Love is in Stiles

This spring we had the opportunity to visit Scott's family in Texas. His parents, and sisters Katelyn and Emily, all live within about 1.5 hours of each other in the Dallas area. None of them had seen Maverick since he was three weeks old (when we stopped by Dallas on our way moving out to Hong Kong). We spent three weeks there to give my sister Sydnie and her family a break ;), with Scottie joining us for the last two weeks. 

Katie graciously offered to let us stay in her house. Honestly, I was a little nervous because I hadn't been able to spend much time with Katie before. But she is amazing! We had so much fun together, it is a bummer we don't live closer. Since Katie has dealt with a lot of illness herself I felt less like a burden when I slept most of the day, couldn't eat, or carried my vomit bowl around. Luckily, Ana was with me and Maverick so she was able to help me care for him. 

Maverick loved meeting his cousins, and they were all so happy to play with him! Delaney and Reese, Katie's girls, were so sweet- they would play soccer with him in the yard, line up all of the toy animals with him, help him build houses with the blocks, and go to the park with him. Ryan, Caroline, and MJ are Emily's children. Maverick followed Ryan around like a baby duck follows its mother, admiring everything he did, and clutching the little army man that Ryan gave him. He was also quite obsessed with baby MJ, about 5 months old at the time. He has always liked babies, but he adored MJ. He would pet her little toes and fingers, and excitedly point out, "Baby's toes!!" It gave me hope that he would be gentle and loving with his baby sister. One of the best moments was the first day he met MJ, when he was giving her random kisses, and out of the blue said, "Luh you baby" (translation: I love you baby). Not only did Mav meet his; cousins, aunts and uncles, Mimi and Gramps, but also Scott's aunt Laur and cousin Chrissy. They showered him with gifts and attention, and slowly won him from being shy. He now loves to ask if we are going to Mimi and Gramps' house.

Perhaps his favorite cousins though, were Kayak and Pepper. Yes, those are Katie's dogs. Maverick loves animals, with dogs being number one. But Scott is allergic and I'm not into pets, so Mav was ecstatic to be able to live with dogs for three weeks. He was constantly asking about the dogs. If we went away from the house, he would want to return so we could see them. He climbed into the their kennels. He fed them his snacks. They would try to steal his food and he would cry, "Top it Kayak! Top it Peppa!" (translation: Stop it Kayak! Stop it Pepper!) He would pet them. He would act like a doggie with them. He crawled through the doggie door. He cracked up whenever they pooped. He chased them. He tried to poke their eyes. He pulled their tails. His first ever 'chore' was feeding them- he rolled the container of dog food out, scooped the food into their bowls (very messy), and rolled the food back- he tried to do this about four times a day. 

Maverick also loved Lisa and Dave's (affectionately known as Mimi and Gramps) dog, Satch. Satch is THE BEST dog in the world, hands down. He is adorable, soft, hypoallergenic, doesn't shed (much), and so well trained. His temperament is so gentle and quiet, he never barks, and he lets the grandkids do anything they want to him. Which Mav took full advantage of- often cuddling Satch, or trying to ride him like a horse. Maverick still refers to any fluffy dog we see as Satch, or if it is a small fluffy dog, Baby Satch. The first time we walked into Mimi and Gramp's house, Maverick saw Satch and said, "Mom- sheep?" 

We enjoyed being in Texas SO much, and wish that we had more time with Scott's family. Here are some pictures from the trip :)

Downtown McKinney