We made it thankfully to Delaware, getting as many miles as possible out of Babe-O's sleeping time by leaving around 3 a.m. for the seven or eight hour trip.
We did our best to get some sleep before we left, but it was kind of a rough night. We were all camped out in the living room at Mom-O's parents' house, which meant Mom-O on the couch, Babe-O in her bassinet, me in a recliner, and dogs strategically placed throughout the room.
The problem was that whenever anyone upstairs made a peep or did something outrageous like go to the restroom, our littlest dog would freak out and start barking, which would wake up our biggest dog, who would really start barking. By the end of the night, this chain reaction had woken up everybody in the house (Babe-O included) three or four times.
Regardless, 3 a.m. finally did roll around and we were off and running.
We made it about halfway to Delaware before we found a good Perkins where we could get Babe-O out of her seat for lunch and a fresh diaper. She was in a good mood, but wasn't happy at all when it came time to put her back in the car.
She was fussier than usual once we were back on the road, despite me being willing to risk getting pulled over under suspicion of DUI for changing lanes constantly to rock her to sleep.
It was at about the same time we realized we hadn't seen any poop in about twenty-four hours when we heard a noise in the back seat that sounded like a walrus choking on a trumpet.
We pulled over to assess the damage in a little one-street town that ran parallel to the highway. Mom-O managed to get the diaper changed and the baby happy in the back seat and we got driving again without too much fuss.
We made it to my folks' house before lunch and it was nice to be where we were going with much of the day to spare. Babe-O was a little cranky from the ride but after a while she was delightful for her Nana and Granddaddy.
When we exchanged Christmas gifts, she was still a little out of sorts, but still did her share of unwrapping presents and generally enjoying her booty.
I was also feeling like a little kid, with eyes lighting up at the two giant boxes of diapers we had been given. I was half tempted to keep the boxes sealed and hide them in the basement. If the world economy ever collapses completely, a good box of diapers will be worth more than gold.
Ava ended up with lots of cool stuff and she seemed quite pleased. We gave Nana and Granddaddy personalized mugs that showed a beautiful picture that Mom-O had taken with her very cool, very professional camera. It is a great picture, with Babe-O sporting a bright red tutu and a little Santa hat. I received a similar gift the other day, and it ended up very high on my list of favorite presents. Love that baby.
Now we are relaxing with my parents in dog-free bliss. Actually they have a dog, but Elizabeth is an old English bulldog who is about 112 in people years and doesn't have quite the enthusiasm that makes our three such a handful.
It was also cool to see Elizabeth because she has been snubbing me every time I visited since I started bringing my own dogs with me. Now it is more like old times and she has been willing to hang out and send a few friendly glances my way.
As we plug along at an Elizabeth-like pace, this is pretty much the perfect environment for Babe-O to recover from her go-go-go first Christmas experience. For a very small person she has managed to pack a lot of activity into the last few days. Now all three of us can unwind a bit and catch our breath.
Hooray for kicking back. I just hope our dogs are behaving themselves with their various (and very generous) family babysitters back home.
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