New Orleans - Day 1

After our trip to California last weekend, I was dreading our cross-country flight. It's definitely more challenging to fly with Isla now that's she mobile and wanting to walk everywhere. So, I spent a good part of the week (the little free time I had) at Value Village, the library and Michael's scrounging up any small and cheap toys/books that would be "new" to Isla and keep her entertained. I shouldn't have been so worried. She behaved like a peach for both our flights though she didn't sleep a wink despite her tired state. The new toys were definitely a smart move on my part (as was downloading the Peekaboo Barn App on Graham's I-Pod touch) and kept her busy for far longer than I could have imagined. She did learn a new phrase though before the trip was over. She began exclaiming "Own seat!" when she was tired of sitting on our laps. We improvised and tried to make her her "own seat" by raising the armrest between us and skooching as far apart as we could from each other. By our 2nd flight, she was getting pretty zoned and was quite happy to sit on the floor at our feet and sing little tunes to herself.


I must give a little "Boooo!" to the Continental staff who we found to be less than helpful at the airport. It was interesting to travel 10 days apart on 2 separate airlines and experience the difference. The flight attendants were fine but the check-in and gate people were a real pain. I was trying to ask whether the flight was full to see if we might be able to change our seats so we could have an extra for Isla. They just told me "I think that flight's pretty full." Well could ya please look!!? Turns out, it wasn't full and there were open seats all around us except for our row....grrrr.

Anyhow, because we're cheap, we took the city bus from the airport to our downtown hotel ($4 vs $40!) Us, along with our large suitcase, duffel bag, backpack, laptap man purse, real purse and car seat. I think this will be the last time we take public transit from the airport to our hotel. I can't imagine how we could possibly do it with TWO kids and TWO car seats! We are getting a rental, but we're waiting until we head out of town (to save another $100+). But yeah, our plan worked out great until the bus broke down. We didn't realize there was even a problem until the bus all of a sudden pulled off into the grass and the driver told us to get off and board the bus behind us because "this one is broken." What?? The ordeal only cost us a few minutes but meant we had to lug all our stuff from one bus to the next which probably wasn't the prettiest of sights. I'm sure our bus driver thought we were absolutely nuts and wondered how we were possibly gonna make the trek from the bus stop to our hotel (a good 12 blocks). But we managed, no problemo.

And now I'm reclining on the bed, enjoying views of the city with Lake Pontchartrain off in the distance from the windows of our 37th story room. Meanwhille, Isla is keeping busy emptying the ice bucket all over the floor...

It was 7 PM before we settled into our hotel but it didn't feel quite that late with the time change. We hit the streets immediately and began exploring the French Quarter.

We meandered about, on an indirect mission toward Le Meritage, a French restaurant recommended by our guidebook. The place was toted as being a great restaurant for traditional French foods on a budget. Maybe the white tablecloths fancy place settings should have deterred us. Or the fact that the hostess asked "May I help you?" when we walked in. (Uh yes. We'd like a table?? Like most people who walk into restaurants?) We made sure they had a high chair and decided to go for it, in hopes Isla's cheerful spirits would last through the meal. I wanted to blurt out "We took this girl on a three week tour-de-France and she did great. Trust me, she'll eat what you serve here" but I restrained myself. We ordered a handful of small plates (shrimp and crawfish bisque, cabbage salad with golden raisins and almonds and truffle oil dressing, two ways--foie gras and roasted--scallops with white bean puree and rabbit with tagliatelle). It was quite delicious and I think all of our fellow diners breathed a huge sigh of relief when they saw that Isla was not going to interrupt their nice meal. Isla LOVED the bisque and kept asking for "more meat" (shrimp/crawfish). She learned to say a lot of new proteins "shrimp, scallop, crawfish and rabbit." You should have seen the look on her face when we asked her if she liked her duck! I think it was just a coincidental expression but it was like she had "WHAT!? I ate duck!??" written all over her face. Hopefully we didn't scar her.
 
And what night in New Orleans would be complete without a walk through Jackson Square with a stop at Cafe du Monde for beignets and a cafe au lait? HEAVEN! At first Isla didn't even seem to notice we were eating again. Then out of nowhere, she just dove in and grabbed a beignet off the plate and took a bite and proceeded to eat the entire thing (I wasn't going to deprive her of the opportunity but I wasn't going to necessarily offer it to her if she didn't notice....but who can miss one of these, really?)

We headed for the riverwalk and strolled along the Mississippi River on our way back to the hotel. I loved how magically southern it all looked lit up at night!

Then came tickles and a pillow fight and then off to bed for the wee one who was pretty wiped by this point. A great start to our time in New Orleans!

This girl was not at ALL phased by the height of our hotel room...

Interview with Isla (21 months)

I realized I haven't been taking me video lately which is quite a shame given that Isla is saying too many hilarious things each day to begin to count. I love how she incorrectly pronounces certain words and am feeling an urge to get it all recorded on video before she learns the right way to talk. :) So tonight I spontaneously interviewed her during her bath and I think I captured a pretty good snippet of her little personality. It's not short and it's not roll-on-the-ground hilarious but Graham and I both found it cute nonetheless (though our new computer only seems to upload a wide, stretched out version to YouTube which is super annoying).

Oh and, by the way, who taught my daughter to count to 10????!! (Almost). Seriously! I just realized she could do that yesterday. Maybe she HAS been paying attention all this time...

Change is a comin'

It amazes me how one small envelope can more or less contain the ticket to your future. One of these such envelopes was waiting for us upon our return from California last Sunday night. This type of mail probably should not be opened after 9:30 PM on any night, let alone the eve of a particularly packed work/school week that would allow little time for Graham and I to converse. But we opened it and I'm proud to say no tears were shed (which is pretty amazing given that I am pregnant and cry without notice!) We are still processing what it all means, but think in the end, it is good news for our family.

We knew that Graham's recent switch to the nurse practitioner program at SPU might alter his graduation plans a bit, but we weren't quite expecting this. Basically, we received an updated curriculum planner for all of Graham's remaining coursework and according to it, he won't graduate until June of 2013. We were so hoping that we were entering our third and final year of school but he has one class outstanding that is only offered in winter quarter that needs to be completed before he begins his final year of clinicals. Soooooo, that means he will be taking a leave of absence from school for both fall of this year and spring of 2012. He will be taking one class this summer and then after that, will only be taking that single winter class until June of 2012 when the home stretch year begins.

As much as we would LOVE to just GET THIS OVER WITH, I'm honestly filled with relief. I sort of would like the guy around when our baby arrives and this new schedule will give him some good time at home to bond with our newborn. Let me illustrate by giving you a brief synopsis of this past week:

Sunday: arrive home from CA and rush straight to a Wilson family birthday celebration
Monday: Graham works 8 hours, heads straight to class, gets home ~9:45 PM
Tuesday: Graham works a 12, gets home at 9:15 PM
Wednesday: Graham works an 8, comes home to plan his worship set for Sunday, then we go on desperately-needed date which goes horribly, ending with me sobbing in the car (long story)
Thursday: Graham is off but studies all day
Friday: Graham works a 12, I work too
Saturday: Graham goes to class, I work, we go help friends move until ~11 PM
Sunday: I work, Graham leads worship at the AM services at church then works from 3-11 PM
Monday: Graham is back at work at 6:45 AM for another 8 hours, followed by class and then will have to pack sometime tonight after 9:30 so we can head for the airport by 6 AM tomorrow

Needless to say, the guy needs a break (and so do I!!!!) He has been working so hard and I think would appreciate having a life, even if just for a few months. We can't really remember what it felt like to "just work" and not have school/studies in between so I think some great family time is in order. And financially, we weren't sure how we were going to come up with an extra $15,000ish dollars for tuition this coming year + money for a new car + money to pay hospital bills without dipping significantly into our savings (which is supposed to be for a house down payment...) This will allow us some time to save up a bit before tuition bills start showing up right and left again.

So that's where we are right now. I feel at peace with this change, though I've occasionally felt a bit bummed. This means we'll be pushing the purchase of a house out another year but it also means we have another year for our townhouse to regain some value. I know the Lord is taking care of us and His timing is perfect. This passage in Jeremiah has come to my mind many times this week:
Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

That's the latest news from our end....

Another one for the list....

So today I had a coworker tell me: "I think you're having a boy because of the pimples around your mouth. I had a friend who never had acne until she was pregnant and then she had a boy. So I think you're having a boy."

Awesome. My self esteem is just soaring! Oh and for the record, I got pimples with Isla and she was a girl. Not sure we've narrowed down the most accurate predictors just yet...

What next, what next?

BARGAINS!!

Look at my killing! I went to Target today in search of a "couple more" summer items for our upcoming trip to New Orleans/Florida. Little did I know, the Woodinville Target is remodeling and so had TONS of in-season clothes on clearance to save space. I bought all of the above (3 dresses with matching diaper covers, 3 tanks and 2 skirts, 2 pairs of summer jammies and a pair of jellies) for only $34.12!!
Now I'm just wondering if I should go back for more.....

Tidbits

I have officially been a mother now for 622 days. The journey has been more fulfilling and stretching than I ever could have imagined but I would not trade it for the world. I love that I get to be "Mom" to this beautiful, caring, energetic, affectionate and sweet head of curls. There are moments where I grow totally overwhelmed with the responsibility that comes along with this title. The responsibility to love her, to help her develop a sense of self worth, to keep her safe, to teach her, to nourish her and most importantly, to show her what it means to walk in relationship with God. That's a LOT of responsibility! Oh but the joy that she adds to my life!

 My brother-in-law gave my sister a Mother's Day card that read something like this: "Behind every great kid is a mother who is pretty sure she is totally screwing them up." I couldn't have said it better! I am so thankful that the Lord gives me grace for my failures and that I'm not doing this alone.

I think Isla must have known that it was Mother's Day weekend because she pulled out all the stops and was more affectionate with me than I've ever seen her before. My little non-cuddler just could not seem to get enough of me which really fed my soul.

She was also extra adorable so I wanted to take a moment to record the tidbits of the weekend that just made me swell and melt as her mother:

-We were out to dinner really late one night and Isla was falling asleep in her pasta (actually, she was totally sleep-eating....the girl was NOT going to let a plate of noodles go to waste, no matter how tired she was!!) I asked Isla if she wanted mommy to hold her and rub her back so she could fall asleep. She knodded eagerly, said "Uh huh!!!" and held her arms up, hands cupped together toward my face. She was out in mere minutes (and this was the 2nd time she fell asleep in my arms on our trip--the gift of snuggles!)

-Sometimes I forget that Isla is now in the phase where she repeats almost everything we say. We were driving along in the car and I took a drink of ice water which for some reason led me to blurt out "Ice, ice baby." Without missing a beat from the backseat we hear Isla exclaim "Ice babies!", a phrase which was then repeated numerous times throughout the trip.

-For most of the weekend, Isla acted like seeing me was the best thing that could have possibly happened to her. I wouldn't even have to leave the room and she would look up and she me and squeal "Mommy!!!!!" and then run and hug and kiss me over and over again. She really got into kissing me on both cheeks repeatedly, turning my head so that she could plant the kiss where she wanted it. I'm pretty sure she was trying to kiss me on the lips (something we save for mommies and daddies around here) too. Actually, there were moments I thought she was trying to make out with me she was so affectionate. She even began to say the word "kiss" and learned to make smacking sounds.

I will cherish this weekend and am so thankful for all the ways my daughter blesses me!

Californians....for the weekend

We just got back from a lovely trip to the LA area with the immediate Crozier clan to celebrate my last brother-in-law's graduation. We enjoyed much-needed and basically homework-free long weekend together IN THE SUN! I woke up this morning feeling rather refreshed and rested despite all the activities we managed to cram in.

After landing in Ontario, we joined the Senior Croziers and Scotty (the to-be graduate) for lunch at Taco Nauseo, a place that claimed to have "The World's Best Fish Taco Since 1978." I actually preferred the shrimp taco myself and looking back, deemed this lunch to be the best meal of our trip. We spent the remainder of the day in Pasadena, reconnecting with our good friends Jackie and Brant and Miss Maddie Mae. Unfortunately, I didn't pull out my camera until after dark and so didn't capture a whole lot of great shots.

Except this one which I just love!

Maddie and Isla had a BLAST together and spent most of the afternoon chasing each other up and down the hall in the Himes' apartment, giggling and laughing all the way. They are actually only 2 months apart although Maddie has almost a good head on Isla height-wise. :) I love the last shot of the two girls when we asked them to kiss each other goodbye. Isla totally leaned in and went for it!

We stayed in Covina in a rather spacious room at the Radisson. Our little family ate most breakfasts in the room to save $$. We made Isla eat naked since strawberries were involved! We totally improvised and used plastic bags for "plates," hotel cups for bowls and tp for napkins.

I came away from this trip feeling like we seriously have a superstar traveler for a daughter. I don't know if she just has the perfect disposition for traveling or if it is a trait she has learned with all the traveling we have made her do but she was such a joy basically the whole trip. We were only stationary in one place for her to nap in an actual bed ONE time the whole weekend and she somehow survived (and thrived!) on only brief power naps on-the-go. She even stayed up until 10 PM on most nights and had a bad cold. I fell in love with her all over again (times two!!) this weekend but I'll save some of that for a later post....but look at her here. How could you not?

John and Tash arrived late Thursday PM so we all met up on Friday morning to attend Scotty's convocation ceremony at Azusa. The sun was out which made me a very happy girl. Next, all of us (minus Scotty who had ooodles of papers to write the whole weekend), headed to the J Paul Getty Museum for a couple hours of culture.

Isla didn't so much appreciate the art and preferred to push her own stroller through the exhibits, taking out anyone and anything in her way. As you can see, she can't see where she's going.

She threw a full on fit (she was sooo tired) in the European Impressionist Gallery (which boasted three stories of open, echoing halls) when we folded up the stroller and told her she could no longer push it. Thankfully, I found a nearby outdoor patio where she had a little alone time and a timeout (only after the nice French museum employee tried to offer her hard suck candies to make her stop screaming--a total choking hazard!) She and I spent the rest of the time at the museum wandering the courtyards and exploring a "family friendly" exhibit while Graham saw the "real" art. We were at least able to walk through the pretty gardens (the family picture above) before we called it good and took off for Santa Monica.

Isla just LOVED the beach! We kept asking her if she wanted to go to the beach and she would say "BEACH!" Once we got there, she was saying "Beach! Cool! Fun!" It was pretty adorable. The waves sort of freaked her out but she liked the "bubbles" in the water. And the "ducks" (seagulls). She sat and cheerfully played in the sand (and ate snacks) while the rest of us visited.

Of course we had to make a quick trip down the beach to see the famous pier.

I took a series of candid pictures of the family walking. John was leaping into the air in every one of them.

That evening (after getting stuck in horrid Friday night traffic), we pulled Scotty away from his paper and went out for Mediterranean food back in Azusa. The following morning, we met up with him again for a delicious breakfast out before leaving him to hit up Hollywood and Beverly Hills. I think we all thought it'd be a much quicker little trip into the city but with traffic and all the driving, it ate up most of our day.

We made a random stop at Greystone Park, since it was on our Hollywood map and we were nearby. None of us knew what it was but it turned out to have this gorgeous French-looking mansion on the property which has been featured in TONS of movies (most recently, Social Network). The whole place brought back wonderful memories of France and now I'm itching for another European adventure.

Looking rather intrigued...

....by the "acrobatic" turtles perhaps? Give 'em a break! It's spring for crying out loud! They've gotta do their thing.

Of course a trip to California would not be complete without a stop at IN-N-OUT for a burger (and fries and a milkshake for us "big" people...) And yes, I did let Isla have her first fast food hamburger. She found it rather curious.

Finally Saturday night came around, the reason for our trip! I love my inlaws....they totally spoiled us with this trip!

Thankfully the ceremony was outside and there was plenty of space for Isla to run around with the other kiddos her age in the back/off to the side. She wanted to "walk" for the majority of it but I made sure we were back in our seats to hoot and holler when they announced Scotty's name.

I LOVED spending lots of time with these two people.

The Crozier boys! I love that Graham looks like he's the youngest. He admitted this weekend that he's looking forward to going gray so that people will actually believe that he is a nurse practitioner instead of thinking he's a student like they do now. (He gets a lot of panicked patients saying "Please tell me you're not my doctor!!")

Congrats Scotty and thanks for graduating and giving us a wonderful excuse to tour around California! I only wish we could have hung out more...And thanks to the Croziers for our Californian Adventure (and all the extra helping hands with Isla and our luggage!)