Fun Surprise

So I've been on a little hiatus from Working Title, but I have a good excuse, I promise. Besides celebrating Mary Ellen's first Thanksgiving, we've had a little pre-Christmas cheer to spread around.

Sometimes I get a little bummed that we live so far from our families. I love my (our) life here in FL, but I miss my family dearly. This past year has been extra special, what with the arrival of Caroline and Caden and then Mary Ellen and Jenson (Happy 1st birthday, Caroline!!). Lately I had been doing a lot of daydreaming about how Mary Ellen and I would be spending our days if we lived in the same city as Amy and Jenson. So after a chat with my loving husband, a quick conversation with Amy, and a visit to Southwest.com, Amy and I arranged a trip for Mary Ellen and me to St. Louis so that our babies could spend some time together. But we didn't tell Mom and Dad.

Okay, it's not as mean as you think. Anyone who knows the Knepper clan knows that we're a little ornery. Over the years we've pulled some pretty good ones on each other, but our little surprises tend to be pretty sweet (with a little bit of teasing sprinkled in). So to add a little mischief to the trip, Amy told Mom that she and Jenson were going to come spend a few days in Barry, but she didn't tell Mom that Mary Ellen and I were coming, too.

So Amy pulled into Mom and Dad's house and carried a car seat into the house. The fun part was that we sent her in with Mary Ellen while Jenson and I waited in the car. She walked in and plunked the car seat down in the living room. As any good grandparents would do, Mom and Dad immediately went over to check out the little one. It was pretty cold that day, so they had to remove the blanket to see the bundled little one in the car seat. To add to the fun, I'd put Mary Ellen in a stocking cap, which just happened to be pulled down over her eyes and most of her nose. The rest will appear in play form (for you, Kim and Jenny).

Mom: Hi, Jenson!
Dad: His cheeks are starting to fill out like Mary Ellen's!
Amy: Look a little closer.
Mom: Oh my God. It's Mary Ellen!! What...

She immediately ran to the garage to see Jenson and me waiting for her. It was such a good surprise, and I hope that Mom and Dad will forgive us for playing the little joke on them. If Mary Ellen and Jenson have any chance of making it in our family, we've got to break them in early.


If you've been keeping up with the blog, you might be a little surprised that I decided to board a plane with Mary Ellen so soon after our last long flight, but both flights were great! I did many things differently, including getting to the airport extra early so that she could have some time to stretch those legs out before being cooped up for a 2 1/2 hours. So much for stretching out, though. Apparently, toes are delicious.

Such happy grandparents!

The babies did a lot of bonding. I'm not sure what they actually got out of it, but I do think they were starting to warm up to one another.