Fancy or Bruce?

A few weeks ago the Winn’s Thanksgiving plans involved staying in the nice, warm Richmond area and having Alixa’s parents drive down from Cleveland to hang out for a few days. Jarom was scheduled to be working the night shift at the hospital until the end of the month, so they were unable to go anywhere. But things went remarkably well at the most recent go-live (that doesn’t make sense to most of you, and it’s okay. It’s boring work stuff.) so Jarom was able to work from home Thanksgiving week. And he can work from home equally effective in Richmond or Cleveland, so they packed up Carlotta and drove to the bitter cold of Northeast Ohio. PJ and Mars were thrilled to have the company and Jenna was super excited to have a giant new house to explore.

Practicing her headstands

The week was pretty laid back, consisting of some game playing and assorted activities and lots of time sitting around relaxing. Jarom and Lix got Mimi to babysit a few times while they went out for a nice dinner together or braved the 38 degree weather to play a round of golf. The whole crew went bowling one night, and Jarom brought his A-game, topping his personal best with a round of 184. Jenna also enjoyed rolling the ball down the lane, although she had to be restrained after she pushed it or she would run after the ball in an effort to catch it.



Another highlight of the trip was the many hours that were spent in the car. Most of that time was filled by a single children’s music album by Raffi. One of those songs is about growing up, and there is a line in it about how the kid can finally reach the faucet today. We are starting to have a lot of those types of moments with Jenna. At the bowling alley there was a step to go from the carpeted level to the wooden bowling surface, and for most of the night Jenna would approach that step and crawl up it using her hands and knees. But after they had been there for awhile, Lix and Jarom were sitting there talking and Jenna approached the step. Jarom reached his hand out to assist his daughter in stepping up, but she ignored him and simply stepped up and kept moving like it was no big deal. Jarom and Lix shared a look that said “Well, I guess she’s a big kid now.”

Look how well she can drink out of a big girl cup!

Maybe not that well

As with all their vacations, this one seemed to end too soon. PJ did her best to fill Carlotta with food and other stuff that we may need, and Alixa did her best Nancy impression and cried like a faucet as they pulled out of the driveway. It really is nice that Jenna gets to see so much of her grandparents, and they love to see her as well. Jenna still asks where Mimi is sometimes, and Jarom and Lix would love to have Opa around again to bear the lion’s share of the “reading with Jenna” burden (I know that makes them sound like horrible parents, but after you’ve read a book 22 times in a row you need a break!)



Back in the warmer climate of Southern Virginia everyone had to go back to work. It had been over a month since Jarom went into his office, having spent all of his time recently on site at the hospital. And Lix had only worked sporadically as Kenna’s babysitter. But they will get back into the swing of things for a few weeks until Christmas throws them off once again.



The other interesting tidbit from this week was the ultrasound appointment this morning where they found out the sex of the new baby. Alixa has been not so secretly telling people that she really wants another girl, and wouldn’t you know it, she is not going to get one. When the ultrasound tech told us it was a boy Lix died a little inside, but she is recovering well and is getting more and more excited about it by the minute. She is still unreasonably terrified of being peed upon, and is not nearly satisfied with her stable of boy names, but she has accepted the fact that she will be having a son and is coming to terms with it. We are all very excited about this new development and especially happy that he seems to be perfectly healthy and normal. We have been seriously so blessed this year and hope that all of you have been too.