Two weekends ago, Dedo & Baba (grandpa & grandma) came to stay. Elizabeth was very happy to meet her grandparents, and Vassil and I were happy to have help with dinner, cleaning, and running errands. They will be back soon with Aunt Tsetsa for another visit.
Soon thereafter, Nana and Auntie M. arrived all the way from Kansas and were able to stay an entire week. Elizabeth had a blast! She had her first trip to a restaurant, which went very smoothly until mommy's plate hit the table... and then she decided she was ready to eat, too. She also had her first trip to the mall and Walmart. And on the day she turned 3 weeks old she took her first trip to the zoo, where (aside from the occasional snack) she slept the day through.
Although the outings were fun, most of all, Elizabeth enjoyed being held and loved on by Nana and being read to by Auntie M. - And I know all the help of holding, changing, and playing with Elizabeth will be missed in the months to come! We can't wait to go back to Kansas for Christmas! And in all seriousness, wish it wasn't just to visit... but to be back HOME for good. Maybe one day.
OH... and let's not forget... last Sunday Great Grandpa and Grandma P also came for a visit. They drove all the way from Kansas and stopped in DC for Gpa's Navy Squadron reunion. Elizabeth was excited to have four generations of fabulous women all together in one room! And she enjoyed visiting with her great grandparents, and wished she didn't live so far away from them! Like Nana, they also came with boxes of goodies to spoil everyone with... along with lots and lots of kisses!
As I said before, the past two weeks have been filled with many firsts. Along with all of the new experiences listed above, we also have started using a pacifier... and have been trying out the bottle at night. Along with new things, there are many things that Elizabeth does that will never get old... such as the way she scrunches up her forehead when she stretches (makes her look like daddy)... or the way she puckers her lips when she is making a BM (who would have thought a BM could be cute?!)... or the way she always falls asleep on mama's shoulder after a feeding--and how Mama can feel her smile a thousand smiles thanks to a full tummy and being snuggled so close. Although she still wakes us up several times in the night, and even though we are simply exhausted, we are so thankful that we have our little girl to wake up to. We are definitely blessed! And once the exhaustion wears off (it does wear off...? Right?!) I'm sure we will be even more aware of just how blessed we are... and hopefully less grouchy.
Until then,
Jennifer
