Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Paul's First Road Trip + Lake Weekend

Paul and I headed out on our first road trip last Thursday. I was pretty nervous about how it would go as he doesn't really like his car seat and sometimes screams for the entire drive when we go to doctor appointments. But luckily he was an amazing traveler! Our first leg of the trip was a 3.5 hour drive to the town where my Grandma lives. He fussed a bit for the first 10 minutes and then slept until we were about 15 minutes from our destination. He cried/screamed for those last 15 minutes as he was hungry but we were so close that I didn't think it was worth it to pull over. When we got to my Grandma's, he gulped down 5.5 ounces and we headed to lunch where he drank 2 more ounces! This boy has finally found his appetite and is gaining weight like crazy!  Phew! Momma is so relieved.

After lunch, he fell asleep in the car on the way back to my Grandma's which worked out perfectly as he was sleepy when she held him. He's going through a stage where he is pretty terrified of anyone besides me or Phil. But he fell right back asleep so my Grandma got to rock a peaceful, happy baby.

I'm so thankful that my Grandma is alive and thriving. She will turn 95 this week but you wouldn't know it as she's in great health and is still very sharp. She emails and uses Facebook and has countless games of Words with Friends going on her computer. I can't seem to beat her at that game. She played Scrabble daily with her sister for many years so is wicked good at Scrabble!


The next leg of the trip was a one hour drive to my parents lake home. Luckily Paul slept for the entire drive! Woo hoo! My parents were so excited to see him as it had been almost a month since they had seen him at the baptism. He has changed quite a bit. He's smiling more and is overall more alert. His new thing is to clasp his hands together.

Sometimes it looks like he is praying.


Sometimes it looks like he's plotting how to take over the world.


He unfortunately continued to have "stranger danger" but my mom was still able to hold him quite a bit. We had a wonderful time at the lake. It's so peaceful there and it was great to have someone cooking for me. Plus my mom is always up for feeding Paul or changing his diaper! She also took care of him on Saturday morning so I could get some extra sleep which I really appreciated.

On Saturday morning, I woke up to the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. The picture doesn't do it justice. Before I saw the sunrise, I was kind of cranky about being up for the 3rd time during the night but once I saw the sunrise, I was thankful that baby Paul woke me up. :)


I think baby Paul is going to love lake weekends as much as his momma. We saw lots and lots of smiles that weekend.

Hopefully by our next trip he will be over this stranger danger phase. He's got 2 big fans who hate to see him cry when they hold him!


Our 2.5 hour drive back to Minneapolis also went smoothly. He slept for most of the drive and only cried for about 10 minutes. We'll take a couple more trips to the lake during my maternity leave so hopefully he continues to be such a great traveler!

Do you like road trips? I personally HATE driving but this trip was not bad at all since we could avoid traffic by leaving at off-peak times. 

11 comments:

Charbelle said...

Love love love that Paul met his Great Grandmother, that is awesome!!! I love the "taking over the world" pose, it's fabulous!!! Even in pictures, we can see how he's developing so much personality!!! I'm so glad y'all will be able to make a few more trips to the lake before maternity leave is over! That sunrise was STUNNING!!! I'm so glad that the whole weekend was such a big success!!!

Gracie said...

That sunrise is simply breathtaking. I'm glad Paul pulled off a long road trip. That's a big deal with an infant!

katielookingforward said...

I'm glad the weekend went well!! I'm sure Paul will get over the stranger danger, and how special to meet his great-grandma!!

suki said...

More visits = more chances to get over stranger danger! :)

Marlys said...

It was so great to have you two at the lake! Watching him grow and develop is true joy, and I look forward to the next weekend you can be there!
Paul's facial expressions are so much fun!

Jeanie said...

So glad the trip went pretty well -- what a relief. And he's going to get over the stranger danger in time, I think. It will just take practice. How special to know how grans and great grans, too!

Jolene - EverydayFoodie said...

Glad to hear that Paul is a good little traveler, and that he is putting on weight and eating so well. It's wonderful that your grandma is still so sharp and healthy! That's a blessing!

The sunrise picture is INCREDIBLE!!! WOW!! That should be in a frame!

Stephany said...

YAY for Paul gaining weight! That's awesome - I know it's been a source of worry for you. And that sunrise picture - WOW. That's a framer!

I'm not much for long road trips, but they are a good way to catch up on my podcast queue. But a long road trip with a baby is another kind of animal! I'm glad it went well for you guys!

Leigh said...

So glad the trip went well and that your parents and grandma got to see him. Your grandma sounds amazing for being 95 years old

San said...

Oh how wonderful that you were able to spend some time at the lake with Paul and your family!

Amber said...

I don't love long drives but they are just a reality of where we live. Our long drive to my mom's lake house didn't go quite as well, but it was 12 hours of driving over two days, so I can't really blame Olivia for hating her car seat by the end. The first day she only had 20 - 30 minute naps but the second day she finally went to sleep and had a good 2 hour nap. Thank goodness!

That sunrise is seriously INCREDIBLE! I would be happy I got woken up to see that too!