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Tuesday, May 29th
Fly the friendly skies…
Well, the day is here. We are going to TN today and I am so excited!!
I got up early this morning with Nathan, because if I didn’t get up then, there’s no telling when my other alarm clock would go off (Amos) and I had last minute packing to do. You know, the stuff you use in the morning before you leave that you have to pack that day!
I packed and got us ready and Amos woke up around 8, so I had some good time to get ready. We had to go get breakfast for me, seeing as how the kitchen was packed. So we got in the car and drove down the road to the Starbucks with the drive thru and breakfast sandwiches! We headed back to the homestead and Amos got breakfast too.
Uncle Dan came to pick us up at 9 and we packed the car full of luggage: Three duffles for me and Amos (it takes a lot to be away from home with a baby, for two weeks!) and two big red suitcases, full of Beth and Dan’s stuff to keep here, in TN, while they go to Africa. Luckily, we were able to get the stroller in there, too.
Amos fell asleep in the car, but only slept about 20 minutes, so he was pretty tired by the time we got on the plane.
Getting checked in, baggage checked, etc, went ok. We had a few bags over the weight limit, but nothin’ a little credit card action couldn’t solve! J
We said goodbye to Uncle Dan and headed for security. Thankfully, they have a special line that we are qualified to go through. I had to take the car seat out of the stroller, put it through; take Amos out of the car seat, put it through; put the bags, etc, through, walk through with Amos, and lo and behold, I set off the alarm. Oh yeah, knee brace. I took it off and went through again. I set it off again. Oh yeah, belt. But it was too late. Two alarms and you get to get the special treatment. So I’m over on one side, holding Amos, watching the security people take my stuff off and bring it over. I was not happy. Amos was getting wiggly and they were taking their time to get someone over to do it. I guess when it comes to security, even having a baby doesn’t get you off scott free.
After that, we grabbed lunch, a diaper change and a chai. We found our gate and the preboard line. Again, perks to having a baby!
When I gave the guy our passes to board, his response was, “We’ll try to fit the car seat on there, it’s a pretty full flight.” What? So I had to very politely but strongly insist that Amos was a ticketed passenger and that we paid for a ticket for him. Luckily I had printed out his boarding pass the night before, so I gave it to the guy, he apologized and thanked us for our patience.
The rest of the flight went well: Amos literally fell asleep as we were taking off and slept for 45 minutes. Then he ate cheerios and fruit. Then he played. I figured out how to put his seat on the floor, so Amos got to have some play time. Then he went back to sleep. And in between, there was lots of holding a squirmy baby! I got to know the lady next to us and she was visiting Seattle to possibly move there from Columbus, OH. Soon we were making our way toward baggage and saw Grandaddy at security. It was a joyous reunion. Amos waved and smiled.
When we got home, we were greeted by Grandmarmie, Aunt Abby and the dogs. We had a yummy dinner (Amos had carrots) and after some playing and unpacking, Amos fell deep asleep, at 7:30 his time. I think he was really worn out. The night went well. He was awake and asleep off and on until I came to bed, then slept for a good while. While we’re here, I hope to have as normal a schedule as possible, as things have been really hectic for the last week. I want him to feel normal again!!
We’re excited to be here and can’t wait to see more family and friends.
Tomorrow we get to see Great Grandma Hartsell, Grammy P and Great Aunt Dana. What fun!!
Fly the friendly skies…
Well, the day is here. We are going to TN today and I am so excited!!
I got up early this morning with Nathan, because if I didn’t get up then, there’s no telling when my other alarm clock would go off (Amos) and I had last minute packing to do. You know, the stuff you use in the morning before you leave that you have to pack that day!
I packed and got us ready and Amos woke up around 8, so I had some good time to get ready. We had to go get breakfast for me, seeing as how the kitchen was packed. So we got in the car and drove down the road to the Starbucks with the drive thru and breakfast sandwiches! We headed back to the homestead and Amos got breakfast too.
Uncle Dan came to pick us up at 9 and we packed the car full of luggage: Three duffles for me and Amos (it takes a lot to be away from home with a baby, for two weeks!) and two big red suitcases, full of Beth and Dan’s stuff to keep here, in TN, while they go to Africa. Luckily, we were able to get the stroller in there, too.
Amos fell asleep in the car, but only slept about 20 minutes, so he was pretty tired by the time we got on the plane.
Getting checked in, baggage checked, etc, went ok. We had a few bags over the weight limit, but nothin’ a little credit card action couldn’t solve! J
We said goodbye to Uncle Dan and headed for security. Thankfully, they have a special line that we are qualified to go through. I had to take the car seat out of the stroller, put it through; take Amos out of the car seat, put it through; put the bags, etc, through, walk through with Amos, and lo and behold, I set off the alarm. Oh yeah, knee brace. I took it off and went through again. I set it off again. Oh yeah, belt. But it was too late. Two alarms and you get to get the special treatment. So I’m over on one side, holding Amos, watching the security people take my stuff off and bring it over. I was not happy. Amos was getting wiggly and they were taking their time to get someone over to do it. I guess when it comes to security, even having a baby doesn’t get you off scott free.
After that, we grabbed lunch, a diaper change and a chai. We found our gate and the preboard line. Again, perks to having a baby!
When I gave the guy our passes to board, his response was, “We’ll try to fit the car seat on there, it’s a pretty full flight.” What? So I had to very politely but strongly insist that Amos was a ticketed passenger and that we paid for a ticket for him. Luckily I had printed out his boarding pass the night before, so I gave it to the guy, he apologized and thanked us for our patience.
The rest of the flight went well: Amos literally fell asleep as we were taking off and slept for 45 minutes. Then he ate cheerios and fruit. Then he played. I figured out how to put his seat on the floor, so Amos got to have some play time. Then he went back to sleep. And in between, there was lots of holding a squirmy baby! I got to know the lady next to us and she was visiting Seattle to possibly move there from Columbus, OH. Soon we were making our way toward baggage and saw Grandaddy at security. It was a joyous reunion. Amos waved and smiled.
When we got home, we were greeted by Grandmarmie, Aunt Abby and the dogs. We had a yummy dinner (Amos had carrots) and after some playing and unpacking, Amos fell deep asleep, at 7:30 his time. I think he was really worn out. The night went well. He was awake and asleep off and on until I came to bed, then slept for a good while. While we’re here, I hope to have as normal a schedule as possible, as things have been really hectic for the last week. I want him to feel normal again!!
We’re excited to be here and can’t wait to see more family and friends.
Tomorrow we get to see Great Grandma Hartsell, Grammy P and Great Aunt Dana. What fun!!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Too much fun, too little time!
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and today have been busy days for us.
On Wednesday, Grammy Carole, Great Grandma Hartsell and Aunt Dana arrived in the afternoon, with Emma Grace (9 months), Andrew (6) and Hallie (8?) in tow. Amos enjoyed watching all of the activity and energy these new faces brought. We had an enjoyable lunch, sharing stories and catching up from the last six months. Grammy Carole stayed and played with Amos some more and he was so happy to have a new play mate! He gave everyone lots of smiles and waves, too.
Amos had a rough day getting into his schedule on Wednesday, as I think he was getting used to being in the central time zone. I think he was also excited by the new environment and people. Bethany arrived that night, too, and we sisters were all together.
Thursday was much better for his schedule and he and I had a great big nap that morning. Uncle Jesse arrived that morning from Florida and it was great to be reunited. We were also visited again by Grammy Carole and hung out for awhile at home. After lunch, us girls all decided to go to Old Navy, for our traditional shopping trip when we all get together. Amos got a good nap on the way and had fun being with all of us. He got spoiled by his grandmas, who found lots of cute little things for him. We got him a pair of jeans, to make into cutoffs, as the other jeans shorts are too big for him! On our way home, we stopped to meet up with Grandpa Joe, who drove up from Lookout Mountain to hang out with us. We all headed home for the bonfire we were planning to have. The closer we got, though, it was decided that we would not do the fire, as there’s a burn ban from it being so dry out. So we had hotdogs and finger foods inside, and were joined by a small group of friends, which turned out to be really wonderful, being able to catch up with everyone more easily. Again, it was great to see the Partain grandparents and to see them watch Amos. He’s such a lively little person that is not fully realized in photos. My brother, Uncle Joel, also came over and got to hang out with Amos a bit.We all finally turned in really late and Amos slept a good while, again tired out by all of the excitement!
Friday was a day of relaxing for us, napping and then welcoming Great Grandma Sheehan (my mom’s mom) and my cousin Kaeleigh (7), to the Meeksarosa. They flew in for the weekend from Detroit and were excited to see Amos. We spent the afternoon hanging out together and Kaeleigh entertained us with singing to the Hannah Montana soundtrack, while listening to it on headphones. Actually, the entertaining part was my dad, dancing to Kaeleigh singing with her headphones on. That girl’s got guts!!Amos and I took a late nap and woke up, ready to go to the rehearsal dinner for our friends, Hunter and Alana’s wedding. Hunter’s mom lives close to us and had a lovely dinner in the tent in her yard. Though we’re not super close, I’ve known Hunter and his family for awhile and it was fun to be with their close friends and family. My brother gave the best speech of the night, starting off with, “I didn’t like Alana at first…” and ending with “but if you have to get married, you might as well marry the best one…” It was a sweet night. On the way home, I was reminded of the special things in the southeast: fireflies, crickets and bull frogs singing at dusk, the frogs and toads that hop in the road in the summertime, and the amazing aroma of honeysuckle, just to name a few. As I was putting Amos down to bed, it started pouring down rain, and I was reminded of the sweet rains here. Thankfully, it didn’t storm, as I don’t like that part! Abby and I ended the day with a viewing of “Casino Royale” on the dish and struggled to fall asleep, as the sugar from the cherry pie was keeping me awake.
Amos was up early this morning and we got up to have breakfast. Our custom has been for Amos to play with his grandparents while I prepare his breakfast, and they usually go out to the porch and play with the dogs. Amos loves our dogs, Jake and Pixie, the family border collies. It’s so cute and fun to hear him coo and laugh while they wiggle about. This morning, too, Amos had his first fishing trip, with his Uncle Jesse. Jesse was up early to get ready to go help set up the wedding so before the action got started, he put Amos in the front pack and took him up to the pond. Cousin Kaeleigh put her life jacket on and we all headed to the pond, with dogs and cat in tow. We only spent a few minutes up there and didn’t catch a thing! Then, after napping, eating and planning, it was decided that Grandma, My mom, Kaeleigh and Bethany would go into Franklin for some shopping and Daddy, me and Amos would meet up with them later. After lunch, we got into the Pathfinder and headed for town. About a mile into our trip, the car died. It was soon decided that the fuel was not reaching the engine and so we called AAA. I had another realization that only in the country could you hang out in the middle of the road while waiting for AAA to show up. And it was dang hot. Every time a breeze would come through, we would relish it. We also walked a bit to get the air stirred up! Soon Abby showed up to rescue us and take us to the house to wait for the tow truck to arrive. A call came to let us know they would be there in a little while, so we enjoyed the cool air for a few short minutes and then went back to the car. Amos fell asleep as we sat waiting and got a good nap. With that taken care of, we headed for Franklin to meet up with the girls for lunch. We decided on Ruby Tuesday’s, a nice restaurant in the mall that we used to visit frequently. After burgers and salad we headed to the wedding. While we were waiting for the car, it started to rain and we were worried that the wedding would be rained out. Thankfully, it wasn’t and the wedding of Hunter and Alana went off without a hitch. Amos slept through the ceremony and charmed everyone through the reception. And instead of cake, they had rented a Ben and Jerry’s cart!! After Amos had had enough of the heat, we headed home for dinner and some wiggle time. When we get home, we have our next developmental follow-up appointment, so I’ve been trying to play with Amos on the floor a whole bunch, practicing sitting up and rolling around. I think it’s helping, as he seems to be getting better at both. I now sit here, typing in the living room, on Abby’s laptop as we watch the Pistons lose to the Caveliers in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. The Cavs are headed for the NBA Championship series and the Pistons were greatly disappointed. Abby and I are about to head to bed for some quality cuddles and FRIENDS viewing.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Sunday, Monday and Tuesday Update!!
Sunday was a fun and relaxing day with our family. Amos and I took a great nap in the morning and awoke to breakfast with the family. My brother Joel came over too, and we Meeks were all together, with a Grandma Sheehan and cousin Kaeliegh thrown in for good measure!!
After breakfast and before Amos’ next nap, we all posed for family pictures on the porch, which brought out the best in us. As my dad said, “I wish we had a video of that, to watch our family disfunction!” My response was, “I don’t really want to relive that!” My brother Jesse was headed back to FL that night and there were lots of hugs and goodbyes. It was sad to think about another six months going by before seeing each other.
That evening we visited City Church of East Nashville, where many people attend that my mom was involved with last summer, in one form or another, when Amos was born. They were praying for us and were glad to see a strapping and happy Amos smiling and waving at them. We felt right at home there, as the service was much like ours in Seattle and our friend, Kevin Twit, filled in and preached for our other friend, Craig Brown (who just so happened to be vacationing in the Pacific Northwest!!). After church we went out to eat in Franklin, so that Amos could take a good nap. We ended up at one of our favorite restaurants, J. Alexander. It was an enjoyable meal, including my favorite soup, chicken pasta soup. Amos slept through the whole meal and we headed home.
Monday was the day that everyone else was slated to leave. Grandma and Kaeleigh had the first flight out, to Detroit. We spent the morning hanging out on the porch, talking and watching Kaeleigh play with the dogs. The dogs love when people play with them, throwing the balls, one after another for them to fetch. After Grandma and Kaeleigh went to the airport, our good friends Debbie, her daughter Megan and Megan’s son, Levi came over to play and see Amos. Levi is 4 and is a really sweet little guy. It was fun to catch up with everyone and Amos took a good nap after they all left! That night, Aunt Christen and Uncle Aaron came over to hang out. It was great to see them, and Amos, as he was being held by Christen, kept staring at her, as if he knew her or that she looked familiar to him. It was so cute to see him looking at her, thinking that for some reason, he knew that face. When it came time for Aaron to hold Amos, it was the beard that interested Amos. It was great to see him playing with facial hair that he doesn’t see very often!
The night ended, as most nights have, with us rolling around on the floor, to wear Amos out. It’s been really fun to play with him so much!
Tuesday morning, we had a visit from Linda Roley and Kathy Peabody, friends of my mom’s and of my friends, that I grew up with. It was so wonderful to see them and catch up with them. They have infant grandchildren, too and it was cool to hear about everyone’s little families. Amazingly enough, that morning, Amos took a 2+ hour nap. I had to go and get him up so that Linda and Kathy could meet him! He was so happy and rested. We had lunch and got ready to go shopping. Mom and I headed for Old Navy and Ross. We spent way to much time there and then went to Joann Fabrics, where we looked for belt material. We have to make special Amos belts because he is so skinny and they don’t make belts that small! So he will get his own, custom made belts, one in green, one in brown and one in navy. I’m so excited! Amos did a great job, sleeping awhile in Joann’s. We stopped off at Kroger and had to pull the car up by the door, to load up the car, as it was raining really hard! My mom’s car was already full, of baby-delivery gear, so Amos was in the backseat between groceries and bags of clothes and matierials! We finally made it home and gave Amos dinner! That night, we began a treatment for my plantar’s wart on the bottom of my foot. I am hoping the treatment works as I really want to get a pedicure!
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
More fun in the sun!
This morning, Amos woke up so early and was ready to go. We got up and had breakfast and his mood went downhill fast. My mood was not so great to start off with, being up so early, so I was glad when Amos was soon ready for bed! I finally got him to sleep and tried to sleep myself. By the time I was almost asleep, Amos was awake, only 45 minutes later! Again, I was not happy or ready to be awake! I fed Amos and changed his diaper and we were ready for bed, again! We slept for a whopping hour and a half, and we awoke, ready to face the day. We got ourselves ready for lunch and went to the Mercantile, in downtown Franklin. Amos had lunch in the car (so convenient!!) and we lunched on salads and sandwiches. After a walk around Main Street, my dad and I went over to the wholesale priced guitar warehouse, where they have guitars that may or may not have blemishes, were bought from the guitar manufacturers. For Father’s Day, I wanted to get Nathan a guitar. Nathan’s had his eye on an Epiphone Dot, which they had. I was so excited to get the exact guitar he wanted, a case, and have it shipped home for a very discounted price!! Amos did really well hanging out with the guitar guys! On the way home, he fell asleep and when we got there, I played with the dogs, as Amos and my dad watched. I had so much fun throwing the balls for the dogs and wore them out! Dad made a yummy dinner and Mom returned home from being at a homebirth since one o’clock this morning. She was tuckered out, birthing a nine pound baby on two hour’s sleep! Amos was also tuckered out, having had minimal naps today and went to bed early. I am realizing that we have one day left here and I have mixed emotions. I am ready to go to Indy and see what that’s like. I also will get to see Nathan on Friday, which I am super excited about! Getting home will be interesting though, as our house is really torn apart, as Nathan reports. Which is ok, he’s been doing so much work! The kitchen is completely torn out, even the floor! But we have a new laundry room floor and will hopefully have it painted.
Being here this long is making me remember summers in the south. It’s been so hot and humid, which Amos has done really well with. The lightning bugs have been fantastic and so has the honeysuckle. Thankfully, it hasn’t stormed, which is my least favorite thing. Also, I think being around so many people has helped Amos and his development. He blew a kiss to my dad this morning, after my dad blew one to him. His waving and smiling, high fives and peek a boos have been more frequent and it seems that he’s retaining stuff better. We keep working on sitting and rolling and Amos has successfully slept in his pack and play all week. I hope he’s gained weight, too!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Well, it was our last day here. We’ve been here so long, it’s beginning to feel like home again! I realized that if I am going to get any packing done, then the morning nap time is the best time to do it! I attempted to make the purple bag less than 50 lbs, so we’ll see how it goes! After our nap, we walked down to the creek with Dad, who was putting a minnow trap in and catch some minnows to put in the pond. The walk down was fun, the dogs and cat came with us and Amos loved watching the dogs run ahead of us and into the creek! On the way back we stopped to smell the honeysuckle. It was amazing! We played with the dogs some and then it was time for lunch. After lunch we got ready to swim. I doused Amos with sunscreen, a long sleeved t-shirt and a hat so he could go swim, in the shade. Yes, I know, it’s a bit overboard, but we have sensitive white skin in this family!
Amos loved being in the pool. I got in with him, trying out my new suit. It worked great! I also brought along his bath ring so he could sit and play independently and he loved it. I think he really likes water. We took a break and went on the swing. The toddler swing that my parents got is so perfect for Amos, as it holds him in there really securely. After more swimming, it was on to the bathtub for an overdue bath. By the time that was done, Amos was ready for a nap! That evening, Uncle Joel came over for dinner and we had a fun time hanging out with him. My mom had also been gone at a birth, and she was able to make it home in time for dinner. We watched the Office and laughed hysterically. After Amos went to bed, it was time for speed scrabble and then bed for all of us. It was hard to go to bed for the last time, there. But I think I was also really excited about going to Indy that I was ready for that time to come, as well.
Friday morning we were up very early and ready to go. I ran around the house looking for last minute items to pack and soon we were off to the airport. It was a busy day and we encountered our first layover. Amos did well all day and we were happily reunited with Nathan at the airport in Indianapolis.
More fun in the sun!
This morning, Amos woke up so early and was ready to go. We got up and had breakfast and his mood went downhill fast. My mood was not so great to start off with, being up so early, so I was glad when Amos was soon ready for bed! I finally got him to sleep and tried to sleep myself. By the time I was almost asleep, Amos was awake, only 45 minutes later! Again, I was not happy or ready to be awake! I fed Amos and changed his diaper and we were ready for bed, again! We slept for a whopping hour and a half, and we awoke, ready to face the day. We got ourselves ready for lunch and went to the Mercantile, in downtown Franklin. Amos had lunch in the car (so convenient!!) and we lunched on salads and sandwiches. After a walk around Main Street, my dad and I went over to the wholesale priced guitar warehouse, where they have guitars that may or may not have blemishes, were bought from the guitar manufacturers. For Father’s Day, I wanted to get Nathan a guitar. Nathan’s had his eye on an Epiphone Dot, which they had. I was so excited to get the exact guitar he wanted, a case, and have it shipped home for a very discounted price!! Amos did really well hanging out with the guitar guys! On the way home, he fell asleep and when we got there, I played with the dogs, as Amos and my dad watched. I had so much fun throwing the balls for the dogs and wore them out! Dad made a yummy dinner and Mom returned home from being at a homebirth since one o’clock this morning. She was tuckered out, birthing a nine pound baby on two hour’s sleep! Amos was also tuckered out, having had minimal naps today and went to bed early. I am realizing that we have one day left here and I have mixed emotions. I am ready to go to Indy and see what that’s like. I also will get to see Nathan on Friday, which I am super excited about! Getting home will be interesting though, as our house is really torn apart, as Nathan reports. Which is ok, he’s been doing so much work! The kitchen is completely torn out, even the floor! But we have a new laundry room floor and will hopefully have it painted.
Being here this long is making me remember summers in the south. It’s been so hot and humid, which Amos has done really well with. The lightning bugs have been fantastic and so has the honeysuckle. Thankfully, it hasn’t stormed, which is my least favorite thing. Also, I think being around so many people has helped Amos and his development. He blew a kiss to my dad this morning, after my dad blew one to him. His waving and smiling, high fives and peek a boos have been more frequent and it seems that he’s retaining stuff better. We keep working on sitting and rolling and Amos has successfully slept in his pack and play all week. I hope he’s gained weight, too!
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Well, it was our last day here. We’ve been here so long, it’s beginning to feel like home again! I realized that if I am going to get any packing done, then the morning nap time is the best time to do it! I attempted to make the purple bag less than 50 lbs, so we’ll see how it goes! After our nap, we walked down to the creek with Dad, who was putting a minnow trap in and catch some minnows to put in the pond. The walk down was fun, the dogs and cat came with us and Amos loved watching the dogs run ahead of us and into the creek! On the way back we stopped to smell the honeysuckle. It was amazing! We played with the dogs some and then it was time for lunch. After lunch we got ready to swim. I doused Amos with sunscreen, a long sleeved t-shirt and a hat so he could go swim, in the shade. Yes, I know, it’s a bit overboard, but we have sensitive white skin in this family!
Amos loved being in the pool. I got in with him, trying out my new suit. It worked great! I also brought along his bath ring so he could sit and play independently and he loved it. I think he really likes water. We took a break and went on the swing. The toddler swing that my parents got is so perfect for Amos, as it holds him in there really securely. After more swimming, it was on to the bathtub for an overdue bath. By the time that was done, Amos was ready for a nap! That evening, Uncle Joel came over for dinner and we had a fun time hanging out with him. My mom had also been gone at a birth, and she was able to make it home in time for dinner. We watched the Office and laughed hysterically. After Amos went to bed, it was time for speed scrabble and then bed for all of us. It was hard to go to bed for the last time, there. But I think I was also really excited about going to Indy that I was ready for that time to come, as well.
Friday morning we were up very early and ready to go. I ran around the house looking for last minute items to pack and soon we were off to the airport. It was a busy day and we encountered our first layover. Amos did well all day and we were happily reunited with Nathan at the airport in Indianapolis.
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