December Days - 12.26.10

I wrote a few days ago about the opportunity to be around my little niece and how much fun it has been to watch her play and the memories it brings back from my own kids at that age.  This trip home has also given me the opportunity to spend some time with my sister's little boy who is only 6 months old and really hasn't had any introduction to me or my family, beyond a few video calls the past few months.

We had to prep the kids before seeing him that he was likely to be pretty shy and not want any of us to hold him much; it may take a few days for him to warm up to new family, so we thought.

What actually happened, was Marcy was the first to get to him and pick him up, give a couple hugs before handing him off.  Immediately he looked at me, then to Makela and reach with both arms to Makela instead.  With a huge smile, Makela took him from my arms and gave him a big hug.  He took her face in his two little hands and started kissing her face!  So much for all the prep work and assumptions we had about taking time to get used to us.  Caleb was next in line and he did the exact same thing to him! It was all very cute and very funny!

We've had a great time with him and as great as it has been it is sad that we won't get to see him more often.  It does make me thankful for video calls and simple technological wonders like camera phones, not mention my sister who does a great job of utilizing both to send pictures and keep us connected.