I have not seen my new grandchild in a month so I decided to go to Los Angeles for a visit. I was going to go alone but Josie had sad she really wanted to go. That made me happy. The only issue was that she worked on Saturday. So we decided to take the kids out on Saturday night to dinner. Nikki, my daughter, confirmed that the baby could go out.
Josie and I left at 5 PM. The traffic was good. That is, until we actually got passed the Los Angeles county line. Then it got tough. Nikki decided that we could eat at BJ’s restaurant in Westlake Village. Since the NCAA Final Four was on and this place had a bar, I thought it was a great idea. The baby, who was suffering from colic, had to eat so Nikki and Josh, my son-in-law, were going to be a bit late.
Josie and I went to the bar and waited. BJ’s was packed and we had a thirty minute wait for a table anyway. I told the kids to take their time. I had a beer and Josie had some cherry vodka drink. Her drink was multi colored and came with a slice of pineapple (very foo-foo) but it tasted awesome. I could not even taste the vodka which made it a very dangerous drink. The kids arrived about twenty minutes later, just in time to get our table and us to see the Oregon made the Final Four (Yay!).
We gushed over the baby. He is very cute. He tried not to be (his colic was kicking in) but I walked around with him. It did not help. Finally, Josie grabbed him and she was able to get him to sleep. I do not know how she did it but she is always able to get that kid to sleep.
After dinner, Josie and I were going to find a hotel room. But Nikki and Josh asked if we wanted to stay with them (they had the room). Seeing an opportunity to save some money and stay with the baby longer, we said “yes”. Josh and Nikki live in Van Nuys. Parking in Van Nuys is a nightmare. It it did not improve. We ended up parking several blocks away from the condominium. We parked in front the weirdest car I have seen in a long time (only in Los Angeles). Who would screw with a car parked next to a vehicle owned by someone so unstable? We joked about it as we trekked to the condo.
The baby was very fussy. He was suffering. Josh gave him some organic, natural relieve water. It seemed to work instantly. The baby quieted down and you could hear the explosions in his diaper. It was about midnight and I told Josie to go to bed. I held the baby, glad to give Josh a break. He asked, a few times, how long colic actually lasts. I knew he was a patient person, but I could tell he was experiencing stress. I told him it WILL go away. Just Nikki had gone to bed to get some sleep. At about 1 AM, Josh took the baby up to bed and I went to find, to my surprise, Josie was still awake. We talked for a bit and then went to sleep.
The next morning, I offered to make breakfast. I figured staying in would be easier on Josh and Nikki. Apparently, my cooking did not entice anyone for breakfast so we ended up going to Denny’s. There we talked. It was very nice (though the food left a little to be desired). We talked about family and some issues they were having with my ex-wife’s family. About some decisions Nikki was going to need to make that she did not want to make. It was the kind of conversation that made us closer and makes me feel needed. It is always nice and the reason I like spending time with her.
When we were finished, Josie had plans for the rest of our day (that is another entry for later). I know this has not been one of my more exciting posts, but for me, it is a big deal. I spent quality time with Nikki and Josh. Josie coming with me shows me that we are becoming more of a family. And it gives me the opportunity to show more pictures of the cutest baby inhabiting the earth.
