On Thanksgiving morning John Bear, Benjamin and I headed up to Cleveland to a house filled with John’s hungry and happy family. Some had flown half way across the country, others drove for hours and hours.

Just to get there – to each other and to Thanksgiving.

Every time I’m with his family, I marvel at them like a kid in a kindergarten class – learning what it’s like to have such a large and tight support network.

The turkey was nice, too.

As for Benjamin, he spent the entire day chasing around John’s 14 year old cousin, an official big boy and therefore the coolest person on the planet.

I found this picture in my camera. I have no idea who took it or when, but you can see the dark circles forming under his eyes.

Five hide and seek games, two sugar highs and nearly one tantrum later Benjamin passed out in the car on the long ride home. He slept straight through the night until Friday morning when we headed out to find our Christmas tree.

On the way there Benjamin got to play with his favorite toy in the world – John’s iPhone fart machine with fart Christmas carols. How lovely!

Would you look at that face? I caught the classic, “I am listening and laughing about farts” wayward gaze on film. But anything that makes him laugh like that is fine with me

no matter how disgusting.

After fart fun we landed at the tree lot.

After John Bear did the man thing and shook a few out we found our tree.

And while Benjamin marveled at how quickly the man wrapped it up, I handed the camera to John Bear.

“Can you take some pictures of us? Just hold the button down and it will take a ton, that way there has to be at least one good one.”

He took it out of my hand reluctantly. Taking pictures is one of the things John only does if I ask him. But I’m determined to beef up his photography skills if it kills me… so I keep handing him the camera at the risk of seeing the hideous pictures of me that result.

Awkward angles of my arms, thighs and my face in the worst lighting – you name it, he’s taken it, and I’ve deleted just about all of them. But just like the scrambled eggs, he keeps trying. (It’s all about the eggs, People, I’m telling you.)

So with the camera in his hands, John snapped away.

and not so slowly

but surely

He managed to get a good one.

I’m still not used to the idea of having someone around to take pictures of the two of us together – pictures of me and my little Benjamin. Who, as it turns out, LOVES decorating Christmas trees.

And putting two blue ornaments right next to each other because it’s “Cool, Mommy.”

Above his favorite nutcracker who is “even cooler”.

In the end the tree looked like this. A bit sloppy, in a cute “a three-year-old decorated me” kind of way.

Just after we finished Benjamin’s dad showed up for weekend #2 of his every other weekends and then – just like that – John Bear and I were alone again.

We started with drinks at a friends and then realizing it was our seven month anniversary, we stopped into our first “non-date” restaurant.

We sat one table away from the little table that started it all

A few glasses of wine later we headed home to pass out and then sleep in. Oh, the glorious luxuries of the childless.

We spent Saturday, attached at the hip, running errands – some sad and others mandatory, like grocery shopping. And one more fun errand to pick out a birthday present for my friend Ann, who we met later for drinks.

Ann just had her second son, so the drinks were well-deserved and much enjoyed.

Love that place. The best sushi in Columbus – hands down and with the coolest little Haiku, origami cards.

Now it’s back to reality. The long haul until Christmas.

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