Road Trip

Lilly went on her first road trip this weekend to grandma Agnes and Grandpa Alf's house (about 3 hours away). Her longest car trip before this was to Pflugerville in Texas, which was about 40 minutes. She slept almost the entire way there, which was really surprising. Because of the evening nap, she was up until 1 AM, but that's better than screaming in the car! On Saturday, she "played" with her cousin Gauge. He's amost two and is full of energy. He went out on a the tractor with grandpa then came in and announced "tractor" to sleeping Lilly. I don't think she was too impressed since she woke up and started crying but someday she'll like a tractor ride, too.

On the way back today, we stopped at one of Al's great aunt's place. She told us she's 86 and wished Lilly a life without any arthritis. She played organ and harmonica for Lilly in between gushing about how cute Lilly is. It's fun to see how a baby can make people so happy. We had ice cream and cookies--. She asked to see if Lilly wanted any ice cream. I politely declined. Then she offered crackers. I said I thought Lilly would be OK. Then she offered vanilla ice cream instead of the cherry and maple nut on the table. I found another way to say no. She decided she wanted to hold Lilly again and entertained her as she fussed a bit. She said "eenie meenie miny moe" and then got distracted. I hoped the rhyme wouldn't continue like I thought it would. She continued"catch a..."well, you know how that goes. Then went on to say, "Oh Lilly, you're not a [rhymes with tiger] are you?" in an entertain the baby voice. Within the next minute, she said something about Lilly wanting some ice cream. Before I could do anything, the ice cream filled spoon went right into Lilly's mouth. Not quite how I envisioned her first non-breastmilk feeding to go. All I could do was smile. When you're 86, you can get away with a lot of things.....she's such a nice lady and I know she meant well. Funny how social norms change over the years. When we left, she called Agnes and talked for over 45 minutes about how cute Lilly is. I think we made her day. I guess a little ice cream won't hurt......but we won't make it a habit just yet.

We ate at the orignial Pizza Corner resturant on our next stop on the way home. She cried quite a bit after we got on the road again. The lullabies playing ( no more Opie and Anthony "shock jock" radio for daddy anymore) toys on the car seat, and pacifier weren't doing the trick anymore. I turned around with my finger in her mouth until my hand went numb. Finally, I went in the back seat and rode with her and she was all smiles. In Texas, she would be upset if Lora sat by her--"Why aren't you holding me Auntie Lora? I can see you?" Funny how times change. It keeps me on my toes--things don't stay the same with a baby for long.