I'm baaack!

As most of you already know, I recently returned from Florida where I met the newest member of our family, JB. The entire vacation was bittersweet. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting & spending time JB (and of course Bridget & Rusty too!) but missed my family back home dearly!

You'll notice in one of the pictures above, JB's wearing a Vikings Jersey & is wrapped up in a Vikings blanket, compliments of me! I also bought him a Twins outfit & my mom bought him a Twins baseball cap. Rusty just shook his head & laughed at all of the MN gear. Trust me Rusty, that little guy's going to know he has MN roots! We'll make sure of it! :)

We had beautiful, but hot, weather the entire time we were there. The temp was usually in the upper 90s with high humidity. I've never met a kid that enjoys the heat at much as JB does. Whenever he was fussing & I couldn't settle him down, I went outside. The second we were out in the heat, he calmed down IMMEDIATELY! Rusty says he gets that trait from him daddy.

When Bridget told me that they planned to name their son James, I liked the name but knew it wouldn't have been at the top of my list if I was naming my son. However, after hearing the way "James" rolls off his Meemaw's tongue with her southern accent, I've fallen in love with the name! I just loved the way she said "Baby James."

Speeking of Meemaw... McKenzie & Lauryn thought it was SOOO funny that people in the south call their grandma's "Meemaw" and their grandpa's "Pawpaw." When I refer to the girls' grandma, I always have to clarify which grandma I'm talking about. At least JB won't be confused about his grandma because he'll only have one - my mom.

Those of you that know McKenzie well, know she's a picky eater. Well Bridget used that against me most of my vacation. I tried more new foods while I was there, than I have in the past year! Bridget said she'd tell Kenzie if I wouldn't at least try whatever it was that she was asking me to try. Here's just a few things I tried while I was there --- grits, boiled peanuts, friend green tomatoes, tuna steak, and ricotta pancakes. I have to admit, it was all really good!

A friend of mine has said more than once that my sisters & I are baby people, meaning we loooove babies! She's absolutely right! We do love babies, but more than that, we love each other's babies! Everyone of us has a special bond with our nieces & nephews & wouldn't have it any other way! With that said... leaving JB was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do! I miss him so much right now, I can't put it into words. I told my dad when I got back, if I ever win the lottery, the first thing I'm going to do is buy Bridget, Rusty & JB airline tickets "home" & continue buying them as often as possible. So Bridget, wish me luck!