Crawling Update

We're Not in Kansas Anymore

Since I happen to have a free minute while Michaela finishes her morning nap, I thought I would finally share a little about our trip to visit my Grandpa and Uncle Dan in Kansas. We (our little family and my mom) went for just a couple of days at the beginning of May, and found the weather there to be a good 20 degrees warmer and sunnier, and just generally nicer, than home. It was a good weekend to be in Kansas. I mentioned earlier that Michaela did pretty well on the flights. She loved having her Daddy at her beck and call to play with her, though even she, little as she is, wished she had more leg room. She just might be a world-traveler-in-training.

Left- Michaela still peppy (and trying to take her sock off) as we wait at Portland Airport). Below- Adam and I also still peppy - and caffeinating for the day ahead.

We landed in the Tulsa airport on a Saturday night and just drove to Bartlesville, OK, where our hotel was, got some dinner and went right to our hotel. Adam and I tested out the pool and hot tub, but Michaela wanted nothing to do with the pool when Nana tried to get her to dip her toes in. I blame that more on the day of travel than on predicting a dislike of swimming - especially when considering the amount of splashing that occurs during Michaela's baths these days. Though none of us got any amount of good sleep that night because Michaela was awake, crying, and inconsolable between 1:45 am and 4:30 am, we awoke nonetheless the next morning and crossed the border into Kansas to meet Grandpa at his home and head from there over to church. Uncle Dan is a pastor to three small congregations in the area, and preaches at each of them consecutively on a Sunday morning. We hit the middle service, and really enjoyed hearing Grandpa play the piano for congregational singing and listening to Uncle Dan preach. Michaela enjoyed the service because there were chairs rather than pews, and she got put down to scoot around on the floor. Also, the hymnals had little colored strings in them (to be used for marking pages of different hymns) but Michaela thought they were just for her entertainment.

That afternoon we enjoyed lunch/brunch at a local diner and an afternoon of conversation and catching up. Grandpa made dinner for us that night - we felt like honored guests! On Monday we went on a driving tour of Caney (doesn't take long!) and then went out to see the Little House on the Prairie. Considering that several years of my childhood were given to dressing like Laura Ingalls and playing pioneer, the cabin is always a big hit. But the big event of the day was yet to come. Did you know there is a brand new Super Wal-Mart in that corner of Kansas?! Yes, it's true! So we went there to get some photos developed and just soak in the ambiance. But really, the big event was eating at Braum's, a wonderful burgers and fries kind of restaurant with AMAZING ice cream delights. Adam and I have long joked that our relationship is built on ice cream, so this was a special moment for us to share with family.

We learned more about the Carr family tree from Uncle Dan, the family's resident historian, and ate one more meal together before saying our goodbyes. It was a short visit, but great for Grandpa to get to meet his grandson-in-law and his new great-granddaughter.

Nine Neat-O Months

Whew! Life has been speeding up around us and so I will get back to the details on our Kansas trip in my next post. For those of you in the know, however, you recall that Michaela turned 9 months old over the weekend. We were spending the weekend with Adam's family up in Washington as we always do this time of year. It's a time of birthdays and Mother's Day (this year being my first one - it turns out it's a pretty sweet deal to be a mom!) Thanks to my super-sweet daughter and thoughtful husband!

Michaela posing in the family rocking chair (Daddy has a photo in it, as does Papi - when they were smaller, of course)

While we were up in Seabeck, Michaela did her first real crawling, and since that was on her 9-month-birthday we'll chalk it up to her accomplishments during month #9. She weighs 16 pounds, 10 ounces and is 27 inches long. That puts her on the small side, but the doctor says this is common and perfectly fine for breastfed babies. She also flew on her first airplane, which was more or less a success. Her ears didn't seem to bother her and she was so into the other people and chewing on things that the time went by pretty quickly. Her first hotel stay after said airplane ride, however, was really rough for all concerned. Michaela woke up at 1:45 am to eat, and was unable to go back to sleep until about 4 am. We were loathe to let her "cry it out" in a hotel, envisioning angry phone calls to the front desk, so she finally fell asleep on Nana's shoulder and we all got a little more shut-eye.

During our weekend with the Puckett/St. Clair clan, we visited the Woodland Park Zoo (Seattle). Now, Michaela knows all about zoos because we took her to the Oregon Zoo when she was just 4 or 5 weeks old. This time she was a pro. She kicked back in the stroller we borrowed from Aunt Abbey because we had forgotten our own (we received many compliments on its "zoo-appropriate" pattern) and took in the view. I'm pretty sure she saw about zero animals, as she was so involved in watching the people and children cruising by. She also experienced her first sunblock (as the photo reminds me) and didn't seem to mind a bit. After a couple of hours hanging with the animals, both Michaela and Abbey needed a nap. Luckily it was time to head back home and get a wonderful dinner on the table. Lots of good food and good company made this weekend a great one!

Kansas Pictures

We recently returned from a quick trip to Kansas to visit Brook's grandfather and uncle.  Since Brook is the better writer, I will let her tell you about the trip, but I wanted to get some pictures up on the blog to share.

Michaela helping Mom pack her bag.

Grandpa Carr's House in Caney, KS. 

Left: Michaela enjoying the swings at a park just across the street from Grandpa Carr's house. Right: Brook, Grandpa Carr, and Bev taking a stroll through the family photo albums.

Uncle Dan, Brook, Michaela, Grandpa Carr and Bev (Four Generations)

Little House on the Praire Visit.