Ryan took his very first train ride today. Actually, he took his very first, second, third, and fourth train ride since both legs had a stop at Smethwick Galton Bridge.
I had completed an application for a teaching position with a Church of England school in Tipton and needed to get it back before the deadline today. Since the train station is quite literally a stone's throw from the school, it was much easier for me to take the application back on my own than for Matt to take time off work just to drive us. So, this morning, with Ryan in the Moby, we caught the 10:40 London Midland train to Smethwick, and then from there the 11:16 train to Wolverhampton and got off at the Tipton stop.
I was initially worried how Ryan would react since most loud noises startle him, but he seemed to quite enjoy watching the trains whizz past the platforms.
I was able to collapse down the pushchair at the first stop and hoist him into the Moby wrap until we arrived in Tipton. As I was exiting that train, he put his head against my chest and closed his eyes, so I pulled the back of the wrap up enough to support his neck and I let him have a nice little nap as I walked across the car park to the school to drop off the application.
When we returned to the platform to catch the return to Rowley Regis he was still spark out so I ducked inside a covered shelter where another woman was also waiting.
I think I must have had a sign on me that said 'tell me everything you know' because I learned more than I wanted to about her in the 10 minute wait.
I learned that she had a baby and gave her up for adoption because the dad left her when she was pregnant. She had a difficult pregnancy because she carried her daughter mostly in her back due to a tilted uterus and because the dad left her she eventually gave the daughter up. But she recently got back in touch with the girl, who is now 14 and lives in London. Her father was Jamaican and the woman's second, and only other partner was Australian...but she's been single now for about 4 years. Since her daughter she had the coil put in but had to have it removed because she bled too much and eventually had herself sterilised so she wouldn't have any more children. She's originally from Litchfield but has lived in the Black Country for some time now, although she doesn't feel she sounds like she is from the Black Country. She's going to Vegas for her 40th birthday in January, which is on a Saturday, but only for a long weekend. I'm pretty sure she told me her name at some point, but my short-term memory was a bit overloaded with all the other useless information she provided me.
Oh, and she likes Americans and doesn't think they're all big-headed.
Whew! Thank goodness for that!
Anyway, I was back at the cottage shortly before 1pm and Ryan was fully awake by the time we left the second train. I'm actually looking forward to our next little adventure!
Later tonight I started dinner off and Matt dished up. I decided to give Ryan a chance to try his mashed potato on his own to see how he would handle the mushy treat. From this photo...looks like so far so good...
In fact, he really got into it and didn't want me to take the bowl away! Matt thought for sure it would be thrown to the side or across the room at one point, but I think there was too much yummy motivation inside to let it get beyond his reach.
He wanted to make sure every last morsel made it to his lips...
...and his cheeks...
...and his nose and eyebrows...
...and forehead...
Yeah...you get the point.
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