Last night in NC

Last night we celebrated Dad's birthday with dinner at Las Fincas in Swansboro and a chocolate cream pie and presents at home. We spent the afternoon shopping up on base so of course Elisa was well worn out by the time we pulled into the restaurant. She actually fell asleep in the car just as we were hitting town. I opted to stay put for a half hour and let her doze in the hopes it would make the evening go that much smoother. Unfortunately, it didn't make her any better at the table, where she wanted only to play with the straw in my margarita and attempt to throw herself from the highchair. That's the problem with eating out these days--sometimes she is an avid eater content to watch others and sit nicely, but more often, she is tired, bored and wants only to get down. Thankfully the food was great and we all snarfed it down fast enough that the tyrant didn't have long to wait. Back home to run around and play with her cousin Mia for one last evening.

Stace, Mia and Jordan enjoy some family time on the couch.
Helping Grandpa blow out his 62 candles (okay, just six and two in reality).
Mom cleaning off the whipped cream-laced candles one at a time...

We're packing up today and planning to catch the 7pm flight back to New York City. It's been raining steadily throughout the morning, so I'm wondering how delayed things will be tonight. If we get two good naps in before we leave this afternoon, it might not matter. But of course, there is no way to predict. Seeing Elisa hug and squeeze and generally assault her "Mimi" this morning as she tried to move her from bed was worth every bit of the hassle of traveling here. I think with each visit, Elisa recognizes family more and develops new ways to communicate with them. Even her bedtime ritual of kissing everyone and waving has become a weeklong routine that hopefully we can look forward to the next time we're here. Saying goodbye isn't easy, but with the warmer weather just around the corner, I hope we'll be back soon. I'm sure Elisa does too.