Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Ozark Otto Awesomeness

We just got back into town after visiting my folks in the Ozarks for several days.  We drove, we flew, rented a car and drove some more.  We saw a civil war battlefield, Bass Pro Shop (OMG, the red-neck-i-ness of it all), a cave, ate AMAZING BBQ , recreated near flowing rivers and deep, woodsy forests aand generally enjoyed ourselves.  It became apparent pretty quickly that we were starved for family together time without the distractions of home.

One thing that really stood out on the trip was Otto.  He was awesome.  Great in the car, great on the plane, agreeable, easily entertained and overall just pleasant.  He had maybe two small meltdowns the entire trip but I don't think you can blame him- his schedule was completely thrown out the window and there was A LOT of driving and sightseeing even for me.  And I'm 30 years older than him.  Each little meltdown was resolved with relative ease.

He really loved the bus that took us from the airport to our car.  "Mom!  Mom!  We're riding a bus!"  (He's doing this thing right now where every other sentence requires a nearly shouted "MOM!"  Just to make sure I'm still listening, I guess.  And even if I immediately answer, he'll sometimes do it multiple times as if vamping until his thought is formulated enough to say out loud.  "MOM!"  "Yes?"  "Mom!"  "Yes?"  "MOM!"  "YES???????"  (pause)  "We're on a BUS!!!"  I try to be patient with this but its so annoying, sometimes I find myself saying "Whaaaaaaaaat?!?" in an exasperated tone.  Hopefully he grows out of it soon.)

His other favorite thing was throwing rocks in the river by my folks house.  He (and really all the boys, including my dad) could have done that for hours on end.  A wonderful time was had and we got lots of pictures...but of course they're still on my camera.   Haven't quite had time to sit down and upload them all yet.

Oh! And no potty accidents at all.  So proud of him.

We got back late on Monday and then yesterday, Otto and I took the day off to regroup, pay the rent, get groceries, unpack, do laundry, etc.   He kept saying "Mom!  We have the DAY OFF!!!"   We got all our shit done with some time left over to play and make cabbage buns for dinner.

After getting to see him all day, everyday for so many days in a row, I was a little teary-eyed when leaving him at daycare this morning.  I miss his little silly butt.

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