Thankful

Happy belated Thanksgiving! I don't think I even need to mention what we are thankful for this year, but I do want to say I don't think I've ever been MORE thankful! I also want to say how thankful we are for each and every one of you! While we were home I kept hearing how many people read Amelia's blog, even still. Amazing!
It was truly wonderful to finally get to introduce Amelia to her family. It has been hard for me to be so far away from family and friends since Amelia's birth, but it is so awesome that you all have been able to get to know her through this blog. She is a blessed little baby to be loved by so many.
We traveled to Michigan on Wednesday. We debated about flying vs. driving, deciding that either way, it was going to be a long day. We opted for driving to avoid the dreaded holiday airport scene. But what is normally a 9-10 hour drive took us 13 hours with our new traveler in tow. She did so well up until hour 8 and then she made it quite clear that she no longer wanted to be confined in her car seat, and can you blame her? No, I never got her out of her seat while moving, hence the 13 hour trip. (I had flashbacks of her days in the NICU when she was in her little box and I could not pick her up when she cried. :( What an awful feeling. One I will not soon forget). So, we had to make many quick exits to various fast food parking lots or gas stations to free her! We even found ourselves in a Menard's parking lot at one point. ? Poor Ford drove the whole way so I could ride in the back with her. Around hour 11, we were all fried. I was out of tricks, I was actually at a loss and feeling so bad for Ford who was driving in a torrential down-pour, in the dark, while listening to his 4 month old baby scream for freedom. At one point, he actually pleaded with her, from the front seat while driving, to help us out and to go to sleep. She stopped, looked out the window, gave a few sucks on the pacifier and closed her eyes and went to sleep. We were so thankful. :)
We didn't really have much time to recover from the drive and had to jump right into the festivities on Thursday which was quite an overwhelming day for her too as we celebrated with both the Lotos and the Stornants. She had never seen the likes of so many people; all who had been waiting to squeeze and love her up. She also did not have regular naps, needless to say I spent most of my Thanksgiving tucked away in various bedrooms, feeding and consoling and attempting to sneak her in a nap here and there. I even missed dinner but I didn't care. I was happy and thankful none-the-less. I knew the whole experience was a memory in the making... "Remember Amelia's first Thanksgiving? She cried all day and wouldn't go to anyone but her mom."
Friday was a little easier for her as we celebrated yet another Thanksgiving with the Turrells and Saturday she finally seemed to just be getting the hang of it, just in time to travel again! We left Michigan on Saturday night in the hopes that she would sleep most of the trip. She did, thank goodness. Lesson learned, travel at night.
Overall the trip was a success but she is certainly happy to be home. It's truly unbelievable how fast the time is going and how much she's grown. Just the fact that she seems to recognize being home, her bed, her toys...Ford and I both commented on how she seems older now, that somehow this trip matured her a little.
Traveling with a baby isn't the easiest thing but I thought a lot about the fact that it didn't matter where we were, or even how long it took us to get there. As long as we were together she had everything she needed and she seemed thankful.