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... of an over-traveled baby

We just got back from my great grandmother's funeral in Poteau, Oklahoma this weekend. She passed away on Wednesday and the funeral was on Saturday. So we thought about flying, but last minute plane tickets are incredibly expensive. So, Quinn advocated for the 8 hour each direction drive. I don't really like taking Abram in the car for that long, because it really makes him hate his car seat for a few days afterward, but we wanted to go up there and see my family, so we went.

It went well. My family is sad, but my grandmother was 99 years and 9 months old, so we can't say that she didn't have a long life! She had 5 kids, 9 grandkids, 16 great grandkids, and 3 great great grandkids. When we visited in March, we were able to get our 5 generation picture. I'm really glad she got to meet Abram.

Taking Abram on yet another trip got me started thinking about how much he has traveled in his short, almost 8 month life. Here is the rundown:

-February: 4 planes to get to Boise, ID and back
-March: 16 hours in the car to get to Paris, TX and Poteau, OK and back
-April: 4 planes (22 hours) to get to Middle East and back
-June: 10 hours in the car to get to Tyler, TX and back
-June: 4 planes to get to Guatemala and back
-July: 16 hours in the car to get to Poteau, OK and back

That's:
-12 seperate plane take offs and landings,
-Over 42 hours in the car (only counting over 4 hour trips)
-5 states (including Texas)
-4 countries (including the US)

Whew! He is definitely more traveled that I was until I was 18 or something.

Future plans:
-August: 4 planes to get to Colorado and Idaho and back
-October: 2 planes to get to Phoenix and back (tentative)

Overall he was pretty good on this trip. The hardest part was the car, but he did really well with all of the people! He is getting better about new people holding him and I am hoping the stranger anxiety is on its way out!

Playing with cousins Ashley and Kennedy

Entranced by the fan at Great Great Grandma's house

The car rides were definitely the hardest part. Poor little guy couldn't release any energy in his car seat except by kicking his legs and banging on his frog toy (which he did almost constantly). He also started making "d" sounds, which translates into "da da". So we pretended like he knew he was saying "DaDa".



So now he's got b, l, d, and a little m - although not enough to accidentally say "mama" quite yet (the 4 month old "Mom" was definitely a fluke). Oh, and a lot of screaming, which we are working on. I don't want to stop him from talking, but the screaming is just a little bit jarring when it's in restaurants and stores, etc. Anyway, when we got home at 6:30 last night, Abram was like a tornado. Quinn and I were incredibly tired and so we just patiently played with him and bided our time until 8:00 when we put him to bed and we ate ice cream and hot dogs and layed on the couch for a little bit and went to bed early. Talk about a long day.



Now the house is a mess, we have a vaccination appointment this afternoon right at nap time (only time they do vacc appointments) and Quinn is going to meet with a potential language partner tonight, so I'll be going it alone with the Babram all day.

My dream for the end of the week is to find someone who wants to go see Harry Potter with me while I leave the baby with my uninterested-in-Harry-Potter husband at home. Know anyone??
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