Angel Among Us
Christmas Eve in Houston. It sure doesn't feel like Christmas. Outside it's rainy and cool but not cold enough to get that yule tide Christmas feeling. There won't be a white Christmas this year, not that I ever expected one to happen in Houston, Texas. I'm just glad to be among family for the holidays. We flew to Houston yesterday to let Sydney meet many of my family members for the first time. It was Sydney's first airplane ride ever. She did well.
For fear of missing the flight during the busy travel weekend, we packed up the SUV 4 hours before the departure time and headed toward the airport. Flying is getting to be such a hassle. We can't bring more than a certain amount of liquids or gels on the plane. We have to have them in original containers stored in a clear 1-quart ziplock bag. We have to be at the airport x number of hours to check in and go through the long line at the security screening gate. Sheesh. We stopped at the Sonic Burger drive-in restaurant for a quick fast food lunch on the way to the airport. We screeched into the off-site airport parking area and unloaded the SUV for the shuttle bus driver to load the bus. There were the stroller, the carseat, 2 humongous suitcases filled with clothes and stuff for Sydney, a big box of gifts for my nieces and nephews, the diaper bag and my brand spanking new laptop roller bag. You would think we were moving to Houston from the look of it. The shuttlebus driver decided after loading his bus that he had no more room to pick up any other guest so we sped to the airport all by ourselves. We hussled through the curbside Delta check-in, grumbled through the security area, cramped into the elevator going down to the tramp, found out we didn't need to take the tramp, fought our way into another elevator going up, slalomed through the crowd, and plopped out weary behinds down on the hard seats at our gate 2 full hours before our departure time. Sydney was amused by the whole chain of events. She sat in the stroller watching objects rushing past her and gazing up at the faces of smiling strangers as Tracie scuttled behind her like a bobsled driver. Shuffling along few feet behind Sydney and panting hard was Dad (me), dragging the laptop rollerbag and the diaper bag with one hand and hoisting the carseat in the other. It stinks to be growing old while Sydney is growing up. My back was killing me. I must have thrown it out again last night lifting the suitcases. No harm, no foul. I have a healthy supply of Excedrin Migraine tablets for the bad back. They work wonders to keep me relatively painfree. I'll keep popping a couple of those beauties every 12 hours and keep going.
At the gate, Tracie and I spent the entire time entertaining Sydney while she entertained everyone else. There was a little ol' lady sitting nearby in a wheelchair waiting to board the plane who could not resist watching Sydney and commenting what a good baby she was. There was the teenager trying to get to New York by connecting through Atlanta who tried her best to look like she was not paying attention to Sydney's antics but could not help glancing over now and then and cracking a smile at her. There was a nice soldier who was on his way home from Iraq by flying through Atlanta to Houston to Sacramento and ultimately to Honolulu (poor guy) and was fascinated by Sydney. He played peek-a-boo and talked to her almost the entire time he waited for the plane. She giggled and bounced and flirted with everyone. Frankly, we were shocked by how well she was behaving considering that she did not like strangers and crowds. This was the same little girl who had to be kept separate from the rest of the kids at the daycare center because she didn't like to be touched? Oh yes. I learned of this fact one day when I came to pick her up early from daycare. I found my little precious one lying on the floor mat looking around at the toys around her while the rest of the infants were sitting around a table snacking. I asked the staff why my baby was by herself. They told me, matter-of-factly, that Sydney preferred to be alone. She didn't like to be touched. They told me she was fine sitting among other kids until one of them would reach over to touch her. Then she would lose it, crying until they move her elsewhere. Great!! I got a temperamental, opinionated nutcase for a daughter. But I guess she realized that it was the holiday season and that she should be a bit more forgiving. She allowed strangers at the airport to put their faces close to hers, whereas before, she would let out blood curdling screams when an unsuspecting waiter with a Santa hat accidentally leaned close to her to take our order at the restaurant just a few days ago. She kept an eye on him the entire evening, ready to let loose more tears and screams any time he so much as walked within 3 feet of her. I almost had to get a restraining order to keep him far emough away from her to keep her quiet. I think it was the Santa hat that creeped her out. It looks like there won't be any pictures with Santa anytime this decade.
On the plane, Sydney was self-entertaining. Tracie had bought some new toys for the trip and had laid them out on the tray for Sydney. There was a spinning wheel toy that had a suction cup to mount it on any smooth surface. We stuck it on the back of the seat before us but decided to move it to the glass of the window so the poor lady sitting in front of us could get a bit of rest. There was a cute stuffed bunny that Sydney received for Christmas but completely ignored. I played with the bunny on the plane instead. There was an empty bottle of water, which became a hit with Sydney. The bag of chips that the flight attendant gave us was even better. It held Sydney's attention for almost 10 minutes (a record, I think). She finally got hungry almost an hour into the trip, drank a bottle of formula, and slept the rest of the ride. The little ol' lady at the gate sat across the aisle from us. She kept whispering to me how good she thought Sydney was being and wishing us a Merry Christmas. She was sweet. I think it would have made her millenium if Sydney had smiled at her one more time, but Sydney was too pre-occupied on the plane to pay her any attention. That's too bad. I was pretty sure the ol' lady was almost ready to put Sydney in her will from the way she was going gaga over the baby. Sorry, Sydney. You could have had a very profitable Christmas if you had played your card right. :-)
Now, it's the moment of truth. My little angel is meeting her grandparents (my parents) for the first time. We kept praying in the car that Sydney would behave like the angel that she is and not be all whiny and stuff from being tired from the long day already. Wouldn't you know it, she did. She was terrified at first with the number of strange faces around her at the house. I had to warn everyone not to be so loud and to give her time to warm up to them. After half an hour or so, Sydney was back in her comfort zone. She played with my dad and totally wore him out. She loved her cousins and rolled on the floor giggling with the 7-yr old. It gave Tracie and I a chance to see the newest addition to our family. One of my brothers and his wife just had a baby boy 8 days ago. The little munchkin was just adorable and tiny, weighing in at 6 lbs 5 ozs at birth. He's going to be a handsome one.
Speaking of angel, Sydney had her pictures made a few days ago. The studio managed to get some great shots. This is one of my favorites.
Tracie put Sydney in an angel outfit, with a silver diaper and silver wings. I love it. Sydney was enjoying herself, grinning mischievously to the camera. She flirted with the cameraman, sneaking glances at passerbys (it just so happened that she is sitting in the front studio by the window for mall shoppers to watch), and eyeing the various stuffed animals lying around the floor until she became so distracted that she simply fell over and hit her little head on the hardwood floor. My little angel has not earned her halo apparently so the only damage was a bit of a surprise look as she struggled to right herself back to a sitting position.
For fear of missing the flight during the busy travel weekend, we packed up the SUV 4 hours before the departure time and headed toward the airport. Flying is getting to be such a hassle. We can't bring more than a certain amount of liquids or gels on the plane. We have to have them in original containers stored in a clear 1-quart ziplock bag. We have to be at the airport x number of hours to check in and go through the long line at the security screening gate. Sheesh. We stopped at the Sonic Burger drive-in restaurant for a quick fast food lunch on the way to the airport. We screeched into the off-site airport parking area and unloaded the SUV for the shuttle bus driver to load the bus. There were the stroller, the carseat, 2 humongous suitcases filled with clothes and stuff for Sydney, a big box of gifts for my nieces and nephews, the diaper bag and my brand spanking new laptop roller bag. You would think we were moving to Houston from the look of it. The shuttlebus driver decided after loading his bus that he had no more room to pick up any other guest so we sped to the airport all by ourselves. We hussled through the curbside Delta check-in, grumbled through the security area, cramped into the elevator going down to the tramp, found out we didn't need to take the tramp, fought our way into another elevator going up, slalomed through the crowd, and plopped out weary behinds down on the hard seats at our gate 2 full hours before our departure time. Sydney was amused by the whole chain of events. She sat in the stroller watching objects rushing past her and gazing up at the faces of smiling strangers as Tracie scuttled behind her like a bobsled driver. Shuffling along few feet behind Sydney and panting hard was Dad (me), dragging the laptop rollerbag and the diaper bag with one hand and hoisting the carseat in the other. It stinks to be growing old while Sydney is growing up. My back was killing me. I must have thrown it out again last night lifting the suitcases. No harm, no foul. I have a healthy supply of Excedrin Migraine tablets for the bad back. They work wonders to keep me relatively painfree. I'll keep popping a couple of those beauties every 12 hours and keep going.
At the gate, Tracie and I spent the entire time entertaining Sydney while she entertained everyone else. There was a little ol' lady sitting nearby in a wheelchair waiting to board the plane who could not resist watching Sydney and commenting what a good baby she was. There was the teenager trying to get to New York by connecting through Atlanta who tried her best to look like she was not paying attention to Sydney's antics but could not help glancing over now and then and cracking a smile at her. There was a nice soldier who was on his way home from Iraq by flying through Atlanta to Houston to Sacramento and ultimately to Honolulu (poor guy) and was fascinated by Sydney. He played peek-a-boo and talked to her almost the entire time he waited for the plane. She giggled and bounced and flirted with everyone. Frankly, we were shocked by how well she was behaving considering that she did not like strangers and crowds. This was the same little girl who had to be kept separate from the rest of the kids at the daycare center because she didn't like to be touched? Oh yes. I learned of this fact one day when I came to pick her up early from daycare. I found my little precious one lying on the floor mat looking around at the toys around her while the rest of the infants were sitting around a table snacking. I asked the staff why my baby was by herself. They told me, matter-of-factly, that Sydney preferred to be alone. She didn't like to be touched. They told me she was fine sitting among other kids until one of them would reach over to touch her. Then she would lose it, crying until they move her elsewhere. Great!! I got a temperamental, opinionated nutcase for a daughter. But I guess she realized that it was the holiday season and that she should be a bit more forgiving. She allowed strangers at the airport to put their faces close to hers, whereas before, she would let out blood curdling screams when an unsuspecting waiter with a Santa hat accidentally leaned close to her to take our order at the restaurant just a few days ago. She kept an eye on him the entire evening, ready to let loose more tears and screams any time he so much as walked within 3 feet of her. I almost had to get a restraining order to keep him far emough away from her to keep her quiet. I think it was the Santa hat that creeped her out. It looks like there won't be any pictures with Santa anytime this decade.
On the plane, Sydney was self-entertaining. Tracie had bought some new toys for the trip and had laid them out on the tray for Sydney. There was a spinning wheel toy that had a suction cup to mount it on any smooth surface. We stuck it on the back of the seat before us but decided to move it to the glass of the window so the poor lady sitting in front of us could get a bit of rest. There was a cute stuffed bunny that Sydney received for Christmas but completely ignored. I played with the bunny on the plane instead. There was an empty bottle of water, which became a hit with Sydney. The bag of chips that the flight attendant gave us was even better. It held Sydney's attention for almost 10 minutes (a record, I think). She finally got hungry almost an hour into the trip, drank a bottle of formula, and slept the rest of the ride. The little ol' lady at the gate sat across the aisle from us. She kept whispering to me how good she thought Sydney was being and wishing us a Merry Christmas. She was sweet. I think it would have made her millenium if Sydney had smiled at her one more time, but Sydney was too pre-occupied on the plane to pay her any attention. That's too bad. I was pretty sure the ol' lady was almost ready to put Sydney in her will from the way she was going gaga over the baby. Sorry, Sydney. You could have had a very profitable Christmas if you had played your card right. :-)
Now, it's the moment of truth. My little angel is meeting her grandparents (my parents) for the first time. We kept praying in the car that Sydney would behave like the angel that she is and not be all whiny and stuff from being tired from the long day already. Wouldn't you know it, she did. She was terrified at first with the number of strange faces around her at the house. I had to warn everyone not to be so loud and to give her time to warm up to them. After half an hour or so, Sydney was back in her comfort zone. She played with my dad and totally wore him out. She loved her cousins and rolled on the floor giggling with the 7-yr old. It gave Tracie and I a chance to see the newest addition to our family. One of my brothers and his wife just had a baby boy 8 days ago. The little munchkin was just adorable and tiny, weighing in at 6 lbs 5 ozs at birth. He's going to be a handsome one.
Speaking of angel, Sydney had her pictures made a few days ago. The studio managed to get some great shots. This is one of my favorites.
Tracie put Sydney in an angel outfit, with a silver diaper and silver wings. I love it. Sydney was enjoying herself, grinning mischievously to the camera. She flirted with the cameraman, sneaking glances at passerbys (it just so happened that she is sitting in the front studio by the window for mall shoppers to watch), and eyeing the various stuffed animals lying around the floor until she became so distracted that she simply fell over and hit her little head on the hardwood floor. My little angel has not earned her halo apparently so the only damage was a bit of a surprise look as she struggled to right herself back to a sitting position.
posted by DaddyEyeduck at 6:37 AM
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