What weekend! On Saturday we drove down from Chappaqua to Aunt Carol's house in Philly, where we met up with my cousins and their kids too. (Peggy was able to make the drive down from Quakertown to come meet Spencer!) It was fantastic to get all of the little cousins together. Per 5 year-old Ethan's request, we all played baseball in the backyard for a large chunk of the afternoon. And to cool down afterwards, the kids played around in a kiddie pool. Spencer toppled over into the cool water a couple of times which upset the grandmas, but, after being initially startled, he was really just fine. For me, one of the best parts of the day was after Spencer got his evening bath and changed into his PJ's. He was hanging out on the bed, joined by cousins Sophia and Ethan, and all three of them were just giggling and having a great time. More pics have been added to the (now enormous) July album.

Spencer and I traveled back to Houston yesterday, our first flight alone without Jim. Fortunately, Spencer was a pretty good traveler. In my definition, pretty good means he cried for 5-10 minutes on three or four occasions during the four hours we were on the plane. Of course, during those time he was crying it was tough knowing his mouth was very close to another passengers ear. The lady kept trying to encourage me to nurse him to help calm him down, but I had no plans to do that on this flight. It's one thing to sit next to the window and have your husband on the other side shielding most of the view, but no way was I going to nurse the little guy sitting less than six inches from a stranger on one side and an aisle on the other. Baby Einstein on the laptop DVD player also helped quiet the cries.

It was good to finally get home last night. I think Spencer was happy to see some familiar sights here too. He had tons of fun playing with the toys were borrowed in NY, but he is especially fond of his Jumperoo here! He didn't sleep great last night and hopefully will settle back in to his routine soon.