Airports, Haircuts, Weddings

We are back!

Although I am thrilled to be back in my comfy bed, to have Mia back in her crib, and to have a full-time co-parent, this morning was a tough rise out of bed. Not literally, since I am still on Central Standard Time and was wide awake when B's alarm went off, but getting out of bed to knowingly resume our everyday routine was... not fun.

Also not fun, realizing that my 13 day vacation from My Fitness Pal brought the 5 pounds back, so I am back to square one on the whole weightloss business.

BUT! Let's be positive!

In pictures, the Mia and Mama summer vacation:

At the Las Vegas airport. We got there three hours before our flight because we are cheap and did not want to take a cab, so B had to drop us off on the way to work. It all ended up evening out, since we had to take the tram all the way back to security, since this frazzled Mama left her watch at TSA while they were checking Mia's soymilk for explosive residue. We still made it back in time to spend 30 minutes getting energy out at the children's play area, which consisted of a fake airtraffic control tower, and some viewfinders which Mia thought were fun to climb.

On the flight from Las Vegas to Denver, we were seated in Economy Plus thanks to a "cousin" who works at the United check in counter -- Mia had room to play at my feet since she refused to sleep.

Mia and I enjoyed a meal at one of the "real restaurants" in the Denver airport, since our flight was delayed by two hours. Mia ate an quarter of my club sandwich!!

Evidence that travelling through three timezones is NOT recommended with a child. Mia did not go down until nearly midnight when we first got to Stamford, CT to stay with my college roommate. She also refused to go back into her pack n play once she realized that we were sharing a room.

Breakfast. Tired baby. Awesome travel high chair/cooler.

Mia was obssessed with L's dog, a Bernese Mountain dog. Mia's first new word from the trip: Abby. (pronounced: "Babby")

We had dinner in Stamford, which is where Mia started refusing to be carried.

Our first night in New Jersey, where we went next to stay with my aunt and her family. Mia kept on asking for "Babby", so my cousin went and found this giant stuffed dog that Mia carried around with her.

Fun with my cousin, who was the first person she warmed up to in New Jersey. She *may* have called him Papa a few times.

At the Jersey Shore -- no fist pumping for this little one.

Once in Chicago, Mia bonded very well with her Great Grandpa, and was basically obsessed with his shoes.

On our second day in Chicago, we went back to our old neighborhood. My brother, who just moved back to Chicago in May lives near our old apartment. Unfortunately, my parents have tennats, so we couldn't visit the actual apartment, but here we are in front of the courtyard.

After having lunch at one of my fave restaurants near my old place, we headed down to Lincoln Park Zoo with my brother and his girlfriend. Mia pointed to all the animals and said: "Hi Babby!"

More evidence of time-zone side effects. Picking her nose on the airmattress that I was sleeping on, which evidently seemed more comfortable to her than her pack n play. Also, a good shot of the state of Mia's hair without a hairclip. 

Within hours of B joining us in Chicago, we went down to the basement, where B's grandpa keeps a barber chair from his old shop. It's a long standing C-- tradition that B really wanted to keep, having his Grandpa give Mia her first haircut. Although I had previously trimmed the back of her neck to keep her from getting a mullet, this will count as her first official haircut.

She did not like the robe, nor did she like the haircut. There was a lot of screaming, but that did not seem to bother her Great Grandpa one bit. We wanted to keep her hair mostly long anyway, so it took all of 4 minutes.

After!

After, wth pigtails!

After dropping Mia off with my brother and his girlfriend, B and I headed out to Wheaton for his cousin's wedding. We got all dressed up, stayed in a hotel (Holiday Inn -- what's up), and had a the best time.

The beautiful and happy couple, still smiling despite their outdoor ceremony being rained out.

And finally, back home for our day of rest before getting back into the swing of things.

And, there you have it. We are back. It was super awesome not to have to share Mia with daycare, and not to have to share myself with work for the past two weeks. Just to make sure our summer doesn't turn too quickly into winter and fall, B and I are going to try to squeeze a weekend in LA for September before my Mom comes for a month-long visit.