Baxter's Blog: Vacation!!

Sebastian and I had a great time with my parents in Colorado and Utah. We drove to Denver our first day and spent a couple of days out there with Barb and Roger Hiner. Then we drove up through the mountains to Grand Junction where we stayed overnight. There was a huge hotel lobby with tile floors, so mom suggested getting his walker out of the car and turning him loose. They had a happy hour with free drinks and nachos, so there were a lot of people in the lobby, and Sebastian had a blast! He ran (literally) around the lobby, charming all of the hotel guests and making friends! He IS just like Wes!

It was a beautiful drive, and nice to break up the trip. After that it was off to Salt Lake City. Sebastian did great in the car. He has a time-limit of about 2 hours, and then he needs a break. Now he's spoiled and doesn't want to ride in the car without someone in the backseat to play with him!
Once in Salt Lake City, we checked in to our incredible hotel. Too bad Sebastian won't remember staying there...it's probably the nicest hotel I've ever stayed in! We had a room next door to mom and dad, and while they weren't adjoining, the rooms were grouped with an entrance foyer for two rooms that had French doors that could be closed. So we were able to close the foyer doors, giving us a little entrance area, and we could keep our room doors open to go back and forth. The rooms and bathrooms were huge! We had a little crib for Sebastian, and it all worked out great. Dad took the Diplomate exam on Wednesday, and mom, Sebastian and I did some exploring of Salt Lake City. Then Thursday I took a class, and mom watched Sebastian. Friday afternoon, Sebastian and I flew home. We were in the front row from Salt Lake City to Denver, and had to put the diaper bag overhead, because there is nowhere to put it down below. Sebastian didn't have a nap all afternoon and was really tired and fussy. The guy next to us was clearly less than thrilled to be sitting next to a screaming baby! We sat on the runway for 25 minutes, and Sebastian just screamed. I felt so bad! Once the flight attendant was able to get the diaper bag down for us, I gave him a graham cracker, and he calmed right down, at it, and fell asleep the rest of the flight. Our flight leaving Denver was delayed an hour, so by the time we got home, he was really tired and fussy. But all in all, he was a great little traveler!

Some new exciting accomplishments for Sebastian are that he's now crawling and almost walking! He's army crawling on his tummy, but it gets him from here to there. He's cruising all around furniture and from toy to toy. If he seems our black lab, Jack, across the room, he's over to him before you know it! We really have to keep an eye on him now. Those carefree days are over! It's really fun to see him learning new skills. e started to clap, which is so cute! He's started to point to things he wants, too. The first time he did it was in Salt Lake City. We were out walking down the sidewalk, and there was a big fountain to our right, and he pointed to it. He loves water...fountains, pools, lakes. He's all about feeding himself, too, so he's finally eating some table food. The formula is going well, which is a relief. It's still the soy formula. I'm not ready to try him on dairy yet.

Wes is getting ready for his big hunting trip to Colorado, and I'm getting ready for school to start. I have a big year at Doane this year....we're performing at the Nebraska Music Educator's Convention in November, so we have a lot to do! Thanks for checking in and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Helping mommy pack-

Baby's first picnic in Vail at a beautiful park. There was an amphitheatre with a group of kids doing a dress rehearsal of "Peter Pan" that we could hear, and a brass quintet giving a concert. So cute!