Go Team Chiang!

In 2020, Arthur and I were looking forward to our first Emerald City Comic Con stay-cation. We’d purchased four day passes, booked a hotel near the convention center, and had doggy daycare situated for Oliver. We were all set for geeky family time in the city the weekend of March 12-15, 2020. As everyone now knows, life had other plans, and instead of convening in Seattle for ECCC 2020, we were all confined to our homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During this time, we were also anxiously awaiting our license to be foster parents. It’d been a long home study process, and we knew we were finally in the end stages, but we weren’t sure how much longer we’d have to wait. We’d hit about every delay possible along the way, so we weren’t optimistic it’d be any time soon. On Wednesday, March 11, we were notified our license was approved, and we should have it any day. March 12, what should have been the first day of ECCC, we got the paperwork, and a few hours later, a referral for a 7 week old baby boy who needed a home starting the next day. We said “let’s do it”, and MrTheBaby moved in the next day. Then three months later, I found out I was pregnant, and Mei-Mei joined us in February 2021.

Fast forward to December 2021, and ECCC returned! And our ridiculous little family now included an almost 2 year old and an almost 1 year old. We missed out on our four day adventure in 2020, and while we weren’t quite ready to jump back into a four day trip with two littles, we decided to dip our toes into conventioning with babies and picked up a one-day pass for Sunday. Here’s how it went:

• Best ECCC ever in terms of crowds – it wasn’t super crazy, and you could walk around and explore. I even found a place to let MrTheBaby run around and chase a stuffed D20 I bought him that day.
• Mobile naptime was a success! Chicco umbrella stroller let MrTheBaby lay down, and Mei-Mei was tiny and still napped well in the Lillebaby baby pack.
• Lillebaby baby pack was great, but we did have to take turns baby wearing throughout the day. Next time around, we might go for a second umbrella stroller, especially as she grows.
• Always bring more snacks than you think is necessary. I definitely thought we overpacked snacks for one day, but they ate like little monsters, and we almost ran out by the end of the day.