Over the river and through the woods to grandmothers’ houses we go

After the Santa breakfast, we went to Marmora to visit Grandmama. Our visit was a surprise but she didn’t seem at all thrown by us arriving with food for a “picnic”. Our late breakfast and big drive meant we needed to eat and it seemed rude to spring ourselves on her AND ask her to feed us. It still impresses me how well Reid, remembers people – it’s been a couple of months since we saw Grandmama last but Reid was comfortable right from the start. She also remembered Grandmama’s, walker and used her charming smile on Grandmama to get around Daddy’s “no touching” rule and drove it around the apartment and sat on it. We spent a couple of hours eating and visiting. On our way to Frankford, Reid had us on the lookout for cows and horses and sheep. Ken, despite being the driver, was able to spot the first two before me but even he couldn’t find any “sheeps”.

As we parked the car at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry’s, she began talking about the blocks that Grandma Barb keeps for the kids to play with and as soon as hello kisses were taken care of, she set to building. Being the centre of attention works well for Reid.  I’m not sure how it happened exactly but all of a sudden Reid had unwrapped a present and the other adults in the room seemed to be expecting it. Grandma and Grandpa had chosen well – a remote-controlled school bus, that was (of course) yellow was just the thing to make Reid’s eyes sparkle. She just about mugged Ken for it as he was putting the batteries in. Finally, it was time for her to play with it and she quickly figured out the remote control. It says something about her spatial ability, I think, that she was able to operate it without many unintentional crashes. We had a nice dinner that involved olives, one of Reid’s favourite foods. She definitely gets that preference from her dad.

On Sunday we started our day with breakfast by the hotel pool because they wouldn’t let us into the restaurant without shoes. It turned out to be a good restriction as it was like being somewhere south eating in the warmth and humidity. We took a swim and Reid jumped off the pool edge a few times without holding my hands on the way in. That’s a first for her. Back at Grandma and Grandpa’s, Reid opened a new puzzle. It is a 252-piece foam world map puzzle that is 4′ by 7′ when assembled.
Reid enjoyed dismantling the puzzle from the six blocks it came in and then wanted to climb the mountain of pieces. She was less interested in sorting the pieces with straight edges as Daddy and Grandma Barb were doing. When it was time to assemble, Reid’s “working quietly” muscles were tired and she played with her school bus, helped with the dishes by putting cutlery away (and sorting Grandma’s bottom drawer ;+) and caused a bit of chaos. Grandpa Terry made us one of his favourite brunches and then it was time to open more presents. Reid was excited to receive an electric piano but Mama is sure that *she* didn’t have any noisy toys until she was old enough to be sent to the barn to plasy alone. Reid had been asking to go outside, partly to make her “outside noises”. Outside noises are any loud and / or high-pitched sounds that make me want to wear ear plugs, in case you were wondering. So, outside she went with the rest of us trailing along so that she could run around the yard like a crazy person. Grandma Barb helped Reid slide down a little snowbank, too, which makes me think tobogganing will have a place in our winter. All too soon, it was time to leave. Reid had a nice long sleep   (thank goodness) and so did I. Ken, fortunately, stayed awake and drove us safely home.

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