Auntie Vanessa is Gone...

I love visits from out-of-town people. It's so fun. It's like you put your own life on hold for a few days and have a vacation right in your own house. Aunt Vanessa was here for 4 days from Seattle and we loved having her.

She was able to babysit Maelin on Friday and they had a great day. They hung out and took naps and played and read books and sang songs. They're great friends. Vanessa has a really good friend that lives not too far away so she came down and took Vanessa out on the town on Friday night. They had a nice time together and it's so nice that Vanessa is able to see so many people when she's in town.

Saturday we took Maelin to her first Gymboree class! It was so much fun and I have great pictures of her playing with bubbles, rolling on the mats, playing under the parachute, going down the slide,etc. but I'm here at work so I'll try to post some pics of that later when I get home. We thought about enrolling her full time in a class, but it was just too expensive. My sister Heather mentioned another class that should be cheaper, so we're going to check that one out.

We had Mexican Night at my dad's house on Saturday night. He went all out: he made beef, pork, chili rellenos and mild and hot green chili. It was soooo tasty. Maelin loves the beans and cheese...we haven't tried chili with her yet although she's so agreeable to new foods, she may just like them.

Sunday was a busy day. Vanessa, Aunt Kat, Vanessa's friend and I all met at Prima downtown for their "Unlimited Prosecco Brunch." Kevin and Jeff babysat and we had a grand time. After drinking our fill, Maelin and I took a nap and Vanessa and her friend got Manicures and Pedicures at the 5th Avenue Nail Salon downtown. She said it was the best manicure she had ever had, so you know I'm heading there soon!

We went for spaghetti on Sunday night and Maelin loved it! She was so funny: she was eating her oatmeal just fine but not super excited about it. I loaded up a spoonful of spaghetti and meatballs and as soon as it was in her mouth, she let out a squeal and opened her mouth so wide! I guess she liked it...

Yesterday, Vanessa and I got some quick errands done and Vanessa took one last nap with Maelin. It was great: she was able to cuddle the baby before she left and I was able to finish laundry and other odds-and-ends that I haven't been able to do for months. Then we got a great surprise: Aunt Heather was feeling better (she and her two boys had been horribly sick all week so they weren't able to come see Vanessa and Vanessa wasn't able to go up there) so she drove down to hang out before Vanessa went to the airport! It was so much fun to have her! All 4 of the Kimling Kids :-0 were together along with Kat, Maelin and Kevin and we had such a nice evening.

Then Vanessa had to leave. It's so sad...we had such a nice time and now she's gone and she's heading into her busy time at work so we're not sure when she can come back. I know we're lucky to have such a great family who lives close by, but I wish we could all get together like that more often.

Now I'm back at work and looking forward to spring break. How many more weeks???