Jet-Set

WOW. Did you know that time flies when you're having fun? And time really flies when you're really flying (and having fun). Time super-flies when you're super-fly. It's a scientific fact (what?). The super-fly Sarabia-Cox trio took to the skies last week, and spent a lovely 8 days in Virginia Beach with family and friends. The visit was warm and relaxing and happy, and jam-packed with amazing people. And these amazing people were all offering to change diapers- "Ohhhh, can I do it? Just let me do it".. "Um...YES. Absolutely, you can change the poopy diaper."  Piper did swimmingly, considering that meeting new people can be awkward, especially when they want to immediately kiss you and hold you close. My family planned a meet-and-greet party for Piper, which was all sorts of fun, though Piper did decide to nap through most of it (baby prerogatives: sleep through own party, poop on people, etc.).  We were able to spend time with close friends and family, and eat whopping amounts of delish food. Much appreciated.

And the airplane? I will admit that we were pretty apprehensive about a barely-4-month-old 30,000 feet up in the air, but it was surprisingly easy. She only got a little fussy for about ten minutes during the descent of one of the four total flights. That's IT. We also learned that we kick ass as traveling parents after changing the poopiest diaper EVER- right in our seats, with Piper in our laps, amid some sketchy turbulence. The sweet flight attendant even comped us two glasses of red wine for our excellent in-flight parenting skills.

Another point of updateness: We had a doctor appointment today for immunizations, etc. Piper is 15 pounds, 24.5 inches long. The nurse said she's in the 75th% for weight, height, and head size. Basically, I don't think you're ready for her jelly. Or brainpower. Development is on point. Introducing solids (cereal) in the next week. Hooray!

And now, I shall bombard you with photos (more to come, after I develop my film and get photos from other people):

Yea, I fly for free. I know people.

No delays?? NICE.

Piper meets Great Daddy Joe.

Lay off, Mom. I got this.

With Great Grandy.

Daddy's Personal Assistant.

Droolmaster.

Best friends with babies. and dachshunds. 

New friends, daughters of old friends: Piper and Saylor.

We're new at this..

We are new parents. Obviously. We are CLASSIC new parents. This means that we freak out over normal things like gas, too much pooping, not enough pooping, coughing, sneezing, anything that pops up on her skin that wasn't there the day before, too much spit up, etc. I really do make a conscious effort to NOT worry about these things, and I can sit here and casually make a joke of it, yet every time she seems to have more phlegm than usual, I call the pediatrician's office. (Basically, all of the receptionists and nurses hate me, which is why they've stopped returning my calls). Chalk it up to being first-timers, right? Neither of us actually know how to care for a brand-spanking-new human being, so we do our best. She'll be a tree-climbing kind of kid in no time, so we're just getting all of our senseless worrying out now, is all.

Piper has had some tummy troubles this week. We are beginning to think that she is a "sensitive system" type of baby. (Or is that us just freaking out?) There are two things that make her completely inconsolable: 1) tummy troubles, and 2) that period of time when we don't know that it's tummy troubles, so we're trying every other possible thing, instead of fixing the tummy. Tonight was a rough one. But each rough situation teaches us how to do (or not do) something for the next time, as cliche as that sounds. So maybe by the time Piper's a teenager, I will know how to burp her properly.

And now, I want to discuss the Bumbo Baby Seat. First off, we didn't know this thing existed until seeing it in a friend's photo online, and asked Google "Where do you get one of those turquoise gumdrop-looking things with leg holes?" It is called a Bumbo Baby Seat, and there have actually been some complaints against it.  These complaints were made by parents who sat their baby in one, put it atop an elevated surface, and walked away, or went for a walk around the block or something. Because we have no plans to be totally irresponsible, we went for it. And we like the Bumbo. It came in the mail two days ago, and it's been helping Piper sit up straight ever since, with its cute, lavender gum-dropness. Takes up minimal surface area, and promotes neck and back strength.  A++. Below are some photos of Piper and the Bumbo.

Bumbo on the couch.

MY TOES!

Bumbo on the table. Supervised, of course.

Insert anything into mouth, drool, repeat.

Crafting with Mom.

Christmas Catch-up

So the updates started after Christmas, but to dial back a couple of weeks, we had a FANTASTIC Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at Grandma and Grandpa's house, with the Sarabia's.  Piper was mesmerized by the beautiful tree, which stood an impressive 10 feet tall and was decorated to perfection:  sparkles and colors and fun things to touch.  She rocked her festive dress for a while, which made for a handful of cute photo ops (too bad Adrian and I were in PJ's the whole time), and she made friends with Patches, Vicente and Andrea's famously funny little pup.

Highlights of the visit include: a delicious spread of homemade treats, the Christmas Eve backyard fireworks show, a hilarious card game, quiet moments around the tree, and Piper actually receiving a hippopotamus for Christmas (because "only a hippopotamus will do.."). Thank you Lorraine, Rick, and the whole gang for helping to make Piper's First a memorable one. And to my so-loved family out of state, having you there would've truly made it all complete- we missed you. 

And back at our house..