Parting Ways

Today is a bitter-sweet day for Stella and me as it is the last day of my maternity leave. Tomorrow I go back to work and Stella discovers the world of daycare. I think it will be harder on me than on her! I realized that this marks our one year anniversary in a way... 40 weeks of pregnancy and 12 weeks of maternity leave = being attached to each other in one form or another every day for a whole year!

I'm sure this will just make our weekends, bedtimes and midnight and 4 a.m. feedings all that more special.

Back to the real world!

New Mexico Trip

A couple of weeks ago we decided it was high time to visit Grandma and Grandpa Meents out in Alamogordo, New Mexico. This was the first time flying for Stella and she did great as long as she got her beauty sleep and plenty to eat in between take off and landing. I have to say I'm very proud of myself for doing a one-handed dirty diaper change mid-flight - that deserves an olympic gold medal if you ask me.

Elliot is a pro when it comes to flying... Matt gets him set up with his own personal DVD player, noise cancelling headphones and a never ending supply of Spongebob Squarepants and milk. Do we spoil him a little just to avoid being the parents with the annoying kid on the flight? Maybe.

In addition to great hospitality, fresh coffee at the push of a button and home-cooked meals, Connie and Ed treated us to a tour of Alamogordo. We visited their new church which features a huge bar, commercial-size kitchen and a room for brewing their own beer - it is located in a renovated restaurant! We also got to see the Space Museum and meet some very interesting astronauts. And the highlight of the trip had to be the White Sands where the scenery reminded us of a Minnesota winter... so we decided to do a little sledding.

This was Elliot's idea, I promise...

Thanks for a great time, Grandma and Grandpa! We look forward to coming back again!