... joy in babeland.: the family that rocks together...

Months ago I made it known that I wanted to go to Mountain Jam. It's a music festival... and we're "music festival people." Michael Franti. Umphrey's McGee. Grace Potter. The Avett Brothers. Ryan Montbleau. The lineup was looking pretty fantastic and it's less than twenty minutes from our doorstep, on the same mountain Terry and I both learned to ski and snowboard on. Any other year, it'd be a no-brainer... sure, off to the jam we'd go. But THIS year, well... I don't think Terry quite took me seriously.

A Perfect Day on the Mountain.
06.04.11

The first photo of the day;
a relieved Daddy
& a contented babe.

The reason Terry wanted to forego the fest was because I wanted to take Felix along. You see, Terry is a fantastic father... Felix adores him and you can see Terry beam every second he looks into the eyes of his perfect baby clone (the resemblance is ridiculous)... however, between work and working on the "new" house - Terry doesn't get to spend hours on end with Felix the way I do. So, in all honesty, I think Terry is still a bit afraid of what this 20-pound-ish, 2-feet-long-ish, 6-month-old-ish sack of adorableness is capable of.

Luckily, Felix is happy 85% of the day. The problem is, that other 15% could become apparent anytime. He's like a ticking time bomb in a onesie. Felix's smile can melt your heart and his laugh is cuter than Shirley Temple singing "The Good Ship Lollipop." But his scream... let's just say he can turn some heads in the produce isle. I know this from experience.

Mountain Jam Family Photo!

But as a mother (and I'm sure father too), you learn how to handle the stares of strangers. You (hopefully quickly) hush your kid up and you move on with your day. Terry still feels like we're "those" people if the baby is crying in public. Plus, he doesn't want Felix to go through any undue stress either. The crowds, the noise, the strange smelling hippies... Terry had plenty of reason to think there was no way we were strapping our kid in the baby pack and heading up the hill.

But I knew we could do it. As long as we were prepared and realistic. I know we're not ready for an overnighter... so I bought the tickets for Saturday's set, which looked like the best of the three days. I got the baby backpack ready. I tested out our awesome baby sun tent. I even had Felix get used to wearing the live music headphones around the house a few times. We packed a big ol' bag of breastmilk-filled bottles, frozen bananas, mashed mangoes, Felix's favorite toys, diapers, sunblock, a few changes of clothes... and away we went.

Felix - the Avett Brothers newest fan.

The second we stepped on the mountain - Felix screamed. His face got red and he huffed and he puffed... and Terry started rambling "if he doesn't calm down, I'll take him home so you can enjoy the day..." His offer was sweet, but I knew it was totally unnecessary. Felix just needed to get acclimated.

We set up a sweet spot far enough away from the stage to avoid the hysteria, but close enough to keep the stage in our sights. Within a few minutes, Felix's chunky cheeks were all smiles. And they stayed that way... maybe for even more than the usual 85% of the day. He stared at all the dreddy-Betty's that stopped to coo-and-ahh... he sang along to the Avett Brothers (seriously, he was singing)... he napped some... he ate some... and he squealed with delight while dancing to Michael Franti after nearly eight hours on the mountain!

By sunset, we were back in the Subaru and homeward bound. I had a great time. Terry had a great time. And, most importantly, I truly believe that Felix had a great time.