Dallas reunion

I know this is a terrible shot, but it's one of the last pics I have of Sarah and me before kids four years ago. It's from a bar crawl we did in Hudson, Wis., where Sarah lives. Here's what this picture tells me:


1) I haven't had a drink in a LONG time
2) We're both moms...wow
3) The last photo album I put together was from 2006 and there's no way in hell I'm going to get everything organized before my maternity leave is up
4) Our Dallas trip is most likely not going to involve a bar crawl with three kiddos in tow


Sarah came to Cleveland with Eliza, her one-year-old, to throw me a baby shower in June (<3). When she was here, she reminded me that you can still do fun stuff with a little one strapped to you. We ate lunch at Anatolia Cafe, browsed local Cleveland goods at Made in the 216 and ate dinner at Luxe. I also drove them on my fave Cleveland street, Cliff Drive, for awesome views of the city, and we walked the paths at Edgewater Park and Lake View Cemetery until my preggo toes tired.

I know we'll have a blast on our Dallas trip, and I'm sure Sarah will inspire me to try to take Dylan places I might otherwise be intimidated to visit. The weather looks great, too, so I'll have a few more days for flip flops... BONUS!

Dylan's first road trip

Just got back from a whirlwind trip to Michigan for my cousin's wedding near Detroit. The trip with a newborn was manageable with a few key items: my magical wrap which is 2-0 for putting him to sleep at weddings, the unfortunately named My Brest Friend nursing pillow and D-man's pacifier and clip.

The reception was at Waldenwoods, which is a charming, historic resort/luxe campground. Lots of little cottages and lodges on the ground. The bridal party kept the soirée going post-reception with a bonfire, but we hit the hay instead thanks to D-man's haphazard sleeping the night before. My aunt and uncle hosted a yummy brunch this morning since so many guests were from out-of-state and it was nice to recap the weekend.

We hit major traffic driving home because of the Michigan game and we wished we were driving Phil's car with his OSU tire cover. To add insult to injury, we had our own unfun version of a tailgate in a rest stop parking lot when I had to feed Dylan cuz of a mini hunger meltdown. Such is the life of new parents, I guess.

Dylan was a charmer and handled all of the attention (I lost track of how many people held him) and new surroundings like a champ. Let's hope I have similar luck with our Dallas trip!

There's a new sheriff in town and he's headed west

 

My new little traveling companion, Dylan (aka Mingus), arrived almost seven weeks ago. As I mentioned when I first announced on the interwebs that I was pregs, I was really looking forward to taking him out and about and planning his first trip. Then the little bugger rocked our world and it was hard to imagine how I'd ever feel comfortable enough to take him on a flight by myself and navigate with all of our gear. 

Now I'm starting to feel like I can handle it...maybe. Particularly after hearing how other new moms have tackled this challenge. Before I chickened out, I booked us a flight over the weekend for a trip to Dallas next month (my birthday month :)) to meet up with my friend Sarah (my mom hero) and her two girls at her parents' house. I'm really excited, but also slightly terrified about maneuvering Dylan, his stroller, car seat and diaper bag and my gear through the airport, not to mention keeping him comfortable on the flight. 

In terms of gear, so far he loves my Moby wrap (see above pic), so I plan to keep him in that on the flight. Our stroller (love, love, love our Bumbleride Indie) is thankfully a model that's compatible with a car seat, so that will be less to carry. And, I bought a cover for the stroller to minimize dirt when it's gate checked (all recs from Sarah).

Wish me luck on my quest to find Dylan the world's tiniest cowboy hat and stay tuned for pics of how we manage to fit three car seats in the back of Sarah's parents' car...