Transitioning to the Next Phase of Our Nomad Lifestyle

So time got away from me and I have a lot to cover, but I think I can do it fairly succinctly...

Aiden's recovery from surgery went better than expected and within two weeks he was completely back to normal. Well, not completely because he started doing a lot of new things. He quickly started babbling much more than he had before the surgery and has picked up a few new skills like clapping his hands, walking while we hold his hands, and is working on standing up on his own. He's also becoming much more mobile, which can be scary. He doesn't exactly crawl, so it's hard to explain how he gets from point A to point B - sort of like a crippled crab. The biggest improvement, however, has been Aiden's ability to eat solid food. One day he just went from not wanting the smallest bite to eating half a jar of baby food at a sitting - or more.

The main event since the last post is that we had Aiden baptized in February. It was short notice, so we kept it small, but it was a very nice ceremony. Aiden looked very grown up in his suit and took the wetting down with good grace.

I've finished my training and am now prepared to apply U.S. immigration law, assist Americans overseas, and protect our nation's borders. We said goodbye to Washington with lunch at Ray's Hellburger and a trip to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum with Aiden's Godparents. Since it was a holiday weekend, the museum was packed so we didn't stay long - but at least we got to see the elephant in the rotunda.

I'll miss the waffles at the hotel, and my scenic runs along the Potomac, which were made extra nice by the fact that the unseasonably warm weather caused the spring flowers to come up early. Still, that wasn't what made leaving difficult.

You would think that after almost a year of living like nomads, we'd be pretty good at packing up and going, but not this time. I thought I'd worked everything out. I picked up our rental car the day before we left - I even negotiated for an upgrade to a larger size vehicle. We went through our things and decided what we could do without and I packed a car load of stuff to put into temporary storage. We packed our bags before bed so we'd be ready to go in the morning...

In the morning I was finally defeated when trying to pack the car. There was just too much stuff. Technically, I was able to get everything in, but there was no way we could drive all the way to Georgia without being able to see out of the rear windshield or the passenger side mirror. So we made a stop at the storage facility and got rid of one entire suitcase, a bunch of Aiden's toys, and some other odds and ends.

Finally we were ready to go, 2 hours later than planned, and with quite a few frayed nerves. I guess this is what vacation is like with a baby. Still, once we were in the car, we put our frustration behind us and it's been smooth sailing since then. Of course, the only reason I have time to write this is because it's raining cats and dogs today - but more on that when I write about our trip.