8 months and mom's first post-baby trip

The babies turned 8 months old yesterday, and as though to commemorate the day, Addison went from up on her hands and knees to sitting on her bum all by herself. It was first thing in the morning, so she was in her crib and must have been feeling daring (and safe just in case of a fall, due to the soft landing of the bumper and the mattress)--she's chugging around when she's up on all fours, so close to crawling, and now she has a new trick to master.

Yesterday morning also marked another first--the start to mom's first overnight work trip. I was such a mess leaving the babies--but there were a number of reasons why this trip wasn't too bad:

1--it was very short. I was only scheduled to be gone for 28 hours (though with some delays in my return, I ended up being gone about 32 hours and missing a second bedtime--boo).
2--lots of people were here to take care of the babies. Besides Mary and Daniel, Nana Candy and Uncle Kenny were around to help, especially through the night (which has solely been mom's territory, so not having mom around will be new and different for everyone).
3--it was to New Orleans. And let's be honest--I'd never been to NOLA, and had always wanted to go!

So, while very sad about leaving my babies (they're only eight months old, they need their mama, right?!--more importantly, their mama needs them!)--it was about the best situation it could have been to get back into the swing of work travel.

It was also good for me to remember how much I love to travel. I love experiencing a new city, trying new food, waking up in a new place and going out for a walk before everything starts bustling. I have mixed feelings about New Orleans, but loved the beignets at Cafe du Monde...






PS One benefit of going away--sleeping through the night felt SO good!!