Little Rock post-mortem

We got back a few days ago from a great visit in Little Rock and seeing the Abuelos and Bisabuelos.  Paola thoroughly enjoyed the visit and getting  experience so many new things and so much love from her family.  In addition to the experiences noted in the previous post, the natural setting of the house allowed her to see a turtle up close, a nest with newborn birds waiting for their mom to feed them, and tons of squirrels running around.  She got to swim everyday becoming more comfortable with the water each time; visited the Museum of Discovery; and went to Barnes and Noble storytime with Baya and the Bisabuelo.  She also got to visit Abuelo's office with her brother.  She got to see her heartbeat on the ultrasound courtesy of Debbie and BoBo taught her how to use a microscope.  Also I have to note that amazingly (to anyone who knows Paola's usual refusal to go to be easily), almost every night she was so tired she went to sleep by herself quickly without getting out of bed and taking out every toy available. (Naptimes/quiet times were another story since after each one it looked like a tornado had hit the room.)

Kobe also obviously had a wonderful time.  He so enjoyed having constant attention from someone at all times.  He spent half the day "roughhousing" with the bisabuelos and abuelos and the house was always filled with his precious laughter.  You could just see him seeking out everyone's faces to see if he could engage them.  He also started sitting up much better during the time there.  We were also able to take him out to the pool twice.  Although he initially cried out when he got in and felt the cooler water, he soon was having a great time.  He followed Paola's lead and kept on splashing though he never figured out that was why he kept getting water in his face.  He also loved being pulled on his tummy with my hands helping him kick.  He would break out in laughter until he ended up with a mouthful of water.

By the end of the trip, Paola was starting to miss home a bit and started asking longingly for her Daddy and Austin.  Of course once on the plane, she wanted to see Baya again (BoBo generously accompanied on the plane to Austin and flew back the same day). For the first couple of days, Paola seemed to feel like she had to go through all her toys at home again - as if we might be leaving for somewhere else anyday again.  She is really enjoying watching the videotapes of our visit in LR though and laughs at the silly things we caught her doing. 

Today it was also obvious that Kobe missed having the larger family around.  Usually with strangers it takes him a little while to allow them to hold him.  If they try, he will pout and little tears will come out of his eyes.  But today when we visited Marcus' office he kept reaching out to every coworker that approached him.  He immediately went to the women dying to hold him and there wasn't a hint of hesitation or tears  He so enjoyed having so much attention and smiles doted on him again!

I also had a wonderful time in Little Rock.  Of course I got pampered immensely with free babysitting, a pool, sleeping in, and great food.  And more importantly I got to spend some - but never enough- time with my grandparents.  In our family tradition, I really enjoyed staying up late talking about the day's activities and the kid's antics.  It was wonderful to see them trying to connect with their great-grandchildren whether it was my grandfather braving the heat to accompany Paola to the zoo, museum, and bookstore, or my grandmother setting all aside to sit on the couch holding "su muchachito" Kobe as he acted as if he were  a prince on a throne.  It was also a really nice treat that one night Daddy and I were able to go out to eat a wonderful meal on our own and talk about such varied things as his new venture and reality shows.  Thanks to Mami who was a great host doing a great job of taking care of everyone from taking Kobe after his morning feeding so I could sleep to setting up projects for Paola to do from picnics, collage, water colors and finger paints. Honestly it was a bit of a shock for me when Kobe woke up early the first morning back and I had no one to hand him off to after he ate.  (Ok Marcus did get up and take him, but that was also because a scorpion in our bed had bitten me the night before, and the medicine I took knocked me out).

It is nice to be home, but we loved every minute of our trip!

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