Lolo and Lola

It's 11:50am and it feels like Rip Van Winkle has cast a spell on the apartment.  Dad is asleep on the easy chair; Elliot is asleep in "their" (meaning Elliot and Dad's) make-shift room; and Mom is asleep in the guest room, recovering from a cold she got from too many all-nighters before leaving for Seoul (turning 77 this year and was up until 1am several nights in a row finishing reports for work!)  

And while I feel my own eyes getting heavy just writing this, the last 24 hours have been so special with Elliot meeting his "Lolo" and "Lola" that it certainly deserves a post.  And perhaps it's just because I've become a parent myself, but I've now come to realize that you never outgrow learning from your parents.

So here goes -- Top 10 things I've (re-) learned from my parents in the last 24 hours:

1. Arriving the morning of a birthday is always a great start to the day.  It felt like Christmas Eve the night before thinking of their arrival, and made me think back to freshman year of college, when they showed up at my dorm room with a cake from my favorite bakery the morning of my birthday (this was after them sending me a singing telegram (seriously!) from one of the a capella groups on campus).

2. First thing's first; understand your priorities (and unless those priorities are people, you should probably rethink your priorities).  Here's my dad and Elliot within five minutes of meeting, with mom lovingly looking on (you can still see the unpacked suitcases in the background)

3. Always come prepared... and with presents. Always the light packer (or at least I like to think I am), I laughed helping them unpack their suitcases... which included soap, shampoo, toothpaste, towels, and bedsheets.  AND two jumbo sized suitcases filled with presents for Elliot!  My meditation room is now officially Elliot's playroom, which "Lolo" has moved into, lining up bed mats on the floor.

4a. Cuddling and staring at their grandchild never gets old.  'Nuff said.

4b. As a corollary to #4a, there is always something to notice or complement about their grandchild. This morning during Elliot's playtime, I could overhear: "What a nice, kind, happy baby! His eyes are so nice! His ears are so nice! His skin is so nice! His nose is so nice! His stomach is so nice!"  When I brought up an earlier Facetime video chat where they said that he was getting too chubby and that I should put him on a baby diet (to which, right on cue, Elliot started crying!) -- they replied, "No! -- the camera just makes him look fat.  You were a fatter baby."  Thanks guys :) 

5. Puzzles are a great way to pass the afternoon (or anytime the baby naps).  How did I never know my dad was into puzzles?! (and perhaps explains my bizarre craving for getting a puzzle during my last few weeks of pregnancy).  Loving this.

6. "One of everything" is a perfectly reasonable answer to: "which cake should we get?"  

7. Expectations are everything.  If you don't plan to sleep at all during the night, then apparently sleeping for two hours at a stretch from 10pm - 6am is getting "a lot" of sleep!  Thanks for playing night nurse, dad!!

8. Breakfast is mandatory.  Preferably all together.  And ideally involving avocados and/or leftover cake (or both).  

9. Celebrate everything.  37 years on March 7th... 7 weeks on March 8th...

10. Family above all else.  When I asked my parents what they wanted to do while they were here (palaces? museums? shopping?) -- they simply stared back.  So I guess we will be doing a whole lot more of this over the next two weeks! -- which, actually, is just fine with me.

PS: In case you're wondering where all the pics of my mom are, she's sick! -- paparazzi have been asked to stay away.  Don't worry, more pics to come soon of Lola...