GREAT Grandma

Good times were at had on our trip to Bowie, AZ to see my Grandma. Claire hadn't seen her Great Grandma since her baptism back in March. Claire has grown so much since then and we needed a visit to show Great Grandma all her new talents, curly hair, and cheesy crinkle-nose smiles! One of our favorite pastimes with Grandma growing up was playing the piano. Seeing Claire and Grandma playing together was so cute. She loved to bang on those keys!

We had a great time together just us girls. My friends kept telling me I was crazy to travel alone for4 hrs with Claire but things went pretty good. She did get a little cranky here and there. I can't blame her. She has no DVD player or entertainment back there. Everything I handed her to play with she threw on the floor. We made stops to eat which helped her to be happy again.

It felt good once I got into Bowie (which is so tiny a town that there is no population sign). It always feels nostaglic to be in my dad's hometown and drive on streets he used to play in with his friends. I am sure he knew every inch of that town like the back of his hand. Even traveling from Phoenix to Bowie made me reminisce about how many times we made that drive when I was kid to visit my grandparents. There are a 100 billboard signs to this place called "THE THING" as you drive down I-10...I still have no idea what that "thing" is but seeing that sign every mile still makes me laugh. I felt quite grown-up taking my daughter down this road now. I missed Eric but going alone felt special to me. I know my dad was smiling on us.

Claire is a climber now! Last Tuesday she just decided to tackle the stairs and up she went to my surprise. At Grandma's house she stood up a few times without holding on to anything. She quickly went back on her bum but she tried! Walking suddenly feels not so far away. Is it funny that I feel once she walks she isn't a baby anymore? It is such an evolving moment. Once she walks she will never crawl again just like she never rolls or drags herself across the floor anymore. It's all so brief and so sweet. I will miss her being a baby but I am starting to get excited about her growing up.