Whirlwind Adventure -- Part Two

Before I continue the re-telling of our recent roadtrip, I wanted to give an update on my favorite "worst baby in the world", Miss Avery Joy.  Don't get me wrong, she isn't a bad baby.  She is bad at being a baby.  She doesn't want to do baby things and believes herself to already be a toddler.  Avery started sleeping through the night at two months, rolled over at three months, and got her two bottom teeth at three and a half months.  Now four months and three weeks old, she is trying to sit on her own and is a good push away from crawling.  Given her current sprint to being a big girl, it was little surprise to us that the doctor suggested that we start feeding her real food.  The doctor and I both don't go with the standard "rice cereal first" practice, so for dinner on Monday Avery had her first baked potato.  And, true to her form, she ate it like a champ.  She has fully embraced this new challenge and will let out an eardrum shattering squeal if you don't get it to her fast enough.  The challenge in feeding her lies in getting it into her mouth, as she gets very excited and wants to help.  I can only describe it as being akin to feeding a baby octopus.  I captured this exciting event and posted it below.  And, yes, that blur in the bottom of the photo is her foot...

Now, back to our story...

We left Alabama the next morning around 11am.  I had hoped to get an earlier jump on the day, but when Junior woke up with a fever, the plan (again) changed.  I got her some meds and loaded the car.  The poor girl slept most of the way.  Much to our surprise, so did Avery.  Wanting to get as far as possible before she woke, I declared the car would not stop until she did.  It worked for everyone, until we hit Kentucky and Lee needed to go to the bathroom.  If you've ever made this trip before, you'll know that there aren't many places to stop in Kentucky.  This normally wouldn't have been a problem as Lee will be the first to tell you that all he needs is a tree, but it was pouring down rain outside.  Having no other options available, Grandma convinced him to pee in a water bottle.  Not preferrable, but it beats needing to shampoo the van's carpet.  Why would I tell this you ask?  Because I'm sure Lee will at some point relay his own version of the story to everyone he meets, so I might as well get it out there first.  Fortunately, that was the most excitement we had on this leg of the trip.

My grandfather's visitation was held the next night, which was also Junior's 2nd birthday.  She still had a fever of 103 and hadn't eaten anything but oranges for 2 days.  But my poor baby girl took it like a champ.  Having her daddy back (who was able to get his company to fly him in directly from Florida) certainly helped.  Her fever broke that night and by the end of the funeral the next day, she was getting back to her normal self.  Since the entire extended family was at my cousin's house, we decided to throw Junior a party.  I realize that sounds strange -- going from a funeral to a birthday party -- but in these moments you remember that we should never miss an opportunity to celebrate the wonderful gift of life we've been given.  And I think Grandpa Ralph wouldn't have wanted Junior to miss her big day.  No one enjoyed a grandkid's birthday (or birthday cake and ice cream) more than he did.  That gruff ole SOB was always the first to put on a party hat (be it Spiderman or Cinderella).  So, that night we celebrated the lives of both Grandpa Ralph and Courtney Junior.  To steal a line from Truvy in Steel Magnolias "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."  We shared plenty of both.

Whirlwind Adventure -- Part One

Or at least that is what we tried telling the kids.  It sounds better than "we're going to spend two weeks in the car!"  That wasn't our original plan either.  The original plan was simple -- Court would be gone for five days to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for delivery of the Robonaut.  Not wanting to be stuck at home with nothing to do, I planned to take the kids to my parents house in Alabama.  But why stop there?  From Alabama, we would go up to Illinois to see family.  Court would fly up there and meet us and we would all drive back down to Texas.  Easy breezy...yeah, right.  Here's what actually happened.  (Get comfy, this could take some time and a few blogs to cover.)

My mom (a.k.a. my hero) decided that she couldn't possibly allow me to attempt to drive the kids all the way to Alabama by myself, so she made plans to fly out the Saturday before Court left.  The week before the big adventure, my father got an interview with Texas Medical Center for a position in Houston.  Things went swimmingly as he was able to fly out with my mom.  We had a good weekend of house hunting and visiting the Children's Muesum downtown.  The interview also went well until the CFO informed my father that she was a die-hard Cubs fan because her brother onced pitched for them AFTER he told her of his love for the Cardinals.  No worries though because his current company decideded they weren't ready to give him up and offered to let him work from home in Texas.  After 2 long years, my parents are finally making the move to Texas. Woohoo!

My dad flew back to Birmingham Monday afternoon (he says he had to get back to work, I say he was too chicken to ride with three kids for 14 hours).  My mom and I packed the kids up early on the next day and took off.  Then we got "the call."  Only a few hours into our trip, my cousin Alicia had called to tell my mother her father had passed away.  He had Alzheimer's and he death wasn't really a surprise to us.  But that didn't make it hurt any less.  After a brief stop to let the children play, have lunch, and regain our composure, we continued on to Alabama. We took turns crying and driving the whole way.  Needless to say we were blubbering, puffy-eyed messes by the end of the day.  We spent one day in Alabama so my mom could pack and get her hair cut.  Her favorite hair dresser had an open appointment so we took Courtney Jr. for her first haircut.  She did awesome, which is no surprise because she loves doing anything girly.  I'll end this entry here with some pictures...but stay tuned because we're just getting started...

Aiya!

Cover of 3 Ninjas

Ninjas have invaded the Edmondson house.  They lurk in pantries and closets...they tip-toe through hallways...they're armed with a super sword and the spork of power...they will find you and you will be aiya-ed!

Are boys just born with the knowledge that ninjas, spiderman, and any other bad-guy-fighting-superheros are awesome?  I can't recall showing Lee any movies or reading any books about these characters.  Yet, somehow, they are ever present here these days.  I'm fairly certain that he learned some of what he knows from the boys at preschool...but where did they learn about it?  And how did they all come to decide it was pure awesomeness?  I have since found a few shows that have only encouraged the habits -- Lee's particular favorite is a movie called 3 Ninjas which was made in the 90's.  He loves pretending along with the boys in the movie and takes it very seriously.  It's hard not to chuckle. 

And, of course, no ninja should ever go into battle without his trusty sidekick.  While I'm sure Lee would prefer his friends Josh and Sam, he'll settle for his sister.  I'm not certain Courtney really "gets" the whole ninja thing (and she couldn't care less about the movie) but she willingly plays along, giving it her best effort.  I think she likes the reaction she gets when she "sneaks up" on me or Dad and yells out the battle cry.  Also, as any little sister could surely tell you, if you aren't willing to be one of the good guys, you become the bad guy and the target for the attacks.  Occasionally, Avery and I get in on the act and chase the ninjas around the house.  But it's all in good fun and it sure beats getting out in this awful heat!

Lee Quote for the Day:  "Courtney, let's play superheros.  I'll be Spiderman and shoot webs.  You can be Ironman and...(pausing to think)...iron clothes!"