A Visit with a Great Aunt!

So last weekend (Great) Aunt Karen made the trek down from Maryland for another wonderful weekend visit. Brian was busy studying on Friday for an in-training exam that he took Saturday morning (the test is like a practice anesthesia boards), so I was super excited to have Karen hang out with me and Nathan.

We stayed at the house Friday afternoon, playing with Nathan and listening to stories Aunt Karen told about her childhood, my grandparents, my dad and uncle, the snowmobiling trip to Yellowstone, and much, much more. I love to listen to Karen telling stories - it amazes me how good her memory is, whereas I have a hard time remembering what went on two months ago (hence part of the reason I keep plugging away at this blog).

Saturday morning, while Brian was taking his test, we hit the stores and got Nathan a few pairs of new shoes and some other things. Nathan was really funny when I had him put on a pair of rainboots at the store. They were a little big and I guess a lot heavier than the tennis shoes he usually wears, and so he was picking up his feet really high as he was trying to walk, but after about two steps he decided he had enough and started signing "help Nathan, help Nathan" and "all done!"  Then later that afternoon, I put them on Nathan again for Brian to see, and he did the same thing - "help Nathan, all done!" I guess we're going to have to practice some more with those before we put them to use outside.  Then we put another pair of shoes on him, and I guess he was done with new shoes, and he threw a HUGE tantrum! Unfortunately, those are happening more frequently these days. He stood there and clenched his hands at his side and just SCREAMED. Brian and I have agreed when he does this, we just pick him up and put him in his room with one door cracked and tell him he can come out when he calms down. Usually he quits pretty quickly, thank goodness.

Here are a few of the other good memories from the visit:

• Aunt Karen and I showed Nathan how to push the button on some of his stuffed animals that makes them "moo" or "oink" or whatever the appropriate noise is.  He was really excited about his new skill and would throw out one arm whenever he pressed the button, as if to say "ta da"!
• Nathan started chewing on a raisin box and Aunt Karen made a "yucky" noise.  Nathan thought the noise was HYSTERICAL and kept saying "more, more" or chewing on the box to get her to do it again as he cracked up.
• Aunt Karen had a bottle of soda she was drinking and Nathan became really fascinated with her bottle.  So I found an empty water bottle for him and he loved taking the top on and off, and then he would throw his head all the way back and pretend to take a big drink out of it. 

The visit flew by, like they always do, but I think we all really enjoyed our time together.  Maybe one day we'll all live a little closer to each other and be able to visit more often, but until them I'm so thankful that Aunt Karen makes the time every few months to come and see us.  We love you, Aunt Karen!