Words optional

Scooter is not particularly good on the phone. He does, at least, talk on it now. But he tends to narrate--what he's doing, what he watched on TV, a story that comes to mind. He'll also hold the phone up so we can see what he's doing. And then, before we can get in our I-miss-yous and I-love-yous, he says, "OK bye," and hands the phone back to Grandma.

He had a great time with his grandparents while we were gone. They kept him busy. He did a couple of special things, but spent even more time with them running errands, playing in the garden, riding his bike. He was ready to get to sleep each night.

He did not verbally express that he missed us, either on the phone or to his grandparents. One of the times I told him that I missed him, his response was, "That's because you're not here."

But just because he doesn't think to tell us explicitly, our arrival at my in-laws' dispelled any thoughts that he might not have thought about us too much.

His grandparents created a calendar for him to count down the days, so he was aware of when we were due back. He went to bed last night, knowing that the next day was Sunday and that we would be back on Sunday. For the first time in the near-week he had been at his grandparents, he woke up early. 5 am, instead of his usual 6:30 or 7. When we pulled up, he was waiting outside with his grandparents; one glimpse of the car and he was jumping up and down.

Once inside, he wanted to show us any number of things--a couple new toys, plenty of toys we've seen before, pictures he'd drawn, his potty prizes. He had to have at least one of us next to him. When we announced that it was time to head back up to Springfield, he was ready to go.

A few minutes into our trip, I looked back, surprised at how quiet he'd become. Apparently all of the excitement had worn him out and he was fast asleep.