An amazing weekend

Last night Amelia and I flew home from Dayton. We had a wonderful weekend that went by far too quickly and I'm missing Kim more than ever, but I am so grateful for our amazing time together and all the fun we had, not to mention my chance to spend some very special one on one time with Amelia. I couldn't believe what a breath of fresh air it was to only have one little one to look after! Amelia was a little out of sorts because of the new environment but it didn't matter because she was my only concern. We took a couple naps together and skipped some nap time as well. We went shopping and out to coffee and to the park and enjoyed long conversations and pleasant drives. We went to a dairy and Amelia met some goats and cows and chickens, and quickly decided that goats and cows and chickens are nothing much to get excited about. We went to a gymnastics class and Amelia got to jump in a huge pit full of spongy balls, hang from monkey bars, and jump on trampolines. We wandered around shops and browsed, something I have not had the luxury of doing since pre-kids, and we snuggled a lot. The weekend was a complete success! It was great fun to see Kim and catch up with my dear girlfriend and to see her daughter, Jade, who is only ten days younger than my kids. She sure acts older than mine do though! She is a little chatterbox with an enormous vocabulary for an almost two year old. She is sunny and happy and easy-going and precocious and altogether delightful. I could not have had a better time spending time with Kim, Jade, and Kim's husband Kaz in a relaxing family friendly weekend. If only I could now get Kim to move to New York! I am still working on that. We often talk about how we hope to live near each other someday. The odds don't seem to be in our favor for that to happen anytime soon, but there is always hope for an opportunity down the line. Good friends like that are treasures of a lifetime. Now we just have to get all four kids together! Amelia was the lucky one this weekend, but I look forward to the time Jade can meet Gabriel and Abigail too.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Garrett reports that the weekend here at home was very busy, but pretty smooth. The busy-ness was on purpose. Garrett is not one to get stuck at home, so he took the kids on all sorts of outings to visit friends, go to the park, go to church, and visit more friends. I think they were thoroughly worn out by all the coming and going, but it sounds like they all had a good time and Garrett enjoyed spending some time with just two little bundles. It is amazing how much more work just one child can add to the mix and he was grateful that with Abigail and Gabriel he was able to get out and about as much as he did. Just today since I've been back in the thick of it with all three of them it is a wake up call to just how much life is different with three kids instead of one. I could never trade my life; I am too delighted with each of my kids to imagine anything different for our family. But it sure was a treat to glimpse the ease of life with one and get that coveted individual attention with Amelia. I hope I can get more times like that with my other kids as well as they grow, and that Garrett can too. Amelia and Abigail and Gabriel are just too special to neglect getting to know them as individuals, not just a constant band of three.