My wife went to the East and brought back a different child!

Krys left me this past weekend! Okay, only for four days so she could visit Pennsylvania and introduce Norah to all her relatives, but still. It was quite traumatic.

She left last Wednesday at 10.30 at night. She was a bit worried about Norah flying, but apparently the little one did fine on the trip (coming back was a bit of a different story). The nice thing about it was that I got Thursday and Friday "off" because Mia was at school. I still missed them both, because it's kind of boring around here once Mia goes to bed.

Mia and I had fun during the day on the weekend, though. On Saturday we went shopping, which always amuses Mia. On Saturday evening we went to Buffalo Wild Wings to watch part of the Ohio State-Penn State game with some OSU fans. That was no fun (Penn State lost 37-17), but Mia was very happy to be out and she ate chicken tenders very well. On Sunday she got a haircut and we watched the Eagles game together (well, she played on the floor while I sat next to her and watched the Eagles game). It was quite nice hanging out with her, although it's always difficult to figure out what to do with her. She did some walking, some sitting up from a prone position, and she kneeling (which she does not enjoy). But other than that, it's hard to do stuff with her. Of course, the fact that it was almost 100 degrees here over the weekend (what the crap is up with that?) means that we couldn't even go outside very long. Stupid Arizona autumn!

Krys, meanwhile, was enduring lots of rain. Which she loved. She wanted the weather to be crappy because she wanted to dress Norah up in winter clothing. Then she complained that she didn't want it to rain that much, and I laughed at her. Be careful what you wish for! She didn't have the greatest time, mainly because on Thursday morning, a few minutes after arriving at her grandmother's place, she stepped off a high curb and injured her foot. She's still not sure if it's broken, because she needs to get an MRI here (X-rays were inconclusive, because she has an old break in her foot that she never had fixed). I asked her why she can't step off a curb, and she said it was because she was carrying Norah because she was by a busy street. I pointed out that Norah is perfectly capable of walking and she doesn't wander off if a parent holds her hand, but Krys didn't like hearing that. So she didn't have as great a time as she might have.

Of course, things were hectic in PA. None of her relatives ever come to see us, so they all wanted to see her and Norah and monopolize her time. Her grandmother is 91, and Norah feared her. She's very nice, but she's also very loud and wanted to chase Norah around trying to hug her. You can see why Norah feared her! Inexplicably, she also feared Krys's father, who's also very nice and doesn't chase toddlers around. Krys also got to see her sister, who's quite cool but really needs to go on What Not To Wear, and her old friends from high school. So it was hectic, but Norah enjoyed herself and so did Krys, to a degree. Seeing her family always tires her out.

Norah didn't enjoy flying back as much as flying out, as she was quite grumpy all the way. They got back around 8 on Sunday night, and we got home just as our babysitter was putting Mia to bed. So Mia got to see Mommy before she went to bed, and she was quite happy, even though all weekend she said "no" whenever I asked her if she missed Mommy. Of course, she says "no" to pretty much everything. Norah loves our babysitter (she's Mia's occupational therapist, so they see her every week), and she ran into Mia's room and gave her a hug. No hug for Daddy, however!

Krys took Monday off because of getting in so late, and we discovered that Norah had been replaced by a doppelgänger. She wanted nothing to do with Daddy! She clung to Mommy and actually cried when I said something as simple as "hello" to her. She ran away from me and whined for Mommy, and she got very upset if I tried to hug her. It was quite bizarre. Krys told me she was talking about Daddy all the way home and sounded as if she was excited about seeing me. So what happened to my friendly little girl?

I told Krys that I didn't really care, because Krys was going back to work on Tuesday anyway and Norah would be stuck with me! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! I actually didn't care that much, because I figured she would get over it. Today she woke up after Krys had left and seemed normal. We spent a very nice day together, and it was as if yesterday never happened. She was fine. I don't know where that Evil Twin came from or where she went, but I'm glad my friendly girl is back!

So Norah had a nice time in Pennsylvania, and Krys's relatives got to meet her. That was nice for them. We'll probably visit again next year sometime, and this time we'll take Mia. She'll have a grand time.

Finally, here's a nice picture of the girls. This was taken the day before Norah left. I'll have to get a photo of Mia with her new haircut and post it later.