Da Trip

There were so many good shots from our trip to Chicago and Michigan, I had trouble narrowing them down to fit on a blog post. Click here if for the full 119-picture photo story of the trip. Maizie got in a lot of talking and walking practice and had a great time soaking in all of the new experiences. Oh, and we had fun, too. It was really nice being with Jason all day long for days at a time and watching Maizie get to know a wider circle of friends and family that think she's the best.

And for those of you thinking of flying Northwest, I would think twice. On this trip, we had a 5-hour delay from Austin to Chicago, a banged up stroller, a missing bag (for 8 hours), a 1-hour delay for Jason coming home, an 1.5 hour delay sitting on the runway in Detroit which made us miss the last flight to Austin on Tuesday out of Minneapolis. At Minneapolis they handed me a voucher for $10 and said that me and Maizie would have to spend the night at the airport. After I broke down in pure "mom flying with baby and completely stressed out" fashion, they gave me a hotel room and a fistful of vouchers. I then waited an hour for a bag that never came and ended up wearing the same clothes for two days. The hotel was actually really nice and we had time to stroll the Minneapolis IKEA and the Mall of America before we flew home, so I guess it wasn't all bad. :-) Lesson learned: Fly Southwest next time!

A Perfect 10

Well, Maizie and I have landed...finally. More about the trip later, but first things first. Maizie turned 10 months old August 20th and she marked the occasion with her first word. Here's indisputable video evidence for any of you naysayers out there. :-) Month 10 was a lot of fun. Maizie is still crawling up a storm, pulling up on everything, opening drawers, squirming, laughing, screaming, eating "people" food, smiling and interacting with us. It's so fun to watch her develop into her own little person.

For the rest of her 10-month pics, click here.

Home of My Heart

Hello all. In case you didn't know, we are in Michigan on vacation. I have a ton of cute pictures which will have to wait until we're back. But until then, here are some "headlines" from the trip so far:
4:30 Taxi Ride and 5-hour Delay Start Trip Off With a Bang

Maizie performs first word ("Dad") for Aunt She She and Uncle Al

The Frost Family takes a Walking Architectural Tour of Chicago

Jason and Caren take an adult night out with Alan and Sheila

Jason sees a naked old man on the streets of Chicago

Jason and Caren ride a bicycle built for two around Mackinac Island

The Frost Family samples fudge from every shop before making critical decision

Little Cabin on Lake Superior Home to the Frosts for a few days

Jason, Caren and Papa hike from Upper Tahquanemon Falls to Lower (4 miles)

The Family takes a lazy day at Sault Ste. Marie

The Family stops at Frankenmuth for a kitchy German lunch

Dale and Emilie meet 10-month-old Maizie

Cody and Heather meet 10-month-old Maizie

Trenton Church of Christ meets 10-month-old Maizie

Everyone Loves Maizie

Jason just caught a flight home and we're staying on for a couple more days. We've had a great time being spoiled by family and just relaxing, but I think Maizie will also be happy to see her home, her "gog", and her crib.

Maizie's First Words

Below are Maizie's first (written words). I could just tell by looking at her that she is a genius child and although she (still) won't say Mama, she wanted to communicate with me. So I sat her at the computer and this is the miracle that occured. For those of you not attuned to baby computer talk, I will translate: "I love you 43 x 43, loooooooooove you to the root of 54, I'm going to sleep now. Still sleeping. Still sleeping. The end." I love that she already has a fine appreciation for sleep and punctuation.

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The Grind

So, along with Maizie's two front teeth comes a new habit. She's a tooth-grinder. You can tell she's just trying to figure out what in the world is going on inside her mouth, but it's one of the most gut-wrenching sounds I've ever heard.

I was worried she was going to chisel away her newly formed teeth, so I asked Jason to look it up on the internet to calm my fears. What did he find? An article that said tooth-grinding could be a sign that your child has worms. I was already quivering whenever I heard that sound, but after that, I had the added image of parasitic worms crawling throughout my baby's little belly. That will be the last time I ask Jason to look something up to calm my fears.

Well, I called our pediatric nurse today and gave her a good laugh. I guess it could be a sign of worms in older children, but Maizie is truly just figuring out her new teeth and she said it should stop once the teething phase is over. Phew.

Old

Yesterday was my 29th birthday. It was a good day after that part where Maizie cried through church and we came home for leftovers so she could take a 4-hour nap and Jason could get some work done. Really though, after that, it was a great day. Jason gave me a really sweet note and we all went to the neighborhood pool for some family splash time. Then he let me veg at home while he went out to the store for groceries. He came back with a cake mix and made me a homemade birthday cake (chocolate with cream cheese icing--yummy). Here are some pics from the day.


She looks so grown up here. Like 40 maybe. Sad.

Here's a good teeth shot. Six peeking through and counting...

Licking the bowl and wearing Maizie's sunglasses. Birthdays make me want to revert.

Chef secret: Frost the cake in your living room next to the fish tank while watching Mythbusters.

How Big is Maizie?