The Big Move part 1 - plane ride

I needed something to do our first few days here, so I wrote about our move.
Tuesday, October 21st
The morning that I board the plane flies by, before I know it we are saying goodbye to my mother and getting on our plane. I am nervous because one, we are moving to Georgia and two, while this is not Miriam's first flight, this is 3 1/2 hours non-stop.
No one is ever so friendly as when you have a little one. Bill and I are in different rows and the guy next to Bill gives up his seat so we can sit together. Turns out whoever was supposed to sit next to me doesn't show and we couldn've stayed there! Oh well. As it is we end up sitting by 'Plague Lady' who sniffs and coughs the whole flight. In her defence she was nice, and friendly, but not too friendly. Still, we're on an AIRPLANE. There should be some sort of seperate area for sick people on a plane.
Hour One: Miriam naps
Hour Two: Miriam plays nicely
Hour Three: Miriam alternates between mom and dad every 2-5+ minutes. I start watching the clock.
Last 1/2 hour: I take a leaf out of the lady across the isles book and hand Miriam a SkyMall. Take it to shop out of or let 11 month old demolish, same thing right? I am beginning to think this is the longest flight I will EVER go on with children. Really hampering my chances of visiting Europe or, you know, ever going home to Washington again.
As we desend into GA, daddy holds Miriam on his lap and we all watch the landscape.

Coming next: Part 2 - arrival

Arizona Heat

From the 14th to the 21st we were in Arizona - it was HOT - 90's - for those of us used to 50 degree weather.
We had a really good time. We went to the Arizona State fair and had lemonade and a corn dog as big as my forearm. We went to the petting zoo and other acitivies Miriam was mostly still to young for, but still fun.
We visited with one of Bill's former compainions, Jerry, and his wife Marva and their almost 5 children.
We went swimming (the pool was COLD for it being so warm outside) and took walks downtown, played with grandma's dog and made big messes on her floor. It was a kicking good time.

This is the "where are we?" face

Playing peek-a-boo

Meeting Trooper

A night on the town

Coming up next: our move to Georgia

Fun Living with the Ostroms

You know, I never settled down and made all of the Ostroms take a picture with Miriam. We've got a couple in which Jeff's mom, Judy makes an appearance. But you'll never see just how much she loved Jeff and his brother, John. Or their dogs - though we do have some pictures of Wookie (who is a big black cat).
Not to mention all the fun things she learned to do there, like walk and go up stairs. So here are some more pictures, a trubute to our stay at the Ostroms home.

I'm all packed!

Miriam loves to empty anything!




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Annual Greenbluff Trip

Here in Georgia, leaves are beginning to turn but it still hits 70 degrees.
I can't really call this autumn, because back home we are freezing our butts off for Halloween.
I am looking forward to NOT freezing for Halloween, but thats beside the point.
Before we left Spokane, we took a weekend day to go to Greenbluff with Joe and Brenda and kids. We had a really nice time. And I'm missing them all just thinking about it.
Bills parents also came for this (and to pick up Lylas crib). It was such a great weekend. . . a good way to wrap up our Spokane habitation.

Dancing to Sweet Home Alabama

Miriam really didn't know what to do about all the people there at first

She began to enjoy the maze
Mom enjoyed the slide

Grandma enjoyed the pumpkin patch

Miriam could have stayed in here all day

Being silly

Trying to get more pumpkin doughnuts
Mmm yeah, this is the reason we go

Everyone thought we would spell Miriam with a "y"

But take a look: Myriam . . . just looks funny to me.
If anyone was paying attention, I changed the last post. Apparently the hospital had it WRONG and Lena and Rick spelled Lyla with a "y" and not an "i"
So I changed it. That is really all I have time to do at the moment. But more to come on the last couple weeks . . . but here's our tiny niece

Thank goodness for hospital websites!

Lyla Rilen Garza

October 14th, 2008

9:56pm

5 lbs 2.5 oz

17.5 inches long

Picture here

Congratulations Lena and Rick

She's here!

Is it not the saddest thing ever that that is all I can tell you? Some of my in-laws in the Tri-Cities are in BIG TROUBLE (Bill and Sue this means YOU). I sent a text to Lena around 10 last night because I was finally settled in and getting anxious. She sent me one back letting me know their little girl is here! I'm guessing things are going well. I'm using all of my self control not to hound them.
Hopefully soon I'll have a name and a weight and a time of birth and all those things I couldn't be there for.
But - whoo hoo I'm an auntie!

Induction Day

Is it slightly ironic that the day we fly out of Washington is the day that my sister-in-law is being induced?

She's induced at noon and we fly out of Spokane at 3pm. So anyway . . . more pictures of our new neice (who should be born today or early tomorrow) are on the horizon.

In the mean time VOTE: Which cookie boquet should we send tomorrow?

The 4H club

No not that 4H club! I'm sort of a city person.

I swear I was saying yesterday that we were leaving in 2 weeks. Now all of a sudden we are leaving in 3 1/2 days and I'm starting to feel a little freaked out. Every now and again as we're driving around or visiting I already have painful pangs of "homesickness"
Today I was at the Post Office in Spokane Valley, fondly remembering how while learning to drive I hit the gas instead of the brake and ran over the parking space bumper (or whatever you call those things) in that parking lot.

It would be slightly different if I were leaving for say . . . Oregon. I'd get beautiful coasts and wilderness, Saturday markets, family (still an hour away) all within hours of my "homeland" in Washington.
In Georgia I get the 4 H's (You were wondering where this came in wern't you?)

heat, humidity, hurricaines and horrendous bugs

Lest you think I am way to negative, I promise to tell you the positive, wonderful things I find in Georgia. I hear the fireflys are quite cool.

The lives of others

Or: Pictures taken by others. I really dropped the ball on picture taking at Barons Ball this weekend. As in . . . none. This is the only picture I have from this weekend, taken by our friend Laurie. I love fall!
And for those of you who did not know, Miriam gets a cousin sometime this month! I can't believe I'll be gone for it. It's depressing.

( Yes, they are really that disgustingly cute. Really.)

Keeping busy

Today has been an interesting day.
It started out with sour milk. Sour milk, and then me thinking, gee it's good I didn't use that in Miriam's cereal.
So I headed off to the mall to walk with almost nothing in my stomach.
The walk was good. I did an extra lap and felt like I might collapse. All I wanted was a fruit Smoothie, but Orange Julius didn't open for another 20 minutes and MAN WAS I HUNGRY so I left, forgetting about the coffee stand in the middle of the mall that sells SMOOTHIES.
On my way to Wal-Mart, looking for a place that said Smoothie Shoppe or something, I gave up and got a chicken biscuit at McDonalds. Can I just tell you how NOT GOOD I felt afterwards, so I resolved to get a smoothie for lunch.
In the Wal-Mart parking lot Miriam was asleep, so I gave up on my new milk and turned around to bring her home. Got her into her bed and decided it was really time to try and learn something about this GEORGIA place I am going to reside in in two weeks. But after getting so far as to learn the water is indeed fluoridated in the city we are planning on living, Miriam woke up (still sick you know) and would not go back down without me so I gave up and took a half hour nap with her.
Then we called Daddy who apparently called while we were out walking to let me know a lady he works with might buy the car that we are leaving behind - cool!
"Do you have the title?"
"No. It's in . . ."
"the file cabinet in the PODS container." (which is NOT assessable by the way)
Tried to discover what to do about getting a copy of the title or whatever I need to do but Miriam apparently doesn't like me to be on the computer.
Around 1:30 decided to go get the smoothie from Orange Julius which turned out to be five dollars and twenty cents (there go my plans of making THAT a morning ritual). Then went to Target for a baby shower gift where Miriam screeched at me from the cart until I let her have some smoothie (thinking to myself "I guess I've already been exposed to whatever she has . . ." I found an extra straw which is better than nothing). Then I went to the bank to replace all the money we just spent with some cash hiding in my planner. Passed the library and realized my hopes of reading Wuthering Heights in the next week before we leave are probably not going to be realized. It's not the easiest read out there and I appear to be busier than all getout.
So instead of doing those things I need to do, I am sitting her writing you about my day. Not usually my style, but this is what has been in my head all afternoon.
Now, excuse me while I go clean out the car that I have to drop off in Post Falls to ship TOMORROW MORNING. After I look up the address where I am going . . .

My 11 month old

Has a cold, the first one she has that I don't

Can walk! (Looks a little bit like a penguin)

Has a new fasination with pinching my neck

Likes to go up stairs

Finally seems to be learning down the stairs

Signs "more" but it doesn't mean "more" (we can't quite figure it out)

Says "doo" for "dog" (Although this is associated with more than just dogs. But she does say it when she sees or hears a dog)

Thinks touching my tongue is funny

Little Help ** Updated

Quick question. Normally I would have posted this earlier, with a longer story of:

See Miriam was walking around the Weight Watchers meeting room Tuesday night, being very good, but when we left her feet were black!!
I have some very cute shoes from Wal-Mart, with a couple of problems . . . (1) most are size 4 and therefore packed (2) she kicks off most shoes without ties or good straps (3) the tennis shoes I have out are apparently too small

I need a short and a long term solution here. Where do you get baby shoes - the fitted, leather-soled bottom kind, with straps that fit like a second skin but still protect feet. Where would you go say TODAY if you needed them. And then, where would you go if you had time to order?

Anyone?, because I hate to have to worry about Miriam walking around Sacajawea State park this weekend with no shoes.

** Miriam's feet are officially a size 4 now (we really thought we would be gone by now . . .) I took her into a shoe store to get measured. This particular store didn't have any good shoes.