One of our first thoughts after we found out we were going to be grandparents was, "but Colorado is so far away!" We always dreamed of having grandchildren close by...so we could babysit, go to school plays, soccer games, dance recitals, etc. We always secretly envied those couples at church whose kids and grandkids sat in the pew with them on Sunday, and then headed off to Sunday brunch afterwards. Even now, we hope that dream has just been postponed! But for the time being, we have been forced to join the technology age. Our first shock was that James arrived about 10 days earlier than his due date, and our flight was booked for 2 weeks after his due date, so we didn't get to meet James until he was almost 1 month old. The waiting was agony! Neil Jr. and Bianca were great sports and agreed early on to Skype every day 'til we could visit. That was when the technical difficulties began! We confiscated John's old computer that had a camera for Skype. According to Neil, that camera wasn't "good enough", so we went to Costco and bought a better camera. Unfortunately, Neil Jr. joked that James was going to grow up thinking Mimi and Bop were just big question marks because that was all they could see on their screen! According to Neil, the upload and download speed wasn't "good enough", so we called Time Warner and upgraded the bundle package. For a mere $10 more a month we got the "Extreme Broadband" package...30 mg download and 5 mg upload! I am happy to report that most of the time James sees Mimi and Bop on the screen and not just big question marks! In the last week or so, he really does seem to be seeing us and it is a wonderful feeling. He is grabbing toys and babbling and it really does feel like we are sitting in his living room. We always look forward to our Skype visits with James a couple of times a week, and love taking Skype pictures. Although we can't reach out and touch him...it really is the next best thing!
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