Jack, Clara, and I all went to the airport together to pick her up. She got to hold Clara right away. Mom and I both hope and expect Clara is more used to Mom because we all Skype together so regularly.
The whole trip was very pleasant and relaxing. Mom couldn't get enough of being with Clara, which worked out really well because either we were hanging out in the apartment together and I could get other things done while Mom and Clara played, or Mom would babysit while I went to Starbucks to do paid work and Jack was at school.
Nice JaMa cuddles.
It was so good, in fact, that we decided to go with Mom and Clara and see it again, this time at the drive in. It was a week night and there were hardly any other cars there. It was pretty hot during the day for Mom's visit, but that meant the nights were pleasantly warm. We got refillable popcorn and some raisinets and we brought our own canned Diet Cokes in a mini cooler. Clara handled it all pretty well. She hung out in her carseat for awhile and then we adults all took turns holding her while she alternated between kind of watching the movie to bouncing in our laps. She only started to get fussy once, so I took her outside the car and held her while standing and swaying side-to-side, still watching the movie. It was surreal to watch a movie about a little girl growing up while holding my little girl.
Anyway, another big part of Mom's visit was her teaching me to use my sewing machine. She bought a pattern and the fabric needed to make Clara a cute red sundress. That was a brilliant idea, because having an actual project to work on allowed me a lot of opportunities to make mistakes and correct them, meaning I learned much more than I would have if I'd simply sewn a few patches on some ripped shirts. It has been really fun learning to sew and Mom was a huge help. I don't even know enough to understand the pattern's instructions without her interpretation. I tried to get as much of the dress done as I could before she had to leave, but couldn't quite finish it. That's no big deal, though, because we opted to make it a size larger than what fits Clara now, so I really have until probably next summer to finish it.
Fitting together the skirt part of the dress.
Making sure the bodice will fit.
Another fun theme of the trip was delicious food. Mom, Clara, and I went grocery shopping one of the first few days and Mom told me to pick out whatever food I normally would like to get but wouldn't spend money on. So we got milk and cereal, Kettle sea salt chips, chocolate fudgey ice cream, and the ingredients for spinach sausage loaf, which Mom kindly made with a fruit salad. Man, that stuff is so good. A different night she tooks us out to dinner at Elephant Bar, and on our two different runs to the craft store (to get a pin cushion and other stuff for the sewing project) we got candy. That was a simple fun way to make it feel like a vacation.
Clara eats while watching TV at the Elephant Bar.
Mom stayed at a nearby hotel for the whole trip. We'd originally planned to have her sleep on an air mattress at our place to save money, but Clara had been struggling so much with sleeping recently that Mom was worried it was be too much, so she opted for the hotel. Then, due to some problems with her room, the hotel ended up refunding her entire stay! So it really worked out well--we had plenty of space from one another and it cost her nothing.
Because she saved hundreds of dollars, Mom decided to use a little bit of it to buys us some gifts. So she ordered us a few stackable toys for Clara, a food processor, and a second fan. It was all very thoughtful. She's incredibly generous.
On her last day, Jack had to go to class, so it was just Clara and me who took Mom to the airport. We parked and went in with her, waited in line for check-in, and walked with her all the way to the trains that take passengers to the gate area. Mom did pretty well saying goodbye to cuddly little Clara, even though it was relatively sad. It helps to know we can keep Skyping with her later.
Overall it was a great trip and I'm grateful for a generous and loving Mom and JaMa to my baby girl.
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