Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was so awesome this year. We were really blessed to have my parents and Natalie come down to spend it with us. My parents drove down and back (it took three days each way...pretty sure they won't be doing that again ;)) so that they could bring us a water softener and a lot of my stuff that I had stored at home. They arrived on Monday and Natalie arrived Thanksgiving Day at around 12 (she has a new job so she couldn't take off too much time). They all left (driving and flying) around 4 on Sunday. We had so much fun while they were here.

Dad installed the water softener with Trent and was a favorite with Logan. Mom helped me around the house and played all day long with the boys. My parents were kind enough to watch the boys overnight while Trent and I got a hotel. It was the FIRST time we have been away from the kids since Ethan was 15 months old (so almost a year and a half)! I love my parents so much. I know that neither of their parents ever did anything like that for them (I don't think people really thought about it much back then) but I am grateful that they see that as something that would be good for their children's marital relationships. It was a blessing for Trent and I to get to be alone without being exhausted and reconnect a little bit.

When Ethan was under two he would treat Natalie as another mommy. Before he could speak he would go to her like she was his mommy. If he was hurt or sad he wanted either me or her. When he started speaking he called her Momma Two. He would go to her always if he needed his mommy but he could definitely tell us apart (he'd point: Momma. Momma Two.). We were curious to see Logan's reaction to Natalie since the only time he had seen her was when he was 6 months old. When I got back from picking her up at the airport she went in without me. Logan (who is pretty leery of strangers) immediately went to her. He didn't really look much at her because Ethan was doing something on the ground that he wanted to watch. I then walked up and stood by him. He looked up at me for a few seconds. Then looked at Natalie for a few seconds. Then back and me. Then at Natalie. And back and forth a few more times. Then, thinking he had it figured out he reached and leaned to come to me. But almost before I even had him in my arms he turned around and went back to Natalie and stayed with her. During the whole four days she was here he went back and forth to us as if we were both his mommy. Sometimes it seemed he knew I was his mom, but sometimes he really wanted Natalie. It was so fun and Natalie, of course, loved it.

While they were here we got to go to the Aquarium and Botanical Gardens, ice skating, and to Santa Fe. It was Ethan's first time ice skating! He was not impressed at all at first and would NOT let go of us. By the end he would lean on the ice skating bar they have for kids and skate around by himself (but he preferred to have me hanging on to the bar right behind him). It was kind of cool to have a kid old enough to come do that with us. It makes me excited to have older kids that we can take on new and exciting adventures!

I cried when my parents left. Trent and I love the adventure of living away from family and we feel we are closer as a couple because of it but we feel sad when we think that our children won't get to spend as much time around our amazing parents. This was the first time ever that Ethan has had a hard time warming up to his grandparents. It made me sad. He has gotten a little clingier to me lately and I know he just doesn't get to see them that often. It breaks my heart when I think about it.  I know that Trent and I enjoy living away but I LOVE spending time with my family. I always wish we just had a little more time together. I am so grateful that they made the sacrifice to come down. Logan has the cutest wagging bum when he crawls and the best toothless grin known to man. Ethan has grown at least six inches in the last 8 months and talks almost non-stop. I hate that my and Trent's parents have to miss those things so I am grateful that mine could come down to visit.