margaretyagan

Are my parents crazy?

I had no way to know just what was in store for me today.  In yesterday’s blog, I noted a definite difference in my parents’ behavior and activities, but I had no idea what it was all about.  I had breakfast really early today, at about 5:45.  As soon as I finished Mom rushed me downstairs and put me into my car seat.  So, I figured, I must have a doctor’s appointment, since 2/3 of the time I’ve ever been in a car it’s been to go to the doctor.

I noticed something was up when Mom got into the driver’s seat and Nana sat in the back with me.  Where was Dad?  Dad?!  Anyway, if you’re a regular of my blog, you’ve probably already guessed that I decided to just go to sleep.  I figured someone would wake me up if anything interesting happened.

Well, something interesting happened.  Mom drove us to O’Hare and then I saw Dad and Grandpa pull up behind us.  Mom put me in my stroller and walked inside while Dad, Grandpa, and Nana unloaded what seemed like a million suitcases, bags, and boxes from the two cars.  Mom & Dad put four of our biggest bags into a funny looking machine.  Dad pushed the other four bags on a metal cart and Mom pushed me in my stroller.  Mom & Dad seemed very relieved to have gotten rid of those bags.  I wonder where they went…

Mom & Dad had to show their drivers’ licenses to someone who stared at them for what seemed like an eternity.  Then Dad disassembled the four little bags he was carrying – taking out three laptops and a zip-top bag – while Mom carried me through a funny-looking rectangle.  The poor people in line behind Dad must have been so frustrated, but they all seemed so nice because I was so little (I bet it didn’t help that I’m pretty cute!).  Something in one of Dad’s bags must have been pretty suspicious because someone stared at a picture of it forever before letting Dad have it back.  Mom & Dad seemed to be on cloud nine.  I still had no clue what was going on.

We went and stood by a sign that said “E8” for almost an hour.  Mom rocked my stroller, seemingly very interested in keeping me asleep.  I opened an eyelid every now and then to make sure I was taking everything in for my blog, but kept them happy by staying asleep.  Mom, Dad, and I then boarded JetBlue Flight 908 to some place called New York City.  It’s nice that we’re going somewhere “new” – Chicago does seem pretty old.

I sat in seat 23A, in Mom’s lap.  Mom seemed really, really interested in getting me to eat as soon as a very loud man said “we’re third in line for take-off.”  Come on, I don’t feed on command.  So, instead of getting to eat, I got a strange piece of silicone inserted in my mouth.  At first it felt kind of weird, but I really liked it and I sucked on it for about half an hour.  It had now been over four hours since breakfast and I was starting to get a bit hungry. 

Dad took me into a really small room and laid me on a really hard surface to change my diaper, which he did in record time.  I came back out and after Dad created a makeshift curtain out of my blanket, I had my mid-morning snack with Mom.

The rest of my flight went by uneventfully.  Mom tried to feed me during the descent but it was a bit too bumpy.  Dad convinced me to try the pacifier again and I laid in his lap until we touched down at JFK.  We waited for everyone else to de-plane and I got a bunch of compliments from the JetBlue staff on my way off.

We got our bags and met a blue minivan to take us to our new home.  About an hour later, we arrived at our new apartment.  Dad went to the office to pick up the keys and we walked right in.  I was so hungry!  I hadn’t had a real meal since 5:45 am.  While I was eating with Mom, Dad set up my new play yard which will be my primary hangout while I’m in NYC.

I ate and slept and ate and slept (hey, I didn’t do much of either on the trip).  Since Dad had to go to work, we decided to go to sleep around 10:00 for the night, rather than midnight, like usual.

But I wasn’t going to let them get off the hook that easily.  Oh no. 

I got up around 12:45 and ate (so much for going to sleep “for the night”).  Mom tried to get me to go back to sleep, but I stayed awake until 2:15.  I’m sure Mom thought she was going to get a few hours of sleep.  Oh no.

I woke up less than 2 hours later (around 3:45 am).  Mom tried to change me in the dark. Not only was Dad too tired to get up and help (thanks a lot!), but he almost kicked me in the head in mid-change.  Mom didn’t have the new diaper properly aligned under my dirty one (Mom – try turning on a light next time!).  My loyal blog readers will know what I did — I peed!  All over Mom’s hand, my outfit, the new diaper, the old diaper, the changing pad, and anything else within pee-shot. 

Mom was so sad!  I even heard her say a word that I had previously only heard Dad say!

 I ate and didn’t go back to sleep until 5:30…and then I woke up again at 6:15!  Poor Mom didn’t get any sleep.  Dad?  He didn’t wake up once…

Well, Mom & Dad definitely made up for a sleepy Sunday with about as a productive a day as I’ve ever seen.  (Unfortunately, this productivity didn’t include especially flattering pictures of me.)  Mom usually goes back to sleep after my breakfast feeding, but not today.  She hopped right up and went to work packing up her stuff.  Mom, Dad, and I spent the morning in their bedroom.  I just rolled around on the bed and watched clothes come flying out of closets and drawers and into suitcases.

After lunch, we went downstairs and they spent some time ordering various things we’re going to need in NYC.  Then Mom & I headed down to the office and helped (or, rather, watched) Dad pack up our media center, TiVo, and dvd player.  At around 3:00, a nice woman came by to clean the bathrooms and kitchen and a few minutes after that Nana and Grandpa Yagan came over to spend their last night in Chicago with us.  As soon as Nana came in, she said “Laila is all mine tonight!”

While Nana and Grandpa were monopolizing me, Dad did the dishes and Mom sorted through the mountain of papers on her desk.  Finally the cleaning lady finished up and said, in somewhat broken English, “beautiful baby!”  Wow, I am definitely getting  a big head!

Nana and Grandpa then offered to babysit me (hey, I don’t need to be babysat!) while Mom & Dad went out for dinner.  Mom & Dad got dressed up and seemed really happy to be leaving me!  I’m not sure why I wasn’t invited…  Anyway, I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of babysitting happening in New York, so it’s probably good that they got some time alone.  I behaved pretty well for Nana and Grandpa, getting just fussy enough for Grandpa to get to practice his shushing skills (good job!).

Once Mom & Dad got back it was all business.  I have to admit, though, I really enjoyed my dinner with Mom.  There was something really soothing and relaxing about it.  The meal tasted a bit like…grapes.  Chianti?  Zinfandel?  No, I think it must have been just a hint of chardonnay.  YUM!

I went to sleep for the night a bit earlier than usual – around 11:00 pm and then around 3:00 for my snack.  I usually sleep in until about 8:00, but I could tell my parents were going to want to get an early start on the day, so I woke myself for breakfast up around 5:30 – just a few minutes before they were planning to wake me up anyway.

As soon as I had breakfast, I went downstairs to get my last bit of quality time with Aunt Claire before Dad took her to the airport.  When they left, I went back upstairs and had a snack with mom.  Dad came back with Nana Yagan for a quick visit with me before they left to go apartment hunting.  Of course, I went back to Mom for another snack.  Mom and I have gotten into such a good routine eating together that there’s very little to report.

Mom and Dad were in a bit of a funk in the evening.  I even saw Dad take his first nap since my birth to try to relieve a bad headache.  Mom had no appetite at dinner and barely ate anything.  The house looked like a total disaster zone.  I felt like the only one with my act together.

As a favor to Dad, I fell asleep really quickly after my midnight supper and after my middle-of-the-night snack, so he didn’t have to spend much time rocking me to sleep and could go get more rest.