Warning: Long, Catch-Up Post

Ari discovered his hair on the plane.

Well, we're back from quite a successful trip to Iowa. Sascha, Ari and I flew to Omaha last Friday morning; met Paula and Jay (my sister and brother in law) at the airport; and all drove together to Grandma's (Ari's Great Grandma) house in Western Iowa. My Grandpa's 90th birthday celebration was Saturday, Sascha and my siblings flew home again on Sunday and Ari and I stayed until Wednesday. It was a good visit and Ari came through it like a champ despite being around lots of adults that he didn't know (anyone he's been away from for over a month is pretty much a stranger again, to my parents' grief). Towards the end of the visit, Ari was enthusiastically "conversing" with my mom and dad...he liked to sit next to my dad during meals and would smile at him until dad looked up and then flashed the "done" sign over and over again until dad did it back...Ari wasn't finished eating...he just wanted to share that little bit of communication with his grandpa. Apparently, the first few times Ari did this in front of him, Dad was pretty amused so Ari thought that was a good way to connect (grin). The last night we were there, Ari sat on the couch with his grandma and decided he needed to "get" her...so she could tickle him. His "getting" consists of smacking someone on the arm or back and then grinning like mad while waiting to be tickled. Our last morning there, Ari finally warmed up to my Grandma and sat on her lap for a while...even cuddled a bit. We were all thrilled, but none so much as my Grandma. She's one of the most wonderful people I know and I'm so glad Ari had a chance to get to know her lap a little.

As you can probably tell, and as most of you are familiar with, Ari takes a bit to warm up to people...especially family members...however, put him on an airplane full of complete strangers and he'll grin at and flirt with every single one of them (from the safety of our seat). The little stinker. It's kind of painful for our families since we don't see them that often anymore and, when we do, it's only for a few golden days. Sigh. Maybe someday that will be different.

Some Updates

On the health front: we are both officially healthy again, in spite of Ari's runny nose (i.e. the snot-nosed kid). It is so fabulous to have the energy and desire to make it through a day upright. Sascha, God bless him, has managed to avoid decrepit health altogether and "dodged-ducked-dived-and dodged" (trivia question: identify that movie) his way through our flu experience with flying colors.

On the What's-Ari-Up-To-Now front: The bugger is a walking crazy man. He's even attempted running after watching a 3 year old do it in a parking lot one evening...the running attempt isn't quite as successful when Mom's not holding his hand. We've been going to Gymboree http://www.gymboreeclasses.com/b2c/customer/programIndex.jsp for a few weeks now and, though I was skeptical at first, Ari has SO enjoyed his time there. His coordination and self-confidence has increased by leaps and bounds from the climbing, exploring, playing and being around other kids. He's getting used to coming and going there and doesn't throw a fit every time we leave now. He's started saying "this, that, there, mumma, daddy, yum yum"...of course, it's all in that baby-way (i.e. "dis-n-dis-n-dat-n-dis" while "reading" me a book or showing me a toy). I'm pretty sure he said "daddy" the other day...it just came out "tchatchy" while reaching for Sascha. "Mommy" is mumumum and we always say "nyum-nyum-nyum" while we eat. Speaking of eating...wow, what a different kid. While in Iowa, he absolutely inhaled food. Pretty much anything as long as it came off of my plate and did NOT come out of a baby food jar. Spoons and forks are making it into his mouth with amazing accuracy and less and less food winds up on the floor (thank God). He does like to "wash" the table when he's pretty much finished eating...that's when the leftover food ends up on the floor. Oh well. Other things - he brushes his teeth and hair, puts things away, kisses his books and toys and daddy's tummy (it's a funny thing). I'll sum it up there as I think only the grandparents are still reading at this point...everyone else, I totally understand if you've decided to jump ship.

On the relocation front: Since I have more energy now, I feel a little better about being here. I'm meeting a fellow Ann Arbor transplant spouse for coffee next week and I met a nice mom at our library's story hour last week...her son practically crawled into my lap so I guess she had to be nice to me after that :). She hooked me up with a couple groups she's involved with - Hip Mamas of San Diego and Del Mar Toddlers. Both have play groups and I think Mom's Night Out/In. We'll see how that goes but I'm feeling more optimistic than I have in past weeks. Sascha still points out other moms when we're at the park...for example, "she's cute, do you think you'd like her?" ....or, after Ari and I have been at Gymboree, "did anyone try to pick you up? any nice moms?" (you notice, he doesn't mention the dads). It's sweet how he wants me to get some mom action but sometimes I always feel as if I need to look pretty or work on my pick-up lines. It'll take time. And that's okay. It's easier to not know anyone when Ari's balanced and happy (as he is this week, we'll see how things go next week). I'm still looking at this San Diego thing as a two-year commitment. A little sabbatical in paradise before heading back to the Midwest. Who knows? Maybe it'll someday feel like home. Time will tell. And I'm cool with that.

*FYI - the walking video is now in the post below*