Fred is back!!

We are all ecstatic to have our friend here again for the next few days.

Fred appeared a little confused as I opened the door this morning, as if expecting to see his new teacher standing there, but the moment he saw Amelia both of their eyes lit up. He finally knew exactly where he was. Fred walked right over to greet her and Amelia did her best to stand up and greet him (she's still not that great at it, but she's getting much better). After all, they hadn't seen each other in 30 baby days (10 big people days). I'd almost forgotten over the last week exactly how much time they occupy one another while I act only as referee and redirection specialist. It may possibly be the one aspect of taking care of three that is easier than watching the two. Their game of handing toys back to one another somehow never gets old and they both seem to love it. Ah, to be young and so easily pleased.

Elijah was delighted equally...or maybe frenzied is a better word. He ran right over to Fred to give him a hug and to put a Busy Ball into each hand. The Busy Balls were a Christmas present to Amelia from Grammy, but somehow they have become Elijah's favorite playthings. I suppose not being able to play Legos with the babies has forced him to adapt his toy taste.
When his ride arrived, we had to scramble to get Elijah's jacket, gloves, and hat on. He was just having too much fun and time got away from us. That's one thing we ex-Floridians have a hard time dealing with; the advanced preparation time necessary for cold weather gear.

Perhaps the only one who was not quite as excited to see all three babies again was the cat. Hagbard wailed at the door, immediately bolted out when I opened it, and I haven't seen him since. I would go looking for him, but there's a wind chill of 8 degrees out there. I don't think there's enough Vaseline in the world to keep Zach's face from looking like Boris Yeltsin on the Russian New Year's eve. Anyway, Hagbard is a resourceful cat. I'm sure he'll figure it out.