New Year's Eve

Things are going well on our visit to Ohio.

We arrived on Sat, the 27th. Web dropped us off at the airport. We flew to Baltimore, had a 1.5 hr layover, and then flew to Columbus. JB -10 days post ear surgery laughed (literally) as the plane took off. He gave us a couple of adroable "wow"s and "what's that" as he looked out the airplane window. We read a couple of books, and then he fell asleep in kt's arms for the last 45 minutes of a one hour flight. We fed him food we brought from home during the layover, and he entertained himself quietly and sweetly during the second leg of the journey, teasing us while rubbing his eyes, but never quite falling asleep. Every age brings a little terror over potential travel meltdowns. When we flew with him when he was 4 months old, he slept the whole time. When he was 9 months old, he was very curious and fidgety and tired and we had to walk him up and down the plane to get him to chill. I thought this time would be a nightmare. Rather, I feared it would be, but useless concerns... he handled it like a champ and as usual, he made us look good.

Kt's dad bought a car seat and her mom a stroller, so we didn't need to bring either item, instead carried him through the airports in the hiking backpack which turned out to be great in that it seconds as a chair for him.

The family has really enjoyed seeing the boy (oh yeah, and us too.) They are wild for him, impressed by him and totally in love. Until our arrival, they hadn't seen him walk in person. Though we do a little ichatting with the grannies, so they had seen it via the internet. Uncle Josh and JB met up for the first time in over a year and circled each other mentally the way frat brothers do before they clasp shoulders and collapse into a loving wrestling match. When we couldn't keep the baby away from all the computers we have out Uncle J downloaded baby games for Granny and Granna's mac - very cool stuff.

Last night, with much encouragement from Uncle J, JB chewed on a lemon wedge. His face contorted, his eyes blinked in tart-clenched spasms, his body shuttered, but he went back for it 3 or 4 times for all the attention it got him.

JB has been doing so well. He listens to what we tell him; he's eating well, sleeping well, napping pretty good. He knows who everyone is which shouldn't surprise me, but it does: "Where's (fill in any name)?" and he looks toward that person. He's had a few meltdowns and has trouble transitioning from sleep to wake up without some fussiness, but we can't help be proud of the go-with-the-flow temperament and the way he is generally handling the trip.