We were so fortunate to be able to spend the holidays at one of our "homes" this year. The last time we were home for Christmas was when Jonathan and I were childless. It goes without saying that Ellison was beyond excited. We always swore we would never travel over Christmas (or maybe I swore that), but it all ended up working out well. The kids were good on the plane, Marek wasn't trying to worm out of my lap, but he was a worm. It worked out on our flights that Jonathan had a different seat assignment while I got to have both kids. :-) He ended up switching to at least be in the same row as us, but let's paint a picture of what this looked like, shall we? They put us in the very first row, which meant, "M'am, you have to stow all of your belongings overhead." "But I need the diaper bag throughout the flight - it's got his breakfast, his bottle, the toys to entertain him...". "I'm sorry. The bag must go overhead." Fabulous. After scrambling around and passing Marek through people to get to Jonathan to hold for a moment while I grab necessities, we are finally off. Fast forward one hour. Marek is literally climbing all over me, I'm trying to feed him out of one of those squishy pouches as he takes a split-second grab at it and squeezes mashed fruit all down the entire side of my leg, Ellison's cranberry juice refreshment (ice and all) spills into her lap and she starts crying, and my hair is continually being rat-nested into my face by my son. This all happens at the exact same time. I look over at my husband, who is gazing out the window at the fluffy clouds, and say, "Jonathan, I need some napkins." He looks over at me, WITH HEADPHONES ON, pulls one earpiece away from him, and mouths, "What?" Jesus left aisle 1 at that moment, and I fantasized about sticking those headphones in a very unpleasant place.
OK, I feel better now, and will continue on with my post...
So it finally came to be that Marek got to explore Gram & Papa's place for the very first time.
Ellison went right into play mode, asking to dig out every toy she knows Grandma has kept.
Uncle Jeff surprised us and came with Grandma & Papa to pick us up at the airport. Aunt Carrie was stuck finishing out her work day before heading over.
Fascinated with opening and shutting the door...
Toward evening, my Uncle Bob and Aunt Marlene came over to see us and to meet Marek.
Papa showing off Marek's hands. He just loves that Marek has his same hands. :-)
A little while later, my Aunt Betty, Uncle Roger, and cousin Rachel stopped over, too. We just love these impromptu family gatherings. So fun. We are so fortunate to have close family. This is what we miss so much.
Marek was totally flirting with Rachel. He knows pretty girls when he sees 'em.
Aunt Carrie finally arrives!
These photos make me homesick. Just the random gathering around, visiting, eating...
The last time Aunt Carrie saw Marek was when he was nearing 4 weeks old!
Every bottle feeding of Marek's had dibs called out by one person or another. At times during our trip, we even had a feeding schedule, "Livy called this one, Emma gets the next one, etc."
Pure heaven for Grandma...
As soon as Marek went to bed, I started bugging her that I had to wash her hair, but knew she would love me to wash it in the salon. She said, "No, I want Grandma to do it." She kept telling Grandma just before we came, "I'm going to be with you wherever you go and stay right by your side." Of course Grandma wouldn't tell Ellison "no", so Ellison got a full salon experience out of the deal.
[December 23, 2011]
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