Today Jack is spending the day at Gloria’s house, and his great grandparents are coming over. You know what that means – I have the day free! I will be meeting Kim at Fiber Factory and I will nap in the afternoon. Yippeeeee. (Don’t worry Joe, I don’t plan on buying any yarn. I’m just going to sit and knit.)

My brother and I discuss this family thing a lot – I would not raise Jack anywhere else in the world. Jack is going to grow up with so many family members around him it’s amazing, and I think that is really important. We never had family here when we were growing up – they all lived in Southern California – and I always wished we did. Of course I also wish Greg and Anne would move out here so Jack would grow up near his cousins, but that’s just not going to happen. They feel the exact opposite about family – the farther away the better.

I know sometimes it’s challenging to live near your parents as an adult. My mother swears we never come to her house, and the truth is I’m there almost once a week. It doesn’t matter how much time we spend with them, it will never be enough. And sometimes she says and does things that drive me up the wall. But she’s my mother, she’s supposed to do that, right?

For me, the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks. I think of all the things Jack will get to do with both sets of grandparents and how great that will be for him. Not to mention how nice it is for me to have reliable babysitters – I never feel nervous when we leave him alone and I don’t feel guilty because he is spending time with family. It’s the best of both worlds.

Yesterday we went to the library and I got Jack dressed up in his Hanna Anderson outfit from his Great Aunt Pat. Here he is pointing out the snail detail on the leg:



and this is him watching tv (A Mighty Wind no less):



and looking at me like I’m crazy (which, as we have established, I am not):



And lastly, Jack had a bath to get ready for his big day. I know, I know. ANOTHER bath picture. But he’s just so darned cute when he’s in the tub.