Family love

Aside from Dan's and my little getaway to Asheville (more on that tomorrow), we mostly just hung out with my parents and brother and we stayed pretty close to home while we were in Charlotte. We played games in the evenings after Elijah went to bed. My brother made us some very yummy, elaborate meals and desserts that put a few extra pounds on my already extra pounded body. I ate an entire (huge) bag of M&M's within the first 24 hours we were there. Dan and I took a nap almost every afternoon. I finished one book and started another. Dan did a lot of reading about Abe Lincoln. We took a few walks on a scenic path near their house. Elijah got A TON of love from Grammie, Gramps and Uncle Joel, and even from some complete strangers (strangers to us, anyway).


Yes, it snowed while we were there. Of course it did! It stayed pretty warm, though, so we didn't have any complaints. Well, warm for us. Everyone in Charlotte was freezing, but we thought it was heavenly!


Saying "HHIIIIIiiiiiiiiii!!" for probably the 236,439th time that day..

One of the things I realized after this trip was how much I love watching other people wholeheartedly loving my son. Of course Dan and I love Elijah with all our hearts and we are always eager to tell funny Elijah stories and dote on his every word and action. This is expected of us because we are his parents and that's what parents do. Seeing my family love him in this same way means so much to me. I am so happy that Elijah is surrounded by such a loving family. So many people love him and think he is the most wonderful thing on the planet, and that brings me a lot of happiness. Because, well...he IS the most wonderful thing on the planet!


Enjoying a book by the fire...while standing!


A really big treat for us was meeting Mike and Michelle. We have been following each others' blogs for quite a while now. They have a son with some heart/health problems, so we can relate to each other in a lot of ways. They live about an hour north of Charlotte and came down for an NBA game one afternoon, so we met them afterward for dinner. They are such nice people, and so inspiring. It was really fun to get to know them. They were even generous enough to give Elijah a new truck book, which he LOVES.


We have this same book at home and Elijah did the same thing to Grammie's copy that he did to ours....he bit Jesus' head off. Poor Jesus doesn't have part of his head and face!


Elijah absolutely loved G'ma and G'pa's house. So many new things to explore! One of his favorite spots was the pantry (when he wasn't obsessed with the door of the pantry). He discovered the bag of potatoes in there and loved hiding them in various cupboards around the kitchen. In this picture he is hugging his beloved potato. A few minutes later, he was dipping it into the dog's water dish.


This is the face he makes when he says, "Go! Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!" I don't know if that's what he means to say, but that's what it sounds like...and it's the cutest thing.


Snuggle Time with Grandpa before bed. I love this pic. Oh, and there's Uncle Joel in the background slaving over another awesome meal for us.


Juan the Puppy wasn't so sure of this little person in the house who was getting all of the attention. He made sure to let everyone know he was still around. I'm sure he was happy to say goodbye to the Portas!