It's A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

We had highs in the mid-50's today, so we decided to take a walk as a family and get Charlie his first breath of fresh air, besides going to and from the car approximately 5 times before and once in a helicopter. We got our warm clothes on and I strapped Charlie to me in a fabulous baby wrap/sling/carrier that I had purchased handmade from a mother on Etsy.com He always falls right to sleep in it. I think he feels like he is in the womb again.

We walked through our neighborhood, which is always a pleasure, living in a Victorian neighborhood. I even explained to Marley what the horse posts were in front of some of the houses, and how, many years ago when people used horses for transportation they would hitch their horses up to those very posts when they went into their homes. I carried Charlie on the front of me the whole way, and Marley walked part of the way and rode on Steve's shoulders part of the way. Especially when I told her the cat rustling in the bushes up ahead was waiting to pounce on us. She didn't want down until we were well past that Siamese cat, and he lived up to my story, almost. He poked his head out, crouched down, and stared at us like he was thinking about pouncing.

About half way through our walk we saw a Life Flight helicopter on their way to the hospital to pick somebody up. We watched as it was landing at the hospital a few blocks away. It brought back lots of memories of Charlie's ride to Children's Mercy. That night, one month ago, as Charlie was being flown away, clinging onto life we watched as the helicopter fired up and took flight, with our two day old son aboard. It was very , very cold that night, and we stood there a good 15 minutes as they boarded, got settled, and then actually lifted off. I was already numb emotionally and the cold left me numb physically as well. I kept thinking my tears were going to freeze on my face. I now knew a little bit about what the family of the person being life-flighted today must be feeling at that very moment. The helicopter was just taking off to transport the patient to their new destination as we arrived back at our house.

When we got home we brought the sidewalk chalk outside and graffitied the front sidewalk. I took a few photos of Charlie after we got home, with his stocking cap still on, and then I took some photos of Marley being totally goofy out on the front sidewalk. I'm not exactly sure what she was doing, but it was entertaining to say the least.