Latest California Trip
Only a few short weeks since returning from California we headed back West again, this time for our annual Big Game/Thanksgiving pilgrimage. This time, 10 days, three cities, five different families, plus friends. After the hell that was our last plane trip across country, we considered what would help Lux to nap on the flight out. Turns out that a little baby decongestant works miracles. Lux was able to nap, and thus was not a grumpy, whiny baby for the rest of the flight. People actually approached Susan in the bathroom after we had landed to compliment her on her beautiful angel baby, which helped alleviate some of the guilt we had at drugging her in to submission.We arrived in Berkeley, showing up at our hotel just in time to see the front desk clerk discussing the problem of the maid who spits in water glasses with the head of housekeeping. It was, sadly, a pretty clear sign of how the hotel was run in general. Let us just say that we do not plan on staying at Hotel Shattuck again any time soon.
Lux, fortunately, isn't very choosy about such things, though she had no interest in sleeping in the hotel-provided crib and ended up sharing our bad. Another omen of things to come.
We hooked up with Uncle Mike, Aunt Devi and Cousin Hera that evening. Hera and Lux played well together, and we were surprised by the fact that the cousins actually seem to resemble each other. It helps that petite Hera and lanky Lux are exactly the same size. They were really cute running around the apartment together, and Hera was especially sweet about leading Lux around (not that Lux was all that inclined to be led). Then Paul and Susan left Lux behind and went to Scott and Felicia's Bon Voyage party. Scott and Felicia, and their daughter Sofia, are moving to the East Coast (all the better for us!) so this was their last San Francisco hurrah. Came back to find Lux and Hera snuggled in bed together, very cute.
Next day was Big Game! It was a slow climb to the stadium, with Susan feeling as large as she looks at seven months pregnant and Lux in the stroller, but no problem once we were there. Lux had a great time first half, got to practice her high fiving techinique, but with only one Cal touchdown that half, hadn't quite warmed up enough for her "Touchdown Bears!" move. She particularly enjoyed using her new sign language sign - blowing, to indicate something hot. There were barbecue grills at the stadium giving off plumes of smoke the entire game, so there was a lot of blowing.
At half time Aunt Danielle and her partner Gina came out to pick up Lux to give her a break and a nap. Lux went off without a peep and apparently enjoyed her visit to their apartment. We had, of course, remembered to send along some specially chosen DVDs (Baby Einstein at the Farm and Teletubbies Baby Animals). Paul and Susan stayed to enjoy the much higher scoring second half and a satisfying rout of Stanfurd.
We saw Mike, Devi and Hera again on Sunday, with a trip to the wonderful park right outside their front door. Lux still has her swing aversion, but learned to slide all by herself and absolutely loved it. We also discovered that she can hang on the monkey bars and support her own weight with no problem. Lux made friends and played in the sand and climbed around like, well, a monkey. Lux had a hard time taking naps, so was pretty darn grumpy by bedtime, but it was a good day nonetheless.
On Monday we drove East to Reno to see Paul's cousin Heather, her husband Kian and their 4 month old daughter Gillian. It was the first time Lux had been around a baby for any real amount of time, and we were happy to see her deal quite well. She seemed to alternate between ignoring Gillian and showing mild, but not malevolent, interest. We hope she feels the same when her brother arrives. Gillian is beautiful, very calm and happy. She was a reminder to us that Lux really was never a particularly easy baby. She nursed well, slept well and wasn't collicky, thank God, but always did demand a lot of attention.
Heather and Kian have a couple of slot machines in their game room, which Lux took to like a pro. Paul turned his back on her and when next he looked he found her inserting quarters, pushing the "play two credits" button and actually winning. Too bad we couldn't use her on the casino floor the next day, where Paul and Susan lost their pocket money between the Wheel of Fortune slot machine and the $3 blackjack table. While Paul and Susan were getting the urge to gamble out of their blood, Heather, Kian, Gillian and Lux napped off their buffet breakfast on leather couches. They all looked very sweet - like a tumble of puppies, when Paul and Susan found them.
After our short Nevada side trip, we headed south for LA. We arrived late Tuesday and Lux slept with Paul and Susan, shunning the special crib we had bought to keep in LA for our visits. Just like she had shunned the hotel crib, and Gillian's very lovely crib. Hmm. Susan resigned herself to spending nights getting kicked from the inside by the baby, and the outside by Lux.
Wednesday Lux spent at the park with Grandma Paula working on her slide skills, while Paul and Susan shopped at posh Gelson's for our Thanksgiving feast. Shopping done, we spent the rest of the day in the kitchen, cooking as much as we could ahead of time. On Thanksgiving, Uncle John, Aunt Vanessa and Cousin Gwen arrived, and Lux got her second chance at practicing to be a big sister. Gwen was more of a match for Lux, as she is only six months younger, is a very adept crawler, is a sturdy little thing and has an older brother so she is used to a little rough treatment. Lux sometimes got frustrated when she felt that Gwen wasn't playing with toys "correctly" (we are definitely seeing signs that indicate Lux is going to be bossy!), but was gentle and even good at sharing (sometimes). Sadly, Lux was also showing the unmistakeable signs of coming down with a cold, and what with all the hustle and bustle around her, had become very clingy. Paul spent the afternoon trying to make Thanksgiving dinner come together while juggling a fussy baby who wouldn't leave his arms.
Crying Lux aside, Thanksgiving went very well with nothing burned and everything tasting just as it was meant to. However, at about 1 am, Lux awoke very sick, unable to breathe well. We had run out of cold medicine, so Paul had to throw on his clothes and cruise Pacific Palisades for an all night pharmacy. He came back with everything the grocery store had, and we dosed Lux and let her watch DVDs on our laptops until she fell back to sleep. Lux's cold grew worse, but she still managed some good play time with Gwen on Friday and Saturday. Her clinginess grew to epic proportions, as did the amount of snot pouring out of her nose.
On Friday afternoon, in spite of Lux's cold, we went to see Ron, Lillie, Henry and Alan. It was Alan's 6th birthday party, and he had a Moon Bounce, which Lux was not interested in, and lots of cardboard boxes and marker pens, which she adored. Lux had loved hanging out with Henry and Alan at the glamorous Hotel Shattuck, so it was nice for her to see them again.
On Saturday we changed locales again, travelling down the road to Granddad Dan and Grandma Jane's house. Lux was happy to see the dogs, but with her cold and new fear of abandonment, she was a lot more wary of them (as well as Granddad and Grandma Jane) than she had been a few weeks earlier. No surprise that she slept with us again. At least it was a King-size bed this time.
Sunday we had brunch with John, Vanessa, Gwen, Grandma Paula and Grandpa John, then went to the Pacific Palisades farmer's market for fresh pomegranate juice, granola and raisins (Lux was not too sure about the gold colored ones). On Sunday night we celebrated Susan's upcoming birthday with a great meal and coconut cake (and antihistimines for Susan, who now had Lux's cold). On Monday, Granddad, Grandma Jane, Paul, Susan and Lux played at being rich and jobless in LA with a shopping excursion to Montana Avenue.
The flight home went remarkably well, in spite of everyone's colds. We got home very late, and Lux, no surprise here, decided she liked sleeping with Mom and Dad and shunned her own crib. The morning marked an end to the excessive clinging, as she happily waved goodbye to Paul when he went to work.
Now we have been home for a few days and settling back into schedule. Susan had an OB visit that showed everything to be progressing quite well. Lux has decided she is a big girl now and will not take any bottles or drink formula. She also is being very resistant to sleeping in her crib, so we have been introducing her to her new big girl bed. No matter where she falls asleep at night, however, she has been ending up in bed with us, a habit we will have to nip in the bud. She also moved to a one nap a day schedule with all the time changes.
Lux still likes to look at photos, and always waves when she sees a picture of her Aunt Karen. She has gotten very interested in "organizing" - for example at Granddad and Grandma Jane's house, her favorite activity was the moving of playing cards from one plastic bowl to another. One morning Paul also found an odd collection of items, including some underwear and his cell phone, neating arranged on the toilet in the guest bathroom. Now that we are home she feels free to play more independently and has amused herself quite well while Paul raked leaves. Though she still doesn't love to wear hats, she does like to play with them around the house, especially if they are Paul's hats. Lux thinks the colander also makes an excellent hat or fencing mask.
Still no real words, other than Dada, which she says an awful lot (nothing even resembling Mama. She really is a Daddy's girl). She does have her sounds and signs, and understands virtually everything we say, so we try not to worry that her vocabulary will be limited to "blah blah blah" "Dada" and "No" when she is 16. And if it is, I imagine we will save money on cell phone bills.
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