Monday, January 12, 2009

A whole bunch of firsts

The Calamond's have experienced a whole lot of firsts this holiday season. We flew together to TX as a family. We had our first Christmas together as a family. Penelope bonded with Great Granny, Grandma, & PawPaw. Matt had his first vacation at home. Penelope and Cort flew solo back to Cali. Penelope climbed a set of stairs all by herself! Peeps had her first Harley ride (ok, she just sat on one). And....Penelope had her first taste of formula (not a fun first, but she triumphed in an unfortunate situation).

The flight to TX was really enjoyable. We were delayed way longer than expected, but Penelope was awesome. She loved looking at everyone and actually slept in the airport and on the last flight. We conquered messy dipes on the last flight - not as bad or messy as I thought it would be. She was just as awesome with Mommie on the way home. We had another messy dipe experience, a bit more traumatic than the first one, but we made a nice friend on the long flight to San Jose, Rusty, who Peeps just loved to flirt with.
At Great Granny's Christmas Eve and at Cort's folk's the next day, Penelope spent a lot of her time bonding with Great Granny - at the expense of Mommie not bonding with Granny. It was really cute to watch. Granny would get Penelope in her lap and then tell me to get out of the room. I spent a good half hour hanging out in the hallway watching from afar as Peeps and Gran played. Penelope really enjoyed hanging out at Gran's too. Granny has a couple of footstools perfect for her to use for standing.
Grandma and PawPaw were amazing! I pinched a nerve on December 30 and spent the morning of New Year's Eve in the emergency room. I ended up on muscle relaxants for 2 days and Penelope had to take formula. She had a hard time at first, but adjusted really well. It's an understatement to say she was happy to get back to Mommie's Milk when I stopped taking my meds. Grandma and PawPaw were awesome with her. They had so much patience and understanding for the situation and surrounded Penelope with lots of love. We are very thankful for their help. Below is an example of how they spent their time while I was in bed.


Penelope can climb stairs! Grandma and PawPaw have pet steps for KiKi to get up and down the couches on her own. They proved perfect for Penelope. She got really quick at climbing up to the couches. It still amazes how quickly she learns something when she sets her mind to it.
A first for the Calahan's occurred the weekend after Christmas - we had a grandkid sleepover at Grandma & PawPaw's. 5 of the 6 grandkids roasted weinies and marshmallows (ok, Penelope didn't, but she was there), and slept over. A sleepover at G & P's is never complete without a wrestling match with PawPaw. I think PawPaw almost met his match with the boys, and might have actually been whipped if McKenna had been there.
Matt flew back to Cali soon after Christmas and spent some time with his fam in SLO. He had a wonderful time with his Dad, Hols, B, Lils, and Oz. Matt then spent some time at home with Moby working and relaxing, then picked Peeps and me up in San Jose.

Penelope also had the pleasure of meeting her Aunt BeBe and Camdyn for the first time. Brook and Cam drove down for a day and we were able to hang out and catch up with each other and Andrea at our playdate (another first for Penelope). It was really nice to see Brook and Andrea and catch up, and to see our little families together. Very special, and something I treasure - the time we get together is much to little and spaced very far apart.

Overall, we had a great experience over the holidays.

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