The Grandparents Sadly Go.

Grandma and Grandpa left today following their eight day visit and we honestly hated to see them go. Mom and Dad were incredible! Having them here was such a pleasure as Dean and I were able to take a much needed siesta from endless loads of laundry, cooking, cleaning and bathing, changing . . . you get the picture . . . little Noah Finn. On top of all of that, I am not sure how we managed to pack in rest, relaxation and tons of "firsts" for Noah like fun outings to Manhattan beach, the La Brea Tar Pits, hiking in Bronson Canyon, shopping at the Grove and Babies "R" Us (of course), the Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills, Daddy's recording studio, a beer brewery and even an Ethiopian restaurant--but we managed to nonetheless.

In addition, we also gave quite a bit of our baby gear a "test run". Here's a rundown: the Hot Sling: hated it!, the Baby Bjorn: loved it!, the Organic Baby Comfort Swing: the jury is still out!, the Bumbleride Stroller: loves it when he's not demanding to be held instead!, the Skip Hop Space Play Mat: the jury is still out!.

Visits like these truly remind me of how fortunate I am to have a loving family--and how difficult it can be during special times like these to be so very far away from them.

We have many great pictures from the visit--check them out on our flickr page!

Tomorrow, my best friend from my college days at ECU, Jessica, arrives to pick up where my parents left off. So, I'm sure we'll be reporting new Noah Finn adventures from her visit very soon!