Once upon a time ...

... we had free time and could post these flowery blog posts about our daughter. That was just a few short weeks ago when she actually slept and gave us some 'free time.' Remember when I said I was excited for her to be able to "do stuff?" Well, now I would take a few more nap minutes.

But in the few minutes we have, Jillian was gracious enough to put a few words together about her recent trip with Megan to visit Grandma's house in Holland for the big Tulip Time weekend. This was Megan's first trip outside of the state, and the greater Cincinnati area, for that matter so a lot of firsts were had. Here with the first-hand account are Jill's thoughts/words:

Somewhat "last minute" trip to visit with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Cathy, and Nana (our official name for MY Grandma Ponstein) -- as we realized that maternity leave was only three more short weeks. (No word yet on if Brian is ready for his 10 weeks of daddy daycare)

Nana was kind enough to offer her apartment as our location for multiple feedings, and an ad hoc changing table and plenty of time to show Megan off to the fellow Warm Friend residents. And in return, we were able to use it as a way to score prime seats for the Tulip Time parade right out in front of the Warm Friend.

There were a number of 'firsts' during this week

• First road trip (an adventure with only Megan and I, but it turned out to be not so bad -- only one stop, at McDonald's, the preferred rest stop for feeding Megan apparently)
  
• First Tulip Time in Holland (although there was no cotton candy or candied apples consumed this time)
  

• First nights spent in "Megan's room" at the grandparent's house. I slept in the basement, Grandma slept with Megan on the first floor to give me a few night's reprieve.
  
• First adventures in the Baby Bjorn (an early favorite as Megan can be carried in one of her favorite positions ... laying on our chest)
• First viewing of a parade (Thursday was accepted better than Saturday -- maybe that was because Megan saw Grandma walk by in her Dutch costume on Thursday)
• First trip to JP's coffee shop (for those of you not from Holland, this is a BIG first. The Boote family LIVES at JP's. Brian asked from afar if Megan was able to order a soy latte, but alas, not quite yet.)
  
• First lunch at the Good Earth bagel shop (another family favorite)
  
• First visit to Grandma's 5th grade class at Jefferson Elementary School where Grandma showed her off to all the students and teachers.
  
• First 5-day trip away from Daddy (read his thoughts in an earlier post) where we all met up in South Bend (thanks to the Sampsons for making a great Mother's Day lunch for the baby transfer) for the ride home. Megan and I were so tired though we fell asleep together in the back seat for the first 2 hours on the trip home.

There was also plenty of time to spend on Megan's new favorite activity -- baby pilates. She loves to lay on her back and kick her legs. And given the fact she continuously kicks her legs while they're elevated off the couch/ground/etc., we call it her workout time. We'll try and get some video of it posted soon.

Since then, this past week, Megan has been smiling a LOT more and she definitely is giving us a 'bored' cry now, that lets us know she is seeking more stimulation. Playing with Megan is much more fun now though because of the smiles and the playful gurgling noises. Our next step is trying to get her to grab and hold her toys, but she's still reluctant ... for now.