Vacation Summation

So we just got back from our two week vacation. It was wonderful. It made me feel guilty for living so far away from family though. Handsome played with his cousins and ran on Dad's land like he had finally been set free. His new word from vacation is "cow." He LOVED Dad's cows. He would run straight for them. He would stick his hands through the fence so he could feel the cow's nose.

I left Handsome with DH and Dad on one of the first days and when I came home I was greeted with pictures of Handsome picking up cow dung. Yes, cow dung. In his bare hands. And Handsome sucks his thumbs. Yes, cow dung in hands with thumbs that go in Handsome's mouth. Ick. Both Dad and DH insisted that it was old dung so it was ok. Dung is dung, my friend.

Another day Handsome and I went out to the bamboo area with Dad and J (Handsome's cousin - 8 years old). We were on the cow's side of the fence and they were following us thinking Dad was going to give them food. If I put Handsome down he would literally run straight for the cows. I let him down inside the fenced in bamboo area and he squeezed his way through the gate to run to the cows. As I was struggling to undo the chain as fast as I could, he ran towards a startled cow. Great. I opened the gate and tried not to run too fast so that I wouldn't freak the cow out even more. The cow jumped some and started to run away, but I caught up with Handsome before he got tangled in the cow's legs. And Handsome still cried when I picked him up because he wanted to get to the cow.

He loved the wide open spaces. We let him down just to see what he would do and he started running and didn't stop. He would fall over the dung heaps and old ant hills, and then just get back up and keep running. He was so excited he just couldn't stop. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited and looking like he felt so at home in a place where he truly fit. Apparently he needs space to run. This city life isn't for him. It's not really for me either, but it's where my job is, so I'm stuck right now. It's also where the culture lets us be who we are, so I'm a bit afraid to move too far back in the country. Anyway, he finally got to be a speck in the distance so I sent DH running to catch up with him and bring him back.

Handsome loved being around his cousins. He followed them everywhere. The youngest cousin, N, is five months younger than Handsome, so they were kinda drawn to each other. They calmed each other down and played very nicely together. N doesn't quite walk yet though, so they couldn't do too much. DH and I actually got to go out on a date because the cousins distracted Handsome enough, and he loved my brother's wife. So DH and I got to go on our third date since Handsome was born.

We also got to see my bf. Handsome actually let her carry him around for quite a while. As for my bf, God has sent more troubles her way. She lost her job the week before Christmas. She worked for an OBGYN that specialized in fertility problems. Well, since the economy sucks they don't have as many patients. As a result, they can't afford as many nurses. I didn't get to talk to her as much as I would like, but she seemed very tired and worn down. She is trying so hard to do the right thing and yet crap keeps getting thrown at her. I really hope 2009 is a better year for her.

The flight to TX was good. Handsome ate for the first part and then fell asleep. For the last part he watch a few podcasts on the iPod, ate some goldfish, and then we landed. The flight home was not so pleasant. The flight left at 7pm so I thought for sure he would sleep. No sleep at all on that flight. He was awake and kicking the seat in front of him the entire time. He was bored and cranky and it took a lot of work from me to keep him from crying and screaming on the flight. At one point I thought I would give DH the responsibility so that I could rest for a while. Of course that didn't work and I had to fight to get my seat back so that Handsome would stop yelling. As we sat waiting to get our bags off the belt a woman walked up to us and said she was a child photographer and was just drawn to Handsome. She gave me her card. She takes good photos, but of course we can't afford professional pictures. Her comment kinda made me chuckle inside because of course she's drawn to children, that's how she earns her income. Handsome finally fell asleep about 15 min into the car ride home. He was so tired at that point that when we got home I was able to just transfer him from the car to his crib and he barely woke up - which for Handsome, never happens.

Overall it was an awesome vacation and going back to work is hard.