Omaha by the Numbers

For a twist on the usual post, I thought it would be fun to do a rundown on how our trip went in this way:

• Total number of miles travelled: 1403
• Number of states we visited other than Texas: 4 - Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa.
• Number of hours it took to get to Omaha: 9 1/2
• Number of stops we made getting there: 3
• Number of hours it took to get home: 10 1/2
• Number of stops on the way home: 5
• Number of times I had to request to stop for a bathroom break: 0 (miracle!)
• Number of times we traveled anywhere without the help of our navigation unit: 0
• Number of times we still had to turn around, despite the help of our navigation unit: 4
• Number of billboards promoting breastfeeding spotted on the drive: 2 (so random!)
• Amount of $ spent simply driving on the Kansas roads: $14
• Number of tissues Harper pulled out of the hotel tissue box: approx 46
• Number of times we were pulled over for speeding: 1
• Number of tickets issued for speeding: 0
• Number of bugs who lost their lives on our windshield: 10,579

About 6 weeks ago we decided to go on an adventure. Max and Kayla were getting married, and since it was only a 10 hour trip according to Google Maps - what the heck???? I personally love road trips and Jon has had plenty of experience driving cross-country during his times of leave while in the Army. We are hoping our love for adventure and road trips gets passed down to Harper and we figured it's best to start 'em early!

We left Thursday night at 7pm on the nose. Jon had slept all day and we were hoping Harper would sleep most, if not all of the trip up there since that was her normal bedtime. Me, well I was hoping to get some sleep, but figured I could somehow catch up when we got there.

Harper was a little confused at first, not understanding why she was in her carseat in her pj's and not in her crib but once the sun set at 9pm, she was out like a light, only waking up when we stopped for gas, then falling right back asleep. The trip there didn't seem so bad. I took the first leg, handing over the steering wheel somewhere in northern Oklahoma, where Jon drove the rest of the way. I managed to take a few cat naps, but (as much as I love it) the car didn't provide a very smooth ride when laying down in the back.

Jon did get pulled over once for speeding in a small town at about 2:30am as we travelled. He was clocked going "near 40" though the posted speed was 30. Harper enjoyed looking at the pretty blue blinking lights while the cop ran our plates. He must've been in a good mood because he let us go with just a warning - woohoo!

We had a great time seeing all the family there - most of which we hadn't seen since our wedding, and even longer for others. The wedding was beautiful and Harper had a great time. She also loved spending so much time with Mimi and Poppy since we were in the same hotel as they were.

This trip marked the first time Jon and I have ever slept in the same room as Harper. It was easy in a lot of ways, but proved difficult in others. By Friday afternoon, we were all tired and cranky and needing a nap before the wedding that night. But having us in the room with her proved to be too much of a distraction and Harper decided she would rather play and talk than sleep. I thought I would try and help her out and put the pack and play partially into the bathroom where she couldn't see us. It became quiet way too quickly, and when I got back up to check on her 10 minutes later, I discovered she had almost emptied the kleenex box which was right at her level in the bathroom.

Despite how tired and sore Jon and I felt most of the time, it was a great time and well worth the trip up there. Harper did absolutely great, especially for being totally out of her routine, going to bed late every night, and missing most of her usual naps. She's proven herself to be such a flexible child, willing to go along with the flow whenever we decide to throw something new at her. Everyone loved seeing her and Jon and I are so blessed with how well she behaves in every circumstance.

Here's some pics from the weekend (though we got absolutely none of the bride and groom - Bad Auntie Holly!):

Here's Harper and her cousin Stephanie. We're hoping to go back up to Omaha next April for Stephanie's wedding.

Crashed out after the wedding. Bed, please!

We had breakfast on Saturday morning with Diane and Scott. I'd explain how we're all related, but it's much too complicated to describe here. Just know that we're thrilled to have Diane and her family be part of ours. They're truly wonderful people and we love every chance we get to spend time with them.

Diane was kind enough to let Harper taste her first lemon. It didn't get quite the reaction we were expecting. Though we did manage to get one sour face out of Harper.

Here is Diane with a huge piece of pineapple in her mouth.

Playing with Mimi and Poppy before we said goodbye.

"Are we there yet?"

Harper and her setup. She loved being able to watch Elmo in the car. What a treat!

One note/lesson on her carseat. I am a supporter of leaving infants rear-facing as long as it seems practical to do so. So many carseats now are rear-facing up to 45 pounds, and our plan has always been to leave her so for as long as we can because the safety of infants' necks and spinal cords in the event of a car accident is increased hundred-fold if in a rear-facing position. That being said, we (I) brought up the idea of turning her around for the ride home so that we may have better access to her should she need something. Well, I (we) regretted this decision about 10 minutes into the drive home as Harper discovered she kept "dropping" her blanket, then would scream every time she couldn't reach it. It also props her into a much more upright position, and let her see all that she was missing out on, which made it more difficult to fall asleep for her nap, since we left Omaha around noon.

Somewhere in Kansas we pulled over to a rest area so we could once again turn her seat around. She was much happier, which in turn made us much happier. And also is proof-positive that she will remain rear-facing for quite a while longer. And that's just fine by me (us).

Splashin' Around

Mimi got Harper this water play area the last time she was visiting and we haven't had a chance to play in it yet since the weather has been yucky every weekend since.

I blew up the inflatable parts of it on Saturday anticipating it would be a good weekend to try it out. Harper loved it just as it was without knowing how much more fabulous it could be with water.

Here she is experiencing it how it was meant to be!

She loves bath time so we were hoping this would be a hit. She absolutely loved it! We only stayed out for a short while, but she loved every moment of it. Turns out I plopped the mat on a couple of fire ant hills and we all got bit unfortunately. That didn't seem to slow her down. Next time I'll park it under a tree so we can stay out a little longer - and hopefully avoid the fire ants!

Getting the Hang of It

Harper and I spent about 45 minutes walking up and down the sidewalk Friday afternoon with her walker. She enjoys pushing it, but usually ends up on her knees once she loses her balance, then continues to push it on her knees. For some unknown reason, she was in the mood for walking on Friday, so walk we did. She really hasn't expressed much interest in exploring walking yet, preferring to crawl, which she's extremely efficient at, I might add.

We tried again on Saturday and she had zero interest whatsoever. Like her hair, walking will just have to happen in its own time!

Spoonin'

Grandma has been working with Harper to teach her how to use a spoon. It's been a bit of a messy process as you can imagine, but when I went to pick her up on Friday, I found Harper using one (almost) like a pro! Turns out the new yogurt she's eating makes it much easier to practice with since it sticks to the spoon really well.

This morning I got some pretty good video of it. Here she is enjoying some of her strawberry banana yogurt. (I'm semi-whispering because Daddy was asleep in the room next door after working all night). Harper loves to feed herself and willingly gives the spoon back for more each time. She's impressively good at it!

My Perspective

Every morning I drop Harper off at her Grandma and Granda's house for a day of fun. She has never experienced the fits of crying when I leave - yet. In fact, it's just the opposite. Every morning we run through the same routine. I hand her and her things over, give a kiss goodbye, out the door, turn around to "kiss" through the glass, "touch" hands through the glass, wave bye bye, then get in the car and wave as I drive away. Harper is usually so excited to get to the door to "kiss" and "touch" it, that she's usually kicking me out. Though to her, it's more of a licking/slobbering all over the window and banging the glass mixed in with some playing with the garage door opener that Grandma tries to shield.

I decided to take pictures of the kiss this week because no one else can quite get my perspective of the whole thing. And boy, what a perspective it is. She'll forgive me eventually for this, right?

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

This past Saturday we took Harper to her first Rangers game. We had been looking forward to the game for the past month or so. They were playing my old hometown team The Angels, and it was also Josh Hamilton bobblehead day. Now, I've never been a huge baseball fan, but I do easily become fans of certain players. Back in the day, I loved the Dodgers because they had Brett Butler and Mike Piazza. I've followed The Angels my whole life because I grew up 20 minutes from Anaheim Stadium (or whatever it's being called this minute), and feel a certain sense of familiarity and warmth for that stadium since all of the Harvest Crusades are held there. I can't remember any specific player that I've absolutely loved from The Angels, and it's been a while since the Brett Butler/Mike Piazza days. Enter Josh Hamilton. I won't go into it here, but he's got a great story, an amazing testimony and I just like the guy. Okay, maybe I love him. In any case, I love watching the Texas Rangers because I love Josh Hamilton. And Salty. And Kinsler. (Hey, I just listed those guys without even looking them up! Yay me!)

All that to say, I'd really been looking forward to Saturday. It was Harper's first baseball game and the first one Jon and I had ever attended together. He loves the Rangers so he jumps at any chance he can to go. Seeing a special matchup between The Angels and The Rangers was just icing on the cake, especially since it adds to our hometown rivalry. ;) Having it be Josh Hamilton bobblehead day was the candy sprinkle on the icing.

It had been raining all day long so we weren't sure if the game would be called off or not. We made our way down there with the hopes everything would be good to go. Word was that the game was definitely happening but there was going to be a delay. As I saw the people streaming from the stadium, arms filled with bobblehead boxes, I became more anxious to just get parked so we could get one of the limited numbers they'd be giving away. Thankfully no one had to be hurt and we each got one.

A note about Texas hospitality: I checked the website for permitted items allowed into the stadium and we packed our two small soft-sided coolers with sodas and snacks since hard coolers are not allowed. We got to bag check and realized cans were not allowed either (oops!) and I contemplated either ditching the sodas and cooler or trekking back to the car in the drizzle. That's when the lady at bag check asked if I wanted a cart. It took me a second to let it sink in that they were offering for someone to take us back to our car in a golf cart so we could drop off the cooler that I stupidly packed with cans. How great is that??? Even better is she let us pick up our bobbleheads first so that those could get back to the car and we wouldn't have to schlep them around with us the rest of the day. I stayed with Harper while Jon took the stuff back, all the while amazed and thankful of how accomodating the staff was, like it was no big deal. It meant a lot to us, especially since they could have very well not cared and just left us to figure it out.

We spent a good majority of the rain delay in the very top row of the stadium where it was covered. Harper was amazingly awesome the entire day. We did manage to keep her heavily bribed with Cheerios, raisins and goldfish all day. Hey, whatever works, right? She spent a good part of the day snacking, hugging, dancing, flirting with the row behind us, and even taking a nap! I couldn't have asked for her to do any better, and I know how difficult it will be for her to stay sitting still once she can walk, so I was soaking up every minute of her on my lap.

Here's some of our pictures of the day. Rangers won! It was a very strange thing for me to be somewhat rooting against the Angels, though I managed to represent the hometown by donning an Angels hat. Can take the girl out of California but can't take the California out of the girl. (Oh yeah - that's a Rangers t-shirt I'm wearing with #32 (Hamilton) on the back.)

View of the new Cowboys Stadium behind us.

Hanging out in the top row waiting for the rain to stop. She got her raincoat from Mimi (who had to get horses for her Texan granddaughter). We were so thankful to have it!

Trying on Daddy's hat.

Watching the crew prep the field.

Waiting for the game to start. She amazingly left her hat alone for most of the day.

Headed back to the car, Rangers Stadium behind us.

hehe.. you think this is your bobblehead, Mommy?

Catching up on Life

Here's what we've been up to for the past month or so (in Harper's words):

I woke up from a nap and decided to pull my shirt up over my head and give Mommy a startle.

I finally wore my bathrobe and slippers - 6 months too late. My feet couldn't even stretch out!

We had a big thunderstorm and the dogs spent the majority of the night in Mommy's car. That's Wylee sitting in my stroller.

I found this cool drawer of Mommy's things but I have no idea what they're for! She tells me some day I'll have a reason to use them, but I can't imagine why.

Mommy taught me how to empty the dryer and fold clothes. I loooove to "fold" clothes.

I worked on my "cheesy" grin - yes, that's cheese.
And perfected it while Mimi was visiting.
Wylee helped Mimi knit.

Ialso explored new tastes.
Though some things are still the same.

I had a fantastic time with Mimi.

I still have 7 teeth, though the 8th just broke through.

And Mommy says I'm just too cute for words.

Oh yeah, and that I still need a bib.

I dunno

I've been absent and have fallen outrageously behind on my posting. I promise to catch up soon.

In the meantime, here is a hilarious (I think) video I caught today. Harper has a new thing with holding her hands up and shrugging her shoulders as if to say "I dunno". This video accidentally caught it in the most perfect of ways.