reisz-family.net

gramma and dylan
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

During the rest of our stay in LA, we celebrated our anniversary with a dinner at Madeleine Bistro — such a wonderful place with wonderful owners! I had butternut squash gnocchi and Tom had a beautiful and delicious tempeh dish served with brussels sprouts (a favorite veggie for all 3 of us!).

Thanks to Grandma Sharon, who kept Dylan happily entertained while we were away, we were able to enjoy a leisurely dinner with full use of both of our hands (admittedly, it felt a little odd!)!

kyler!
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

We enjoyed our meal at Madeleine Bistro so much, we came back the next day for brunch with Kyler, Jennifer and Mark. Well, Kyler is just as cute and as mellow and happy as a baby can be…he’s 5 months old and he actually wears the same size diaper as Dylan!

By Sunday, Dylan’s lack of sleep finally began to catch up with him. He was restless in the restaurant (unfortunate because the owners’s son who is the same age as Dylan seemed eager to show him his puzzle!).

We’d begun to think that all hope of a relaxing visit with Jennifer, Mark and Kyler was totally out of the question. But, we ended up having a fantastic time at Balboa Park.

Dylan loved running around with the squirrels!

back at gramma’s house
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Back at Grandma’s house, We got to see Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Donald, Eli and Rocky and Auntie Julie.

The day was jam-packed, but Dylan doesn’t seem phased by days like this at all!

snacking at the airport
Originally uploaded by coffywoman.

Tom had a conference down in southern California, so we decided it would be a good idea to couple that with a visit with family. Tom was already going to be down there, and we’d missed an opportunity to visit in September because neither of us ran the Disneyland Half this year…. Dylan was so excited about going to LA, he could barely function — I mean, really! On the Wednesday night before we left, he didn’t want to take his shoes off, thinking if he didn’t (I guess), we’d be off for LA momentarily. And, the only things he wanted to tell me that night were 1) I want to go to LA; and 2) I don’t want to sleep. Needless to say, it was a very rough night.

Fortunately, Thursday passed quickly. In the morning, there were more demands to go to LA, coupled with lots and lots of protests over just about everything. But eventually, we made it to school where he then accompanied a group of kids to the pumpkin patch. After he’d napped for about an hour and a half at daycare, I came to pick him up. After that, all I had to say to gain compliance was, “we need to do (fill in the blank) so we can leave for LA.” He was just fantastic….

He was great even in the airport. Our flight was delayed 30 minutes and that extra time seemed like it would be an eternity. But, snacks, a Tech Museum display, and a poopy diaper made the time pass relatively quickly. By the time 5:30pm rolled around, Dylan was chanting, “Oh, my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh” (while discovering things in his backpack), and so was I (thanking goodness we’d be boarding soon!)!

He was thrilled to see the tops of the mountains and the clouds and pleasantly surprised when we got our peanuts and orange juice — he even did “cheers” with me. Then, when we landed, he stood up on his seat and introduced himself to the people behind us, “my first name is Dylan!” Of course, he was very, very excited to see daddy-o waiting for us at the airport…and even more excited to see everyone! It was like no time had passed at all. He immediately made himself at home and was so clearly happy to chat with Grandma and Papa Willard until the “wee” hours of the night (ok, 10pm).

Oh, what a long, but rewarding day!