Denver – 2007
Nine adults and six children (under four years-old) in one house for five days may seem like a crazy thing to do, but it was really quite nice. At the end of it, I was left with a great feeling of joy and also loss. Re-connecting with people (some of whom we've not seen in years) is an experience I treasure and one I'm loathed to give up.
It's true that, for some of the trip, I was rather stressed out. I'm still (even a year on) trying to work through the over-protective fears and feelings I have with Nathan. Worries abound, leaving my head and emotions spinning. Unfortunately it doesn't always stay inside. It's something I struggle with.
But less navel gazing and more vacation discussion...
Nathan had a great time. He had explosive behavioral growth in the span of these five days. By the end of the trip he was 1) no longer walking as if he were Frankenstein's Monster. 2) able to climb onto and (and fall off of) push-toy cars and 3) able to climb up and sit down at a kids plastic play table. He also started using new sounds and in some cases, two syllable "words." He seems to mimic sounds a bit more too.
We spent some time at a neighborhood pool on Saturday. This pool featured a waterslide that pushed a fair amount of water around. Enough so that you could swim against the current near the slide and not make any progress forward. So, with Nathan in arms, I stood in the middle of the current watching kids (and adults) go down the slide. He /loved/ this. He was so calm in my arms, and simply sat enjoying the feeling of the rushing water. At one point I thought he was going to go to sleep, he was so relaxed.
He was pretty much a joy at the airports. He loved being pushed around in his stroller because he could see all the people and point and make his "heeeeyyy!" noise at them. And they, in turn, would smile and sometimes stop and say hello to him. At DEN a ~10 year-old girl with a stuffed toy (river otter) befriended him and became a de facto babysitter for a time. She would let him grab the stuffed animal and would follow him around, playing peek-a-boo around the support column near our seats.