Leaving

I am sitting on a plane, on my way to Austin, Texas to spend four days with my friend Shelley. I am alone for the first time since before Fiona was born, and I feel it keenly. You see, there are two babies very near, one crying probably because her ears hurt. And it makes me miss Fi so much, I want to cry with her. I am sure she is up from her nap now and probably on her way to the fair with John, who I also miss. Last night Fiona woke up (again!) in the middle of the night and I went to her room. John and I had an agreement that only he would go because when I go, it starts a cycle of waking and crying, whereas when I let him handle it, she usually stops after one or two nights. But I just couldn’t lay there and listen to her crying “mommy mommy) so I went. And I held her and nursed her, and cuddled her, and she rolled into a little ball in my lap and lay there for a long time. Then I stood up and she put her head on my shoulder and draped herself on me while I rocked her. I told her I was going away for a few days and I think she was feeling it and needing the connection. I fear for our sleep when I return.

Anyway, enough sentimental and depressing ruminations on how much I miss my little girl. Here is an update on what we have been up to lately, and also soon a post about what we did in Portland and San Francisco last month.

We went to the fair and Fiona ate corn and went down a big slide, rode a carousel, and ran through a fun house that was not really very fun. A lady we did not know told us she wished she brought her camera because the sight of Fiona sitting in her own seat eating corn was too cute to pass up. Sadly, I don’t have a photo of that (my mom does), but I did get a photo of her sitting on my mom’s lap:

  

Here are John and Fiona on the bus on the way to the fair:

On the slide:

 

Inside the (un)fun house:

Feeding John an ice cream cone and also eating it herself:

 

We all shared the cone, my mom, John, Fiona, and me, and it was not very large. I think Fiona is old enough now to occasionally have treats like that, and I want her to think of the Fair as a special place where she gets to eat yummy treats that she normally doesn’t eat. I figure she’ll have good memories of it and it will give me a way to delay eating of junk food during the rest of the year.

We went to the landscaping and photography exhibits, as well as the commercial hall, where Fiona became obsessed with the zipper on a purse. I took pictures at the landscape exhibit, and I have no idea what exactly she is doing here:

Exercises with the rope? Anyway, we all had a great time even though there were no cows or pigs to see. John is taking her again today because we were told that large animals are shown toward the end of the Fair. If they do in fact go, it will be Fiona’s third trip this year, her being when she went on opening day with my dad and me. Entrance was only a dollar on that day so even though it took a long time to get there, we did not stay long because the crowds were unbelievable!

 

Here are some photos from today before I left:

My favorite is the second photo. I have photos of me as a child, making those same scrunched up faces that Fiona makes and I am starting to see my resemblance in her expressions. And yes, we are purposely dressed alike!

Here are two last photos from a recent play date. We were playing Ring Around the Roses:

I did not take them, my friend Claudia did. I love the one on the right. It captures Fiona’s expression most of the time, especially when a camera is pointed at her.

I am looking forward to a few days of relaxation, but at the same time, I can’t wait to get home to my baby girl, who is growing up so fast, I’m afraid she’ll be a different person when I see her again.