Family Fun Time Recap

A couple weeks ago my mom called me saying she'd found a stellar deal to fly out for the last weekend in March. Did it work for us to have her out? YES! My step-dad Philip decided to come along, too, since the fares were so cheap, and then when I told Jenny she was so excited (and thankfully, free of work obligations) to come on down for the weekend as well. Our guest quarters are kind of nonexistent, but we made it work, and we were all quite glad to be in such cozy arrangements together. Sort-of random aside: I am yet again reminded of how great it is to have family that I not only get along with but enjoy being around, and how lucky I am for that.


Jenny arrived via Caltrain mid-morning on Saturday. Mom and Philip were delayed somewhat but got her shortly after noon. D was sleeping at the time, and woke up a bit cranky-- I was worried he'd be in a bad mood for receiving his new guests. But, he cheered up after a few minutes and in no time was happily showing off his walking skills, going from Grandma to Papa to Aunt Jen with a big grin on his face, only occasionally coming over to me for a quick security break. I kinda felt like the "home base" in a game of tag. ; )


It was a gorgeous, warm, sunny afternoon so we all headed outdoors to a local old-fashioned-styled outdoor mall area to grab some food and walk around a bit. D got to play with the large chess set and pieces there, and we spotted a Bernese mountain dog (traditional swiss) which was a kick for Zach and I. I took a few pictures there but don't have them up yet b/c they're on the point-and-shoot camera. After heading home we hung out on our front patio, where D discovered Papa's spoon and the cool sound it makes when clinked against the sides of his glass and proceeded to repeat that activity for a good half hour or so. That night Zach and I each had plans, me for a girl's night and Zach to go watch a local soccer game. The grandparents put D to bed, without too much of a fuss apparently. When I got home after my dinner out I was greeted by the warm scent of fresh-baked oatmeal cookies, and silently congratulated myself for having bought that tub of Quaker Oats a few weeks ago as a breakfast alternative.


Sunday D woke up very early (4:30 or so...), as he's been doing the past week or so. It was nice to have some reinforcements for once, with Jenny and Mom waking up just about right away and letting me get back to bed to sleep in a bit. We made a late-ish venture over to the farmer's market where Zach and Philip shopped while Jenny, Mom, D, and I walked past all the booths to let Mom see everything, and then strolled into the cute "green" yarn shop along one block to show Mom. Eventually we walked back home, where Philip prepared omelets for lunch and D got a chance to nap before we walked on over to Cyrus and Julia's to watch the UNC v. OU game and so Zach and Cy could brew some beer. Bejamin and Karen also stopped by, so it kinda turned into a nice little party. We experienced yet again how strong D's jealous streak is already-- at one point he was eating a snack in Sophia's high chair and I was holding Sophia in another room. D was fine and happy until the moment I walked into his line of sight holding Another Baby, when he spontaneously combusted into a torrent of tears and screams. It was truly a site to see. He had to sit holing my face for a few minutes before he was reassured. We later on decided to test if he'd have the same reaction if he saw Zach holding another baby... and the answer is yes. Which I think made Zach feel pretty good, actually.

As 6pm approached, and the beer was mostly ready, we walked back home to get D started on his dinner and bedtime routine. Philip whipped up a fabulous meal (that's part of the reason we keep him around, really, he's quite the cook, and then Mom always cleans up after him so they're kind of the perfect pair to have as guests), and then once we'd all had a nice dinner and some wine, Zach drove Jenny to the Caltrain station for her return to SF.


Zach stayed home a bit longer than usual Monday morning, allowing us all to have breakfast together before he left at about 9am. It hadn't hit me till the night before that having grandparents around meant I could ditch the kid leave D with them and go have some time to myself. Before leaving for Switzerland one of my favorite little personal treats was going to a local Borders during a weekday (since it's packed on weekends), grabbing the latest round of celebrity gossip mags, buying a yummy drink and then sitting at the cafe reading the magazines. So I decided that would be my treat for the day. I think it was the first time I'd really left D for an unspecified amount of time, not needing to feel like I had to rush back, and I have to say it was pretty darn nice. Now if I could only convince them to move out here so we could do this all the time... ; )


Eventually the afternoon wore on and it was time to take them to the airport. Too short of a trip, really, but so nice to get to have it anyway. It was their first time out since we moved back, so first time to see our new place, and while they saw lots of D at Christmas he's still changed so much since then. They have another trip planned for the summer, that time for 3 weeks, and I think we're all pretty eagerly looking forward to that.