Road Trippin'



Before I get into all the miles we logged this past weekend I have to have one gratuitous moment.  When I started this blog I told myself that I wasn't going to be one of those chicks that says 'my baby did the cutest thing' and then list off all of the completely normal things that their child is doing.  However, I'm three weeks in and completely breaking the rule.  Kyra has started smiling at me, which I know is totally normal and adorable.  The other day, she did the cutest thing!  I was laying her down for a nap and she started smiling in her sleep, then she started laughing and I don't mean a little giggle, a full on belly laugh in her sleep!  I often wonder what she's thinking about as we go through the day, but for the few seconds her laughing lasted I was just happy that my little girl was having such sweet dreams that she couldn't help but laugh. I could have watched it for hours.



Kyra holding her rattle, another completely normal thing that I think is adorable :)

Alright, mushy mom stuff is over!  We went on quite the road trip this past weekend.  We headed to Iowa on Thursday afternoon to meet up with Scott's family in Des Moines.  Uncle Steve and soon to be Aunt Mariam were in from California so the Albers clan came from all corners of Iowa to spend a couple of days hanging out by the pool.  I learned something important about traveling with a baby, it will take approximately 5 hours and an entire SUV to pack for a three day weekend.  That's just for the baby, you then get about 20 minutes to pack for yourself which means that you will be wearing very random outfits for three days and will more than likely forget your toothbrush.  I also learned that if the baby eats every 3 hours and you have a 2 1/2 hour car trip ahead of you, no matter how carefully you time a feeding there will still be a meltdown approximately 30 minutes from your destination.  

It was great to spend Thursday night and Friday with Grandma and Grandpa Albers, Aunt Jenny and her wild pack of boys and Steve and Mariam.  We also had a quick visit with a few of my friends, it's always fun to get together with Kelly, and it had been two years since I'd seen my old college roommate, EJ, and her husband.  They had a little boy named Elliot in July, so we got to meet that little guy too.  We were so busy that I literally only took one picture, Jenny is so much better at that stuff!  Here it is, it was my attempt to get both Jack and Quinn to look the same direction as Scott while being distracted by a giant water slide.  Notice the great view of the back of Quinn's head :)

We took off Saturday morning to head to Moville so we could partake in 10,000 round Saturday. For those who haven't heard of this international event, it's my dad's way of kicking off hunting season.  All of his friends get together on his farm, they each bring a case of clay pigeons, guns and ammo, and anything that they killed last year that they want to eat throughout the day.  They then spend an entire afternoon eating, drinking, shooting stuff and otherwise being merry.  Kyra spent the afternoon with Nana, and great aunts Rhonda and Anita.  After being cooped up in the car all day, the undivided attention of three women was just what the doctor ordered for Miss Kyra!

Love the socks from Aunt Jenny!!



We got all 4 of the Brandt side cousins in one photo!  Left to right, Kylie, Kyra, Wyatt and Brody



It was great to get to see everyone, but I was happy to get home and back to a normal routine.  I had no idea how exhausting it is to travel with a baby.  Long gone are the days of rolling up to a hotel, dropping our bags in the room and heading to the pool/dinner/lobby bar or whatever distraction we choose.  Now someone has to do all of the adult stuff, settling into the room, setting up the pack and play, unpacking the nights necessities and calming down a road weary baby.  In my previous life that was always a mom job that I didn't have to worry about, turns out I'm the mom now, and it's a lot more work than I thought!