Babydays: bye-bye, vacation.

August 31, 2004

bye-bye, vacation.

We're back from our Iowa road trip. No offense to those we love, but it was nice to get back home to our dirty house, to mounds of bills and to start punching the clock again.

But seriously.

We wanted to see more and do more but it just wasn't physically possible. So many friends and family that we were oh-so-close to but just didn't get to see. Pre Gus we maybe could have pulled more off but now we are forced to slow down and get out of the car occasionally (or speed up so we can take advantage of Gus sleeping).

In a weird way, I wish Gus wasn't our excuse for slowing down. Seems like we should take the cues around us and slow down for our own sake. Rest! Try doing one thing at a time. Pay attention to the details around you. Run your hand through Gustav's golden hair. Watch him delight in a song you're singing. Laugh as you see Gus waving to every stranger and charming the pants off them in the process. Listen to him make his way through the alphabet (he's getting awfully close to P=papa!). See Gus move his little fingers as you sign to him. Enjoy just being and not doing.

Highlights of our trip include:
**Visiting Kyle in Iowa City on his second day as a freshman. His excitement was palpable!
**Finally having the chance to see Lauri and Brian's home and see all the work they've put into it. It's beautiful! Thanks for letting us stay.
**Dinner at Lauri's with Hans, Lisa, Ivan and Vince. We were rolling when Vince spit up on Hans in the most inopportune of all places...
**Stopping to see Arleen in Des Moines
**Seeing my Mom teach again after being out of the classroom for eight years (and previously one year away from retirement, although that's changed now). I'm so impressed by your motivation and excitement, Mom.
**Taking Gus to the zoo in Omaha on the hottest day of our vacation. Seeing fruit bats in a cave with only a mesh netting separating us...yikes. Watching Gus watching alligators that were eerily watching him back. Back off, Alligator. Small fry is with me.
**Purchasing an 8X10 rug for our living room so that Gus can stop his second shift job as baby swiffer boy on the wood floors. I know there isn't some invisible fence around this rug that will truly prevent it, but it will take at least a few more seconds than it does now.
**Seeing Sue's new home that's being built in Omaha. Saying goodbye to her being my Mom's neighbor was not fun. She moves in three weeks. We'll miss you, Sue!
**Dinner with Missy, Pete + family, Sarah, Joe, Sally + family. Joe and Sally just had Allison three weeks ago, and we got to see Sam, who's two, just the cutest. I had forgotten how light and little the babes can be! Also got to see Jack, Missy and Pete's little boo ho is seven weeks younger than Gus. SO CUTE! I wish we were closer to see everyone grow.
**Late night talks with Mom. Don't you miss those, Mom?
**Visiting and staying with Pat and Dwight in Indianola. It was so great to spend time with them, and having Megan come down from Iowa City and Laura from Des Moines was a treat. I miss seeing you all more often, I always feel at home with you.
**Coming home, exhausted but happy.

Too many pictures to list out here, you'll have to go to another page...when I post them tomorrow. I'm so tired. Must sleep!

Here's one to hold you over...

Posted by janna at August 31, 2004 09:40 PM