File this one under 'nothing comes easy.'
I'm pleased to report that as of about 2pm this afternoon, Lexi returned safe & sound to our home. That should have meant our family would be reunited after spending a week apart, but due to some crazy circumstances, Laura was not able to fly home from Sao Paulo this morning. So, she will be in Brazil for another 24hrs, and the full Bunch family reunion will have to wait another day.
Although disappointed not to have my wife back on U.S. soil with me and home helping care for our daughter, I did thoroughly enjoy some father-daughter time with Lexi today. We got reacquainted this afternoon, and then we hung out and enjoyed each other's company all evening. Typically our daily routine had been to feed Lexi some veggies around dinner time, give her a bottle around 7:00, and then put her to bed around 8:00, with the bottle and bedtime parts often times not going too well. However, tonight I tried feeding her beer brats and burgers on the grill around 9, and then setting up shop in front of the TV to catch the MLB extra innings package and Spike TV on dish, and Lexi just loved it. I can't wait to tell Laura how well the evening went when she gets home tomorrow. I assume she'll be proud of me and suggest we adopt this approach going forward, but I'll let you know for sure.
As for the South America trip, I did actually end up accompanying Laura on the front half of the trip, which we really enjoyed. Some events at the office led to my having to cancel the entire trip just two days before departure. However, when some last minute circumstances changed a little bit, I orchestrated a Sat-Tues condensed version of the trip. And when I say last minute, I mean just that -- I bought a plane ticket at 3pm last Friday for a 5:30pm international flight to Chile and Argentina. Laura and I are guessing most people plan multi-country international trips a little more than 2 hours in advance, but anyone following this blog probably knows by now that we just don't ever find ourselves on a conventional path these days. The important part is that our four days in Santiago and Buenos Aires were unbelievable, after which Laura took a Tues evening flight to Rio and I took an overnight flight back to the states in order to punch the clock at the office by mid-morning on Wed.
Huge thank you's go out to Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Kevin & Grandma Deb for caring for Lexi while we were away. They coordinated each caring for her about every other day throughout the week, and unless they can lie to me with a straight face, they both loved the opportunity to play Lexi's caregiver and spend some extended one-on-one time with her. I, for one, actually believe them, because they probably enjoyed caring for Lexi without Laura and me playing the role of annoying, over-protective parents looking over their shoulder and telling them what to do (although we confess to leaving a one page document of instructions for them, as well as her meds separately packaged in multiple ziploc bags -- one for each day of the trip.) And not only did they return a happy and healthy Alexis to me today, but as a bonus, they even teamed up to teach her the fine art of the high-five while we were away. Seriously, I think I'd seen her do this once or twice before the trip, but now she passes them out like they're going out of style.
So, all in all it was a great week. Laura still has the camera in the southern hemisphere at the moment, though, so unfortunately I can't include any pix with this post. Guess you'll just have to trust my unbiased opinion when I say she's actually gotten cuter in the last week as it turns out.
I'm pleased to report that as of about 2pm this afternoon, Lexi returned safe & sound to our home. That should have meant our family would be reunited after spending a week apart, but due to some crazy circumstances, Laura was not able to fly home from Sao Paulo this morning. So, she will be in Brazil for another 24hrs, and the full Bunch family reunion will have to wait another day.
Although disappointed not to have my wife back on U.S. soil with me and home helping care for our daughter, I did thoroughly enjoy some father-daughter time with Lexi today. We got reacquainted this afternoon, and then we hung out and enjoyed each other's company all evening. Typically our daily routine had been to feed Lexi some veggies around dinner time, give her a bottle around 7:00, and then put her to bed around 8:00, with the bottle and bedtime parts often times not going too well. However, tonight I tried feeding her beer brats and burgers on the grill around 9, and then setting up shop in front of the TV to catch the MLB extra innings package and Spike TV on dish, and Lexi just loved it. I can't wait to tell Laura how well the evening went when she gets home tomorrow. I assume she'll be proud of me and suggest we adopt this approach going forward, but I'll let you know for sure.
As for the South America trip, I did actually end up accompanying Laura on the front half of the trip, which we really enjoyed. Some events at the office led to my having to cancel the entire trip just two days before departure. However, when some last minute circumstances changed a little bit, I orchestrated a Sat-Tues condensed version of the trip. And when I say last minute, I mean just that -- I bought a plane ticket at 3pm last Friday for a 5:30pm international flight to Chile and Argentina. Laura and I are guessing most people plan multi-country international trips a little more than 2 hours in advance, but anyone following this blog probably knows by now that we just don't ever find ourselves on a conventional path these days. The important part is that our four days in Santiago and Buenos Aires were unbelievable, after which Laura took a Tues evening flight to Rio and I took an overnight flight back to the states in order to punch the clock at the office by mid-morning on Wed.
Huge thank you's go out to Grandma Phyllis and Grandpa Kevin & Grandma Deb for caring for Lexi while we were away. They coordinated each caring for her about every other day throughout the week, and unless they can lie to me with a straight face, they both loved the opportunity to play Lexi's caregiver and spend some extended one-on-one time with her. I, for one, actually believe them, because they probably enjoyed caring for Lexi without Laura and me playing the role of annoying, over-protective parents looking over their shoulder and telling them what to do (although we confess to leaving a one page document of instructions for them, as well as her meds separately packaged in multiple ziploc bags -- one for each day of the trip.) And not only did they return a happy and healthy Alexis to me today, but as a bonus, they even teamed up to teach her the fine art of the high-five while we were away. Seriously, I think I'd seen her do this once or twice before the trip, but now she passes them out like they're going out of style.
So, all in all it was a great week. Laura still has the camera in the southern hemisphere at the moment, though, so unfortunately I can't include any pix with this post. Guess you'll just have to trust my unbiased opinion when I say she's actually gotten cuter in the last week as it turns out.
