The Dynamic Duo

I want to start this one off by giving due credit to my wonderful sister, Panther, husband John and her son Michael. They put us up for the night, after the intrepid UltraDad got us safely to their house through an invidious snowstorm, and drove us to the airport the next morning. Panther made delightful lavender filled sock monkeys for me, Linc and Tomoko and Michael crocheted an adorable beanie for Linc, which fits him perfectly. They are also going to pick us up at the airport on our return. Thanks, guys!

Michael, showing off his new creation.

Linc’s new hat fits perfectly! Isn’t he adorable?

Linc is trying to pull his hat off! Maybe a little warm for wearing in the house.

I don’t know why Heather and I had so much trouble, two years ago, making our way through customs, collecting our luggage, and locating the waiting UltraKids. Maybe it a little experience under my belt, but UDad and I fairly sailed through all of that this time, and easily found the waiting UltraBob, who due to our plane’s early landing, had not been waiting long. Due to form, UltraMom dozed in the back seat on the car ride home while UBob and UDad chatted. We stopped long enough to pick up some grocery store pastries (are you jealous, Heather?) and some Starbucks, even some Vanilla Late for UltraMom! This enabled us to arrive home in perfect time for Linc to be napped, fed and ready to meet his new grandparents. Much to my delight, he let us each hold him and even smiled and cooed to us. I will arrive home a few thousand photos richer, I can already tell, and Linc will figure in about 9/10s of them.
Linc is not yet crawling, but likes to stand with a little help and jump with LOTS of help. The Ultras help Christmas until our arrival, and it was lots of fun with Linc, though he’s a little young to really get into the present opening. He was, however, really interested in the process and in the result! UltraBob and UltraGirl got us the perfect gift: a digital picture frame preloaded with great photos, mainly of Linc and of Heather’s and my last visit to Japan. We had a whole suitcase full of gifts with us, mostly little things, but made special by Johnny’s original gift tags: eg “I know Beaker has always longed to see Bali in the Springtime; with this gift that may be possible.” The gift? I’m not really sure. Maybe the beef jerky, the jolly ranchers or the sunflower seeds? We brought Linc a John Deere outfit; jeans, long sleeved T and sweatshirt, which is still just a little big, but will soon be wearable. All of the 9 month outfits Aunt Heather sent fit perfectly right now.
We took a fun walk around Zushi with Linc in a carrier on his Daddy’s back. We got some groceries mainly to enable UltraMom to make her famous pizza, and stopped at DomDom to get a crepe on the way back. Yummy!
Anyway, we are having a great time, and more will follow.
All the best,
UltraMom