Pennsylvania Memories

As usual, the weeks before Christmas are flying by. I can't believe it was before Thanksgiving the last time I posted to this blog. It's been more than two weeks. Yeesh. I can blame some of the lapsed time on a spontaneous trip to Pennsylvania. I've been wanting to make a second trip to see my family this year, but, again, time flew by. I got an e-mail from Southwest advertising rates I couldn't pass up, so I booked a trip for Chris, Paxton and me to fly there for a long weekend. We left on a Thursday around 5 p.m. and got home Sunday night around 11 p.m. It was a whirlwind.

Paxton did great on the plane. The first leg of the flight was from Austin to Chicago. He was a little bored, so I switched seats with Chris so the boys could play. That's what Chris excels at. I'm more of a cuddler. Chris took the helm and I started tearing through the many magazines I'd brought with me. For the second leg of the flight, Paxton slept for a while, and ate his dinner. I must commend Southwest. It was the most pleasant flight I've been on in years. The flight attendants were exceptionally helpful. They gave us drinks and snacks galore. And I felt like we had lots of room. I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them again.

Because the weather in Pittsburgh was so unpredictable, we booked a hotel room a few minutes from the airport so we wouldn't have to drive the hour-and-a-half to my grandparents house at almost midnight. Turns out that the roads were perfectly clear, so we probably should have just made the drive. As it was, Paxton was wired and had no desire to sleep in the hotel-provided crib when he could clearly see us laying right next to him. It took two hours of trying to snuggle him before he finally fell asleep. We were all exhausted.

The next morning, we drove to my grandparent's town to meet them and the Lunch Bunch at McDonald's. For those not in the know, the Lunch Bunch is a group of mostly senior citizens who meet for hours every weekday at this particular McDonald's. Sometimes they even bring their own food with them. It's madness. I've met them all several times now, so I know some of them fairly well. Nana is always excited to show off her great-grandson. However, the last time she saw him, he was just a tiny guy. He was five-months-old and comfortable with anyone and everyone. This time, he had stanger anxiety. And apparently the most anxiety was directed toward my Nana.

Not long after we arrived, Nana had us leave with Papap to check out a house that she wants to buy. They all insisted we leave Paxton with Nana and the rest of the Lunch Bunch. Chris and I were hesitant, but agreed. We were gone for a little over 30 minutes. When we came back into the restaurant, we heard insane baby screaming. They assured us that it had just started. However, Nana said that when he started crying, he reached for another woman and wanted nothing to do with her. I know it hurt her feelings, and she brought it up several times in the next day. If he looked at her later, she would say, "Oh, so you like me now? You didn't like me yesterday!". Yikes. He's out of the will now for sure.

We had fun with Nana and Papap. I'm always comfortable with them. I love them so much. I know that I can be myself when I'm with them and that's a rare feeling with family. They have barely changed physically since I was a little girl. They're both in their 80's now and I'm acutely aware that they won't be around forever. I know that it's supposed to be an expected turn of events when a grandparent dies. But I know I will be knocked to the ground when it happens. They have been a huge part of my life and I'm dreading the day I go back to Pennsylvania and they aren't there. They mean the world to me.

Nana never knows what to feed me when I visit. I'm a vegetarian and that makes her head hurt. We usually hit some mom and pop restaurant. Sometimes it's a hit and other times it's a clear miss. I usually end up dining on something like a dinner salad and french fries. Not that I'm complaining about that, but it's not exactly a well-rounded meal. Now that I have Paxton, my ordering choices are limited even more. I have to get something that he can share with me. I really should be losing some weight for the amount of food I'm not eating now. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Anyway, that particular night with Nana and Pap, I ordered a grilled cheese sandwich and green beans for my dinner with Pax. It shouldn't surprise me, but he loved the grilled cheese. He ate an entire half on his own. Of course, with such decadent goodness, he wanted nothing to do with the green beans. But it was good to see him fill his tummy.

The next morning, we went to Breakfast With Santa. This is something that I grew up doing, but it doesn't seem to happen in Texas very often. On the day we had breakfast with Santa, we passed no fewer than three other locations that were hosting their own Breakfasts With Santa. He sure does get around. Anyway, we dined on scrambled eggs and fried potatoes and then Pax got his picture with the Man in Red. He also got a scribbled autograph. It was a cute event.

From there, we rushed to Monongahela to visit with our family friend, Pam. Pam is more than a friend. She's like my aunt. I've known her for as long as I can remember and I would never go back to PA without taking the time to see her. She's bubbly and funny and loving. I adore her. Paxton clearly felt the same, because after a short time of shyness, he began to mug and ham it up for Pam and her husband, Dennis. He was being a little comedian with them. It was the only time he did that when we were in PA, so it was really cute to see. On top of that, he took four steps at Pam's house. She had a good slippery floor, so I think that the momentum inspired him to keep going. We all held our breath as we watched him toddle forward. It was so amazing.

We had plans to go to my Uncle Jess' house for a Christmas party he and his wife, Laurie, were hosting. We picked up my step-mom, Kay, and began our 30 minute drive. The problem was that snow had been falling and the temperatures were dropping. As we drove, the temperature was around 27 degrees. There was ice on the road and accidents all over. I was driving and at one point, almost slid into a Jag at the bottom of the hill in front of me. I was a ball of tension. What should have been a 30-minute trip took us twice as long. It was worth it, though, to see my uncle and aunt. Jess is my dad's brother. He always brings up my dad. I know how much he misses him. That makes me feel less alone. I still miss my dad. I cry more often than I'd like to admit. It's comforting to know that he is not forgotten. So many of us miss and love him.

The day wasn't over with the party. Oh, no. We had plans to have dinner at my G.G's house. She is my dad's mother, and my dad's sister, Amy, lives with her. G.G. adores Paxton and that has melted my heart. She is so warm with him. She always gives him little presents and admires how lovely he is. The way to a mommy's heart is definitely through mooning over her beloved child. Paxton loved G.G.'s house, because it has big, open rooms with thick carpet. He loves to get an object and push it from room to room. He does it every chance he gets. That night, he took his Baby Einstein radio and explored the house with it acting as his hand skateboard. He would approach the floor grates and rub it back and forth against it, enjoying the texture and sounds. He was in heaven.

He also discovered stairs for the first time. He just charged up them, until he realized that he was getting higher in the air. Then he froze and fell backwards, down four stairs, banging his little head. I raced to grab him, believing myself relatively calm. He was screaming, in tears, and I just cradled him and kissed him to reassure him. My aunt is a bit of a bitty, and she told me that if that was her child, she would have brushed him off and sent him on his way. I told her that she and I are different types of moms. In a nutshell, she's mean as a snake and I'm wrapped around my baby's finger.

The next morning was our last morning in PA. Kay hosted a brunch at her house, and I invited my friends, Jessica and Chuck. It is always wonderful to see them. They are Texas friends who moved to Western PA a couple of years ago. I see them so much more now that they live there, which is odd. My family adores Jessica. She is so comfortable with everyone. She was asking Kay's mother if she'd like to go to the Britney Spears concert with her. Kay's mom is in her 80s and found that very funny. Jessica's a cutie.

My step-brother, Greg, and his wife, Stacey, live just down the street from Kay. They have a 3-year-old son named Jace and a daughter, Jaden, who is one month younger than Paxton. Pax doesn't usually pay much attention to other babies, but Jaden was hard to ignore. She wanted to hug Paxton and play with his long hair. She was all decked out in her Steelers garb for the big game that afternoon. She is adorable. She's just tiny, so next to her, Paxton looks even bigger than he is. I'm excited that he has a cousin so close to his age that he'll get to see every time we go back to visit PA. I love that.

I was so surprised that several people gave Paxton birthday and Christmas presents when we were there. He made out with some pretty cool loot. It was so thoughtful of everyone. I was not equally well prepared. Besides that, the trip wasn't cheap, so our visit was really our present. We're definitely cutting back this year.

It was a wonderful trip and it's always amazing to see my cute family. It was good to get home, too, though. Paxton does much better with a known schedule. This week, though, he's altering it a bit. He has less interest in long naps. He has been taking two a day, for less than an hour each time. It makes my days a lot longer, because he's up more often, seeking entertainment. And when he's awake, he's often surly, because he needs more sleep. I hope this is a short phase. He cut an eighth tooth while we were in PA, so that might be bothering him a bit. He's still sleeping like a champ at night--from 7 p.m. until 8 a.m.--but lately, he's woken up screaming sometime around midnight. I read that they start having night terrors around this age, and I guess that's what it is. I just nurse him and lay him back down and he's generally fine. My sweet boy. I hate for him to be scared.

It's getting late and we have a long weekend ahead of us, so I'm going to close. Hopefully, I'll post again before Christmas. I pray the days slow down. It's my favorite time of year and I hate to see it pass so quickly.