Two Firsts

I know, I know. Adelyn will be experiencing a lot of firsts. But today we had two!

1. This morning she went to her first funeral. A good friend's dad passed away, so we went to the funeral. My friend has been an amazing daughter! I hope that I can be such a blessing to my family as they age. She has a multitude of siblings, and yet she was the only one that took the time to be with her aging and ailing father. She made the hard decision to move him to a home last year. She has visited him at least twice a week since then. Even though he sometimes would yell at her and sometimes would think she was his wife (who passed away 5 years ago). Her unselfishness caused her a lot of stress, but she always put him first. Richard, may you rest in peace!

Oh, and Adelyn did pretty well. She started wanting to talk when the priest started the sermon, so we went and hung out in the foyer. We could still see and hear everything, but she could make happy baby noises and not disturb anyone.

2. She participated in a research study at the U of M. They wanted 4 month old volunteers for a visual perception study. It was kind of cool. They recorded her responses to different stimuli and used eye-tracking software to determine what she was looking at and for how long. Not sure what they are going to use it for, but it was pretty neat. The ladies in the lab said that she did great. (Not exactly sure what that means, but whatever).

In both firsts today, I am reminded at how social our little girl is already. She knows that when someone smiles or talks to her, that they like it when she smiles back. We might have our hands full with her... :)

Feels Like the First Time

Today I finally got off my lazy bum and went for a run. I have been yearning for a run (crazy, I know) for a while. But every time I thought about going on one, something would come up. Today I decided enough was enough and I went for a run. It is a beautiful day out there! I ended up running 2 miles. It felt pretty good until the last quarter mile or so. I did a route that would end in the woods by our house (I thought that sounded like a nice reward). But I forgot how hilly it is down there! Yikes! But I did it. In 23 1/2 minutes. Not bad for the first time out in ... well, probably about 36 weeks.

A Pair of Yellow Socks and a Pink Elephant

This past weekend we were off again. This time to Dallas, TX. Ben was going for a seminar. Adelyn and I decided to tag along. We felt that coming to Dallas was the perfect trip to see how it would be for us to come with Ben on business trips. Mainly because we have friends there so I wouldn't feel so alone. I don't think any of us were recovered yet from NYC, but what do you do?

The flight to Dallas was ok. For the first time, Adelyn wasn't her happy traveling self. She cried a bit before her in-flight nap. It was less than 5 minutes of crying, but seemed like forever to us since we do not want to be "those" parents with "that" baby.

Our first night was so much fun! We went to our friends, Val and Raul's house for dinner. Val made some killer lasagna. We had a great time hanging out with them. The rest of the trip Ben was pretty occupied with the seminar. Adelyn and I joined him for lunches and one dinner.

Friday morning I was getting Adelyn dressed when I realized that I only packed one pair of socks for her and they were yellow! (To my credit, she did have one yellow outfit). It was a good thing we were headed to Walmart to grab some breakfast food to have in our room.

On the way home, Adelyn cried a bit again when she was trying to get to sleep (still don't get how crying soothes them to sleep). But really, I think she did great all things considered. After we got off the plane I changed her diaper. Midway through changing it I realized that I left her pink elephant on the plane! I quickly finished up so that we could try and get it back. Luckily they did find it and the elephant was saved! (I'm not sure if she has a favorite toy or not, but the elephant has mighty tasty feet that she loves to chew on so we would have been sad if it was lost).

So now we're back home. Adelyn and I will be home for a while. Ben will be going to Vegas in another week or so for another conference.

NYC

This past weekend we took a trip to NYC to visit our friend Will. He let us stay with him and I have to say, he was a great host! Since Ben and I have been to NYC before and did the normal tourist stuff, this time it was a little more laid back. Will brought us to some of his favorite restaurants and hang out spots. We had a great time!

For the most part Adelyn was a trooper. She was near perfect on the plane rides (a little fussy prior to take off on one because I wasn't feeding her). She slept great at nights. The main issues were 1. too much going on so she didn't nap well (re: cranky pants in the evening) 2. by the time we would get our food (this includes travel, wait time, order time and deliver time) it would be time for her to eat again. This resulted in me eating a few lukewarm meals. But overall, I'm proud of how well she did.

We had a lot of Asian food while we were there. We had Korean, Chinese, Japanese and Thai. I think the Thai meal was my favorite. One of Will's friends joined us for that meal. She's Thai so we let her and Will handle the ordering. So good! Actually, for a lot of the meals we let Will order. He has great taste!

So now we're home. Trying to recover because we leave again for Dallas soon. :)

One Year Ago

One year ago on Saturday I found out that I was pregnant. It was also the day that I left for India for two weeks for work. The timing was perfect! Most importantly, I knew not to take my anti-malaria medication while I was there (does not mix well with developing babies). Also, when I started feeling sick midway through the trip, I knew that it was most likely morning sickness and nothing that I should take medication for (also does not mix well with developing babies). I also knew to be super extra careful about what I ate. But aside from my physical health, it was perfect timing for my mental and emotional well-being. The night before I left, I started to cry (hormones??). I was mad at myself for agreeing to be gone for two weeks. It was the longest I had been away from Ben. And the thought of being away from him was almost too much for me. So, the next morning, when I found out I was carrying Adelyn, it was such a comfort! I wasn't alone in India! And she was my little secret. When I was feeling lonely at night in the hotel, I would place my hand on my belly and talk to the wonderful being that was growing inside of me.

Thank you Adelyn, for coming with me to India. You helped me more than words can describe.

Sing a Song

A few days after my post about singing to Adelyn, I started up again (I caught a cold so I didn't start right away). The first day back to singing, I was singing "Arms of Love" by Amy Grant. Apparently, Adelyn does not like that song. She stopped eating, so I looked down at her and her lower lip was out and quivering! As soon as I changed songs, she smiled and went back to eating. Silly girl. And now sometimes she will stop eating to sing along with me. So, sometimes I cut the singing time short so she will get back to eating. Her current favorite is "GLYSDI" (God Loves You, So Do I). Tonight we sang that song several times AFTER she was done eating.

Girl's Weekend 2010

Last weekend was my annual Girl's Weekend. I really look forward to the time with my friends. Usually it's during the summer, but with having Adelyn, our tradition was thrown a bit. This past weekend was it! This year we went to Hastings. No particular reason other than it was close by, but far enough away from normal to make it feel like a get away.

We set out in the morning. It was a quick drive there. And pretty too. It was about peak for the trees. We walked around Main Street for a bit and got a lunch recommendation. We headed over to the Muddy Waters Cafe for lunch. After lunch we went to Elm Spa for facials and massages. The facial was great and the Chai tea was awesome. Instead of heading to an apple orchard like we had planned, we were all too relaxed to want to do much. So we checked into our hotel and talked about a dinner plan. We ended up at a Mexican place that kind of reminded me of El Loro. But you only get one basket of chips. What's up with that?? But dinner was good. Then it was hot tub time! Then we played games (Who, What, Where) and talked. And talked. The next morning we hit a cafe for breakfast and were on our way home.

I had a great time! It was so nice to be with my friends for more than just a quick chat. It was hard to be away from Adelyn though. Especially since she was on a hunger strike and didn't want to eat from a bottle (even though she has before). I am so thankful that Ben wanted me to have this time and that he made it work.