Finally!

I apologize for the length of time it's taken me to post about our trip...it's just been THAT busy around the house & work. I'm actually going to have to do a series of posts, because if we wait for it all to be written in one post, then, well, you'll be waiting even longer. Not to mention the monstrously long post you would have to wade through.

So we'll divide it up.

I apologize that these posts may not be a "play by play" - because I'm finally growing out that sort of post. But I will give you the highlights that are full of digressions, I'm sure!!

So here goes...

Our plan for the holiday was to stay 2 nights with Nathan's parents & 2 nights with mine. So our first stop would be Nana & Papa's house. Last Tuesday evening after getting home from work, delivering the dogs to the sitter, finishing up packing, and loading the car, we dressed Iliya in his pajamas & headed out of town. Iliya doesn't mind riding in the car - but he gets restless on long trips - so for said long trips, we pull out the portable DVD player. Television doesn't really interest Iliya in the least (which is perfectly fine by us, considering the fact that we're not big TV people)...but he has that one DVD he will watch portions of. This particular DVD is fun the first 50 3 times you watch it, but after that...well, it just gets old. So we thought maybe he would enjoy this DVD as an alternative. It was one of Nathan's favorites as a child - had lots of animals and singing in it.

We were going to pull one over on the child. We thought we were smart.

We were wrong.

After watching it for about 6 mintues & successfully identifying the cat (or, really, the fox -- Robin Hood), the bok-bok (rooster), the bear, the elephant, and the snake, Iliya was done with Robin Hood & told us so. He then asked for King Cole. I told him he could watch a little more of Robin Hood, but he really would have nothing of it. So I relented, turned off Robin Hood & started King Cole. That held his attention until he became sleepy-eyed. At that point, I turned the DVD off, and he fell promptly asleep for the remainder of the 2 1/2 hour ride.

(did I say I wasn't going to give you a play-by-play? ha! you fell for it, AGAIN! oh wait, the above was a digression. there, that was in the disclaimer. anyway...)

We arrived to Nana & Papa's around 10:00, and when we pulled Iliya out of the car, he got his second wind. He lasted for about 45 minutes of exploring and then it was time for bed.

On Wednesday, we just hung out. Papa had to work, so we had a pretty lazy morning until it was time to meet Papa for lunch. We ran a few errands after that and then it was naptime. The rest of the day was pretty low-key. Wednesday evening, we went to Nathan's grandmother's house for dinner & then tried going to church, but Iliya was "off" and he got verrrry stressed out. Before church even started, we ended up carrying a screaming child out to the car, back to the house, & into the bath.

Too many new-ish environments/people at once, and that's when meltdowns occur. We can say we tried, but we don't push him too hard, if he's too unsure of a situation. Besides, he was already out of his routine and that wreaks havoc on a child that is very routine-oriented.

Wednesday night, after bath, we kept Iliya up about an hour & a half past bedtime, and on Thursday morning, we woke him up an hour earlier than usual. Why, you ask?

Because dinner at Mawmaw's house was planned for noon. Right at naptime. And if you've not been around my child when he has not had a nap......let's just say you really don't wanna try it. If we were at home, it wouldn't have been such a big deal...but because we were seeing not-often-seen family, we really wanted Iliya to be in the best possible mood.

So our plan was to deprive Iliya of a little bit of sleep, with the hope that he would be able to take an early nap on Thursday.

Did I say we weren't so smart, earlier? Well, we redeemed ourselves on this one.

He went down for a nap at 9:45 Thursday morning and slept until 11:30, when we had to wake him up to throw clothes on him & head out to Mawmaw's house. When we first arrived at her house, there was an influx of people in Iliya's direction. He was very unsure about all the new faces, and he shed a few tears -- but as I mentioned in my post a couple days ago, everyone gave him time to get accustomed to the newness.

Before long, he was running around with the other kids and select adults...checking back in with us every few minutes to make sure we were still there. He got to go outside & play, and really, he had a great time, running around, making people laugh, and - in the end - being the center of attention. I know I've said it before, but he really is a very social child (more social than I am, I think!), and as long as we are in fairly close proximity, he loves to go & play. Even if it is cold outside & his hands are freezing off (but then again, he was born on the edge of Siberia).

As usual, dinner at Mawmaw's was delicious. We really had a fantastic time seeing everyone.

After dinner & a couple hours of visiting, Iliya was starting to show signs of tiring, so we decided to head off to my parents' house before he got too tired and too overstimulted. A good 40 minute drive provided Iliya with the time to decompress and relax before another influx of new-ish faces. (wonder why I say "new-ish?" It is because he's met most everyone, but may not have seen them in quite a while, so for his little brain, they are new-ish. Anyway, that was another digression...)

Once we arrived at Grandma & Granddad's house, the similar scene replayed - with the new-ish faces & a few tears from the child. Given a little time, though (refer to that post again), and he was hanging out like he'd known everyone forever. After dinner, he went strong for a couple more hours and then was beginning to crash. So it was time for a quick bath, pj's, and a round of goodnights. I think he was asleep in record time. Poor little guy, his body just couldn't handle anymore excitement.

So it was off to dreamland, and the annual Christmas tree hunt the next day.

Here are a few pictures* from Thanksgiving. For some reason, I didn't snap as many as I thought I had. I guess all of the visiting we did with everyone got in the way of snapping pictures. But that's really okay - we made some great memories!! What a wonderful First Thanksgiving!





Stay tuned...Next up, "The Honeyhams** go on their Annual Christmas Tree Hunt"

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*wonder why I've begun watermarking pictures? Here's the answer. I have developed this newly identified phobia called "amafraidofsomeonestealingmypicturesaphobia" (creative, huh?)...watermarks may not actually help at all, but it helps relieve me of the symptoms of my phobia.

**My family's last name really is not Honeyham. But a child a long time ago (maybe almost 20 years?) could not say Cunningham. So she called us the Honeyhams. Isn't that so much more fun to say?