Holden and I just returned from an impromptu visit to Baltimore where we surprised my father for his retirement celebration.  It was wonderful to see my family but I am happy to be back home.  We were fortunate to fit in a couple of visits with friends while we were in town, although circumstances prevented us from seeing everyone we had hoped to see.  Next time will be different, I promise!

Here is Holden with his proud grandparents:

And Holden with his almost-retired granddad, on the way to the airport:

We surprised Holden’s great Aunt Annie as well, who gave Holden lots of love and squeezes!

Holden got to meet my “oldest” friend Deborah who I have known for nearly 25 years.  Deborah and I first started really spending time together at summer band camp when we were in sixth grade, and we’ve been pals ever since.  Holden just loved Deborah’s young spirit:

Deborah is the best cuddler!

We also stopped in and saw my pals Steve and Heather and their two kids, Anna and Olivia.  I actually go way back with Heather because our dads have been pals since grade school—-and now *we* are pals.  When I think about this in the context of my life with Holden, I wonder whether Holden will develop and retain strong relationships with some of my friend’s children.  It would be so cool if these relationships persisted into adulthood!

Anna and Olivia played dress-up:

While Holden modeled some super sassy Minnie Mouse ears:

As usual, Holden was well-behaved during the trip—he is really a pleasure to travel with.  I’m trying to get in as many trips as I can while he still flies for free.  One of the downsides to the trip is that my sinus problems began flaring up again.  I’ve been keeping myself heavily medicated since we got back home which has been making life more bearable.  Another thing that is making life good is that I’ve decided enough is enough with this ascetic-esque lifestyle; I’ve begun to indulge in a few activities that bring some joy and peace to my life.  Last night I picked Rob up from work and dropped him and Holden off at home so I could enjoy coffee with two girlfriends.  This has been one of the only times I have gotten out of the house to do something without Holden (grocery shopping and doctor’s appts really don’t count).  In fact, I think that this was probably the second time I have gone out with a girlfriend or two since H was born.  Yikes.  It was overdue.  And even though I was only gone for an hour and a half, it was really rejuvenating!  Today I met up with a girlfriend and her toddler for some yoga.  We went to Eastern View for ashtanga yoga—our babies got to play together in a separate area for the small fee of $5.  I would pretty much do anything for a childless hour in the middle of the day, including having my very out-of-shape body struggle through a very intense yoga practice.  But boy, was it worth it!!!  I feel great and Holden had such a fun time socializing with the other babies!  I decided to make it a weekly outing so that I have something fun to look forward to each Thursday.  I also signed Holden and myself up for infant massage classes that are free because the instructor is working on her certification.  Double w00t!  So I feel pretty energized with all of these new things in our lives.

Other things that are afoot—I’m officially an approved breastmilk donor as my blood work is finally complete.  I started a stash of milk for donation several weeks ago, and I’m a little over a third of the way to my goal of 100 oz. for a donation.  I’d like to donate more than 100 oz., but I just don’t have it in me to pump that much.  Speaking of pumping, there was an interesting article in The New Yorker recently about the advent of pumping in lieu of feeding the baby directly from the breast.  I’d like to comment more on this article, but sleep calls….maybe I’ll post more about this next week.  

Random Holden-related tidbits—-Holden remains fascinated with his shadow:

And Holden is getting a second tooth (alas, there’s no picture of this event).  I say “event” because the eruption of this tooth seems to be causing more discomfort than when the first tooth made its appearance.  But I do think we’re past the worst of it, for now.  Tomorrow night we head to Maine for a quick weekend visit….more details (and of course, pictures) to follow.