Gratitude Day 11: Staying connected

(This post is day 11 of the 21 Days of Gratitude project.)

Pretty mellow day today. Nothing special planned, and we just took care of stuff around the house. Cleaning. Trip to Costco. Workouts. Very unexciting really.

I managed to find time to cook a real meal. Haven't found much time to cook like I used to, but today we had mashed potatoes with celery root, maple roasted Brussels sprouts, and pan seared (faux) chicken. Mmmm.

Our Sunday ended sweetly by iChatting with our families. First, we visited with The Man's side---Grandma, Uncle, Aunt and cousin. Our chats with that side of the family have been intermittent, but slowly he's getting to know and recognize them. The cousins are only two months apart, and their interactions with one another online are mostly confined to pointing and a shy "hello". But after it's over Little Man goes on and on about seeing his cousin on "Mac" (I just love that he calls our computer by name!). He chats with Grandma a little more often though, and now he recognizes her and interacts more with her.

After our dinner it was time for iChat #2. We chat with my family every Sunday and it's usually an adventure. We see Grandma and Grandpa and Great-Grammie, and sometimes other relatives like cousins or aunts stop by. Sometimes Little Man is quiet and sits on our laps without saying much. Sometimes he zooms about the house and the family only catches glimpses of him speeding through the frame. He's also chatted with them from his forts, the dinner table, the bathtub or his bedroom. Sometimes they have pretend tea parties or play hide and seek with Grandma diving out of the frame and popping up again. That trick never fails to send Little Man into hysterics.

So thankful for the gift of the Internet and specifically, video chatting. Through this, our son can get to know and stay connected to family thousands of miles away. And love that they are getting to know him too.