Life has been just nuts. It seems like ages since Sophia and I returned from our quick jaunt to the good ole US of A, but looking at the calendar, I see it has been less than 10 days. It feels like forever. Soph has grown and changed so much in just the last few weeks! Everyone told us that things would just keep getting better and better – and were all of you right!
After receiving Soph’s passport in late September, we scheduled a quick trip to the US to visit The Grams and Gramps Crawford as well as to meet Daniel, David, Stacy and Tiffany and other gobs of important family peeps!
So after endless sleepless nights worrying about Sophia on the airplane, we actually boarded one and off we flew! Soph was a doll – seriously, not a mere squawk through the first plane and just a few on the second.
While she behaved perfectly, I think Continental Airlines and Houston’s Customs Agents could do well with some serious lessons on assisting travelers with babies. They could not have done LESS to help. I was nearly in tears in Houston as I attempted to remove my shoes, laptop, 8 baby bottles filled with yes . . . a harmless liquid called WATER, balance Soph on one knee, fold up the monster stroller (which seriously requires three hands alone) and get through the security doorframe only to have to pack it all up again with Soph balanced on one knee while attempting to fumble open the stroller whose button had been jammed in the x-ray machine. Needless to say, not fun. Now if the US would just give my husband a visitor’s visa, perhaps I wouldn’t have to rant against Continental and Customs, but until that happens, I will fairly express my rage!
Anyway, waiting on the other end of the trip were her Uncle David and Aunt Stacy! They held an adorable sign that said “Welcome to America Baby Sophia!” which every other passenger (including the flight crew) got to see before us as we were, yes, the VERY last people up the long hallway and out of airport world into the real one! Dave and Stacy later told us that they were sure some of the people on the plane thought they were adopting Sophia from another country due to the sign, and once my brother and sister-in-law met Soph, they said the adoption was complete. I did sneak her back home with me though! (And on a side note, my awesome friend Rachel and her husband Brian who are adopting are in Russia RIGHT NOW meeting a baby. You can follow their trip and baby news on their blog –
The Russian Thiele.)
Ok, once safely in Milwaukee with family, we had a fantastic weekend – having lunch on Saturday at an outdoor restaurant (in 80 degree weather) and then bundling up on Sunday at the Family Farm to brave the . . . oh gosh, I don’t know – it felt like below zero weather although I’m positive my family will say I’m exaggerating and assure me it was near 70 or something like that. All I know is that it was COLD!
Then Sunday night following Sophia’s BBB routine (bath, bottle, bed), we hopped in the car for a long trip up north to mom and dad’s house! With only one minor issue (mom and dad’s black-as-night dog Farley deciding to visit the back seat from the waaay back seat to stand on top of Sophia in her car seat. Being black-as-night, I didn’t notice he was there until he was on top of her. A little bit of harmless wrestling in a moving vehicle and he was back in the waaay back seat and Soph didn’t make a peep.
Back home in Minocqua, the parade of visitors and visits began! Visits to the hospital to see dad, visits to the eye clinic to see mom, visit to Gran-Grandma’s house (in an oddball conversation with Pablo, somehow Great-Grandma turned into Gran Grandma, and so it is), visits from the entire family (some of which who drove quite a ways to meet my little Bean)!
We had a great time (despite the below zero temperatures!) and took nice walks as the leaves were just starting to change color and spent time with Grandma and Grandpa (who spoiled Sophia with post-bath body massages, middle-of-the-night playtime, sleeping for hours in-arm time and tv-watching on grandpa’s lap – although to be honest, I’m not sure that the History and Discovery channels nor Golf really qualify as entertainment!).
All of a sudden it was Friday night (what do you expect? Between visiting and visits, bottle-feeding and sleep, we kept busy and before we knew it, the week was over!) and we made the late-night trek back to Milwaukee for one more day spent churching, eating, shopping and relaxing with Dan, David and Stacy! So much fun!
Early the next morning, we were back on a plane and heading home. (Kudos, by the way, to the Milwaukee airport employees who DO know how to help a woman travelling with a baby!) Soph was again a doll despite pooping-it-up on not one, but both planes! Changing diapers in turbulence is so much fun. (Note the sarcasm.)
Pablo, who awaited us at the airport, swooped Sophia into his arms and practically took off without me. I’m thinking he missed his baby, and maybe me . . . just a little. He had surprises waiting for us at home – an almost-completely-painted-living-room, an almost-completed-window-seat, a completely retiled balcony . . . and then a few new holes here and there for electrical work he deemed necessary. But what’re a few holes, right? (Er, trying to convince myself. Not working.)
The first night home was rough – Soph had a really difficult time readjusting to the heat and humidity; she even broke out with heat rash a couple hours after we landed in hot hot hot PV. She seems to be well-adjusted at this point and sweats right along with the rest of us! The only difference is that the humidity makes my hair frizzy and uncontrollable; the humidity makes her hair all curly and cute.
Oh, and without all the blankets and bundling for cold Wisconsin weather, Soph has returned to the roast-chicken-sleep.
Since we’ve been home, Sophia started solids – we’ve gotten through
chayote squash -um, yeah. Apparently you don’t start with peas when you live in Mexico), we’re on carrots and soon we’ll be graduating to mini zucchini. We are, as long as time allows, attempting to puree our own veggies although I am still working on determining how many carrots make enough puree for a week. I’m not doing well. I have enough carrots frozen for approximately three months. Note to self: do not boil 4 carrots if intent is to have carrots for only one week.
The first solids-feeding was relatively uneventful. Little spoon to lips, chayote in mouth and swallow. Repeat. No ugly faces. My girl’s an eater. And not much of a discriminating one!
Carrots got a bit more of a reaction from her, but still not all that exciting! I suppose we’re supposed to be thankful although we truly have waited five months to see those adorable what-the-heck-are-you-putting-in-my-mouth faces . . . and nothing.
We had our first wedding this past Saturday and started off the season with success (hot, humid, rainy success, but a success nonetheless)! For those of you who give a tweedle-dee about the business and weddings, you can see a few early pics on
The Dazzling Details blog. For those of you who don’t, you can tweedle off! (Notice the vocab changes having a five-month old has caused.)
The two oddball tropical storms out along our coast are giving us some strangely intense rainstorms the past . . . (counting) nine afternoons/evenings, but thankfully, they are keeping things somewhat cool at night (like in the 80’s) before heating and humiding things up (to the high 90’s) during the daytime. Nothing like living in a steamer for four months.
That’s all for tonight/this morning – not even sure what 4:30 am qualifies as anymore!
