Made it!

Safia at 8 months

Safia was a complete rock star.  I can say, with all honesty, that the prospect of driving from Athens, GA to Washington DC with an 8 month old was completely daunting.  Sure, we had done it before, but she was a very different baby then.  Last time we did it, she was a mere 3 months old - different sleep patterns, different eating patterns, different awake activities.  Now, at 8 months, we were dreading a scream-fest and were now willing (however reluctantly) to entertain the idea that this drive may have to be broken into two days.  We strapped Safia into her car seat and were on the road at 7am, and she screamed endlessly, certainly a message to us that she was the captain of this ride.  After 45 solid minutes of wailing, a breakfast feeding in the car seat, and a quick stop for breakfast biscuits for us adults, we all settled in for the haul, and Safia did great.  What is ordinarily a 10 hour drive, sans baby, was accomplished in just over 11 hours and we couldn't have been more delighted.  We arrived in DC to happy grandparents and aunt, a crazy dog rumpus, and fabulous Thai food.  Let the relaxing begin.

We arrived here in DC on Monday, and we'll be here about another week.  We have indulged, gluttonously in great food and company.  We are being spoiled by the generous babysitters that watch after Safia so Ellen and I can recall, for brief and fleeting moments, what life was like before we had the responsibilities of child rearing.  Urgent baby yowls and yelps at 5-in-the-morning, however, quickly return us back to reality, but having so many willing and helping hands around has made all the difference.

Since we last wrote here (and it has been an exceedingly long time, sorry) there are many new Safia-related things to report on.  She continues to not be the greatest napper, but we take what we can get.  She is not quite a proficient crawler, but she is army-crawling like a champ.  Really, what she wants to do is walk.  It seems she is determined to bypass that whole crawling thing and just move around like everyone else.  She has learned she can pull herself up and can stand, wobbly and shaky, but proud as can be.  Safia is also still a champion eater - devouring shocking amounts of food, and we're now working on self-feeding.  Safia is still very clingy, but her new-found love of locomotion has afforded us some freedom from the cling.  That's about it...below are some of our favorite pictures from the past month (including a Thanksgiving feast with my mom and brother).  Hope all is well where you are, and Happy Holidays!