Oregon Trip! (or, how I got over my fear of being "THAT lady with the baby" on the airplane...)

Last week, my parents flew Olive and I down to Oregon because my grandma was visiting from Texas and it seemed like meeting in the middle would be a good idea.  It was supposed to be a surprise but someone who shall remain nameless (cough cough...Mike...cough cough) spilled the beans.  I guess she was at least surprised when he told her!

The hardest part about the trip was mentally preparing to get on an airplane with my often-colicky two month old.  Ultimately I decided I would just nurse her the whole trip if I had to and if she screamed, we'd deal with it.  I got a seat in the back and prayed for the best.

Of course, she was absolutely perfect on the flight down! Basically she was fascinated by pretty much everything on the plane, especially the overhead bins and the flight attendants (who were totally awesome on both flights! Kudos Alaska Airlines!).

Checking out the spacious changing table in the bathroom (no she didn't change...I took this photo on the flight home).

Her head is showing its true - LARGE - size in this photo.  Sorry, baby.

 After we arrived in Portland and gathered our 3,000 bags (okay just two and a carseat...plus my diaper bag and breast pump, which I carried on), we met Miranda who so graciously offered to not only pick me up at the airport, but also drive us BOTH to my parents' house about 90 minutes away, even after I warned her that Olive typically does nothing but scream in the car.  True friends!

Of course, most of our car rides (most...not all) looked like this:

Of course.  I think it's because Miranda is pregnant and expecting her baby (a girl! due on my birthday!) and Olive decided to be nice to her and let her think that all babies are happy and love riding in the car.  HA.

The next few days in Oregon were a blur.  We mostly just hung out with family and made the obligatory run to the outlet mall, where Olivia spent the entire day sleeping in the baby carrier while we bought 10,000 unnecessary things for her.  She's very smart.  So here are some of the best pictures that my mom took.  Thanks mom!

Grandma with her great-granddaughter.  It's not typically polite to advertise other people's ages, but my grandma is 93! And she looks fantastic! I honestly hope I'm half as active as she is when I'm 93. (Honestly, I don't think I'm even half as active as she is now!)

Every night there was a fight about who got to feed her the bottle.  Grandma usually won.

Dad showing Olive how to work the remote.  I'm still not sure how it works, but I think she got it.

Bath time! (Thanks for loaning mom the tub, Bryan and Deanna!)

On Tuesday, my bestie Megan drove down to my parents' house - ON A WEEKNIGHT - just to have dinner with us and meet Olivia.  Again, TRUE FRIENDS! She is recently engaged(!!) so I got to hear ALL about it...it's always great to catch up with friends.  Speaking of, here is Stubby reuniting with Megan who took care of him for a summer.  He loves her.

Here is Ruti, the baby guard dog, who was never more than a foot away from Olive at all times - especially when she was crying.

On my last night, we drove up to Bryan and Deanna (my brother and sister-in-law)'s house for dinner and to let Olive meet some of her cousins! 

I love the look on Olive's face...yes, you are surrounded.

Grace got to hold Olivia, which Olivia obviously enjoyed immensely.  Piper is looking on...not quite sure what to think of the baby.

Ultimately, the girls decided that they would rather play with their kitchen than the baby.  Wise choice - those pots and pans don't cry.

By the end of the night, Olivia was DONE.

Yes, that is drool on my shoulder.  That is how all my shirts look now.

It was a great trip, though far too short.  I'm glad Olive and grandma got to meet each other and that the plane ride wasn't TOO horrifying (the ride home was less successful than the trip down).  This is good, because we're already planning to go back down for Christmastime, when we'll spend part of the time in Oregon with my family, which I am really excited about because I get to see my sister for the first time in years and meet the TWO kids she's had since I last saw her, and we'll spend the other part of the trip in Washington with Andy's family.  I'm already tired just thinking about the logistics of it all, but at least this time we'll have two sets of hands on the plane (and train, probably).  Can't wait!