get her a boarding pass, which basically meant checking her in at the airport.  since we were flying southwest which does family boarding, i didn't worry about getting a good number since it wouldn't matter much anyway.  i didn't even bother checking before showing up at the airport on the way back and it saved me the time and paper for printing a boarding pass.  i did make sure to get a window seat each time which worked out well since i was nursing her a lot and also for her to look out the window when she was getting bored with the toys that i had brought her.  i will say that everything that i brought didn't keep her attention very well on the way back and i ended up digging through my bag in desperation to find something that would entertain her before she threw a fit.  i found a few stickers, which worked magic for a while and then gave her my bracelet to play with during those last 20 minutes of the flight.    

it was definitely worth it just to spend time with family and have everyone see avery again.  it's been really nice that we've been able to see a lot of family every few months especially during this first year when avery's growing and changing so fast.  she definitely loved the time and attention that everyone spent with her and has been having a hard time this week when she has to play on her own for more than 5 minutes at a time. 

a train ride.

in preparation for our visit my parents tried to pull out as many toys that they still had for avery to play with while she was here.  my dad pulled out the train that they have for the christmas tree and set it up thinking that she would like to watch it.  i wish i got some pictures of that because she seemed to be pretty into it, in her own serious way of course.  we also took her on a real train ride at cabin john park while we were there thinking that she might like that.  she was probably a little young to really enjoy it although i do think she liked it.  we'll have to take her again the next time we're back because i think as she gets older she'll like it even more.  the park also has some pretty cool playgrounds on it that she's way to young to be able to play on.  someday soon though ...

there's the whole crew except for the dog who's hidden by charlie in this picture.  

and there he is.  dad and alex took him to the dog park while the rest of us went on the train ride.

avery was pretty serious for most of the ride, although we did manage to get a few smiles out of her.

after the train ride we introduced her to porky who was probably one of my favorite things about the park when i was a kid.  he talks and eats trash.  what kid wouldn't love a trash eating pig?

and then we went back home and avery had her first pork, peas, and turnips that night.  she hated the turnips and spit them right out but the pork and the peas were a hit and she enjoyed those leftovers for the rest of the trip.

a (very short) trip to the bay.

when we were back in maryland we tried to squeeze as many visits with friends and family that we could.  we have some friends that live on kent island so on our way back from visiting charlie's family on the eastern shore to my parents outside of dc we stopped on kent island to see some friends and meet their new baby.  they have a 6 month old who's bigger and crawling faster than avery.  it was sort of funny to see her with avery because she kept grabbing avery and pulling her over and avery was not a fan.  she would give her the side eye and then start crying and crawling over to me to pick her up.  it's so funny to me how different all babies are and how they all develop at different times.  anyway, their neighborhood is right on the bay so we took a very short walk to a playground by the dock to let the kids play on the swings.  i have yet to meet a baby that doesn't like to swing although i'm sure there are some out there.

avery practiced walking on the dock.  i love her little belly in these pictures.  

i also have to admit that being back in md by the water makes me miss it just a little bit.  especially at this time of year when the weather's perfect and there's no bugs or humidity.  we usually make a trip back in the summer but i think that coming back in the fall made me miss the area even more.  there's really nothing like an east coast fall.

back home.

so we got back last night after 9 days in maryland visiting friends and family.  i know i can say without a doubt that avery has never met so many people in the previous 10 months of her life as she did this week and although it was a bit of a whirlwind it was so nice to see everyone that we did.  we really are blessed with good people in our lives and it was so nice to see everyone and introduce avery to everyone she hadn't met yet.  i  have to admit that coming back home was a little hard.  avery's schedule is pretty much non-existent after all of the traveling and co-sleeping, and i think she's completely forgotten that there are times when she'll have to play with herself because at home there's not always someone to play with her 24/7.  also i think when you know you're coming back to a dirty house with no food in the fridge, a work inbox full of messages, and a house that needs things fixed before winter it makes it even harder.  i'll be honest i was a little spoiled, too.  my mom put avery down for her morning nap each morning, and she and my dad worried about cooking for her and feeding her a lot of meals, i never once had to put her on the floor in the bathroom while i tried to shower in 5 minutes, and we were more than spoiled with the amazing food that everyone cooked for us while we were there.  every day should definitely start with pancakes and bacon.

it was also nice to be back in md.  even though we've been in colorado for 4 years and it definitely feels like home, so does maryland.  we took avery to the atlantic ocean for the first time, ate some rio grande,   took avery on a train ride and to the carousel, walked around d.c., attended a beautiful wedding, ate crab cakes, and had a lunch date in bethesda just the two of us.  and it was really nice.  and now i'm going through family withdraw.  facetime is great but it's not quite the same and i miss you guys already.

it's the little things ...

... a baby reading books.

... a cozy living room.  just in time for some snow flurries.  

...  a baby who naps.  

...  when avery sleeps past 7.

...  a glass of wine on a sunday night.

...  the leaves changing colors. 

...  pumpkins on the porch.

...  watching avery try new food.

...  how excited avery gets when i let her sit in the cart.

...  when henry tries to play with the baby.

...  a husband who cleans and mows the grass.

...  watching a movie with charlie.

...  fall tv.

...  meatballs in the crockpot.

...  cooking a dinner that avery approves of.

...  cooking any dinner at all.

...  reading a book.

...  a nice walk on a fall day.

...  coffee on weekend mornings.

...  facetime.

...  watching the broncos.  even when they lose.

...  clean laundry.

...  when avery falls asleep in my arms.

...  how avery's hands always smell like whatever she ate:  strawberries, meatballs, it's always something good.

...  a crawling baby = a happy baby.

...  clean cloth diapers.

...  avery wearing my old clothes.

...  how excited avery gets in the morning when she sees everyone for the first time.

...  avery saying 'uh-oh' as she drops things onto the floor.  i'm sure this will get old eventually but it's cute for now.

are you sick of this sweater and hat combo yet?  i am not.  she wore them for two days straight because winter paid us a visit before fall was over and they were the only warm things in her closet.  apparently avery has decided that she does not like wearing things on her head.  hoods, hats, stacks of blocks that i try and balance there, they all get taken off immediately.  the blocks are one thing but the hoods and hats are going to be a necessity this winter, avery.  i have a feeling we'll be in a constant battle over wearing them.  apparently she doesn't mind being cold.  what she doesn't understand is all the judgey stares i'll get from people who are thinking 'how could you take that baby out of the house without a hat?!'  for now we'll just settle for 10 second stretches at a time and hope that when it gets really cold she'll forget how much she hates things on her head.  

i call this the happy baby series.  of course the cat was the one responsible for this smile but at least i was able to document it.  as soon as she started crawling she seemed to figure out how to pull herself up on things and then get faster and faster when she was going places.  the kitchen is a favorite place to play because there's chairs, water bowls, trashcans, and the occasional crumb that the dogs have missed.  i've been finding myself cleaning this floor multiple times a week and even then there's dirt on it.  i suppose a little dirt won't kill her but let me tell you a good 'is my floor clean test' is to put white socks on the baby and then let her crawl around for a bit.  the answer is always no.  even if you just cleaned the floor, especially if you have 4 pets.  oh well. 

this kid will be on an airplane bound for d.c. in a few days and i'm more than a little nervous that this will result in totally screwing up with her sleep.  the last time we went somewhere back in july her nighttime sleep was screwed up for 2 months.  2 months!  i realize this is a long time to attribute to a few days away but nevertheless i still blame the trip.  and we're actually at a point now where avery's sleeping well at night and taking a good morning nap.  and she's never been a good napper.  ever.  so i've been clinging to these naps.  my fingers are crossed that after we return from maryland that she gets back into her good rhythm because i don't know if i can take another 2 months of a baby who's up 3 times a night.  i've gotten used to sleeping and i like it that way.