Whirlwind November: Part 2

We had much to give thanks for this Thanksgiving: a happy home, Benjamin's continued health, a baby on the way, and a loving group of friends and family.
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Speaking of friends and family, Thanksgiving proved to be a reunion of sorts. We had hosted the last two Thanksgivings at our home, but this year we decided to visit my brother Leon and his wife Claire at their new home in Kansas City. Our dear friend Umbo also joined us from Milan for the second year in a row. Like me, Claire is pregnant, and her baby boy is due in February just a week before my baby girl. Seeing those familiar faces and knowing that in a year our family would have two more members gave us even more to be thankful for!
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There was one new face in the mix: Skittles, Leon and Claire's Yorky Terrier. Benjamin and Skittles hit it off immediately, perhaps due to their similar stature.

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This was our first trip to Kansas City, MO, and we weren't sure what to expect. The word "Kansas" conjured up quaint images of Americana - farm animals, freezing weather, and clapboard homes on spacious lots. The reality was far from that. Yes, it was rather cold, and yes, there was lots of open space, but we discovered that Kansas City was much more cosmopolitan than we'd imagined. Leon and Claire's home was situated in an area known was the Plaza, a bustling, pedestrian-friendly area filled with shops and restaurants that reminded us of Old Town Pasadena.

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Though they had moved to Kansas City from Miami six months prior, Leon and Claire had moved into their condo only recently due to the massive renovations it was going through. When we arrived, contractors were still in the process of finishing their work, but the place was nonetheless beautiful. It had an open, spacious feel and views of a nearby park. On Thanksgiving Day, while Claire spent most of her time in the kitchen putting together our Thanksgiving feast, the rest of us got to work dusting, mopping, and tidying up the areas still under construction.
.Benjamin helped, too. Well, he helped as much as a three-foot tall toddler is able to!
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That evening, due mostly in part to Claire's hours spent in the kitchen, we enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving feast. After dinner, we watched fireworks from a window and went to bed semi-comatose and groaning from overindulgence in the delicious meal.
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The next day, we visited some of the local attractions, among them the Crayola store.

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After that, we checked out a beautiful Christmas display at the plaza across the street. As you can tell from the t-shirt-clad kids running soaked through the water fountain, the weather was unseasonably warm.

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Back at home, we cracked out our favorite board game: Settlers of Catan. If you're not familiar with Settlers, think of it as a less-onerous, shorter, and much more fun version of Risk. We had a great time playing, though one of us proved to be a sore loser AND a sore winner. I'll bet you didn't even know that it was possible! I won't tell you who that person was, but I'll give you a hint: his behavior made us think that sportmanship is inversely proportionate to height. Oh, and his name rhymes with "Schmeeon."

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On Friday night, we met up with Vince's cousin Kathleen and her kids Tanner, Samantha, and Trevor. Tanner and Sammy were smitten with Benjamin and fought over who got to carry him, sit by him, and feed him. I don't know how she did it, but Sammy even carried Benjamin on her hip for much of our walk around the Plaza!

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We took it easy on Saturday, doing a little shopping and walking to nearby Loose Park. We were headed for the pond at the edge of the park, but our plans were put on hold when Benjamin discovered the joy of stepping on crunchy, dry leaves. He ran as fast as his short little legs would take him, back and forth across fields of leaves, with the wind chapping his cheeks and a grin plastered on his face. I think he would have stayed there for hours if we'd let him!

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We did eventually make it to the pond. As delightful as it was to watch Benjamin running deliriously through the leaves, it was equally as touching to watch him quietly contemplate the ducks.

We left Sunday morning to catch our flight back to LA. We were exhausted, but happy, too. Those five days with Leon, Claire, and Umberto had been full, fun ones. I think that Benjamin was especially sad to say "ciao" to his Zio Umbo.

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They'd really bonded during this visit. As we left, he kept saying "Dow!" (his approximation of "Ciao") and "Oom-oh!" ("Umbo"). But as great as it is to visit friends and family, it feels so good to return to the familiar. Witness the reunion between Benjamin and his best friend later that day:

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As a girl named Dorothy once said, "There's no place like home!"

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