Gunning Family Fun

The first weekend we were in the States a Gunning Family Extravaganza was planned. It worked out so wonderfully that we were in town for the get-together (although it might have been planned around us coming into town, I'm not sure). Justin's awesome Aunt Terry hosted the afternoon and Kiki did most of the cooking for the traditional spaghetti dinner. The meatballs are so yummy. That and the seven-layer cookies, I was in heaven ("Watch the pregnant lady eat" could be the name of this blog right now!). It was so lovely to see all of the Gunning family (Justin's Mother's side). The kids have all grown and Addie fit in so nicely you'd never know we'd been gone for 8 months. It didn't help that Terry has a clan of wonderful dogs. I loved the food and Adelaide loved the dogs! Plus then she started receiving a few late Christmas gifts! She's a really lucky girl. She loved the stuffed puppy from Chris and John, the aquadoodle from Donna and Brian, Hello Kitty from Auntie Brienne. As the evening went on Addie adopted a new love for her older cousin Paige who was extremely patient with her. Addie was soon grabbing Paige's hands and dragging her down to play. It was so fun connecting with family we don't get to see as often as we'd like to. We took a group shot which has all of the kids but only a few of the adults.

Baltimore National Aquarium

We thought the day after New Years would be a great day to hit the Baltimore National Aquarium with our friends. Turns out all of Maryland thought it would be a great day to go as well. Unfortunately the aquarium was almost too crowded to really enjoy any of the exhibits. We mostly packed around our gear and tried to keep the kids fed, watered, and happy. In the end the dolphin show made entire trip worth it. It was so fun. Addie really got a kick out of the dolphins jumping. We completed the evening with a "challenging" dinner at the Cheesecake Factory at the Baltimore inner harbor. I say challenging because dinner with four adults, a four year-old, and two one-year olds really isn't anything but challenging. There was lots of drumming the table with silverware and spilled water glasses. Despite the craziness, the day was a blast and the meal was heartwarming; not only because of the good food but because of the company.

friends

New friends were made during our trip home. We were lucky enough to spend a good amount of time with our good friends who have two adorable little boys while we were home. Addie and Eli were too little to play before we left for Manila so this visit was like their first time meeting. They played about as well together as one year olds can. It was fun seeing Addie interact with both Ben and Eli. She was familiarized with Star Wars light sabers, remote control tarantulas, and tons of other cool boy toys. She really loved the moving train sets. It was so nice to spend time with our friends and have some grown-up time too. We went out to dinner (taking advantage of built in babysitting), played games, talked, and just visited in general. The guys even got some Maden in. Justin and Joe got to bathe their kids together and I imagine that wasn't something that they ever thought they'd be doing when they were enjoying their younger years in high school and college (funny how times change). Addie completely fell in love with Joe almost immediately. She'd pull him along where she wanted to go, snuggled up on his lap and in his arms. She was pretty enamored with him. Joe is a pretty awesome dad to his boys so I'm sure she picked up on that. I don't think Joe minded the girl time he had with her. Little Eli was a little jealous though!

shy face...but only for a minute

Addie has moved into a new stage of self-realization. She started making a shy face when we got home. Every time we saw someone new she'd make her shy face for the first few minutes before warming up to everyone. The face is hard to describe and I didn't get any pictures of it. It's basically her looking down at her feet and making a tiny o with her mouth. Kind of funny. Luckily it only took her minutes to warm up to all the family and friends we spent time with in the States. In no-time she was grabbing her grandparent's hands and pulling them down to play, dance, watch a movie, or you-name-it with her. She was in heaven. Everywhere she went was a new playmate. All her grandparents and relatives were great sports about getting down and actually playing with her. It was awesome. She's a lucky girl.

Here she is coloring with her Uncle Tyler and Grandpa Ray. She insisted they both sit down with her.

Hanging with Po. "Not a finger" only lasted a few moments!

Dancing (a nightly occurrence) with Kiki and Po. It HAD to be in the kitchen and both Kiki and Po HAD to dance with her. She'd have it no other way.

Rough-housing with Grandpa. She loved how Grandpa tickled her and let her climb all over him.

Kisses from Grandma Kathy

Probably her favorite place of all: snuggled up with Kiki under a blanket watching The Little Mermaid for the 20th time. It's Addie's new favorite movie.

Playing with Kiki. I'm not sure who was happier of the two during the visit. Addie had her Kiki and Kiki had one of her granddaughters to dote on.

Home again, home again, jigidy jig

Home is the key word here, surprisingly coming back to the Philippines after our three weeks in the States felt good. When we arrived at our apartment I got that peaceful feeling you get when you come home to all your familiar things. I guess that's a sign that we've made a little home here in Manila. As you noticed I took a blog-vacation while we were on R&R. We had so much fun during our time away, Addie's grown and changed, and I took a ton of great pictures. Right now we are experiencing 3AM meals and playtime before we can get back to sleep again. The 13 hour time difference takes a bit to get adjusted back to. Slowly but surely I'll try to update the blog with our adventures.

Stateside

We are back in the States. The travel was brutal. 24 hours of travel is not fun no matter if it's with kids or without. Addie was wonderful all considering. Touching down at Dulles was a relief but the traffic on the beltway was not. Welcome Home! We all are feeling the effects of the 13 hour time change. 3AM meals have been strange but necessary to get us back to sleep. All in all it's lovely to be home; the air is fresh, the weather is cold, the food is yummy, and seeing family and friends is the best part of all. Here is Addie in the business class lounge in Detroit.

A very Merry Christmas

Christmas was especially joyful this year. Maybe it was the anticipation that started at Thanksgiving for us in Hong Kong Disneyland, or maybe is was all the baking and shopping and other preparations that I started early this year. Mostly I think it was being together as a little family far from home that made the day extra special. We have so many blessings in our life and are lucky in so many ways. Being in a foreign third world country helps you realize this even more than usual.

Christmas Eve we were balls of excitement. I was on my feet cooking up a feast all day for dinner. We hosted a co-worker of Justin's who is living here alone. Everyone feasted on delicious comfort food and good company. The guys had wine as well as coffee with Baileys. I snuck a few sips here and there! Addie ate her dinner like a champ then promptly pooped out at bedtime from all the excitement. That night we awoke to a major fireworks display outside our building at midnight welcoming Christmas morning. It woke Addie up and all three of us stood at the window watching the show. Justin and I were so anxious for the morning that we weren't even that irritated by the midnight interruption. I felt like a little kid wishing away the hours before Addie woke up that morning. Santa Claus found our house in the Philippines because the next morning our little girl had a special surprise waiting for her. She quickly caught-on to the concept of ripping the paper off the packages. We opened gifts, ate homemade sticky buns, and talked to all our family. At one point Addie hit present overload and refused to open anymore. She decided to focus on playing with what she had open. Later in the afternoon I convinced her to open the rest. Santa must have thought that she was a very good girl this past year because she received some great gifts. Her favorites are her new Corolle baby doll and baby stroller, as well as her new wheely bug. The joy on her face after opening some of her gifts was priceless. She was so animated and excited about everything. All her grandparents sent wonderful gifts and she is still going from toy to toy playing with her new things.

Christmas night Addie was so plum-tuckered out that she asked for "bubbles" (a bath) and then wanted to go straight to bed without a story. She was one tired little girl. Justin and I were exhausted as well. We had a very special Christmas day just spending time as a family and helping Addie play with her new toys. Christmas is definitely more fun with children!