Like Rain in the Desert

Our main reason for going out West was not to see the sights, although that was certainly a great treat! We just wanted to spend some time with Kate and her family, since we don't get to see them very often. And Jack really enjoyed bonding with his older cousins - Gabe and Aviel!


I'm not sure how much Jack's cousins enjoyed his company though. The entire week seemed like a lesson in sharing - especially the toy "anmulls.". And it turns out Jack is quite the instigator. Once he figured out that Gabe did not like it when he touched his car seat, Jack continued to put his hand on the side of the seat, and leave it there, despite any amount of protesting from his cousin. He's already acting the part of a teasing, older brother.


And so after spending a week with our neice and nephew, and watching Jack interact with them, both Jon and I are thankful that Jack's going to get his own little sibling in a few months. And, after watching the way he man-handles all the other kids, including those who are twice his size, we're really glad this next one is a boy too. Hopefully he's just as tough as his big bro, Jack's "lovins'" tend to knock people off their feet.

We had perfect weather the weekend we were traveling, so it was rather odd when it rained for the majority of the rest of our stay in Phoenix. Jon joked that they got their annual amount of rainfall during the few days we were there ... maybe it wasn't a joke after all. Even so, we were able to get a trip in to a mining ghost town, eat dinner at a miner's restaurant, and visit a park with a gorgeous lake and fountain.

The last time we took Jack to a park he was still a little too small to enjoy it, so it was fun to let him loose on the jungle gym this time around. His favorite activity appears to be the slide. He liked it so much he immediately wanted to do it again, but couldn't quite figure out how to get back up to the top.

One of the highlights of the week was our "adult" dinner out at my favorite restaurant - Buca di Beppo!! The waitress asked what we were celebrating ... "ummm, a night out without kids!!"

It was Jack's first experience with an official babysitter-who-comes-to-your-house-and-puts-your-kid-to-bed, since Grandmas and Uncles don't count. Apparently it went well. When we got home he was fast asleep in the pack 'n play, and for the first time all week, stayed there the entire night! Glorious!!

We barely made it out of the airport before the rain canceled the rest of the flights. And after 12 hours of traveling, finally walked into our front door at midnight on Thursday. It feels like we're still recovering from our vacation a 7 days later. After a weeklong hiatus, that conveniently occured during our trip, Jack is back to cutting teeth again. And it appears he's gearing up to drop his morning nap, but he's not quite there yet. It's been a tad exasperating. I really miss having the cousins around to entertain Jack ... and let me know when he's getting into trouble! Hopefully we'll be back on track within the next few days, Mama's gotta get down to nesting!!