babycamp part 2

Day 3

He didn't sleep through the night last night either. He did sleep through dinner (miraculous), but again at 3 am he had to cry for a bit. It would have been a shorter bit if I had managed to find the pacifier, but it was dark, we were in a tent, it was wrapped up in my bed sheet from where I fumbled around trying to get to him when he started crying. It was 3 am. Not my peak performance time by any means. He apparently decided it was time to even the score, and cried loud and long enough to wake Chloe up, and I'm sure that everyone in St. Andrews Lagoon Campground in sites 1 through 75 heard their choir of unhappiness. All told, they settled down quickly enough, especially once I plugged in his pacifier and she heard that he wasn't unhappy anymore. We noted that they were not the only two babies that cried in camp last night. There was a family nearby with what must have been 12 little ones with them. It was probably only 8 or so, but they were never still long enough for me to even attempt to count, and by the time I saw that there were definitely more than 5, I was already questioning the sanity of our fellow campers. They brought a herd. I'm not sure exactly how many toddlers constitute a herd, but they certainly qualified. There was also a gaggle of 12 and 13 year old girls that took possession of the bathhouse, so we were suitably intimidated. I know, deep in my mind and heart, that Hell is full of (and run by) 13 year old girls. Not that they are bad and get sent to Hell, mind you, they're in their version of Heaven, all together with all the time in eternity to talk about all the crap that 13 year old girls talk about. This is what makes it Hell for everyone who is sent there. I know what I'm talking about. I WAS a 13 year old girl at one time (nearly 20 years ago) and I could barely stand myself.

We left camp earlier than we planned to. Does this ever happen? We were up, it was getting hot and humid, and we were sick of sand. Seemed prudent to pack up and head out, so we did. We took even longer getting home than we did getting down to Florida. Several of my family members live in Dothan, and we thought (correctly) that they would enjoy a visit from Dennis. He showed off his increasingly proficient walking and talking skills and performed general acts of extreme cuteness. He learned some new words this weekend, "bird" and "beach". He is steadily working his way through the B section of the dictionary. I know he knows other letter sounds, but B words are his favorite.

He watched the Jungle Book on the way north tonight. I was never going to be one of those mothers who let her child watch DVDs in the car. I caved. It's wonderful for long trips, and here's why. He's one. He can't play the alphabet game or punch buggy or road bingo. He can't identify license plates or play "cow". He gets bored, and I can only sing for a half hour or so. I'd rather him not sleep the whole trip away, because then we'd all be up all night. So he got to watch a DVD, and all of us were happy. He watched it in increments, because we stopped to let him walk around and play, and sometimes he was just enjoying looking out the window. For the other hours, the ones where he screeched in boredom, he got to watch Baloo and learn the Bear Necessities of Life. Good stuff.

We had an exciting half hour in Montgomery when the car overheated, but Daddy saved the day, as usual. We apparently have developed a radiator leak or coolant system leak, but David was able to stop safely on the side of the road (conveniently across the street from an auto parts store, so we know God was looking out for us) and let it cool down and add coolant and stop-leak. It worked. No trouble at all on the way north after that, and he'll take the car in for repair if he can't find the leak himself. He and I both felt horrible that we were nearly stranded with a baby (like we were letting him down somehow), but we feel so blessed that it worked out the way it did. Dennis enjoyed the break, sitting up front with me and pressing all the buttons on the air conditioning system while the car was off. And then we took him to a new Cracker Barrel, so all was happy and good. He was radiating adorableness in Cracker Barrel, so much so that waitresses and other diners (MANY of them) stopped by our table to comment on how cute he is, and how great it was to hear his laughter while they were eating. He was such a hit there, and was so proud of himself, that we actually considered maybe eating there again next Sunday night just to see if the magic was still there.

He's in bed now, sacked out hard, and I already miss the closeness of the tent. I'm happy to be on a bed that's not on the ground, but he's in his room, and I can't just look over and watch him sleep or listen to those sweet little baby night noises that he hardly ever makes anymore. Separation anxiety. They warned me about it, but I thought it was going to cause Dennis angst, not me! Already I am thinking ahead to our next vacation. He loves to travel, loves to see and experience new things, and I love experiencing things through his joyful point of view. He is one much loved and much appreciated little guy.