Cecilia: Cross-Country Traveler

Thursday, August 9th - We left for Ohio early in the morning, as our flight left at 6:30 am. We put Cecilia in the car still asleep, and she stayed that way until we reached the airport at 4:30. She did so well on both legs of the flight. We pre-boarded, and got to sit and watch people try to sit as far away from us as possible. I overheard one lady even say “let’s move away from the baby”. She chose a seat behind a toddler instead. Ceci didn’t make a sound, but the toddler lost it!

Cecilia was very cute every time someone came over the loudspeaker. She kept looking up to the ceiling, because she knew the sound came from there, but couldn’t figure out why she didn’t see anyone.

By the way, changing diapers on a plane is difficult!


We had a quick layover in Phoenix and got into Columbus at 4:45 EDT. Grandma Dottie picked us up and took us to her new condo in Lithopolis. It was weird seeing all of her stuff in a new place, more so for Chris, I think, but it was pretty cool as well. On the way to the condo, we picked up Donato’s Pizza for dinner. Cecilia got reacquainted with Grandma, who she hadn’t seen since January. She also became acquainted with Grandma’s wooden giraffe.
Here she is exploring the new condo:

After dinner, Chris and I ran to the store to get baby supplies while Grandma Dottie kept Ceci and bathed her. She slept in her dad’s old Port-a-Crib the whole trip.

Friday, August 10th – Cecilia adjusted to EDT way better than we did! She woke up at her usual 6:30 time, except that my body was still thinking it was 3:30 am. Aunt Colleen met Ceci for the first time, and then we all headed to have lunch with Great-Grandpa Myer. Cecilia took to him fairly quickly, even giving him her version of “5” by putting her hand on top of his. Lunch went well until the very end when Cecilia managed to get a hold of Chris’s plate which had a bowlful of vinaigrette. Needless to say, the three of us smelled like salad dressing and Cecilia needed to change into her spare clothes.

We then headed to Babies-R-Us to get a shower present for our niece, Heather. I forgot how overwhelming that store can be. Ceci did get some cute clothes and toys from the family. We passed on this outfit however:
She slept so well in her daddy's old crib:


Saturday, August 11th – This was the day of Heather’s shower. Apparently, the invitation read BYOB, which stood for Bring Your Own Baby! There were a lot of little ones around. Chris came as well, but spent the shower in the family room. I don’t blame him. The only other men there was Michael (our nephew) and Mike (Colleen’s husband), who hung out in the basement. Ceci handled everything pretty well as there was a lot of family and friends she had never met before. We got to Colleen’s house around 2:00 and headed back to Lithopolis about 7pm.

Sunday, August 12th – Grandma and Cecilia took a walk so that Mom and Dad could get ready to go out for the day. We decided to take Ceci to the Columbus Zoo. She enjoyed the aquarium, the rhinoceros and the elephant. While viewing some animals in the African section, we heard this odd, loud sound, but couldn’t find its source. A few minutes later, we turned the corner and found two mating tortoises. What a way to introduce “the birds and the bees”!

Grandma Dottie really wanted to see the giraffes and zebras, but they had been moved to “The Wild” in Zanesville until 2010. We made up for it by getting Ceci her very own stuffed giraffe who Grandma named Gigi.
On the way home, we stopped for dinner at Bob Evans. Mom did not prepare well, and did not have any extra solid food on hand, so we ordered mashed potatoes. Cecilia was not a big fan (which came as a blow to me, as I LOVE the MPs) When we got back, Great-Grandpa was waiting and we had a nice visit together. We put Miss Ceci down, but not before a nice bath and some playtime with Grandpa.




Monday, August 13th - Cecilia slept through the night for the first time since we arrived in Ohio – yea!! Grandma brought out her basket of Beanie Babies which Ceci just loved! We also sorted through some of Chris’ childhood things. Ceci inherited her dad’s blanket, as well as some other items for later on.

We headed down to Aunt Colleen’s to visit with her and Harli. She “tested” out some toys for Heather’s new baby and watched “The Lion King”. She also had a good time laughing at Abby and Ashley, the dogs.

Tuesday, August 14th - What a rough night! Cecilia woke up at 4:20, 5:30, 6:20 and finally 8:10. Grandma took Ceci for a LONG walk this morning, for which I was extremely grateful. This being our last day in Ohio, we headed to campus. We drove around, looking at how much had changed, then went to Long’s bookstore. Ceci picked up two new books, while Chris got a new CD and DVD. We had lunch at Eddie George’s 27 Grille. Very, very cool! According to Chris, the men’s restroom had one-way mirrors that overlooked the bar, so you can still see the TVs and miss none of the action. There were also some strategically placed Michigan plaques. And that’s all I have to say about that.

We visited the cemetery to pay our respects to Great-Grandma Myer, then Grandpa Carl. Cecilia was asleep, but I think just having her there was what was important to us.

We went back home to finish packing, and then headed to Donato’s for dinner with the Chapman family. It was a great way to end our trip.

Wednesday, August 15th – Another early morning, since our flight left at 7:45 am. This was a LONG flight home, because we had a stop in Las Vegas, but couldn’t get off the plane. They hardly gave us time to stretch and use the restroom, because they immediately began boarding, even though we landed 20 minutes early. Boy were happy to get home!
Cecilia was happy to be home, as was Toby, who spent the week at the kennel. Ceci can now pull herself up on just about anything, but doesn’t always remember to hold on.

Her bath was a blast. She got giggling at me squirting her with her new bath toys. The gigglefest continued through diapering, putting on pajamas, and playing with Toby. She went down around 6:30, and we went to bed at 8:30. Ceci’s internal clock was a mess, because she woke up at 10:30, 12:30, 3:00 and 5:00 and was up and ready to go!

Thanks for checking in again after my long hiatus. More to come….