By the way, according to Daniel here are the Presidential projections: Ben will not be a Republican, nor Democrat, but rather a third-party candidate that will revolutionize politics. This will happen, of course, after he reigns supreme in the NCAA as the KU Jayhawks star shooting guard. He would be a post, but apparently I am "feeding him too much and weighing him down so his bones can't grow."
(I was writing a different parenthetical statement, but Daniel is proof-reading my blog over my shoulder and suggested I leave it out.)
Anywho. We spent about a week in D.C. seeing some friends (except I didn't get to see Megan) and my brother Andy's family. So fun! Ben is now full-on walking so he was able to play with cousin Henry a lot. Henry is a sweet almost-2-year old who was not as enthused about playing with Ben once he found out it meant sharing toys, play tents, and his mom's attention. Give them a few years and they'll be best mates. The initial fun of the trip was just catching up with Greta, my sister-in-law, and getting to hang with Henry. I wish we got to see my brother more, but duty called, and he had to spend some nights at the hospital work.
Daniel and I were in for a shock with the new challenges of flying with a lap-infant that is the size of a 2-year old, and not sedentary any more. For both legs of the flight across country, Ben hopped back and forth from lap to lap and rarely settled. He of course crashed for a nap during the layover. I did get a chance to try out one of my new items for my Etsy shop...an airplane tray activity cover. Here is a sneak peak:
We spent some great time in the sun out on the lawn in front of the Washington Monument on Saturday.
Daniel and I had a conversation earlier in the week about Ben's temperament. I said that if we were in a crowded place and I set him down and turned to act like I was leaving he'd look around for me and start crying. Daniel said he would just walk the other way and not look back.
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| Look at that, Dad! |
That kid took off across the lawn as fast as his little legs could take him.
He didn't really care where I was, but I'd like to think he was so carefree because he knew I was behind him.
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| Sike! I took your glasses. |
I wanted to add a picture of me. Even if it's not a great one, just to show that I, too, was on this vacation. This is how most photos of me and Ben ended up. He's trying to squirm out of my arms or is a blur across the lens. He just doesn't stop moving, unless he's asleep.
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| If you ever wanted to know what it looks like to throw a 25 lb pumpkin with a jacket in the air, it's a little like this. |
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| If you ever wanted to know what sheer joy on a little boy's face looks like, it's a little like this. |
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| Family pic |
The great trip was topped off by some crazy cabin pressure changes in Ben's tummy upon landing in Seattle. No seriously. Exactly when we landed. Wheels touch down and then Ben's stomach takes off. We were that family people hoped they didn't sit next to. Projectile vomit (too much detail?) all over my pants, Daniel, and a few other things in our row. Poor little Benny had been trying to tell us he felt a little off most of the flight. He didn't sleep well and was just acting funny.
I was so happy to be married to Daniel at that moment. We didn't react mad, or scared, or frozen,...we just reacted. We cleaned up Ben and the row as well as we could. A flight attendant gave me a filter with coffee in it to "wave around for the smell" if we needed it. Not helpful, but thanks for the thought. After exiting the plane and confirming that yes, we do think they'll need the cleanup crew to take a look at things, we were homebound. A short 4 hours later we got to our Whidbey Island home after a couple more tummy troubles, some amazing traffic, and a stop off at Starbucks (hooray!)
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| Tired Amy. Sicky Benny. PS- Family restrooms are awesome. |
Mission accomplished.
