To Meme & Pearpaw's House we go!

Noah and Mommy flew out to Texas for a few days in mid-April. I was really nervous to fly with him - with him being so active I thought I would have a hard time keeping him entertained enough to avoid "the look" from other non-child rearing flyers..but other than the fact that he peed all over me, which I can handle, he was really very good. He was fascinated by everything happening outside the window - some of the luggage handlers even waved at him he stared so long! Then he discovered that the window has a little plastic cover that slides up and down - so then we played that game over and over and over for about an hour. THEN he discovered the tray - so the poor lady sitting in front of me had to endure that slapping, banging, up/down up/down movements for the other hour of our flight - but that sure is better than 2 hours of crying so I was sooo proud of him and even more relieved! He would lean over and smile at others who looked at him, play peek-a-boo with the people sitting behind us, it was a lot of work holding such a wiggle worm for so long but we actually had fun on this new adventure we had. And strangers even commented on how happy, friendly, and well behaved he was. Like all mothers would, I wanted to reply "I know...he's perfect!" hehe Once on the ground back HOME we had a ball - Noah got to experience the good ol' Texas winds. The look on his face was priceless when that cold wind hit him for the first time - he had a panicked sort of painful look in his eyes and his mouth in a deep frown. It was "What in GODS name is that and why does this hurt?!?!" Oh, it was funny - I still laugh when I think about it. But the weather improved and he spent lots of time with his MEME outside watching birds and trucks go by; and he watched his PEARPAW build a shelf for his new shop (aka THE MANBARN). In fact, the weather got so nice Noah even went for a ride on the famous riding lawn mower - That was always a treat for us when we were growing up, to ride Pepaw's lawnmower, and now Noah is a pro as well. He was a little wary of it at first, but he didnt cry, he held on for dear life at first, but then relaxed and enjoyed the ride - he even started to relax enough to drift asleep! Luckily, we made it to the crib in time for a long nap.

The poor little guy was cutting all 4 top teeth while we were there (sigh) the nights were long and I have to admit that I hybernated for a few days when we got home! It took Noah a few days to let anyone else but mommy bathe him or put him to bed - but toward the end of our visit Meme & Pearpaw were pro's and all we had to do was stip the baby naked and he would make a b-line for the tub no matter who was bathing him! He loves his bedtime routine... He enjoyed Meme's cooking and of course SO DID I! Noah even ate his first steak....and potato, bread, peas, corn, watermelon, and cake. Yep, we thought his little tummy would explode but he couldnt get enough of it! He certainly is a good eater - he has dropped the pinch motorskill and graduated to the 'shovel' method. LOL
Kevin called every day and missed Noah so much - he would call just to hear him make noise in the background. I dont know how he did it really, I would have sobbed every minute and been on the next flight out to be with our little guy.

It seems like just when we get all settled in, its time to get back on the plane and head home. The flight home was interesting, there was a sweet older woman sitting next to me who loved Noah, she was so helpful, played with Noah, HELD him - she said it was just to give me a break because she knew how hard it was to travel alone with a baby. She talked a lot about her grandkids and it was so nice to have such a friendly helpful person be nice to you without knowing anything about you ya know? God was telling me to pass it on one day when I see a clumbsy, flustered and sweating mom alone with a wiggly baby to be nice to her, maybe even help her and by all means, NEVER give her 'The Look".

After a 2 hour delay in Vegas, (not an ideal place with a baby - I found that you get 'The Look" even there while sitting in front of a slot machine with an infant in your lap" and lost luggage that ended up in Maryland instead of Phoenix (???) we made it home in time for me to collaps into what I hoped would be a deep sleep for 2 or 3 days. No such luck...maybe next time...