Casey Mullins
Baby Loves...Cans?
I’ve heard of babies taking a certain liking to strange things. Just the other day a friend posted a picture of her baby boy (about the same age as Vivi) on Instagram holding a square plastic container. The caption read “Apparently this is his new most favorite thing in the world, if I try to take it away from him he screams as though I’m skinning him alive.” I’ve heard of babies taking to their mom’s underpants, others taking a liking to dad’s socks and my best friend had one baby who would carry around an unopened banana from morning to evening until it was a brown smooshy resemblance of its former self.
Last week my baby took to a strange object all her own; it was one she had showed a little bit of interest in before, but this weekend it turned into full blown love.
Ladies and gentlemen? My baby loves unopened drink cans.
Flying With Babies: The Honest Truth
Addie’s first flight was at 10 months from Salt Lake to San Francisco and it went amazingly well. Vivi’s first flight was from Salt Lake to Indianapolis through Chicago and it went really well too. Though Addie wouldn’t fly again until 18 months, Vivi has flown at least a dozen times in her 14 months. And y’all? I won’t be doing it again anytime soon if I can help it. I should also say that every flight I’ve made with my girls has been alone. I’m not even sure what I’d do if I had help on a plane with them. For the most part other passengers have always been incredibly kind, but there are always those few stinkers who think kids shouldn’t be allowed in public — let alone planes.
Someone joked that preparing to fly with a baby is like preparing for battle, only it isn’t a joke, it’s the absolute truth. And just like battle, sometimes you win, and sometimes, despite your very best efforts…you lose. Bad.
When Baby Goes to Grandpa's
While I don’t want to move back to Utah, I love coming home to visit. The entire place is so familiar yet so new every time I get the chance to come back. One of the hardest things about living where we live is being so far away from any family. I treasure my time with my family and even more so I love seeing my girls interact with their grandparents. I had the privilege of speaking at a conference near my parents house which means my parents had the privilege of hanging out with Vivi for a week and a half. I love that babies fly free until two, but whew, it can be hard to fly with them.
It’s okay, because after the three hour flight of terror? We were here and able to enjoy how lovely Utah is and how wonderful it is to be with family. I know Vivi will never remember this trip, but I will, my parents will and someday she’ll see these photos and know that her family has loved her since before she even knew about.
Of Molars and Moaning
I could get involved in a pretty spirited debate over which babyhood difficulty is harder on me. On one hand, those early newborn days of crying, not sleeping and oh my what is wrong with the baby! are exhausting yet they are filled with tiny newborn snuggles and babies so little it’s unreal. On the other hand we have teething, specifically molars. Vivi is fourteen months and working on her top two molars which means she can turn from the happiest baby alive to the saddest, most inconsolable creature on the planet in the blink of an eye. Some babies breeze through teething while others literally cry and scream through the whole process, my babies are the other babies.
Teething is not handled gracefully by babies in our home, it is far more survival than right of passage.
Well, Where Are My Manners?
It’s been a bit of a whirlwind month in my life and while I love and live for summer, sunshine and all the watermelon I can handle, I’ll admit I’ve fallen a little behind in some things. My name is Casey and I have a seven and a half year old daughter named Addie, a 14 month old baby girl named Vivienne and a handsome husband of 11 years named Cody. I grew up in Utah and moved to Indiana about six years ago and settled right into the Midwestern way of life. I’ve been hanging around the Internet for quite awhile and would love to tell you a little bit more about my story.
