On the morning of the visit to Grandma and Grandpa Ruble’s house, we could tell we might have some problems. A simple attempt for Caitlin to actually see and briefly enjoy the beach three blocks away turned into a major ordeal when Ryder started throwing a series of vigorous tantrums. We got things under control and formed a road-caravan with Amy on the way over there. It was absolutely wonderful for us to introduce Maisy to Grandma and Grandpa Ruble. They loved her all up, and were so happy (and perhaps surprised) to see how big Ryder’s gotten. Grancie (my mom’s chosen grandmotherly moniker) got to see Maisy and Ryder for the first time in a few months as well. Continue reading

The flight into LAX was relatively uneventful. We’d purchased (after previously borrowing and losing a critical part of our friend’s DVD player) a portable DVD player to keep Ryder busy during the flight, and for the most part, it worked like a charm. Other than some resistance to being buckled in during takeoff and landing, he was a real trooper. We smoothed over some of the seatbelt tension by telling him about how the pilot was “in charge,” a concept which he’s since become fond of. Continue reading