Back in America

Crosby & I are currently spending some quality time back in the US. Scott has been working long crazy hours lately and has had quite a bit of travel, so we decided it was a good opportunity to come home for a bit. It seems to be a win-win for both parties. I am getting some much need R&R, since I am home with my parents, Crosby is getting lots of good attention, Gram & Pa are glad to have us both home for a bit, and Scott is able to work long hours and travel without worrying about his two girls being on our own.

When Scott travels for work over the weekends, it gets really tough for me to be on my own all the time. It is at those times in particular that the distance of being so far away from my family really hits home. If we were back in the US, it would be easy just to catch a short flight or drive a few hours to go home for a few days for a break, but having to fly over 4,000 miles with an infant by myself is a scope of a different magnitude! So, in order to really make the cost of the trip and the distance of the trip worthwhile, it is best to come home for at least a few weeks so we can actually enjoy our time here without fighting jet lag the entire time.

Once we get through that VERY LONG and hairy day of travel, it is so nice to be home and to stay put for a while, without anything pressing to do, and to have extra eager helping hands around. We have had a few outings since we have been home, but overall we are really just trying to enjoy some R&R in the good old USA.

Entertaining a 7 month old on a 13 hour cumulative plane journey was not as easy as it was when she was only 3 months old....after the connection in Newark, Crosby was not as impressed with sitting in her car seat for yet another plane ride, but we did survive (other passengers might not have been pleased with us).

Luckily when we landed in STL, she was all smiles and no one ever would have known she spent the majority of the last flight screaming most of the way!

There was a parenting failure on the morning that we left the UK. Scott took Crosby's favorite stuffed animal "winky" out of her crib and I thought he brought it with her when he put her in the car seat to go the airport. Unfortunately he forgot the animal and did not realize the importance of this stuffed being. It is "the thing" Crosby snuggles with every time she goes to sleep....so it is a necessary travel companion. Luckily Scott is a good Dad and thought ahead to call my Mom in the US as soon as we left to notify her about the forgotten stuffed animal. Since Winky came from STL, my mom was able to go find another one and Crosby was SO excited and happy to be reunited with the animal upon our arrival in STL!

Since arriving in the US, Crosby has tried lots of new foods while sitting in my old high chair! She loves it and I love it too. I wish I could transport it back to the UK with us because it is sturdy, wooden and much nicer looking than our plastic high chair we bought in England (my irritation with high chairs is a subject for another day). At least she'll get to use it every time we come home. Crosby is enjoying the American foods, just as I am....she has tried Cheerios (which she loves - they do not sell plain Cheerios in the UK, they all have sugar coatings so I won't buy them for her), she has had USDA aged steak (ground up), and she has tried the little "puffs" sold for babies here. Her hand-eye coordination is really improving and she loves to feed herself.

We went to visit Pa / my Dad at his office one afternoon for our daily outing. Since he runs a family business, it is important that Crosby knows about it from an early age in case she ever wants to work there!

In the back garden of the office, my Dad has a vegetable garden growing. We picked a tomato and Crosby tried her first one from there. She seemed to like it!

Crosby also made another "well child" visit to one of my old pediatricians. She was given a great bill of health and is growing very well! She is at the 100% for her height and 96% for her weight. Interestingly enough, since our last visit to the US pediatrician (back in May), The American Academy of Pediatrics has changed its stance on the introduction of foods for babies. Now, much more in line with how the UK approach has been, babies after 6 months of age can eat almost everything and anything (except honey) - including fish, strawberries, nuts, etc. Apparently the guidelines change every so often when new research comes out and so now we are introducing more foods to Crosby right away as the academy suggests.

And of course since we are staying with my parents, Gram / my Mom has Crosby already working on her chores, manners, and good behavior! Although Crosby doesn't have any teeth just yet, my Mom is already teaching her that she needs to brush her teeth multiple times a day!