Happy and Healthy

Finwe and I drove from Pensacola to Charlottesville by way of my friends' houses along the way. Trixie was first. Finwe was pretty good on the drive. I made a pretty long stop in the middle and then right before the Atlanta area to get some lunch and give him a break from the car seat. He didn't whine at all until just before the exit nearest Trixie's house.

Once he got there, Finwe decided that he really liked WaWa. And, honestly, who wouldn't. WaWa is a baby magnet. My happy, smiley baby boy just shined. Finwe particularly smiled for Little Salsa, daughter of Mango Salsa a sorority sister of mine. Finwe is really thrilled to have little girls around. I think he felt like it was home for a bit: an adorable, smart girl talking and interacting with him. The next morning, Trixie and I went shopping for some gifts for the girls and for some yarn for the baby Salsa, due in December. A lady called Finwe "healthy"-- definitely a euphemism for chubby. I can handle it. Plus the lady was so southern that it sounded nice.

Our next stop on Friday was at VetKelly's house in Charlotte, NC. That trip was so easy that I kept pinching my arm to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Nary a whine escaped his lips. We even had some time to do a bit of shopping before VetKelly got home. So, he wasn't that great when we got caught in a traffic snarl on the way to dinner, but I don't count that. Oh, the dogs, the dogs! VetKelly has two dogs and one cat. The cat wasn't interesting to Finwe, but the dogs were just fine with him. Drayton, a golden retriever, kept trying to lick Finwe and lay down next to him. We didn't let him, because Drayton is a goof and nearly rolled ontop of Finwe.

Today was off and on great and terrible. The drive was easy; the weather was perfect. Finwe was fine if he was sleeping, but oh when he was awake! Lots of whining, a few screams, and plenty of tears. I made lots of stops to let him crawl around the van or let the breeze blow on his skin. We made it.

The reactions at home? Phill reached for Finwe before giving me a kiss. White Dragon hopped on her back legs to give Finwe a lick. Sogria made her signature "woo woo" for us. We set Finwe on the floor so Phill could see his improved pseudo-crawling ability, and White Dragon took advantage to give him a proper greeting. She licked him four times on each cheek. Finwe simply closed his eyes and leaned in for them.

The girls were asleep when we first arrived. Inwe was delighted to see Finwe and rolled around on the bed with him. Larien patted him, which I found to be pretty amazing. She's not that affectionate with him. She was very gentle and handed him toys in their bath together.

Phill got to get Finwe to sleep tonight---in his arms. The family is back together. There's still a hole in my world. It's pretty big, but having these friends and my family is so helpful.