Reports from Nashville

Hey blogland--Stephanie here, reporting the latest news from N-ville on the combined White-Compton-Whompton visit to Nashville. My dad, aka Papa Bill, invited the White grandparents to town last weekend for some serious Raina oggling time. Though Saturday started off thunderstorm-y and rainy, everyone made it to town safely by Saturday afternoon. We ate a scrumptious lunch of sandwiches and fruits and veggies followed by more time to sit around and watch Raina do cute things. She's such a great kid and she knows exactly how to entertain. When we told Raina it was time for lunch, she instantly gravitated towards the toy cookset (a mini grill with a spatula--that Raina is modeling below--and a plate, a fork, a cup, and a skillet) to cook her lunch which she graciously shared with me. Delicious!


After some real ham and cheese sandwiches, the adults got in their heads that they would like to go bowling, but all the nearest bowling centers were packed with birthday parties and too-busy-too-answer-questions-ness. So, we went for the next best thing--a little Wii bowling.

For those of you who haven't yet had the chance to try out Nintendo's latest gift to the gaming world, you hold the Wii-mote in your hand and then do whatever motion it is that you are trying to do in the virtual Wii world. I have included a video of Eric doing some crazy curveball bowling below (and his subsequent cower).


Well, in the end, Sammy was victorious in the Wii-Bowl-erama as she defeated me in a head-to-head contest where I was heckled and cracked under pressure and Sammy was simply clutch. Way to go Sammy!!


After we were all Wii-ed out, we ate a scrumptious dinner of Santa Fe Chicken. If Eric and Krystal have told you lately that Raina eats the same amount as an adult, I can testify that they are not lying. Raina is indeed a Compton and enjoys eating. Hooray for high metabolisms and growing!!!! We also took the opportunity to celebrate Eric's birthday with cake, a new titans t-shirt, earmuffs, and a new board game called Dicecapades. With 133 dice and other various game pieces, this is not exactly the ideal game to be in a household with a toddler, but therein lies the fun.

Sunday morning, Raina awoke early--like 3:30 a.m.--ready and rearing to go for the day. Eric sat up with her for awhile until Papa Bill discovered she was awake and quickly took advantage of the Raina playtime. By 7:30 a.m., I think the two of them had dragged out every toy in the house and built a Fisher Price haven. This was also about the time that Raina got so revved up she was doing laps around the house, loudly. I'm not gonna lie, hearing Raina's giggles and "AHHHHHHHhhHHH" is way better than the screech of my alarm clock. By 8:00, Raina was sitting in my lap and we read three books, including an all-time favorite "The Monster At The End of The Book." This kid has an appetite for reading and will pretty much take every opportunity to sit in a warm lap and be read to. She also liked snuggling in her chair with a blanket like all the adults were doing.

Later on, Raina found all the small chairs and seats around the house and organized a train for the stuffed animals. Raina was steering the train and was nice enough to let me be the caboose.


To make a long story short, it's pretty amazing to see Raina grow. I remember growing up how often my relatives would say, "She is getting so big" or "She is growing up so fast!" and I remember thinking "Whatever...doesn't feel fast to me..." But now that I am on the flip side, I totally get it. When you don't see a kid for 4-6 months, it's almost like she is a whole new awesome little person with new skills and interests and a blossoming personality that is developing each and every day. She speaks in sentences and desperately tries to (and generally succeeds in) communicate her ideas and needs. She is even starting to feel pride in her latest accomplishments--like when she told me very proudly that she had "pooped in the potty!!" that particular morning. She gives lots of hugs and obviously has been loved all along the way. She's a joy. She brings smiles to everybody's faces and I can't wait to see what our next visit will be like. Until then, thanks to all for a successful and fun weekend!!