Goodbye, Summer

Last weekend, we took Sadie to the park when we went to pick up our vegetables from our CSA. No matter how much I feed her the SECOND before we walk out the door, she, so far, always needs to eat within 10 minutes of reaching our destination. The park we went to on Sunday is literally 1.2 miles from our house. Still, she had a mouth full of breastmilk only 10 minutes before we got in the car, and only 10 minutes into our perusal of the vegetables and fruits, she was belting out screams for MORE MORE MORE. Luckily, there was a park district building we could duck into to feed Sadie. We sat in a little room with air hockey tables and a poster of Barack Obama, feeding Sadie and visiting with my sister, Caroline, who had some into down to meet her now-favorite little Midwestern niece. (My brother's daughter, Lucy, is her favorite southern niece.)
After feeding in the rec room, we had a little family photo shoot in the park. Sadie was exhausted from all the vegetables and the excitement of seeing how we would resolve her crisis in the park, so she slept through most of it. We were excited to get her in the sunlight since we've been a little bit laxed on giving her vitamin D, which pediatricians encourage breast-feeding mothers to give to their babies.
We are so grateful and happy that Aunt Caroline made the trip from Texas to Chicago, especially since she is 33 weeks pregnant with her second son. It's not easy to travel when super pregnant and there is a fabulous wedding in Florida that I missed because I wasn't up for traveling when I was 32 weeks pregnant. It's fun to share these years with my sister; I am glad we are close enough to jump on planes to meet each other's children. In fact, Sadie's first trip will probably be to Texas when we go to meet Caroline's second son.
And, yes, we are bundled up because, even though it was the end of August, it was very chilly and we definitely needed our fleeces that day!
It's also nice to have a houseguest who is a parent or someone who isn't afraid of hearing a baby cry, and cry loudly. Aunt Caroline wasn't rattled a bit when Sadie cried in her arms, and I like that in an Aunt. We, the exhausted parents of a new born and Caroline, the third-trimester beauty, opted not to hit the clubs on Saturday, but to order in and watch "My Cousin Vinnie." Ah, to be on the same page. It's a beautiful thing. So is the bleu cheese burger from Logan Bar and Grill!

So it was a great weekend. We are mourning the passage of summer as we head into Labor Day this weekend. We are doing an overnight trip to Wisconsin tomorrow, so there should be some beautiful scenery in our future. I am a little anxious about traveling with Sadie, but it's only one night; only 77 miles away and only to relax at Lake Geneva. I can't believe how much I love this child and how precious she is to me. I am so much more vulnerable in the world now that I love this much. And, I would write more about that, but I want to go check on her and and poke her so I can be convinced she's just fine, just like she has been the past 199 times I have gone to check on her.

Welcome to parenthood, Christie style.