Andrew and I flew home on Saturday, 12/15. Yep, I did the flight with him all by myself! YAY me! He was very well behaved (Mike is convinced it was the talk he gave Andrew that morning about behaving for Mommy), and luckily the plane was empty so we had a row all to ourselves. The worst thing that happened was when we arrived actually... I texted my Mom that we landed, and that's when they discovered that their battery died. So, there I was, stuck in the baggage claim... with my huge 49.5 lb bag, a stroller, a book bag, a diaper bag, and a very rambunctious 16 month old who had just been cooped up for 5 hours on a plane... I think we brought smiles to some weary travelers faces, but my arms, back and my smile were very weak by the time my parents finally arrived...which, for the record was only about 30 minutes later - could have been much worse!
Left: A Traveling Mom's Favorite Sight!
Right: Giving him an almost 50 lb bag to push occupied some of our time... and he only ran into 4 people!
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| Waiting outside in the cold... Where are they?! |
We spent the rest of the weekend adjusting to eastern standard time and learning what new things Andrew could get into at Gram and Pop's house. Linda and Mom-Mom came over for dinner on Sunday night... I can't tell you how sweet it is to see Andrew's face light up at the sight of his grandparents. It really is so heart warming!
On Monday, I went into the office while Andrew went on "Aunt Amanda and Andrew's Awesome Aquarium Adventure (with Gram)". To be incredibly honest, I was very worried that Aunt Amanda was overestimating her baby-sitting abilities and/or underestimating Andrew's active nature... I had wanted both Grandparents to join, but Pop was on plumbing duty at the house, so Gram and Aunt Amanda ventured to Camden on their own. Apparently, I was very wrong to underestimate Awesome Aunt Amanda... Andrew had an amazing adventure indeed! Although, later that evening I did hear Amanda muttering something about maybe not having kids some day... :)
Mike took a red-eye Tuesday night and arrived early on 12/19. He spent the day with Andrew and Grandmom (or Mom-maw as Andrew has taken to calling both his Grandmothers). This is the day that Andrew learned the word "lawn mower" and Grandma decided she had to go buy Andrew a lawn mower for Christmas.
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| Waiting for Daddy to come! |
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| Andrew posing with Brooke and the Snowman. |
Saturday night we headed over to Dave's house for dinner. Andrew loved Dave's fish tank, juggling balls and the creepy angel that was sitting next to the Christmas tree... she had blonde hair, which as it has become quite apparent, is Andrew's type.
Sunday morning we dropped Andrew off at Awesome Aunt Amanda's so we could do some last minute Christmas shopping. We are still working out the logistics behind a bi-coastal Christmas, but I was impressed with how we conquered our shopping list in a few short hours - it was our first time shopping alone together (maybe even in a car together?) in MONTHS, and it's amazing what you can accomplish when not chasing after a wild tornado. After our shopping was complete, we headed to Grandmom Palm's for "Christmas Eve". Besides the usual suspects, Kristen, Rob and his girlfriend joined us for dinner. Despite having to vacuum twice before we left due to Andrew's ability to crush a plate of crackers in 30 seconds and break a 5 pound snow globe like an egg, it was a very nice evening.
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| Great Family Portrait (just missing Pop!) |
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| Under the mistletoe |
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| Stole that kiss! |
A Christmas Eve Day Poem
In Pennsylvania, on a cold Christmas Eve day,
What else should you do, but take your kid outside to play?
To Kid's Castle we went, faces filled with glee
Both Grandmothers, both Parents and one very excited baby.
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| My mom told this kid she was a reporter for the newspaper and he insisted she take a picture of him. |
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| Check out the static! |
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| Poor Andrew... he doesn't look super happy (or normal?) here. I swear this hat normally looks really cute on him! |
Later that night, before Santa came to call
We headed back outside for Andrew's first snow fall!
It's hard to get out of rhyming once you've started... but I'm going to spare you all for the rest of this entry. Christmas morning started with a Christmas miracle - Andrew slept in!
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| "Oooo - Look at this vintage toy!" Gram found some of my old toys and set them out for Andrew to play with while in PA. These toys headed to Florida for when Andrew visits there. |
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Blue Bear! Blue Bear was lost during my parents' visit at Thanksgiving, and since he was a gift at my baby shower, we didn't hold out much hope that we'd be able to replace him. Luckily, Macy's still stocks Blue Bear - almost 2 years later, and Gram found him! Andrew's reaction at this gift was priceless! After Christmas at the Elston's, we headed to Linda's for Christmas number 4. Unfortunately, we forgot the camera, so I don't have any pictures to post. Andrew was very spoiled and got a little present-ed out, so he ended up getting some of his gifts throughout the rest of the week. His favorite toy from Grandma Foster was his lawnmower, which kept him very busy during the next week. Andrew also loved playing with his older cousins, and they tolerated Andrew pulling their dresses and hair.
On Friday night, we headed to Linda's for a photo shoot with all of Mom-Mom's great grandkids. Andrew was not in the mood to say "cheese" and had to be bribed with candy and raspberries to get him to sit still. I didn't take any other pictures than the two below, so hopefully the photographer got a few good ones!
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| Where's Andrew? Oh, playing on the window sill with "Ho Ho Ho" |
Saturday snowed and it was Andrew's first "official" snow, where we suited him up (in the warmest clothes we could find... snow suits aren't exactly a necessity in CA) and played. We broke out our ancient sled, built a snow man and shoveled the driveway.
On Sunday, we headed to Harrisburg for lunch at Aunt Julie and Uncle Paul's house. The trip and been rescheduled from the day before due to the snow, so we were very fortunate that Aunt Laura, Uncle Chuck, Charles and Julie were all willing and able to join us on Sunday instead. The only picture I got from this trip was the one below... my dad insisted on us taking one car, so he was voted into the trunk. Andrew was so cute pointing behind him and asking, "Pop?"
The past few years, we have spent New Year's Eve partying with the Tizers. This year, due to a 7am flight out of Philly, our plans changed slightly. Our New Year's Eve consisted of an afternoon at the Tizer's, dinner with our parents and Mom-Mom, and we were in bed by 10:30pm... ah, how our lives have changed. Happy New Year everyone!
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| She's either leaning in for a kiss or giving him the stink eye for sitting in her chair... I'm thinking the latter? :) |
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| Andrew and Juliet took turns pushing each other in the baby doll stroller. |
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| Parallel Play in its truest form. |
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| Hey Mom, did you see some of these toys in here? |
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| Try telling these two not to eat the maracas and you get the picture below... |
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| We made our exit shortly after this scene. |
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