The Traveler

Dean has become quite the little traveler. He has been to the NC mountains (3 weeks old), the DC area 3 times (3 months, 4 months, and 5 months), Statesville NC (4 months and 6 months), and Michigan (4 months). That's a lot of traveling for someone who has only been alive for 6 months. He seems to get better and better each time we go somewhere. In fact, the car is finally a sleeping pill for him. I have to be careful when I take him on an outing because he usually falls asleep within minutes, destroying his nap schedule.


Our upcoming travels include another trip to the DC area in 3 weeks, a trip to the beach in May, and another trip to MI in July.

Growing up, we were 7 hours from the nearest family member, so we spent a lot of holidays and summers in the car. Our normal road trips were to Annapolis to see the Stuntz clan - an 8 hour drive, and to Statesville (or more specifically Troutman) to see the Witherington clan - a 10 hour drive. My parents were so smart about it. They got a big plastic tub, filled it with books and toys, and strapped it in between Mark and I in the back seat. The car ride itself was part of the vacation for us. I loved those trips. Not only did we get to eat fast food for a whole day, but we also got to spend at least one section of the trip in the front seat, a huge luxury when you are used to sitting in the very back of a cramped minivan. I have been thinking about what road trips in my family will be like. Will Josh be like my dad and insist on driving the whole way? Will be drivers or fliers? Will we end up with a minivan or mega SUV? Will our kids try to figure out ways to make it look like they had their seatbelts on when, in fact, they don't? Will a one armed Captain America doll accompany my son (or daughter) on every trip until he's at least 13? And most importantly...where will we go?

Josh and I are big into hiking and backpacking. Our backpacking days have obviously slowed down, but hiking is still an easy outing. Now that Dean is getting a little big for the Snugli, we got out the Kelty Carrier. As you can see, it's a little big for him, but the harness fits, so we're going with it. We took him out for a modest 4 mile hike on Sunday It was so funny to see the top of his head zooming all around trying to look at everything.


We went down by the river and he was mesmerized by the rushing water.


I think the sound of the water put him to sleep because one minute he was wide awake, the next he was passed out in one of those awkward positions that only little kids can sleep in. We decided we are going to start with car camping this summer, and move our way up to backpacking with him in a few years once he's off the bottle and preferably potty trained. I'd rather not have to hike out several days worth of poopy diapers.