Sara: This weekend, we had an amazing Thanksgiving. Due to the busyness of life (and geographic locations), my immediate family typically only manages to get all together two or three times a year. In fact, this weekend was the first time my entire immediate family had gotten together since Gus was born.

My sister’s child (and my godchild) recently turned one. I hadn’t seen her since August, so I was very much looking forward to seeing how she had grown and changed. And boy, was she big! In addition to being tall, my godchild is now toddling around. We figure she’ll probably be walking any day now. It was a lot of fun to see what Gus might be doing in nine more months – perhaps walking, talking, and eating “real” food. Gus has already grown up so quickly, at least in my eyes! He’s finally mastered the art of rolling over from his back to his stomach, which greatly impressed Grandpa and Grandma.

It was great to put aside time for family and catch up with my siblings. Despite the time and distance between our last visit, I felt like we were able to pick up exactly where we left off last time. In addition to spending time cooking a great Thanksgiving feast, us girls did a little bit of Black Friday shopping on Friday morning.

This weekend also showed Justin and me how lucky we are to have Gus. For a month or two now, Gus has mostly been sleeping through the night. It’s gotten to the point where Gus waking up to nurse in the middle of the night is the exception, not the rule. My niece (at one year old) woke up screaming at least a couple times a night. My sister thinks her daughter is teething, but she usually doesn’t sleep through the night. I think my sister handles that a lot better than I would!

Justin: Being with Sara’s family was a great time, but it was also a little hard. My family lives about 11 hours away and we rarely get to see them. In fact, they have only gotten to see Gus in person right after he was born. Watching Gus with his grandparents (Sara’s parents) made me realize how much we are unable to share with my parents. They only get to experience Gus through pictures. They are only able to see him roll over via skype. They don’t get to experience the warmth of his smile or feel him snuggle in for a good nap. In the same way, I want Gus to be able to experience the love they have for him in the tangible ways that will cause a bond which can last a lifetime.

Sara: After this weekend, I really started to realize that Justin and I need to do an even better job of making family a priority. We need to place value on family time, not just as the three of us, but also with our extended family. We’re not blessed to have our extended family live near us, but trips to see our extended family needs to continue to be a priority. Justin had a great relationship with his grandparents growing up (and still does!) and we definitely want that for Gus. We’ll have to discuss how we can continue to make that a priority in our lives.