Jen, John, Joey, Maggie and Gracie
Greetings to everyone.
The family traveled to Washington state yesterday to attend a family reunion on Rebecca's paternal side. The reunion officially gets under way Friday, but we flew in a little early. We have learned Xavier needs time to acclimate to such changes, and break-neck speeds put his teeth on edge. It did give Rebecca time to show me around the area where she grew up. Also, we got visit with the Lockwoods, some close cousins to Rebecca.
We landed in the Spokane Airport, a smaller airport with only three or four baggage carousels. As we headed down the ramp to claim our checked bag, we were greeted with a squeal of joy—Jen and three of her kids drove in from Idaho (about a thirty minute trip) to meet us. It was a wonderful surprise, and a notable memory from the trip.
Jen is not only Rebecca's cousin, but a close friend. She was part of our wedding party. I also remember her calling me the night Xavier was delivered to coach me about what to do and making sure Rebecca and I were on the same page in the delivery room and afterwards.
Jen made quite the impression on Xavier. When I pulled up a picture of he and Jen together to put it into this page, Xavier (who was sitting next to me banging on his own keyboard) looked up, pointed and said "Jen!"
Also making an impression on Xavier were his cousins, In fact, he learned the word cousins because of them. All week he asked where his cousins were or told us he wanted to see his cousins.
One cousin in particular grabbed Xavier's friendship: his cousin Joey. Joseph is seven years older than Xavier, but the two got on quite well. In fact, each looks very similar to the other. In a short time, Xavier grew a bond with Joey.
One night, as we readied to leave from having dinner with the Lockwoods, Jen and her boys offered to give Xavier one of the two toys he found and played hard with.
Jen asked Xavier, "Which toy do you want?"
Xavier answered quickly, unreservedly pointing to Joey standing near him. "I want that!"
Joey was not holding any toy.
After the reunion and before leaving Spokane, we were able to meet with Jen and her boys one last time at a lake. Joey spent much time floating in an inner tube on the water, far beyond Xavier's reach. At one point, Xavier stood on the beach looking out and seeing his cousin. "Joey!" he called out. "Joey!"
Even a week later, Xavier still knows his cousins' names. He recognizes pictures of them and asks about them. We are planning on visiting the Lockwoods more frequently, especially with Xavier having developed such an affinity for them.