Vacation from vacation

I am back home resting after an exhausting vacation, and I don't think that is exactly how it is supposed to work. You can see Q above with his dad and aunts in his formal wear. It made it worth it to see the joy Q brought to T's family, but it sure was a grueling weekend.

In case there was any doubt, babies are not made for cross-country flights or Catholic wedding masses. Q does just about as good as can be expected on planes. He is one and a half and does not understand sitting still quietly in one place for hours on end. He arches his back and screeches and tries to get down on the floor. He bangs on the seat in front of him and pulls everything out of the seat back pocket. Most of the time he is extremely tired, but finds it impossible to sleep with all the distractions. I feel so bad for him because I know he is exhausted, but he just fights it and fights it as people glower at us from surrounding seats. I want to remind them that we all were once babies. It's not like we have a hyena on board or something. It is just a baby human.

Catholic wedding masses are not baby-friendly either. I got a taste of this during the rehearsal. Q did not want to sit still in the pew. He wanted to crawl around and climb on the kneeling platforms and reach for the bibles and bang on the pew.

For the actual wedding, Q donned his tux and some borrowed cowboy boots. He looked quite dapper in his attire. I carried him down the aisle and then attempted to keep him quiet as long as possible. T was a groomsman, so I was alone in this endeavor. I wanted to at least see the vows. So, I tried to entertain Q as much as possible. Wedding masses are long. Thankfully the vows are toward the middle, so as soon as we saw the important stuff, Q and I made our exit.

We strolled around the college campus where the ceremony was held looking for squirrels. I pointed them out, and Q excitedly yelled "Doggie!" I can see the confusion. A lot of tiny, yappy dogs could easily pass for squirrels.

The reception was quite a relief after the formal ceremony. Q was introduced with the wedding party and made his grand entrance pushing his little walker. He at first seemed a little startled by the 200 guests and the blaring speakers by the DJ, but then he got some momentum and made it all the way across the dance floor, onto the carpet and then into the opposite wall. I felt such a surge of pride watching him take his awkward little steps. I got tears in my eyes. Sweet little thing.

He enjoyed crawling around and posing for the photographer for way too many pictures. The guests seemed to get a kick out of him, and it was nice to hand him off so T and I could actually enjoy a dance. He made it to about 9:30 that night, and then we went back to the hotel room while T finished out the night with his friends and family. I read and watched TV for four hours while everyone else partied, danced, and drank. So much changes when a tiny person enters your life.

T and I also got the rare chance to go to a movie this weekend. It gave us a taste of what it would be like to have family around, and man would it be nice. We left Q with his more-than-willing grandparents and went out on our own. We are all on our own where we live now, and it can definitely present its challenges.

Q took a few wobbly steps on his own this weekend as well. I think he is so close to walking he can taste it! Any day now! Any day.

Our way home presented a few more issues. One flight was delayed slightly and when we finally for home around 1 a.m., we discovered our car battery had died. Of course. We piled our luggage, stroller, car seat, and an extremely tired baby into a cab and went home. Then we couldn't find one of our cats. T and I both imagined an escaped cat squished somewhere. Just as he was starting to search the neighborhood, I discovered her holed up under a bed. She probably had been sleeping there since we left. Lucky cat.

Then this morning, I got a call that my old ATM card number is being used in Switzerland. I can't even quite wrap my mind around that one. But, it is all taken care of now.

It certainly has been an interesting few days. I am ready for some boring normalcy.

--MM