When we first met Nathan on his Birth Day we knew we had made someone very special. But Leo and I never would have guessed we had witnessed the birth of an ANGEL! And you never know the true virtues of a person until they are put to the test. Tested we were on our latest trip to NY.
Nathan and I took a flight to NY last Thursday and we had to fly through Baltimore for a plane change. The last time we flew he was only 10 weeks old and slept easily anywhere, anytime he felt like it. He got lots of attention (who doesn't love a baby, especially a sleeping one?). This time I knew it would be different. He is mobile, which makes it more difficult, but his personality is coming alive, which makes it less boring. It seems like his ability to entertain me and everyone around us proved to be the most important of his qualities. We had a four hour layover on our first leg. Knowing this ahead of time I planned to sit around and have a long lunch, read, nap (him hopefully) and watch the planes. The plan went even better than I thought it would. We met such nice people at every turn. There was a couple going to Raleigh to visit their grandchildren and they were enamored with Nathan, watching him eat his banana at the diner where we were hanging out. The hostess smiled at us, the Southwest Employee cooed at him, the flight attendants waved and even the pilots, when we passed them, asked if we needed extra assistance. The thought of traveling with a child sounds, and is stressful. But because babies strip that outer layer we all carry with us in public, they actually make it all the more pleasant. At one point we sat near a man with long hair, bandana and sunglasses - a real serious motorcycle-looking dude. One little smile from Nathan and the guys' face lit up. The facade had fallen and it was easy to see this guy was probably really nice. (Not that motorcycle-looking guys aren't nice, just intimidating!) Those four hours went by quickly and before we knew it we were on the plane to NY and flying over the city.
On a side note. If you ever have the chance to fly into Laguardia if only to see the city from that height, do it. It's so cool to see the stadiums, the bridges and rivers, Central Park and all the other landmarks. The view going home was even better as the sun was setting in the west casting brilliant orange light and long shadows. Amazing!
The 2nd leg of our trip went well as Nathan busied himself with the in-flight magazines and his toys (which he loves to throw on the ground repeatedly). He barely made a fuss. That is, until his mommy was not holding him.
When we arrived in NY and saw the familiar faces it took a bit of time to warm up. I figured that is pretty normal since he doesn't get to see his grandparents, aunts and uncles all the time. I did not, however, anticipate separation anxiety. My little angel found another face, one of fear that his mommy was gone forever. Please find my mommy! Real tears spilled over is red face and he wailed as he searched the room for me. Yes, this is flattering. But it is also a pain when you just need one stinkin' minute to go the bathroom! We dealt with this on and off all weekend as he slowly warmed up to the faces again. I think he also has a weird aversion to bearded men. This is an issue as several of his uncles and grandpa's have beards! If you know the way to his heart though, he will likely overcome it. And since he is a male, that path leads to his stomach.
Nathan will eat anything and all day long if you let him. Muffins, fruit, oatmeal, potatoes, cereal, cheese, cookies, veggies, you name it - he will eat it. I seriously thought he was going to explode. But he didn't complain once as long as food was present. Sure, I may have bribed him a time or two (I swear I never would!) but you gotta do what you gotta do!
Over the weekend we didn't get the snow that was promised in NY but that made is possible to visit with Grandpa Leo and Babci and he got to meet cousins! We went to Vinny & Siobhan's and met Kevin, Kiera and Nicholas too. Nathan really seemed to enjoy the kids and they loved him too. If only we lived closer so they could know each other better!
The rest of the weekend Nathan was spoiled by Pop, Grandma Jo, Uncle Tim & Jen, Uncle Greg & Aunt Danielle. He played peek-a-boo, which he has perfected with anything he can find and even played with his own reflection in the window. Hilarious! We worked on "giving kisses" in which he returns the kiss with his own little fish face and we figured out his sign of acceptance. If he likes you, he will tap his forehead to yours. Then you are in!
We went to a Baby Shower on Sunday to welcome Liam Brendan Subba into the world. Nathan came along and clung to me all day. BTW, if you ever need a good diet, get a kid. Between the nursing, running around, spending time cutting up
his food and not even being able to get to the food table b/c you have a kid on you and in your arms there is little time and energy for feeding myself. I'm not complaining. Anyway, aside from the clingy-ness, we had a nice afternoon.
By the end of the weekend we were ready to go home to Daddy in Raleigh. And by some miracle we made it. But at some point in the day I wasn't so sure we would. While we were gallivanting in a snow-less NY, everything south of us, including Baltimore Washington International, was getting dumped on by Mother Nature. Airports were closed and flights were cancelled. By Monday afternoon things were running again but not very smoothly. We learned our 3:40p flight was bumped to 5:20. So we did what anyone would do to kill time - shopping! We later ventured to the airport with the 5:20 flight in mind (with heavier bags) when I got the call that it was now a 7:20 flight. Not sure what to do, hang around or go back to Dad's to wait, Joanne and I decided to just go in and see what was going on. Good thing we did - my flight was boarding right now!!! Have you ever had the pleasure of running through a New York Airport carrying a baby, pushing a stroller and carrying two bags before? I hope you never have to. It was nerve-wracking and exhausting. I somehow got through security (they make you take off your baby's shoes and jacket - yeah, I'm really smuggling something in there. Why even let him wear a diaper?!), ran around looking for Gate B4 (It's hidden with B2 so I ran right past it) and then I was told I had to get an actual ticket at the desk. What?! Not a problem after all - they were holding the plane for me. I got on and finally caught my breath. Poor Nathan. He was just being jiggled around like a rag doll. Good thing he is sturdy. After we sat a while and finally took off I realized I never had time to for a potty break so I did the unthinkable. No, I did not pee in a barf bag. Eewww. I asked a flight attendant, a complete stranger, to watch my precious baby so I could pee. I knew she couldn't run away with him, right? Nathan was not a fan since, as I mentioned, he's only got eyes for mommy. I heard him screaming over the plane's engines, poor kid. We got a little kiddy goody bag out of it though, and they still seemed to like him.
I wish the drama could have ended there but we still had hours to go until we set foot in our home. The 2nd leg kept getting delayed every few minutes. Even when we finally got on the plane around 8p (for a 6:20 flight!) we didn't leave the ground until almost 9. Fortunately, Nathan was able to get comfy, laid his head down and passed out. Thank goodness. I was out of patience and ready to drop myself. We landed just before 10 (not midnight which we feared earlier, or worse not at all if I got stuck in MD), found Daddy and went to get my bag. Even thought I made the flight from NY, my luggage did not. D'oh! I didn't even care because I was so tired. And my bag showed up the next morning, yes they delivered it to the house, before I even took a shower. And the guy who delivered it said his daughter was looking for a house, were we selling?! Ha - maybe that was the reason for the craziness - to sell our house! The universe works in mysterious ways.
Anyway, we narrowly escaped before weather happened again. If I didn't make that last flight out of NY (yes the last) I don't know when I would have come home! Now, we are all caught up since being away and in house news, things are moving along. We've had 4 showings and a possible offer is on it's way. Oh to have this all behind us so we can get the new one and settle again . . . who knew we would have such an exciting 2010. I'm kinda hoping it's a little tamer from here on out. Although, a little adrenaline never hurt anyone.
Extra cool! (Thanks Dad & Jo!)
(You had to be there) Saturday we had a nice breakfast (delish french toast Nonni!) then went out for the day. We hit the Aquarium at Fort Fisher. It was fun to watch Nathan watch the fish. He doesn't know what's going on yet but being more a toddler than a baby he is more aware of his surroundings everyday and can point and notice new things all the time. Afterwards we stopped for some lunch and a quick visit to the beach. We let Nathan sit in the sand and yet again observe. He seemed interested in this new texture between his fingers and even started to do a little digging like a puppy would. It was a little too cold to stay for long but we can't wait to bring him back this summer. We relaxed the rest of the evening and watched some Olympics on TV. A nice getaway as always.
when he "drops" (or throws) his cup onto the ground and he will often watch our lips when we speak as if to try to capture how exactly we make all these sounds that are words. In the last few days he seems to be aware of the top of his head and often puts his hands up there. This is cute until he has banana hands. Then he has banana hair. As if he knows that banana makes a great mousse!