Professional Grandparents

We are all coming down after having Chris’s parents here last week. Taylor is adjusting to not having someone singing, dancing and playing with her 24/7, and therefore I am having a hard time doing ANYTHING that requires not holding her. Even though Greg and Sue have only been grandparents for six months, I would say they’ve got the spoil-your-grandchild thing down pat. They once again exceeded the normal definition of generosity, indulging Taylor in enough clothes, toys, kisses and hugs to sustain a small country. And she returned the goodwill with enough smiles and giggles to last them their long drive back to Texas.

We were also lucky to have the three-fourths of the McGaw family visit us from Virginia Beach over the weekend. The McGaws are such good friends they’re practically family, and it was wonderful to finally be able to introduce Bill, Diane and Ashley to our baby girl. On Saturday the guys golfed and we girls went to the WNC Nature Center for Hey Day, where we introduced Taylor to a few furry friends and people watched.

Here we are waiting for Lloyd the llama to spit on us.

Having a blast with Erik the horse.

We even braved taking Taylor to church on Sunday at the Basilica. I only had to step out with her during the first and second readings, otherwise she did alright. And I stress ALRIGHT. The days of me enjoying a church service are long gone. They are now filled with me lining the pew with soft, quiet toys and sippy cups. And to reward me for not losing it along with her, Greg and Sue treated me to pancakes and sausage afterwards. We then tested Taylor’s rocking ability on one of the itty-bitty chairs outside, to which she totally redeemed herself by just being cute.

And yesterday, right before Greg and Sue left, we made a quick stop at the pumpkin patch to pick out our Halloween decorations and get a few snapshots of Taylor.

So, as you can see, we had a busy, fun-filled week with the grandparents in town. It’s always hard to say goodbye to family, especially when we are a million miles away from everyone. We cherish any chance we get to spend time with those we love, and we hope they all know that our house is always open to them.