ste_noni

We left home at 3:50 this morning and headed to the airport. Overlooking the very early hour, the flight was awesome. JetBlue is my new favorite airline. There was free DirectTV, plenty of legroom, great snack options, we left and took off on time, and (this was just luck) the plane was practically empty. Ellie slept basically the entire flight to Orlando. From there, we switched over the Southwest which was no big deal because we had not luggage. The 2.5 hour layover was a bit of a pain with a two years old (2 accidents, which is rare; I got gum on my pants; the "fruit salad and yogurt" was about 1/8 of a cup of yogurt plus those orange and green melons with 1 bit of pineapple and 1 strawberry) but once we got on the plane, things were good. We sat next to an 80 year old woman who chose to sit by us, she said, because she thought I needed someone helpful to sit with. She totally bossed the flight attendants around (who were very sweet) and had them bringing me extra pillows, snacks, and water. Ellie spent the first 2 hours snacking and watching movies on her iPod. She was crabby for about 5 minutes and then napped for the past hour.

So, we are now at my parents' house. There is snow on the ground! Ellie had a great time playing with the snow already. She looks so cute in a jacket, pants, hat, and gloves!. I'm not used to seeing her with so many clothes on. Anyway, we made it and now vacation can begin! Baby can come any time he wants!

Although I didn't know it when I planned this trip, this week is the Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque. Doesn't it just sound happy? I had to make an early morning trip into Albuquerque this morning and happened to be driving by just as dozens of hot air balloons were lifting off. I think there might have been a hundred balloons in the air and several more on the ground waiting to go. They were so pretty - all sorts of shapes and colors. Most of them were the traditional shape with beautiful colors. A few were unique - a Pepsi can, a horse, an American flag, and so on. I took a few pictures, but none of them can really show how cool it was. As I was coming out of the clinic (I had to have a drug test TODAY for my new job. How irritating, but I did get to see the balloons.) two balloons were going right over head and pretty low. A few minutes later, their support vehicles drove by. One of the most enjoyable aspects of parenting so far is the opportunity to see stuff through Ellie's eyes. A bird on a bench is worth commenting on. Seals are fascinating and scary at the same time. A sky full of giant balloons - interesting, but not as interesting as that flock of birds over there.

On our way home, Ellie and I stopped at my mom's school to say hi while her students were at Art and recess. Ellie had so much fun running around the hallways and playing in the Kindergarten room. One of the best things about this trip has been that I am feeling so much more confident about taking Ellie to daycare. I know there will be a transition, but she has become so interested in her surroundings - both people and things. I have left her for periods of time with no tears (something that never used to happen) and she is so fascinated by other children. If she can be happy with my parents, she will adjust just fine to her teachers. She loves other kids and I think she will be so occupied both playing with and watching the other kids in her class.

We are driving back to Denver on Friday and fly home on Saturday. When I planned this trip, I really needed something fun and familiar to look forward to. As I was leaving last week, I had just begun to feel comfortable and at home in San Juan. I have a feeling it's going to be a bit of a shock and a step backwards when we arrive back in Puerto Rico. Yes, I miss Joe and the dogs, but life here is so familiar and easy. It's going to be hard going back to such a difference. I think I might be finally reaching a stage in life where I would enjoy the comfortable and familiar instead of always rushing of to something new and different. Perhaps we will not extend in Puerto Rico for a third year after all.