home again

Clara and I flew to VA last week. No reason other than we needed a little escape. And that's where grandma and grandpa and Brooke are. The trip out was uneventful. We had an empty seat next to us (awesome). Baby napped most of the hour and a half flight (miracle). I didn't even have to utilize most of the Target dollar bin toys I'd stuffed my bag with. (Besides slinky jr. who kept her entertained for an impressive while.) The return trip was a sort of nightmare though (we'll get there...).

The in-between consisted of chasing Clara around a much larger house, keeping her away from the stairs (which she is far from mastering- she's ready to plunge down head first given the opportunity), and maintaing a safe distance from the cats who aren't as friendly as she thinks (she didn't seem to understand why they were hissing at her). Oh and we managed a little swimming and shopping and eating (including Clara's first Cafe Rio). And loving our time with our family. (Funny how now that I have a baby I need my own mama that much more.)

Chicago friends, isn't this huge, empty pool amazing?! Last time Clara and I went for a swim in the city we had to wait for a half hour just to get in (we showed up a few minutes after the hour of free swim started and the place was filled to capacity), then trudge our way through grimy locker rooms to slip our feet in the deep end (no shallow baby pool) for a few minutes, bumping up against a swarm of rowdy kids. Oh, the things you take for granted in the suburbs.

The last day of our trip Clara started to get sick. But she wasn't too miserable until we were crammed onto that airplane. She was exhausted but couldn't/wouldn't sleep. She wanted to nurse nonstop, which was awkward for me and the twenty-something guy at our elbow, especially when she tried to pull off the blanket and expose us every few seconds. She cried a lot. Her temperature spiked (or at least I could tell she was burning up, my thermometer was dead so I had no idea actually how serious it was) but I came prepared with Tylenol. But then she got mad and chucked the syringe into the unknown before I could get the medicine in her. And she had started coughing. Loud harsh seal-like barks. The girl didn't look good.

Finally we made it. And Dustin showed up with the wrong car, which meant no car seat. So parents of the year that we are, Dustin drove us home (thanks to Chicago traffic, we weren't going more than 20 mph the whole way) while I sat in back and held a feverish spasming sort-of-sleeping baby in my arms.

[We did speak with the doctor. And get her fever under control. But she's still sick (going on day 4). Poor baby girl.]