Preparation

Uncle Scott and Auntie Lori came over today. Lyla initiated them with green beans.

In unrelated news, I bought a lot of junk on Amazon today in preparation for this trip in a couple weeks to my great-uncle and aunt's cabin on the Indiana Dunes Lakeshore. Babies are expensive. (Note: I did not buy a baby.)

Last year at the Dunes, Julie was 28 weeks along. Here she is on an unseasonably chilly day, unconscious on the beach:


And yes, I dug a gigantic hole for her stomach. For Lyla, it was like hanging out in an inverted sandcastle. Perhaps this year we'll teach her to build a proper one.

So anyway, we have a lot of baby crap to take this year, so I bought one of those cargo carriers for the top of the car. We'll be so cool; I can't wait to slam it into the McDonald's drive-through overhang. I also bought a portable DVD player that we may or may not let Lyla watch. But Julie and I will definitely watch it with headphones in the hotel when Lyla goes to bed. (Yes, we're going to a cabin but staying in a hotel. We're divas.)

Finally, I bought some books online once I decided that Half Price Books sucks. For most items that have been out for awhile, you can either buy them new on Amazon and pay for shipping, or you can buy them used at Half Price Books for about the same cost. (It just occurred to me that libraries are free. Dammit.) Anyway, one of the books was Intentional Parenting, which one of Julie's colleagues recommended. I like the title because it seems like one of those obvious concepts that you might never think about. I mean, it's not like there's a counterpoint book called Utter Crapshoot Parenting, but I bet that actually describes a lot of parenting styles.

But I'm psyched about the cargo carrier because in addition to our own suitcases and whatnot, we're bringing Lyla's playpen, highchair, stroller, Exersaucer, and 600 outfits so she can dress by mood.

Maybe we need a faux-wood-paneled minivan.