. . .to Uncle S's house we go! To hang out with grandma. And cousin Em. Uncle S was not there. Actually today was our first mini-roadtrip together with just the two of us. We have traveled a bit around our hometown, and then to a nearby town in search of cupcakes for Mom (a fruitful search), but I consider thirty minutes plus to be the requirement for a mini-roadtrip. El handled the drive very well, including remaining calm while I pumped gas. She did not reciprocate the goofy faces I was making through the rear windshield, and anyone at the station who could not see I had a baby in the backseat likely thought I'm a psycho.
So Gramma and I were thinking that a playdate with El's cousin Em, who's about eleven months older than her, would break up the week nicely. Turns out it did. It's kind of hilarious watching two kids non-verbally communicate through that unabashed eye contact that only the young can truly pull off. Without being creepy, at least. If a thirty year-old with a beard just stared at you. . .well, you'd probably call the cops.
Anyway, it was nice to see El interacting with her cousin. Since it was just the four of us, there weren't a lot of distractions so the two definitely spent some time checking each other out. Normally when El sees her cousins, it's a big, family gathering so there's lots of stuff to check out other than the baby. Em was pretty darn cute with her, too. Well, when he wasn't trying to steal her dolly (named Dollie, after our friend Mollie). When she started to get a little fussy as I was getting ready to leave, I was trying to calm her with her pacifier, but she kept spitting it out. Em, who was right next to me on the couch, decided he was going to be a good helper, and kept picking up her pacifier and trying to put it back it her mouth. It was adorable. Of course, he was trying to shove the rounded side of the pacifier into El's mouth, so it wasn't very effective. But it was still damn cute.
It was also nice to sit down and chat with someone who has a bit of experience with raising kids, namely my mom (Gramma B). I figure that she raised two boys, was a home daycare provider for years, and has been watching Em for three days a week since he was a wee lad, so she might have some good insight. It's nice to hear from such a kid-rearing veteran that you're not doing a horrible job. And I also picked up some good advice.
We made the trek home to beat Mommy by about a half an hour, so we didn't have to worry about that awkward time when I have to debate whether to feed her another bottle or ride out some fussiness so Mom can get some mom/daughter time right when she gets home. It was a good day.
To top it off, as I'm writing this post, El is being completely adorable in her swing.
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