But There's Always Hello's To Come
I hate goodbyes. It's hard to see loved ones leave and know it'll be a while till you see them again.
Amanda and Ethan have left after a wonderful five weeks of getting to know each other. Of course Ethan had no clue who we were. We hadn't seen him since he was a month old. He arrived as an almost 10 month old and left at 11 months of age. And Amanda who has known us for eons.....well actually about one third of her young life now had a chance to really get to know her in-laws up close and personal. She just laughed at us for the most part. We can be kind of goofy sometimes. But when my husband starts to call me Edith, then that's when it gets ugly.....lol.
And we all survived!! Actually It was hard for us to put them on the plane. We hated to see them both go. I wished they lived closer. The baby was really bonding with his nanny and papa and other family members and Amanda got to know extended family a bit better. I'm wondering how much Ethan will remember us say in three months if by chance we can get together for Christmas. I talked to him on the phone yesterday, and he had a face of recognitiion as he listened to me speaking thru the phone. Before I spoke I could hear him complaining in the background. As I spoke to him, he got really quiet taking it all in.
Some of the fond memories we'll have are caught on camera and video. I got a chance to look back at my camera today for the firrst time since they left. Some key things that happened are things like Ethan learning to walk, his first ritz cracker, eating a whole banana for lunch, seeing his first Veggie Tales Video, sticking his toes in the Saco, getting his fingers pinched, first with a clothespin and then caught in a trashcan door. His first real diaper rash, his introduction to the outside woods with Papa including having a daddy long legs crawl up his pantleg. He also enjoyed pulling the leaves off the trees and throwing my landscaped rocks around His meeting my cross country team and all the teens oohing and awwwhing over him. They said he looked like the Gerber Baby. The girls would say "he's sooooo cute, can I hold him?" Then watching them try to hold him awkardly and him squirming looking at me for help. He got his first fever right after he got here. He also got his first cold after his mother got sick.
We found out he likes, dogs.....as in Quincy Dog anyway. He likes magnets on the fridge, bubbles, and mini marshmallows. Everytime he'd see Papa and sometimes me at times, he'd smack his lips. Usually that meant he was looking for something to eat. He associated Papa especially with food. We found out during the nursery time at church he'd do this when they were handing out animal crackers to the kids. They thought it was a riot but, they didn't give any to Ethan not knowing if it was ok or not, so he'd follow them around smacking his lips.
Now we can tell him he took his first steps in Maine. He was walking quite well by the time he left here, arms out straight moving side to side to keep balance. He looked a bit like Frankenstein Baby with those outstretched arms. He seemed to like to walk holding something and it helped his balance to do so.
I even had the priviledge of showing him how to run. We'd run together at least once a day. He'd laugh everytime like it was the first time. He knew exactly what I was doing with him when I'd grab his little hands to run. He was also my dancing partner. We danced around the room together to "Run, Run, Run The Race" and "Sign Me Up." Ha! I just thought of something. Amanda should keep this CD as a reminder of his first steps.
Amanda and I had fun together as well. We went driving together. I took her out SANS baby for the first time in 10 months. AND SHE AND HE SURVIVED!! She got to do a bit of shopping. It felt wierd to her to go out without him. I remember that same feeling oh not that long ago it seems. We got to sit in church together with the baby safely in the nursery. Another first for her and him. It was a bit rough that first week but got easier with each passing week. We went to Praise in the Park together and all had a great time. It was a great afternoon and evening to be outside listening to music and eating free hotdogs and chips.
But now summer is ending, Amanda and Ethan have returned home and it's time for me to start really focusing on selling this house. Tomorrow is the first garage sale (in the pouring rain) and will probably not be the last. We have so much to get rid of. I coudn't even fit everything in the garage for this first sale. So more will have to come out later. But Ethan's colored Mardi Gra Beads are safe with me until we meet again.
Gah! I hate Garage Sales. Did I say that already?