Clapping and climbing

Dear Pea,
We just got home from an 8 day trip to visit all of your Seattle family and friends. You again impressed us with your affinity for travel, your easy transition to west coast time and your willingness to fly.  You are a much better traveler than your daddy.

While in Seattle, we went to Rosh Hashana and Shabbat services.  You loved the music, the other kids and the grape juice. We also hosted a Mabon Goddess Circle to celebrate the Equinox.  You enjoyed this, too, though mostly because your big almost 5 year old cousin was there to play with you.  Wow, do you love your cousins.  All of them.  You flap your arms and start squawking when you see them, you smile and flirt with them and you happily crawl after them.  Not that they were ever very far away from you-you tend to be the center of attention at all times. 

Over the long week, you tackled crawling up stairs with no problem.  

You enjoyed a mellow playground where you could sit and watch other kids and we could move to the swings and leave our diaper bag within eye sight but not arms' reach.  

You spent some special time with some special people and even, eventually, got used to riding in the car seat. 

You started clapping and it's now your favorite thing to do.  You clap when you're excited, you clap when you see someone you're happy to see, you clap when we clap...You also started getting a bit more interested in food over the past week and have eaten a slightly larger quantity than before. Maybe two bites of food go in your belly now.  You enjoyed the salmon roe that Uncle Rossy got especially for you, the bright orange eggs and the little salty pop you got in your mouth. 

It was a sad trip, too. It was the one year anniversary of your Spirit Grandma's passing away and we said goodbye to Uncle Rossy for a long time.  Your happy spirit and enjoyment of all the people around you helped lighten the mood a lot. We are all so much in love with you, Sweet Pea. You bring joy to so many people, even strangers on the airplane can't resist your delicious smile and your happy clapping.