A California Thanksgiving

For Claire's first Thanksgiving, we were lucky enough to spend it with the Kessler family in sunny Sacramento. Claire's second time traveling via airplane was a little more complicated this time around than simply making sure she didn't blow out her diaper or barf on the guy sitting in the aisle seat. Our plan, making it's way to Portland from Chicago, was delayed multiple times due to inclement weather. After hours with a sleepy toddler at the airport, the plane finally arrived. We practically jumped for joy when we actually got to line up to board the plane then, there it was...speak of a fuel leak that may further delay and/or cancel our trip. After an additional hour or so, we were clear for take-off. We boarded the plane and I tried not to think that a hour earlier our plane was deemed broken.

After wading through the travel mess, we came through on the other side with a (miraculously) happy baby and smiles on our faces. It felt good to be back with family. Considering the last (and only) time we had visited since Claire had been born was when she was only 3 months old, it had definitely been too long since we visited. Great Grandma Janet was gracious enough to welcome our family of three into her home along with Grandma Karen. The house was full of people coming and going all weekend long - it was so fun to catch up and watch our baby impress everyone with her tricks. We had a blast.

Then, Turkey Day came! The feast was just that - a true feast. Grandma Karen and Kevin cooked the day away. We snacked. We watched football. Claire got all dressed up in her special Thanksgiving Day outfit. We read books, played with toys, tried to keep the baby from destroying the knick-knacks in the house. There was beer, there was wine, there was Prosecco! The bird was cooked to perfection and surrounded by all the best fixings including the most delicious cranberry sauce and candied yams there ever was. It was the perfect day. We ate, we drank and we were definitely merry.

Aside from her first taste of real turkey and pumpkin pie, Claire got to experience things on her first Thanksgiving that would never happen in a typical Oregon November. We took many walks, we went to the park and played in the grass. We had to shield her sensitive eyes from the sun multiple times. Sun? In November? What? Oh, and there wasn't a drop of rain! For that, we were grateful. The best activity of the weekend? Grandma Karen raked up a pile of crunchy leaves for Claire to play in while we all stood around watching her, snapping photos, ooh-ing and ahh-ing. If I know one thing for sure, it is that Claire is definitely not lacking in love or attention. She got so many cuddles and kisses. With all that attention, she was all smiles and loving every minute.

The aunts, uncles, and cousins came and went. We relaxed. We shopped (thanks Grandma K!). We sat outside and enjoyed the sunshine. Great Grandma Janet treated us to Cattleman's, Kevin's favorite restaurant, in Sacramento (thanks Great Grandma J!). The days flew by and soon enough we found ourselves packing up all of Claire's new toys (and a few new items for us as well) and boarded our plane home. The return travel day was a breeze. Like they say, all good things must come to an end. Can't wait to see what next year will hold!

Cries in the night.

Claire is teething again. When I first announced that two of her top teeth were coming in, only one had actually popped through the surface. It's hard to tell because she will rarely let us look in her mouth - I usually just have to stick my finger in and feel around while she's chomping on them. Ouch! About two days ago she started showing signs of teething again and, sure enough, the other one popped through. Pair that with another tooth coming in on the bottom and my poor baby is quite uncomfortable. Thank God for Hyland's all natural teething tablets, teething gel, infant Tylenol and gripe water. When she's teething, it's a lot harder to get her to drink a full bottle before bed time which leaves her more restless and harder to put down. Once she finally falls asleep, she wakes in the night because her mouth hurts, it's uncomfortable to suck on her binky and she's hungry from not drinking her whole bottle before bed. Even though it gets exhausting, it's not all bad. Her waking in the night just allows us time for extra cuddles, songs and books in the rocking chair. Those are the special moments, even if she does grunt at me and shake her head to get me to stop singing or talking to her sometimes. Haha! She wants mama to hold her, just not make any noise! Stinker! Overall, she's handling all this teething like a champ. She's not much of a drooler anymore which keeps me from having to do a load of bibs every few days (that's nice) but she chews on anything and everything to relieve the pressure. For a little one, growing up is rough!