overheard at the Ballou family dinner table last night

“Honey, our daughter is a source of pure joy. She missed her morning nap, and I strapped her into her carseat at the equivalent of noon to go to the airport, put her into the Ergo carrier as soon as we got there and only let her out to walk through the security checkpoint and change her diaper, then we boarded the plane, and she made it through the entire flight with no tears except for a few when she accidentally hit herself in the head with a book, then we got our luggage and waited for you to arrive, and then she got a late, short afternoon nap as we spent 3+ hours driving back from Kansas City, and it’s now after her bedtime, and she’s totally happy just sitting in her high chair, having an occasional bite of food, and playing with a plastic container. It’s pretty amazing!”