Road Trip, Baby!

Saturday, June 18th.  It started of as many Saturdays do - up around 7:45 a.m., happy baby gurgling and cooing in her crib to let us know she is ready to start her day.  But this wasn't just ANY day.  It was the day of Makenna's very first road trip, to Nacogdoches, TX!


Needless to say, Chad and I were very excited.  We had planned and prepped carefully to ensure that everything went as smoothly as possible.  First, there was the purchase of the pack and play.  We scrutinized the choices at Babies R Us and found one that we thought was perfect. For a few days before the trip, we had Makenna nap in it, so she would get used to sleeping there.  We purchased pre-mixed bottles of formula, apple juice boxes and baby food, and we mapped out when we would leave to coincide with her first naptime of the day.  We put the window screens on the car, so the sun wouldn't be in her eyes, and purchased the all-important spare tire, just in case of a flat.  


As Chad packed up the car, I had to laugh.  We had one large bag for ourselves, and one garment bag with our clothes for the wedding we would be attending.  For Makenna, we had one (rather large) pack and play, one Bumbo seat, one high chair/shopping cart cover, one bag with formula, spoons, juice and food, one bag of clothes/books/toys, one bag of extra diapers and wipes, and her usual diaper bag.  WHEW.  And that was all for us to be gone about 36 hours!  


Makenna was just as happy as can be when it was time to leave.  She had a full tummy, and she was ready for the nap that would ensue.  


   

We squished baby angel into the car, and off we went!  Leaving at naptime worked like a dream, because she slept for a full three hours, perfectly soundly!  Chad and I were able to chat and enjoy some time for just the two of us, which was great.  Around 1:00, it was time to stop for lunch.  And what better placed to stop for lunch on a road trip than the good old DQ, right?  Now think - have you ever been to a Dairy Queen that had a baby changing table?  Um...no.  And the DQ in Alto, TX was no different.  So we improvised!

All changed, and it was time for lunch - steak fingers for mommy and daddy, and a bottle - and almost Mommy's napkin - for Makenna.  

We then hopped back into the car for the last 45 minutes of the drive.  I sat in the back to entertain Makenna, but she honestly had NO problem entertaining herself!  


When we arrived at the hotel, Makenna was VERY excited.  (Okay, Mommy and Daddy were excited - Makenna was just going along with the fun!)  I gave her a tour of our room, showing her all of the mirrors, where she smiled and giggled at her reflection.  We propped her up in the Bumbo and set to work with the pack and play.  Being that it was only our second time setting it up, it was no easy task.  But Daddy found time to stop for a picture!

We relaxed for a while, played a little Words with Friends, then got ourselves dressed up and headed out for the wedding.  Makenna was a champ!  She started to fuss just slightly when the wedding was starting, so it was off to the cry room, where we met a nice man who was there listening to his daughter sing.  They entertained each other for the whole ceremony.  At the reception, it was almost like a game of hot potato - EVERYONE wanted to hold her, so we just passed her around!  Of course, our happy little girl was thrilled with all of it and just smiled and played with everyone.  And not only that, but she looked beautiful!

Around 9:30 or 10:00, Makenna definitely started winding down.  It was June, after all, and quite hot, and all the excitement was enough to wear ANYONE out (including Mommy)!  So I took her back to the hotel for bedtime while Chad stayed to party the night away with his college buddies.  It didn't take long for her to pass right out, and the little angel that she is, she slept through the night perfectly and woke up in a delightful mood Sunday morning, Father's Day.  We gave Daddy the first of his gifts, then had a wonderful lunch at Auntie Pasta's with the college gang before starting to head home.  Once again, Makenna went right to sleep, and she slept all the way back to Dallas!  After a quick stop to visit Gran and Gramps, we made it back home.  


So I have to say, the first road trip?  100% successful!!  Let's do it again sometime!

Gerber, eat your heart out!

It's no secret (or maybe it is?) that I love to cook.  I particularly like to bake, which is something I learned from my mother growing up.  I can cook just about anything with the right recipe, and I have fun doing it.  Can I wing it and experiment with whatever we have around, like Chad does?  Not exactly.  Do I make a gigantic mess?  Usually.  But I love it, and honestly, I think I'm pretty good at it!


So when Makenna's pediatrician said it was time for solid foods, I got excited.  I thought, "YES!  Mommy is making baby food!"  This was something I badly wanted to be able to do for her, to make sure she was getting things that were healthy and relatively fresh.  Because we had such a horrible time with breastfeeding and were not able to continue with that for long, I have felt guilty, like I was depriving her of what she needed.  I KNOW that isn't true, and that the important thing is that she is growing and healthy (which she most certainly is).  But this...THIS was something I knew I could do.  


We started her with Gerber first, because I didn't want to make a large batch of something only to find out that she wouldn't eat it.  Once we had determined what she liked, I set to work, armed with my Cutco knife, my Dutch oven, my blender and some ice cube trays.  I found an applesauce recipe at Wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com, and I knew that would be my first project.  And while I was at it, I thought I would blend up some peaches in basically the same way.  I started with nine beautiful Jazz apples and seven beautiful Texas peaches. 

I promise there were 7!  One had already been sliced!

Mmmmm....

After a lot of peeling, slicing and dicing (and one sore hand!), I had them ready for the pot.  They simmered away, smelling delicious the whole time.  I won't lie - I gave in to the temptation and sampled a piece of cooked apple...or three.

Simmering apples

Simmering peaches

Once the simmering was done, it was blender time.  I wasn't totally sure if the blender would cut it, but it was great!  In probably 15 minutes flat, I had perfectly smooth applesauce and perfectly smooth peaches!

Apples, apples everywhere

Peaches, anyone?

Into the freezer everything went, and once the freezing was done, I popped out the little portions and bagged them up.  We now have a freezer full of homemade baby food, and I am one happy mommy!  I will admit, I sampled the frozen peaches...they were just irresistible on a hot day!  The question now is...will Makenna appreciate all of her mommy's "hard work"?

I'd call THAT a big yes!!