Dept. of West Coasting

[kaffy_r]

Here We Are, In Seattle

It's 6:35 p.m. Seattle time. We've been up since 2 a.m., Seattle time. But things have turned out rather well (well, except for the "I left Bob's Galaxy Tab at the TSA checkpoint because I couldn't find it in my backpack, panicked, found it, had to send the backpack back for another run through the x-ray machine without the tablet in it, then grabbed the backpack and got the hell out of the way of irritated folks, without actually, you know, picking up the tablet" debacle. 

(It's possible that it's been put into the TSA lost and found; I've put in an official inquiry. We shall see. This is, however, what happens when you get up waaaaay too early (4 a.m. Chicago time) and lose valuable brain cells to sleep dep.)

But I don't truly care, possibly because I got the chance to hold my very heavy, very large, very cute, 20-day-old grand-creature. And I've hugged the exhausted parents. 

Being a grandmother is weird, y'all. But it's also awesome. 

And now, I'm going to take a much needed shower, and fall into bed, even though it's only 6:42 p.m., Seattle time. 

Tomorrow, more holding of grand-infink. 

Comments

[chez_jae]

How wonderful, in spite of the tablet debacle. Enjoy!

[kaffy_r]

We will truly enjoy our time here, although a good night's sleep is most definitely called for!

[pameladean]

So glad you got there and could hold the baby! I hope the tablet turns up.

I have done so many wild things when travelling without sufficient sleep. I was once harried into signing up for a credit card that turned out to have a very hefty yearly fee that they "waived" until they were no longer where you could strangle them. I think they must have been on some kind of very shaky legal ground, because when, months later, I cancelled the card and they said I couldn't, I threatened to report them to somebody, maybe the Attorney General, I forget, and they backed right off.

P.

[kaffy_r]

Ah, sleep deprivation, you are to blame for so many things! Although, don't you love it when the mere threat of judicial activity makes scammers head for the hills?

[pameladean]

Yes, I was not just pleased but very pleasantly surprised. I threatened them with the Minnesota Attorney General, though they had had their agents parked all over the Denver airport; I kept dodging them until I ran out of stamina; it was like dodging the young Mormon men in our neighborhood when they come through on their missions. I wonder if they -- the credit card people, not the Mormon kids -- had already gotten in trouble for that.

P.

[lilacsigil]

Yay for baby holding! I have a 14-month-old niece in London who I have not been able to meet yet, so throw a little jealousy in here too!

[kaffy_r]

I'm sorry you haven't been able to hold your niece! Grandkid has been held more today, and I still haven't dropped him. Go, me and him!

[a_phoenixdragon]

Sounds like it has been exhausting, a little frustrating with the tablet debacle, but in the end...totally worth it! Give A and E my love!

*HUGS*

[kaffy_r]

Give A and E my love!

We will definitely do that!

And here, have some hugs back!

[smallhobbit]

That's great. There's something very special about seeing your grandchild for the first time!

[kaffy_r]

It's pretty weird, but weirdly nice at the same time. It's wonderful to see how happy my First Born is at having his own First Born. Heh.

[thisbluespirit]

Aw, so glad you've got there and got to meet Grandchild! ♥

(I hope Bob gets his tablet back, too!)

[kaffy_r]

Thanks - the grandchild is wonderful. And huge. Like, really huge. But I held him some more, and did not drop him on his head. This means I still have the muscle memory of a mom, all these years later, I guess. Heh.

Yes, we're crossing our fingers on the tablet. If it's thoroughly gone, then I know what I'm getting him for his birthday.

[bibliofile]

Yay, seeing grandbaby with smell-o-vision and tactile experience! And baby's parents too!

Argh, travel.

[kaffy_r]

Thanks - amazingly, the smell-o-vision hasn't been big, but the tactile has been, delightfully so.

I usually love travel, but sleep dep, subsequent tablet loss and a couple of other things made Tuesday's travel less than optimal.

[dreamshark]

PICTURES! PICTURES!

How long will you be there? Long enough to catch the first smiles?

[kaffy_r]

There will definitely be pictures, probably on Thursday morning.

We will only be here until Saturday afternoon, but we've already had at least a preview of what his smiles will look like (and I refuse to believe that even teeny baby smiles are solely due to gas. Heh.)

[dreamshark]

There seem to be two kinds of smiles in tiny infants. The type that people attribute to "gas" are little closed mouth Cheshire cat smiles and seem to be kind of random. You may see them practicing those little smiles, along with other facial expressions, in their sleep. I don't remember noticing this with my own babies, probably because parents of newborns are too frazzled to simply sit and stare at their newborn for minutes at a time. But as a grandparent I found myself doing just that, and even have a video of teeny Lena cycling through expressions in her sleep.

The first attempts at social smiles are distinctly different, and don't really look like smiles. They stare at your mouth while you hold them and try to imitate you if you stick out your tongue or open your mouth in a wide grimace. 3 weeks is a little early, but we have a couple of pictures of Lena sticking out her tongue at Dave Romm when she was about 4 weeks old.

You can also get some great pictures at 3 weeks of newborn reflexes if your interests tend that way (mine did). My favorite is the one where you hold the baby upright over a surface and let their feet touch the ground until they start making stepping motions. What makes that one so interesting is that the reflex disappears after a few weeks until it's needed months later when they start learning to walk.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear that you are making the most of your time to bond with that baby!

[cmcmck]

There's a now one year old great nephew I have yet to meet, so I'm feeling a little jealous at this point.

[kaffy_r]

Aww, I hope you get to meet your great nephew truly soon!