We were really nervous about the long day of travel it would take us to get west, but Nora turned out to be a good little traveler. Billy snapped a photo of her in the Baltimore Airport, climbing all over her car seat and excited to undertake her big adventure! She was in good spirits and so curious about what was going on inside the plane that she stayed awake for the entire flight to Chicago. She was a bit cranky during the layover, so I had to walk around the terminal for a while, but she wouldn't go to sleep. By the time we boarded the second plane, she was getting kind of punchy. You can tell in the photo that her eyes are wide open with curiosity even though she's dead tired. It was hard to get her to sleep on the long trip from Chicago to Portland, but she probably ended up dozing through about half of the flight. At one point when her fussing was stressing me out, I decided that if you get on board an airplane without headphones these days, it's not my fault that you might have to listen to my baby cry. : ) (I have a lot more to say about the traveling aspect of the trip, so I'm hoping I'll get a chance to sit down and share some travel tips I hope to remember next time I get on a plane with a little one.)
We arrived in Portland and made it to our hotel in our rental car without incident. I decided to stay in a hotel in Oregon City because it has some good memories for our family, it's centrally located, and all the rooms have a view of the river. Once we woke up the next morning, I had Billy take a picture of me and Nora in front of our view. I'm accustomed to seeing bags under my own eyes at this point, but I've never seen them on a baby! She was tired from the trip but because of the timing of our arrival, she went to sleep when we got to the hotel, woke up around 7:30, and managed to get right back onto her regular sleep schedule.
We spent most of Saturday with my mom, who met us for brunch at Shari's and came back over to hang out with us down by the water after Nora's afternoon nap. It was great to see Mom. I'm glad hear that she is enjoying her new job a bit more than the last one, and since the warm weather has finally arrived in Portland, it is her favorite time of year. We also spent most of Monday hanging out with her at her house. I loved getting a chance to see her interact with Nora, who was happy to have her Oma hold her for long periods of time. This was a nice change of pace from when Mom visited us in the Spring and Nora was still every bit the Mama's girl. Mom got a chance to see all of Nora's favorite activities-- playing around on the floor, eating, observing new surroundings, babbling away, and the like. I wish my mom could see all of Nora's developmental stages first hand, but since she lives on the opposite side of the country, I'm thankful that her visits with Nora have still given her a chance to see each of my baby's major stages. She continues to encourage and support me and Billy as parents, which I also appreciate. A lot of people are inclined to try to tell new parents how they should do things, but my mom isn't like that. She seems to enjoy hearing how we make decisions when it comes to Nora, and I enjoy hearing her reflect on the things she remembers about what life was like when Nate, Vickie, and I were little. My mom has always been good at letting me know she's proud of me, and though I sometimes take that for granted, I've been extra appreciative of it as I've spent the last year figuring out how to be a good mom myself. It is also fun to hear Mom talk about the things she wants to do with Nora as she gets older, and I hope they'll have a chance to do all of them!
Saturday evening we got to see Shaye, Eric, Connor, and Caleb Shira. They were a big part of my Dad's life in his last ten years, and he developed such a close relationship with Connor and Caleb that they eventually started calling him Grandpa Mark. They are great kids and it was a lot of fun for me to see them get so excited to meet Nora. It was great to watch her interact with the boys, and it was nice to have a chance to chat with Shaye and Eric. We all miss my dad, but it's reassuring to hear that they hang onto their special memories of him and think of him often as they move forward with their lives. It was a little bittersweet to think about how much Dad would have loved to be there for the dinner, but at the same time, I know how pleased he would be that Nora will get a chance to know the boys. Someday I hope they can show her some of the things my dad enjoyed doing with them.
On Sunday, Billy, Nora, and I got together with some of my friends from high school who have little ones. Jo and Alex hosted at their home in Southwest Portland, and it was great to meet their four month old daughter, Francie, who I feel like I know already from reading Jo's blog posts. Krista and Jordan were also there with their girls; Clara is three and a half and Evie will soon be two, so Krista and Jordan are the most experienced parents of the bunch. My friend Tina and her husband Greg were there with their daughter, Sophia, who is only one week younger than Evie. They are getting ready to move to Montana soon, so I'm glad they were able to make it. Rounding out the bunch were Rachel and Trevor, who were expecting their son Logan last time I saw Rachel. He just turned one in March and didn't seem to mind all the girls running around. : ) These girls often make a point to see me when I'm in town, so we've had several chances to sit down and catch up through the years. This time, with all the kids, we still got to enjoy some frequently interrupted conversation about what we are up to these days. Most of all, though, it was so nice to see the kids together, trade parenting stories, and see that all of these friends I like and respect are doing a great job with their children. Jo and Krista took a bunch of pictures, and I'll be sure to post some here when they get a chance to share them. Thanks again to Jo and Alex for hosting! With a four month old and a recent return to full-time work, I don't know how Jo managed, but it was so nice to see everybody and not have to worry about disrupting anyone out in public.
That afternoon, we went over to Krista and Jordan's house to spend some more time with them and the girls. Last time we saw them, Evie was close to Nora's current age and Clara was close to Evie's current age, so it was fun for me to think about ways they are similar and ways they each demonstrate their own individual personalities. I have always been especially attached to these girls, even from afar, because Krista and I have been friends so long and she has been such a help to me as I've made my way as a new mom. That made it extra fun to see how they interacted with Nora. They were good about sharing their toys with her even though she put them all in her mouth. Clara was a little nervous at first, and told me in a mildly concerned voice, "But we don't *want* anybody to eat all our toys." I explained that Nora doesn't mean to ruin anyone's toys, but she puts them in her mouth because that is one of the way she feels and understands new objects. Then Clara went and got a toy cupcake, handed it to Nora, and told her that would be a good thing to put in her mouth. A few minutes later I heard her tell Evie, "Don't worry, she is just *pretending* to eat the toys."Clara has always been so vocal that it's easy to see (and marvel at) how her little mind works. Evie still doesn't talk a whole lot, at least not in words I can understand, so I was surprised to find that it's not as hard to figure out what she's thinking as you might expect. Krista took some pictures of the girls together, and she takes such good ones that I didn't really even bother with my phone, but I did snap this one picture of Nora and Clara playing together. I know it's not the best photo but I still love it because I love both of these kids so much. That evening, we all went over to Krista's parent's house, where my mom met us for dinner. Again, we spent more time talking about the kids than anything else, but since I grew up in Bart and Becky's house, it was nice to see them again and introduce them to Nora. I've been friends with Krista and Jordan so long that it's always great to see them. Often when I introduce people to Nora for the first time, I feel kind of anxious about how it will go, but with them I have always been able to just relax, be myself, and enjoy the time we have together. We always end up joking around a lot, so Billy fits right in (though to be fair, Billy fits right in with basically any group of people).
As I mentioned, we spent most of Monday with Mom, but we did take a mid-day trip up to visit Dad's niche at the cemetery. I haven't been to Portland since Dad's memorial service, and on that day I left my LIVESTRONG bracelet behind. It's still there. I don't know what I'll do when I first see a photo that shows it has finally blown or fallen away, but in the meantime, it brings me some comfort to know that a little part of me has been there with a little part of him all this time. I'm glad Dad asked to have part of his ashes interned because I can now appreciate the ritual of having a place to go to "visit" him and reflect on what his loss means to me. It was hard and nice to take Nora there for the first time, to find that the picture Vickie took around the holidays was still there, and to replace it with more recent ones. Nora and I had a chat about the same things I tell her often-- that her grandfather would have loved her very much, that he would have been thrilled to know her, and that I was doing my best to make sure she would learn the things I learned from him. She was curious and intrigued by the space, just like she is about everything else. She also held herself up on the "Mark" bench for several minutes and looked out at the amazing view of the Willamette Valley. I don't know how Billy always knows the exact right thing to do and say, but he does, so having him there as a calming and reassuring presence made it a really special visit.
I think that about wraps up the first half of our trip-- more to come when I get a chance to write about our trip to Bend!
That picture of Nora on the Mark bench is really touching. Looks like you guys had a great trip!
ReplyDeleteSadly, I STILL haven't uploaded the photos from your trip here. Hoping to get to that this weekend. We loved seeing you, even if it was brief. :)
ReplyDelete