Never A Dull Moment

Olivia recently returned from her first long car trip. We rented a mini van (to have more space to sleep, move around, and for all of the baby supplies) and drove to Montana last week. Yale's band Humpy was playing a reunion show at some big band fest, so we used that as an opportunity to visit Yale's parents and for me to see Glacier Park for the first time. Olivia showed her true trooper spirit on the drive out there; she got impatient only a few times. Little O loved getting to hang out with her grandparents. She loves it that they spend lots of time holding her hands so she can walk around. Her grandma had bought her a bunch of toys and books that kept her entertained for hours. She especially enjoyed chewing on the cardboard pencil that was attached to the Pat the Cat book. Olivia also had a chance to get to know the Kauls' dogs, Max and Chloe. Chloe and Oli became instant friends, but it took Max a little while to get used to the idea that he was going to have to share his Carolyn with someone else. Olivia's new trick is throwing food, which is extra fun when she can watch Max and Chloe gobbled it up before it hits the ground. The ride back to Denver was not quite as smooth. I think Olivia felt like she had already served enough time in her car seat. We had reservations at a hotel in Douglas, Wyoming, so we ended up driving longer than was good for any of us, but Olivia was especially frustrated. Once we settled into the hotel, she barely slept. She got maybe two hours of restless sleep. After trying everything, including letting her sleep while I was holding her, at 3:30 a.m. we gave up and decided to continue driving. Fortunately, Livi slept all the way to Denver. I am not exactly sure why she couldn't sleep in the hotel. I think it was a combination of things. She had a fever while we were in MT, which we assumed was a result of her teething, plus I think she was over-tired because she was pretty short on sleep. Once we got home, she slept basically all day. Until yesterday, she had been very clingy and unusually whiny. She is still sleeping 12-13 hours at night and napping for about 5 hours in the day, which is quite a bit more than usual. I would think that soon she will be caught up on sleep. Yale and I both said it will be quite awhile before we make Olivia do any major traveling. Not only is it hard on her, but it's kind of hard on us, too.