A Week Off

What a wonderful week this has been. My sister Kelly and her husband Stan were in town until Thursday with their three adorable kids, Ford (almost 6), Wade (3) and Reid (16 months ... going on 16 years ;). It was a beautiful week here in Greensboro with some of the most wonderful weather we've seen yet, with the highs in the 70's and 80's. It was just too pretty to be cooped up inside ... or do therapy. On Monday, Jack and I decided to "play hooky" and skip Music Class to go to the NC Zoo with my sister and her family. It was nearly 85 degrees and sunny, and I have to admit it got a little too hot at times, given we were pushing two strollers up and down hilly footpaths all day. For those of you who have never visited the NC Zoo in Asheboro, it's absolutely wonderful, minus the fact that it's very spread out and hilly. I think we probably walked about 5 miles that day! Thank goodness my sweet nephews toughed it out and were able to walk the whole time, despite one having a "tummy ache" and the other having a "foot ache" (and me getting sunburned!). Jack took it all in with his permanently grinning face. I tried to get him to look at the animals at the exhibits, particularly the giraffes and monkeys (my favorites), but I think it was tough for him to see them all because they were so far away. He did, however, LOVE the Streamside exhibit where he could see close up the underwater fish and the seals who swam by many times to "perform" for us. It was really cute ... I held Jack up to the underwater glass and he put his hands on the glass, kicked his legs in excitement, and cooed at the seals. It was too dark in there to get any decent photos, but the memories are lasting. Jack also got to go on his first carousel ride! Kelly and I took all four of the kids on the ride, and they LOVED it! Jack rode a giraffe (the safest one for babies, because it doesn't go up and down like the others), and he really enjoyed the movement of it all and the gentle breeze in his hair. Stan got some great photos of this big moment, which I will gladly share after they send them to me. On Tuesday, I had to work, and my sister Kelly wanted to keep Jack for me so she could spend some quality time with him. She loves him so much and treats him as if he were her own, which really makes my heart melt. I feel so fortunate to have Jack surrounded by so much love and support. Jack and Aunt Kelly had a really great day, and she reported that he didn't cry one bit (not surprising). Wednesday, we went to the Little Gym in the morning, which Jack always enjoys. Jack's aunt Kelly and cousin Reid met us there for the fun, too! Then, after a nice long nap (for both of us), we joined my sister and her kids again at the park for some swinging and games of tag. It was a really nice day, a little on the cool side but with bursts of warmth when the sun broke through the trees. Jack really enjoyed the baby swing, and just smiled and giggled the whole time! Thursday, I worked again and Jack went to stay with our dear (Godsent) friend Melissa for the day. They always have a great time together. Jack just LOVES his "Lissa," always giving her hugs and the sloppiest kisses! I couldn't ask for better childcare, and it makes my days away from Jack so much easier knowing that he is in such good and loving hands. As for today ... we're heading to the Outer Banks again for a little R&R! We were going to have Annette come this afternoon for some developmental therapy, but Robert wants to leave work early and hit the road to the beach sooner than later. Annette is always so flexible, and agreed to reschedule. Robert's parents, aunt and uncle, and cousin and her fiance will all be the beach with us. I look forward to just relaxing and not worrying about all the things that we worry about here at home ... housework, yardwork, work work, (therapy). We'll take beach walks, maybe do a little outlet shopping, go out to nice seafood dinners, laugh a lot, and (try to) sleep in. Again, it's been a great, stress-free week. And, I realized just last night that it's been a week without therapy!!! More often than not I find myself worrying ... Has Jack done enough "therapy" today? Have we worked on self-feeding or crawling enough today? Did we practice signing enough today? But not this week. I'm really starting to let myself relax more and stop worrying so much about all this stuff. Jack will do all these things we want him to do when he's ready to do them, and in the meantime all we need to do is LOVE him, and feeling this way makes our days just so much easier for me. This week, Jack was just a typical kid, doing what typical kids do. We took the week off, and man did it feel great ...