Up, up, and away!

    Luka and Kristin enroute to Charlotte

This morning the scramble began to undertake the logistically complex pilgrimage of baby gear and familial entourage from the apartment in PR to the airport, then on to the flight to Charlotte and, for André, eventually  Portland.

It began with some beautiful, calm moments for Abuela and Tía Idalia with Luka and Annika,

...while André and Abuelo (who left PR today too) packed and scrambled about like so many cockroaches at the aftermath of a steak dinner party.

But not the kids! They had been up half the night, growing and teething, and maybe responding to all the sights, and growing and teething and.... By the time morning came, they were ready for a nap! They slept soundly with Idalia and Abuela and then played calmly while we ran about getting ready to go.

Playing with Abuela on the bed while we pack. (Annika continues to talk all about it, although we are left wondering what the 'it' is, exactly!)

Ready to roll to the airport:

Annika gets excited when going somewhere new. May she always keep that spirit of adventure!

And somehow, in the scramble, we managed not to get a picture with Abuelo before he left. 

So here are a couple of nice ones of Luka and Abuelo that we haven't shared yet  from their mornings on the balcony:

We enjoyed such a beautiful week with abuelo, Abuela and Tía Idalia—and it was so nice to see the kids bond with them too. I am sure they will miss them a lot! 

And for us, it was fulfilling to see everyone with the kids, to see Annika and Luka cherished and showered with love, and for them to be clearly so nourished by the love too.

Thank you all, for everything you did to help us! Logistically, of course, like: holding babies while we packed; letting us catch up on sleep by watching the kids after a rough night; making steak dinners; tactical pre departure vehicular AC activation; or washing dozens of baby bottles only to turn around and do it all again! But thank you, especially, for being so loving with our children.

We are so lucky to have such family. I can only imagine the experiences that Annika and Luka are getting ready to have with their North Carolina family. But I will have to read about it on the blog, like you.

For now, here are some parting shots from our flight:

Post bottle drunk? Hmm... We'll have to watch him!

They both slept hard after an initial flurry of excitement (and maybe a little hunger, as we were timing the meal for takeoff to help with the pressure in their ears).

Like son, like father? What was that about who was sleeping hard?!

Parting calm...

See you on the other end of this week!