Tuesday, July 6, 2010

All Quiet on the Western Front

As I sit here typing this, my precious little bundle is asleep soundly, and, Amy has just walked out the door for a nice mom-only hour walk(if the rain holds out!).

As the photo in the previous post shows, we were so lucky to have Amy's folks out here for a visit for a little over a week. Her mom Elaine arrived on Tuesday, and, her dad Richard (aka Dick) showed up that Friday. While the time was short, it was so chock full of wonderful bonding time that it seemed to last a lot longer than it did. This week has had its share of rollercoaster ride-type experiences...from Wyatt's extra painful gas/system development outbursts, to the wonderful bonding time I witnessed with both grandparents on the momma's side with my own little boy.

When Elaine first got here, Wyatt could have possibly sensed that her voice was different than mom & dad's, so, that when she picked him up for the first time, he kind of seemed a little out of sorts. However, all the hours she spent with him on her shoulder, in her lap, and laying in her arms quickly set him at ease with falling asleep on her. The same thing happened when Dick arrived. We placed Wyatt in his lap, and, when Dick started to speak, Wyatt kind of looked away and started to kick. However, when Amy spoke, he stopped kicking, and, turned his head in her direction. She stayed by her dad's side while Wyatt settled in, and, eventually, melted the entire rooms heart as he fell asleep in Dick's arms.

We spent many hours together in this house, and, if it's one thing you learn about your relationship with your inlaws, as well as your inlaws in general, it's how long you can tolerate each other in such a small place for such an extended period of time. We had such wonderful memorable times together over the last week (at least that's what I felt ;-)) that I'm even more at ease than ever. There is this sense of needing approval from your inlaws that comes along with being happily married, and, although I'm pretty sure I earned my stripes during that very first visit (withOUT Amy...another story), this was a different scenario. Dick & Elaine were extremely supportive and caring, reaching out when they felt they needed to and backing off when they felt appropriate. We laughed all week, and, continuously poked fun at each other while reminiscing over stories of when Amy was a baby. Our bellies were sore after the first 24 hours! From the wonderful dinners, to the calm quite breakfasts, all the way through to the delicious desserts Elaine whipped up, (Side note...she made this butterscotch sorta pound cake thingy that was out of this world. It lasted 36 hours.) we simply had a great time. We're currently planning the next visit to Colorado, as well as a trip back east to the Tarheel state to see the cousins! We're all so very excited.

Taking them to the airport today was tough. I really did not want them to leave, nor, the good times to come to an end (albeit for now). However, if it's one thing they left me with personally, it's a bulletproof sense of confidence and the desire to be a focused parent. I find that the more I do this, the more I appreciate my family and my parents experiences in raising me. I feel they did a pretty stellar job. I can only hope to follow!

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