I spent last weekend in Scottsdale visiting my brother Keith, his wife Tracy and their two boys, Owen and William. In a post last week I referred to them as “illegally adorable”. Here is some proof.
Owen at 27 months
Owen & William 4.5 months
As the boys continue to grow I try to make every effort to be as a part of their lives possible. Thankfully we see each other at least once every 2 or 3 months as Keith and Tracy are great about bringing the boys over for visits to CA, and I try to fly over there on the off months.
Anyhoo…Scottsdale was stop number two on my Kid Country tour. I arrived on Friday night around 7:00pm and Tracy picked me up. When we got to the house, Owen was a sleep, but William was awake ready to be fed before going down for the night. It was a great time to get caught up with Keith and Tracy. We chatted over bowls of Trader Joe’s French Vanilla ice cream and before long it was time for bed. They helped my set up the aerobed in the living room as this would be my sleep spot for the weekend.
The next morning, I heard Owen get up and Tracy told him Aunt Megan was in the family room. I could hear the pitter patter of his feet running down the hallway as he wanted to see who Aunt Megan was. I think he is at a point where he recognizes me, but I figured this would be a good test. He walked into the room and immediately said, “dog, dog?” I don’t have a dog, but my brother Drew and his wife Jenny do. Owen loves their dog and was a bit disappointed to discover it was only me and no puppy. He quickly got over it as we pulled out some of his toys and began to play. As the morning progressed he warmed up to me a bit more.
One of my favorite parts of the whole weekend was how Owen wanted to be with me when I got ready each morning. He’d pull his stool up right next to me as I stood over the bathroom sink fixing my hair and putting on my make-up. Now Owen is all boy, but he loves to be a participant in what’s going on so he had fun handing me things like make-up brushes, lotion and lip-gloss. When I put lotion on my hands, he wanted to as well. When I brushed my hair, he wanted to brush his. I’ve never had a shadow me before, but it was so sweet to have him want to be with me. I loved it!
I think since I have visited The Arizona Carson’s so many times nothing that went on was that abnormal. Sure, life with two kids is quite different than my life, but I find it really refreshing to be let into family life and am so thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to spend time with my friends and family and their kids.
Sunday morning Keith and Tracy attend a Sunday School class for young married couples. On this particular Sunday the topic was parenting. I learned a few things I can store away for the future and even a few things I can apply to my students in the classroom. It was funny being the only single person the class, but I felt very welcomed and included.
All in all it was a great weekend. Maybe my time in Oregon with Elise and her boys broke me in a bit to a weekend with kid-os, but regardless, I can’t wait till that is my reality too.
You went easy on us! I was expecting much worse after a pre-visit e-mail explaining your sleeping conditions, a 5:30am wake up call, the inability to exercise, dinner craziness and the needed i-phone video, and a Sunday school class that had nothing to do with where you are! Ha Ha!! We are so glad you came to visit, it means A LOT!!