The St. Louis-Chicago Trail of Tears

We have quite an adventure this past week. It all begins on a snowy day in March, when Pete broke his humerus up close to the shoulder joint while snowboarding at Alpine Meadows in Tahoe. We stopped for an xray on the way out and it showed no breaks. The recommendation was to get some physical therapy, see if it got better, and if not, it was probably a rotator cuff tear and he would need an MRI and possibly surgery. So he followed that advice and nearly a month later got on MRI after it hadn't healed. Turns out, it actually was broken, they just didn't see it on the xray! So last Thursday, 2 days before we were supposed to leave for St. Louis, Pete had surgery and an overnight stay in the hospital. The surgery went well enough that he was able to fly, but I wasn't anticipating much help with luggage or Hana on the flight.

On the Friday before we left, after picking Pete up at the hospital, I took Hana to the doctor. She had been fussy for a few days so I wanted to make sure she didn't have an ear infection before we got on the plane. She was cleared for takeoff and we were all set. As anyone with kids has probably discovered, airlines have become much less family friendly and do not allow pre-boarding for people with kids. (Brief digression: I just don't get this! It's not just a favor to the family, it's a favor to everyone else who is held up in the aisle by families trying to get settled. Don't the airlines want to get the planes off the ground on time?) However, they do allow pre-boarding for people with disabilities, and a broken arm counts. So we got to pre-board anyway - thanks Pete!! Then I sat us in the wrong row and had already strapped the carseat in, and Pete had to try to switch seats with someone so he could sit with us...anyway, long story short, he ended up buying a drink for the nice man who agreed to switch so we could all sit together.

Saturday morning, we learned why Hana had been cranky. Diarrhea. It wasn't too bad (she's had worse) but she continued to be a little whiny and grumpy. And who could blame her? Of course, what with Pete's broken arm, guess who ended up changing all the diapers?

We had a great time with Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Paul, and they spoiled Hana. We went to the zoo, a couple of playgrounds, shopping at the mall (she rode the carousel and played in the play area), played a lot in and around the house, and spent a lot of time going up and down the stairs. Hana slept really well, too, which was great - because you just never know what will happen when you travel. She slowly adjusted herself to the time change.

Then the real fun began. Hana and I got up really early on Wednesday morning to take the train to Chicago. The biggest challenge was the @#&*(*(** carseat. It was a pain to bring on the plane, and it was a HUGE pain to bring on the train. It's heavy, and awkward, and it is supposed to fold up and be easy to carry, but it just wasn't. The night before, it took the 4 of us about an hour to figure out how to get the damn thing folded up, and finally we ended up shoving it in a army duffel bag for me to carry. Which worked OK, but then we couldn't get it out at the end of the trip! More on that in a minute...

The train ride was supposed to be 6 hours. It started out lovely. Hana enjoyed walking up and down the aisles and visiting with the passengers, looking out the windows, and playing in her seat. About an hour into the trip, she fell asleep easily in the ergo and I thought it was going to be smooth sailing. Then the train stopped. The conductor told us a train was stuck ahead of us and it would be 50 minutes to an hour before the equipment could be brought in to move it. (*groans from everyone*) Then about 30 minutes later, the conductor informed us that there was a fatality, and we would be sitting there for "quite a little while." The porter told us there had been a collision between the train ahead of us and a car, the driver had died at the scene, and they had to call the coroner. There wasn't much we could do, so we just hung out. Pete emailed me the story on line, which confirmed the accident, but said the man had been airlifted to the hospital and was expected to survive. We never did find out the truth. I suspect the conductor just told us there was a fatality so no one could complain. They were kind enough to give us free snack packs for our trouble.

In the end, we spent nearly 10 hours on the train, and Hana did pretty well, all things considered. She was fussy and restless, and had a hard time getting down for her second nap, but she managed. She ate a lot of Cheerios and shook her rattle on and off the whole trip. I was glad Wendy had made me two sandwiches.

Hana got lots of compliments on her behavior from the passengers as we disembarked. Except this one old woman who kept interfering with us and telling me what Hana needed - "She's too hot!" "She needs this!" "She needs that!" Finally, she gave me a dollar and told me to get her some cold water. I tried to refuse it but she insisted. I shoved it in my snack pack, and I think I accidentally threw it out. REALLY annoying. Especially because she kept TALKING when Hana was almost asleep, and then she would wake up and I'd have to start the soothing process all over again.

When we got to Union Station, I had to go to bag claim. My mom had arrived to come pick us up but had to park really far away, as there was no parking at the station. She met us at bag claim and we lugged all our crap out on a luggage cart. (Those things cost 5 bucks! But worth it when you have a 20 lb carseat in a duffel bag.)

Hana and I waited on the curb by the taxi stand for my mom to bring the car around. Everyone was smoking and I was doing a very intricate dance to try to stay near the luggage but stay away from the smoke. I decided to try to get the carseat ready so we could pop it in and go. I couldn't get it out of the bag. A guy nearby put out his cigarette and offered to help. He offered the following qualifications for the job: "I used to be a Navy Seal so I am familiar with this type of duffel bag." Huh? Anyway, we yanked, and pulled, his friend got involved, Hana was in the Ergo on me screaming her head off, and 10 minutes later the thing finally came out. It was not unlike labor and delivery. The Navy Seal thanked me because, in his words, "That was my workout for the day. And you know I mean it, because I'm a pro wrestler, and so I work out a lot." Let me just say, it was apparent that he had not worked out in a long time. Despite the fibs, I was grateful for his help. My mom drove up and then we spent the next 20 minutes trying the get the giant ^*(*&*(^ carseat into the compact car that Hertz had provided. We finally managed it, but no one can sit in the front seat. Oh wait...we have to fit 4 of us in the car to go back to the airport on Sunday...guess someone will have to sit in the front.

We made it to DeKalb and hour and a half later. Hana slept a good portion of the way, and went to bed shortly after we got there. I had a glass of wine and then went to bed.

That was Wednesday.

Then there was Thursday. To be continued.

Logan's Birthday Party

Hana's buddy Logan turned 1 this past weekend and Hana was invited to the party. Logan took it all in stride, playin' it cool. Hana went a little nuts - inside, outside, up the stairs, down the stairs, eating everything in sight, not sitting still for a second. For 3 hours straight. She even sampled some smoked salmon and caviar (loved it - see caviar face in the pic) and had her first cupcake. It was probably more sugar and salt in one day than she has had her entire life. I suppose even a 10-month-old is entitled to a day of decadence once in awhile. I do hope the expensive taste does not become a habit!

New Video

1) walk a thon
2) bananarama

Music Class Is a Hit

Yesterday we went to our second music class of the semester. Pete came too. Hana just amazed us. First of all, when everyone got their sticks for the rhythm song, Hana picked them right up and started banging them together - she knew exactly what to do. I had to get out of the way to avoid injury because she is a ferocious percussionist. There is another song where the kids all get to pick out an instrument from the pile. For the second time in a row, Hana went for the same instrument - the water bottle with rice inside. It's her favorite thing to shake and rattle. During the free dance period, she was all over the room, finger-walking with Pete. Man, can that girl move, and move FAST. So fast that she managed to grab a lot of faces and mouths (fortunately, mostly the adults) before anyone knew what hit them. She's like the Tasmanian devil, a whirlwind of mischief.

The thing that I have the hardest time getting my head around was that it was clear she could tell the teacher (Ryk) apart from everyone else. We all sit in a circle and Ryk sort of leads the group in songs and movements. I don't know how she could tell he was the leader, but her full attention was on him and you could tell she knew she was supposed to follow what he was doing. Then at the end of class, when Ryk got out the guitar to sing the good-bye song, Hana walked right over to him and started strumming his guitar with him. (Then, of course, she put her hands over the strings so he couldn't play. :)

She was so wiped out from music class, she fell asleep on the car ride home and I just took her upstairs and put her to bed for the night in her clothes without any dinner. Guess I'll have to make sure to bring her food and jammies with me next week!

Leaps and Bounds

That's practically what she's doing! Tonight, something clicked, and she started walking like she's been doing it all her life. She doesn't go very far, but suddenly out of nowhere she just lets go of whatever she is holding on to and walks to whatever has caught her attention nearby. Up until now, she's only really walked with encouragement, such as back and forth between Pete and I.

On top of that, in the past couple of days, she's started dancing. If she's standing up when the music comes on, she bounces up and down to the beat. Very cute. We have her enrolled in music class again this semester so she's likely to be doing more and more of that. I took her to class last week, and she uncharacteristically didn't move much the whole class - she just sat there on my lap enthralled with all the activity (it's mostly toddlers, running all over the place). After a few lessons, I have a feeling she will join right in.

Some more good news - I found my camera! In the diaper bag, which we rarely use now that she doesn't need her diaper changed every 5 minutes, and we're not usually gone for more than a couple of hours. So more pics and video to come.

walk-a-thon

A New Era of Sleep?

Sleep patterns are ever-changing. While she still cries nearly every night when I put her in her crib, she has learned to get down from standing within a couple of minutes and lie herself down. Then she proceeds to cry and talk intermittently until she falls asleep, which could be anywhere from a few to several minutes. But the point is...she's doing it herself. The last 3 nights I haven't had to go in to soothe her or lie her back down. It will be nice if this lasts even for a couple of weeks.

We finally caught Hana walking on video, that is, Pete did. If the video is not too long, we can post it. I'll remind Pete.

She's still a bottomless pit when it comes to food. Tonight for dinner she was like the very hungry caterpillar and ate the following:
-1 cube of tofu
-1 cube of cheese
-1/2 jar of peas and brown rice
-1 strawberry
-6 or 7 Kix
-Several pieces of brown rice cake with cream cheese

Then she rubbed the leftovers in her hair. :)