Back in Cali.

I arrived in Los Angeles yesterday, late afternoon. Our plane hit some major nose winds (100 MPH) and it seemed for a while up there that we were moving extremely slow. 'Cuz we were. I had panicked almost about being in the air with a one year-old for three and a half hours but it wasn't as horrible as I expected. The flight was long, Henry was squirmy, but I think I did a darn good job of making sure he didn't melt down at any time. I nursed him on take-off and he slept for the first 45 minutes. This was nice as I took that time to try and slow my heartbeat while we climbed into higher altitude.

There was no turbulence at all. Period. That made me extremely happy. I played with Henry for an hour or so using brand new toys he had never seen. Then I fed him some fun freeze-dried goodies I picked up at Babies R Us that he had never eaten and that lasted about an hour, and then the rest of the time was a combo of both-eating and playing. He only really got restless towards the 4-hour mark when we were declared 30 minutes late by our pilot. She did an excellent job, by the way. I don't think a female has even piloted a plane I have ridden on. The landing was a little....shaky, but we touched ground smoothly in the end.

My parents greeted me after I made my way through the winding terminal of LAX. My GOSH I forgot how huge that airport it. I thought I was lost several times only to realize I was still going the right way. I met my parents at the baggage claim and promptly gave them their grandchild to snuggle while I finally let the blood back into my arms. Carrying a 23-pound child for a long time lugging luggage is no fun. I was happy to get him into his car seat and go HOME. Yay!

I hadn't eaten since 6 am CA time, so the first thing I did was make up a quick meal at the house, while everybody played with Henry. He was BEYOND tired but would not fall asleep. He actually didn't go to bed until late, and we both didn't sleep well but he seemed content enough between the bouts of getting up and wanting to nurse.

Last night was spent catching up with Mom and Dad and Matt and Francis. I need to try really hard to be present in the moment. At Thanksgiving, I felt like I was an outsider, looking in on somebody at Thanksgiving. I had a lot of fun, but I didn't feel like I was all there at some points. This Christmas, I really want to savor it and enjoy it.

My plans for this week include finishing wrapping some presents, shopping for some clothes for John, Disneyland and Knott's on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, and EATING. Lots of EATING. Bob's Big Boy is on the schedule which I am really looking forward to. I haven't been to one since I was a kid and Mom claims that the one near our house lives up to expectations. we shall see.

I am hoping that during my down time here in CA I will be able to post more. It was getting ridiculous trying to post in Missouri. I was swamped with a To-Do list miles long, and I actually didn't even have time to watch TV or check my websites that I normally do. So there's my excuse.