austin trip, redux

We made our second overnight trip to Austin this weekend and it went considerably better than the last. We didn't make nearly as many amateur mistakes (i.e. we remembered to pack diapers this time) and our daughter did much better in the car seat, in the restaurant and (most critically) in the hotel room. Next up is a planned trip to Fredericksburg in February. We're crossing our fingers that our little traveller continues to do as well as she has.

Speaking of February, that month will see the first anniversary of this blog which will also coincide with the first anniversary of Clara and I finding out "we" were "expecting". Obviously a lot has happened in that year as the great hypothetical proposition of a baby has become the curious reality of parenthood. I was told everything would change and of course in many ways it has. A family trip to Austin has become a noteworthy adventure, for example. Then again I don't know that Clara and I have changed all that much as people. Sure there is a new and crushing weight of responsibility forever on our backs, but surprisingly we seem to be taking it all in stride. Sure I have less "Brantley Time" than I did a year ago, but I'm also much more efficient about how I use the time I do have. The same can be said for the time Clara and I get to spend together.

And of course now there is this third little person in our lives whose newly arrived smile is as intoxicating as it is beautiful. For the time being that alone has been worth changing everything.