Our Little Beastie Blog: Everett Meets the Mitten

Everett made it to Michigan, just before he hit the 6-month mark. Like most things these days, it was a bittersweet trip. Constant reminders of what we should have experienced with Oberon, nearly constant smiles from our sweet Everett.

Everett's first time in the mitten - June 25, 2016

We got to introduce the little dragonfly to family on both Mom and Dad's side. Everett attended a wedding, charmed lots of people, and was fascinated by small children.

Meeting lots of family in Michigan

We took him to MSU's campus to see Beaumont Tower, stroll through the Beal Botanical Garden, and meet Sparty for the first time. (Don't worry Wolverines - Ann Arbor is on the docket for our next Michigan trip.)

Chris, Everett, and Sparty - June 27, 2016

It was special to see our loved ones interacting with our lil' beastie. It warmed our hearts and for the most part we were able to keep it together emotionally. But there were moments. Like at a family wedding where there were rocks hidden with the kids' names on them. We found Everett's, and kept our eyes open in case there was one for Oberon - not really expecting to find one. After asking if they could make one for Oberon for us to take later, we found out Obie was already included - they were just afraid another child would take it not realizing. These moments of remembering and thoughtfulness are extremely special to us.

A couple of days before we left California, we talked about whether to bring Obie's Molly Bear or not. We landed on it not being a good idea to try to take such a special bear, that always looks weird to TSA, while traveling with an infant. Once the decision was made to leave the bear at home, Elizabeth decided to steal an idea from many loss moms and bring an "O" with us. We went to Michaels and ordered more from Amazon.com; we actually bought a lot of Os.

Meeting lots of family on Dad's side - June 26, 2016

And lots of family on Mom's side - July 2, 2016

The family pictures are changing as the years go by. Children are born, people get married, and others pass away. It makes us very sad that Oberon didn't get to be in a big extended family picture when he was alive. Maybe that's why it's so important to us to include him somehow visually.

We've been back in California for a few weeks, and the trip already feels ages away. Everett has already changed so much - he's now a pro at eating from a spoon, holding a toy in each hand, and rolling wherever he wants to go. And new tricks like sitting up, babbling, and pushing up on his hands and knees are just about here.