Dads are so weird

That's the phrase that comes to my mind this time each night. 

Christopher and the kids have a tradition that they all listen to Christmas music on his phone while the kids fall asleep. 

And in case you're trying to justify this as normal behavior on the eve of February, I'll have you know that this only started a few weeks ago. Well after Christmas. 

Maybe they're making up for the fact that we didn't really celebrate Christmas this year and it was such a bust. All I can say is that this is something my dad would do and that I see my sisters' husbands doing as well. Just doesn't strike me as a mom thing though. 

Merry Christmas to you all! 

Elizabeth at 8 months

Of course I started this post and then got distracted before I could ever save it. So, second time is the charm? 

Elizabeth is so precious. Y'know how parents always say how fast their kids are growing up? Well, not really Elizabeth. I feel like she was a newborn for a few months and then she's been her current self for a few months. She's still behind (in my opinion) developmentally as far as stuff like standing, sitting, rolling, crawling, eating, etc. It doesn't worry me because socially and mentally, she's perfect. And not everyone can be above average unless you live in lake woebegone. So, even though this is an 8 month update, it's kind of like her 4-8 month update. ; ) 

In no particular order

Elizabeth loves to eat. And I love to nurse her. So I nurse her when she wakes up, and before she goes to sleep, and anytime she wakes up during the night. So basically, a million times a day. With Abigail, I would never have indulged myself like this for fear of making bad habits. But this time? I love it too much and I'm enjoying it too much. I have serious anxiety about how I'll likely only nurse two or three more babies and that makes me so sad. How am I already half way through this mothering babies thing??? Anyway, she nurses a lot. So I have to reeeeally remind myself to give her solids. She's barely had any. I mean, like maybe I'll give her half a jar one time during the day and then not even give her any the next day. Mostly because solids are a pain and nursing is great. And it's not like I'm starving her... Have you seen her cheeks? 

Because they're huge. My best guess is that they're the biggest muscle in her body and the reason behind that is because they're getting a constant workout with how much she smiles. She has got to be the smiliest baby ever. And still, you can't make eye contact with her without her smiling and laughing. It's amazing. Except when I'm in a hurry for her to eat and she'll do that thing where she sucks two times and then looks up at me to smile and laugh and then sucks two times and laughs. Repeat forever until I give up feeding her. 

She still has no teeth but has been teething hardcore forever. She's just a super oral kid, but MAN how she yells and chomps when she gets going! Maybe solids will go more easily when she has teeth. My other two kids loved jarred baby food and would only eat something if it was a perfect liquid puréed consistency. Elizabeth actually does a lot better with thick or chunky food. When it's too liquidy, her wild tongue pushes it out before she can swallow it, but she does awesome with banana chunks and mashed up pears. I think magi is her favorite food though. That one actually is a jar and is practically like water so I have to add the oatmeal cereal to thicken it. But holy cow does she love it. She's not a fan of peas or green beans yet though. I have two good eaters... I'm pretty determined not to get a picky eater now. ; ) 

Elizabeth has been wearing  costco size 1/2 (that's the intermediate size I guess) for a while and just used her last one today. So tomorrow she'll start wearing 2's during the day. She was wearing 2's at night (I always size up) and leaking through all the time (because she eats so much during the night) and I'm not sure why I didn't size up again (probably because I'm brain dead these days) but within the last week, I've put her in a three at night and we're all good now. 

For convenience purposes, all of our kids get out to bed at the same time and (probably because of Brady but I'm not sure because I'm always still sleeping), all of our kids wake up at the same time too. So, Elizabeth goes to bed (typically) when the other kids do... But because our evenings vary a lot based on when honey gets home, this really could be anytime between 6:30 and 8. 

Ever since we got back from panama/atlanta, her sleep has been far less than before. She got really sick on our trip and the traveling and everything was just a lot. But, I haven't seemed to care enough to really do anything about it so right now I just do what's easiest for me (sorry Elizabeth). I give her two opportunities to nap and its her choice what she does with that. A typical (give or take) day this past week or two is that she'll wake up around 7:45 and I put her down around 9:45.  She wakes up by noon and then naps again from 2-4 or so and then is down for the night by 7. She spends a lot of time being tired, but honestly, I'm not a fan of having three naps, so if she wants more sleep then maybe she can go back to her three and four hour naps. Also, when we got back from our trip, she started waking up during the 11 o lock hour in addition to her normal once in the middle of the night. Then it even was waking up at 11:30, 2:30, 6:30 and then up for the day by nine. But last night and tonight she hasn't woken up that first time. Well, tonight she did, but I just watched her on the monitor for 30 minutes while she put herself back to sleep. So I guess she's working on that. We'll see how things progress but it seems like she's going back to the just once a night that she's been doing since she hit her four month sleep regression. 

As far as clothes go, she's pretty close to wearing the size that correlates with her age. Right now I'd say that six month clothing fits her best, but there's plenty of stuff I've pulled out for her in larger sizes that she pulls off just fine. This is something that is new to me, especially with these girl clothes. Abigail was just such a different build and was still wearing 0-3 onesies at this point so it's crazy to me that I can put Elizabeth in 9 month onesies and she does just fine. The girl is a fatty (at least as far as my kids go) and it's actually nice because she fills out her clothes better than Abigail ever did. 

Elizabeth didn't really bear weight on her legs at all til maybe six weeks ago or so and she didn't get reliably good at sitting until this past week. Within the last two days, she has started to roll from back to belly consistently. And my consistently I don't mean that it happens all the time, just that it happens enough that I know it wasn't an accident. She still doesn't roll from belly to back or using rolling to get from one place to another. These things (combined with nursing all the time and having zero teeth) really have made it feel like she hasn't aged at all in the last several months. But I feel like maybe we're getting into the next four month chunk and she's gonna have some pretty major changes coming up. But who knows. 

I can't really think what else to say about her. She's so much like Abigail was and she's insanely oral. She especially loves Sophie the giraffe and the silky tags on her Aden and Anais blankets (but she'll take any silky tags really). She's just starting to like the jumper but she tires of it pretty quickly (as opposed to Abigail who stayed in it for over an hour at a time, multiple times a day from the time she was three months old). Elizabeth loves social interaction and yells a lot when she's not getting the attention she wants. She'll cry eventually if she's hurt or super tired or sad, but really, she spends much of her waking hours just yelling at us. Not sure if that's teething or just her personality coming out. ; ) 

We all love her so much. She brings such a sweet peace to our family and is able to dissolve contention faster than anything else. Brady is still obsessed with her and calls her Libby and Abigail still loves to talk to her in a baby voice and call her  elizabee. They both like calling her Libby-Beth. 

I call her dearest, loveliest Elizabeth. 

BHA end of year party

Wednesday- 

The day started with some of this cuteness. 

I get pictures of her best smiles... When she's laughing at Brady. It's adorable. 

She doesn't look at me with the same level of admiration but I try not to take it too badly. 

He can't resist her. 

Have I mentioned her tongue before? Always out. Like a little turtle head. 

Abigail sometimes carries her backpack around her neck after school. This day, she was walking to the car like a celebrity... Messed up hair and eyes mostly closed. That girl. 

Can you see it? Am I hallucinating? I swear those teeth have got to come up sometime, right? Her temperament during the day has been a little better the past day or two, but she's still waking up those extra times each night. 

The BHA end of year party actually happened at the beginning of the year due to the business of December 2015. We did bbq and bowling at Moe's. It was delicious (I looooove their white bbq sauce and the Mac and cheese) and so much fun. Honey started my game for me with a strike. He also ended his game with SIX STRIKES IN A ROW. What the heck?!  He doesn't even bowl. It is beyond me how he has a natural knack for practically everything he tries. 

This is Jennifer. We're bbf's. It was nonstop fun and laughter including all of her strange styles of bowling, scoping out a husband for her, and doing spirit fingers for people. She's the greatest. 

The second game. I think it was the highest score of my life. Also, I think I got the third or fourth highest score of the night. We're a bowl for fun kind of group. 

Our lane... Mostly... I think chris was still hanging four with people in the next lane over. 

In past years, we've gone to the melting pot or another nice restaurant... This was so much more fun. 

Also, we left our kids with a babysitter from Bri's ward... Trevor. He was so nice. Elizabeth slept the whole time (he gave her a binky part way through) and Abigail and Brady liked him too. They were asleep when we got home but I knew Trevor was a hit when I talked to Brady... At 2am. I was up with Elizabeth and I guess he'd heard her crying because he came into her room while I was changing her diaper and was almost crying all "mom, where's the babysitter?" well, he went back to his house. "I don't want him to go home!!!" Sorry kid. I bet we'll be using him again soon. It's convenient that our wards have different nights for mutual so when all of our youth are off limits... We have other kids we can ask. Brady is such a funny kid. 

Chipping away at the basement

Again. 

That's what I did today. 

Also, I love recycling day. If only it came more often than every other week. 

Elizabeth was adorable so I took her picture. 

And then Brady was all "take a picture of me!"  Check out his pose. 

I went to tuck Brady back in bed (because he comes to my room a million times a night) and Abigail was sleeping soundly like this. Crossing my fingers she doesn't fall out and break her neck. 

It was a pretty good day. 

Abigail and I had a good conversation about statements, demands, and questions. Also about how you can say the same exact words sweetly or meanly and your voice makes all the difference. 

Brady was so sweet and helpful to Abigail several times today. He's really growing up and getting so good at perceiving needs and then jumping into action. Like when I told Abigail that her john Deere hoodie wasn't warm enough to wear to school and Brady brough Abigail her white puffy coat. Granted, she threw it over his head and then tried to push him down/suffocate him... It was still super sweet of him to try. 

Elizabeth's teeth have got to be hurting her. She yells a lot. And cries way more than she used to. She rolled back to belly several times tonight. I think it's finally clicking for her. Excellent since she's almost 8 months old. 

My favorite thing to do with Abigail is have her read to me. No one prepared me for how exciting it would be that she can sound out words and actually read!

My happiest happening as of late is that Abigail has been getting herself ready for school in the morning. Previously it was taking at least an hour and a half (of constant attention and yelling and screaming and hounding) just to get ready and eat breakfast. This morning I think it took less than 30 minutes (with maybe only one or two reminders) which I'm sure is a record. It's amazing how much I appreciate things that other people don't even think twice about. Just because of the struggle and long road it has been. This may not even last, but while it's happening, you better believe I am all jam packed full of gratitude. 

Abigail is a challenging child... We celebrate the small stuff at every opportunity. 

Sunday stuff

I'm so behind on blogging it makes me want to cry. I will probably never catch up (remember how I keep meaning to post about Brady's second birthday??? He's three now) but here's today and that's alright. 

Honey has been in salt lake since Thursday morning and just got back this afternoon. My biggest success of the day was that I got us all dressed and ready for church (I even showered and shaved and we all had coordinating outfits) and we were only like 60 seconds late for 9 o'clock church. 

This guy snuck in my bed again last night. He takes advantage of me being so tired that I have no clue what's going on. All three kids were so tired when I woke them up this morning. Friday morning I was so excited about sleeping in because Abigail had a teacher work day and no school. All kids were awake before 7am. Sunday? I'm stuck dragging them out of bed and trying to get them fed and dressed while Brady keeps climbing back in bed and saying he's too tired. Of course. 

This kid was a struggle to get ready this morning because he was so tired. He already had these socks on and reeeeally wanted to wear them. We were already strapped for time so I just let it fly. Kids can get away with this stuff, right? 

Abigail is so particular about her clothes. She's never worn these boots before because "they don't feel good." Luckily, she loves that dress and hairbow so we compromised. And I gave her a mini lesson on how shoes (especially Sunday shoes) are not always super comfy like bedroom slippers. 

Also, this is how she dance poses. 

She's been on such good behavior the last few days. Hallelujah because it has been a huge help while chris was gone. 

This kid. He's a rascal. 

I don't know why I even try. Especially with multiple kids. When one cooperates, inevitably the other isn't even looking at the camera. 

My Sunday outfit that my stylist, aka Lisa, helped me with. 

Brady called chris. On a plastic phone. They talked about shoes. 

Karma

I just texted Lisa,

"This is what we call karma. Elizabeth had a binky in her mouth and I had her laying on the bed while I was making her laugh like crazy. And then it happened. My baby exploded out of her nose and mouth. It was like that first scene from the video. Except this was not white... It was clear. Thank goodness. Must've just been saliva or whatever and it wasn't that much. But of course that happens after my comment last night. That karma."

Second kids

Second kids grow up so much faster than first kids. Because they have their older siblings to teach them the ropes. Brady is learning a lot of things that I'm not teaching him (many good and educational things) and plenty of misciviou a things I'd rather he never figure out, and now, just things that don't even matter except that you can't pass third grade without them... Like eenie meenie miney moe (how're you supposed to spell all of that?!). He loves it. The kids get some chocolate chips and marshmallows each morning with their oatmeal and they play that game to determine the order that each one gets dropped into their bowl and eaten. It's great. 

Also, I'm nursing Elizabeth now upstairs in her room. Brady is laying in the hot*. Playing "rock paper scissors shoot" by himself. The focus he has on his own two hands is beyond adorable. 

*hot refers to the part of my bed that is currently "hot" from my electric blanket. He adores my electric blanket almost as much as I do. Hence him sneaking in to my bed every night without waking me. That rascal. 

errands all day

today was good.  busy, but good.

first, i think i got to bed at 2am.  because that always happens.  and i woke up sometime in the wee hours to feed elizabeth.  and then i think brady came in around 6 something but luckily chris was still home so he had someone else to bother.  ; )  and both kids were already noisy and playing before my alarm even went off.  so even though i slept til 7:50 or so, i can hardly call any of it sleep.  i feel like my nights are just as busy as my days.

anyway... abigail and brady did a pretty good job this morning getting ready on their own.  elizabeth woke up during that time but went back to sleep.  i got abigail to school before 9.  that's two mornings in a row and no yelling involved!  yesterday i dropped her off at 8:53.  that's a record for us.  it feels amazing... and the dropoff line is shorter than after 9 so that's an added bonus.  i got myself and brady and elizabeth ready and we headed out to costco.  my watch is reaching the sunset point of it's life.  i've had it for 15 wonderful years.  half of my life.  but i know the end is near and so i'm trying to find a suitable replacement.  so, i checked out costco.  i didn't see any watches i loved so i started walking out the door.  until i realized how perfectly the stars had aligned that the timing was perfect (it's so hard to get out in the morning with just two kids because abigail's school is only 3 hours and elizabeth's sleep/naps don't cooperate well with that.  but here i was at costco with only two kids and i had time to spare.  so i got a coupon book and decided to walk around and see what i might need.  i kid you not, i walked out of that store with over $300 of stuff.  I WASN'T EVEN PLANNING ON BUYING ANYTHING!  ugh.  i know it's all stuff that was on sale/a good deal, but i do get depressed about the cost of life.  i still struggle to find a happy mental balance with spending money.  i also struggle still being on time for things.  my original plan was to be at chick fil a by 11 to meet up with friends... but of course i didn't get there til after 11:30 (because $300 at costco) and had to leave like 20 minutes later to get abigail from school.  so i used two calendar cards (thanks for sending those in the mail, mom!  perfect timing since i just got them and activated them this morning!) and brady and i enjoyed free grilled chicken nuggets.  those are so delicious.  sadly, there wasn't much time really for hanging out, but brady did get some time on the play set and i got a few minutes of talk time with kelli and danielle, so we'll still call it a success.  i raced down parker road, so sure i would be late to get abigail, and ended up actually being a few minutes early.  also, elizabeth and brady fell asleep on the way so that was great.  i got to talk to jodi for a few minutes while picking abigail up and abigail was thrilled to run around in the snow with the other kids (normally we can't because i have kids impatiently waiting in the car) for a bit.  we went home and i unloaded costco stuff and abigail and i quickly ate the creme de la creme of the hot rotisserie chicken i got.  breast meat and skin for us!  we didn't even have to share since brady and elizabeth were still napping in the car in the garage.  ; )  so then abigail and i grabbed some library things to return and hopped back in the car to hurry to her 1:30 doctor's appointment.  they always say to arrive 20 minutes early... this time... i was checked in and watching my kids play in the waiting area buy 1:10.  woohoo!  i got a letter at the end of last week from abigail's school saying that she'd failed the routine hearing tests... failed for both ears.  awesome.  thankfully i have an audiologist sister that guided me through everything so i scheduled an appointment with abigail's regular doctor and was super prepared.  the doctor said abigail's ears looked perfect and gave me the number to the kaiser audiology department so i could schedule a recheck of her ears.  i took the opportunity then to bring up anything else i wanted to about abigail since i'd already paid $50 for the appointment.  it came at nice timing since abigail has a july birthday and this was half way... so perfectly in the middle.  anyway, all went well and i seriously love my kids' doctor.  she is wonderful.  my kids all really like her too since they're all going to each other's appointments.  we see that lady a million times a year it feels like.

as soon as we got to the car, i called to schedule the hearing test... good planning on my part because i was on hold for something like 12 minutes before i finally got through.  i realized i have a special pet peeve of being on the phone and being told "all representatives are still busy, please continue to wait" without being given an estimation of if i'm looking at 2 minutes or 10 minutes.  whatever.  i circled the library parking lot a few times before finally speaking to a real person.  scheduled that appointment and then took the kids inside to kill time at the library.  we all love being there, but i do wonder if all the librarians wonder about our loitering habits because we come so often and stay for so long.  what can i say?  it's our happy place.  we stayed for two hours this time.  i had no idea it was so long until we were in the car driving home and it was 4:25!  i had the kids eating their leftover oatmeal from this morning while i got them rotisserie chicken and blackberries and then went to feed elizabeth in my room.  well, multiple times they were getting out of their seats and not eating and i found myself yelling at them (which is practically constant in some of these recent days) and so i finally just told them, i was setting the timer and also, if i found them out of their seats again, they were done.  so that happened and actually neither of them ate any chicken or blackberries... so hopefully that leftover oatmeal will hold them over til morning.  ; ) happily, neither kid threw a fit about it or seemed surprised... which frequently happens and always baffles me but whatever. the kids got super hyper as soon as i sent them up to get on pjs and get ready for bed and thankfully, that was right at the time that honey was getting home.  he ate their plate of food and we all had a chaotic but leisurely time getting ready for bed.  lots of reading books but lots of craziness too.  abigail and i read books together for an hour.  brady hung out with chris in the basement while he ran on the treadmill.  elizabeth hung out in the hallway with a binky and was sooo close to rolling onto her belly.  she seems so slow in terms of her physical development that honey (i'll admit... i do it too) has started making wisecracks about it.  tonight it was all "i bet she won't be walking til she's 4."  ha.  at this rate?  probably.  ; )  emmy has a perpetual newborn and i have a perpetual 2 month old.  i won't lie though, i really like it.  i can still lay her on my bed and i have zero fear that she will roll off.  because she lacks any ability to roll.  my little pet rock.  she's a louder pet rock though lately with her teething.  ever since two days after we got back in town.  like right when lisa came.  but, my dearest elizabeth, i still love her to pieces.  rosy cheeks and all.  the lady at the library tonight was all "you were here the other day, right?" and then looking at elizabeth "yeah, that was you... i remember this baby... she's so happy!"  she also made the comment that her cheeks matched her outfit.  it's true, they're always so pink.  maybe that's accentuated with the teething too.  who knows?  anyway, honey put the kids to bed and i put elizabeth to bed and everything was just great.  but now it's 11:45 and elizabeth is waking up right on schedule (her waking up teething schedule that includes 11:30, 2:30 and 5:30... give or take).  so, there was my day.  barely home and very busy... but good.  because i judge my days on what kind of a mother i was... and today was pretty dang good.

ps- lisa shared this link with me while i was writing this and it is AMAZING.  but don't watch it if you have trouble with baby vomit.  http://www.buzzfeed.com/henryloevner/26-babies-vomit-in-60-seconds#.neazmvlyb

you're welcome

A complete turnaround

For as sad and defeated as I felt on Thursday evening, I have to say that I am amazed at the transformation. The past 72 hours have been absolutely incredible. So much time spent at home with my parents and my siblings and my grandmother. So much food and talking and staying up way too late. 

Dad picked me up from the airport Thursday night and we went straight to Liza's. Em and Collin were already there and Liza had delicious fruit and cream cheese dip and regular cheese dip too. We all hung out and watched the countdown for a few minutes before ringing in the new year. So crazy that it's 2016. I think I went to bed at 2am or something. 

On New Years I slept in til 10 maybe and ran downstairs to talk to mom and then ran to the basement to see grandmother. I still feel so horrible but I was aoooo excited to see her that I hugged her way too tight and probably killed her shoulder. But we eventually let go to look at each other's faces and she got all chocked up and told me how grateful she was that I came to see her. I'm hoping it wasn't just residual tears from the pain of her shoulder (she had a fall on Christmas Day stepping off the curb at the bowling alley) but I really am pretty sure it's because she was so touched. I was having a moment too. So so so so so grateful to have this trip work out the way it did. 

I was debating hiking stone mountain or not because I felt like I should be spending time with granny. Liza convinced me to go and I had an awesome time with her family and dad and Walter. It's a good New Years tradition to have. Only one day into 2016 and I've already climbed a mountain. It gives me more confidence going forward. ; ) The top of the mountain was ridiculously cold and windy but the hiking up and down was great and dad was awesome to get everyone hot chocolate at the top. It was crazy how busy the mountain was considering years past when we would be basically the only people hiking it. Feels kinda like the bowling alleys on Christmas. 

I think we got back around 4 maybe and hung out downstairs with granny and ate dinner downstairs with her too. That was super extra fun. Mom made chicken and rice and zucchini and salad and I ate at granny's table with her and then got us both ice cream (black jack cherry for her and milky way for me) and two "tastes just like homemade" chips ahoy cookies for her two. The plan was for her to share one with me but she at both. ; ) Just as I'd intended it. It was like a baby party. I loved watching Collin and walden and garner. We hung out down there until it was time to put the babies and granny to bed and then we moved the party upstairs to the den. Except that I brought Elizabeth with me because I'd ignored her downstairs and she fell asleep just laying on the floor. Should've gotten a picture of that. Whoops. Hanging out is always so fun. You know you're with your favorite people when you prefer to do nothing over something. Like I didn't want a movie or a game or an activity to distract me from just talking with and soaking up the quality time with everyone.  Em and Bekah and I stayed up late talking. I'm pretty sure I went to bed at 2am again. 

Saturday, we had plans to go to costco and get granny a comfortable recliner for the basement. Elizabeth woke up around 7 I think and I was afraid to go back to sleep because I didn't want to waste any of the day. I ate chocolates for breakfast (as I did the previous day) and showered and went to costco with mom, meeting Jeff and Skye and Nathan there. We got the most perfect recliner... It's sooo similar to her one at the farm. Elizabeth and I hung out with granny and mom started making Milky Way ice cream and I ordered leggings from kohls.com since it was my last day to use the $10 kohls cash I had. So we hung out at home until I went to another costco with Emmy (meeting Walter and Bekah and the boys there) to pick up pictures and walk around. The samples were good and part of the time, we sat down on the furniture and just talked. Elizabeth was home napping and Collin was asleep in the wrap so it was just fun and easy. We bought our stuff (including lettuce for mom) and em used her $0.07 costco gift card. ; ) We got home after 4 and dad was having a blast with Elizabeth. And then she had some fun cousin time getting pushed around the kitchen by the twins. 

Dad and I walked into the kitchen to see and smell delicious chocolate cake that mom said was for after Sunday dinner. Dad made a funny comment to me about not understanding why someone would make a cake that wasn't supposed to be eaten for 24 hours and we convinced mom to serve the chocolate cake that night after dinner. Along with the Milky Way ice cream we were already making. Mom was making dinner suggestions and I told her we should go easy on dinner so we wouldn't spoil our dessert. So we had eggs and cheese grits and bacon. It was delicious and perfectly not too filling. We allll ate downstairs in the basement and it was insanely fun. I loved sitting on the sofa for dinner and having all of us right there. It was one of the highlights of the trip. We used the pocket talker to ask granny questions about her childhood and how she likes fried chicken. ; )  And then I ate myself sick with dessert. I had a few bowls of milky way ice cream, a piece of chocolate cake, and then at least one more bowl of milky way ice cream. It was beyond indulgent. I put Elizabeth to bed at 6, thinking it would probably only be for a late evening nap and then I brushed my sugary teeth. The thought occurred to me to go to bed because I was sooooo tired and people were winding down... So it seemed. But then I heard voices. Everyone was hanging out in the den. So, mom, dad, Walter, bekah, Emmy, and me all stayed up too late talking. Bekah went to her house for a bit to pick up clothes and stuff so she and Walter and the boys could spend the night and come to my parents ward with us in the morning and of course Walter was passed out within minutes of her leaving. We talked quite a bit about the panama trip and about the Hilliers (hey, exciting news! Chris's dad got called to be the mission president of the Salt Lake City easy mission!) and funny stories from life lately. Mom even cut dads hair and trimmed mine up. I'm so excited about it. It looks soooo much better. Eventually mom and dad went to bed. So it was another late night with Bekah and em and me. The highlight of my night was holding Collin... Which is funny because the purpose of this trip was for me to see him (since the original plan didn't include everyone getting together for a funeral over thanksgiving break) but Elizabeth has had that cough and I've had the worst sore throat of my life (except that it's not my throat, it's like swallowing pains so intense that it feels like someone is shoving a knife up from my left jaw bone to my ear every time I try to swallow. I think maybe my lymph node was infected or something? No clue except that I felt like I was going to die. So I kept my distance from Collin because he's still so tiny that it would be super dangerous for him to get sick and he'd have to go to the hospital. But, Saturday night, em asked if I wanted to hold him and I was so excited. I took a couple pictures of it and judging by the time stamps on them, I held Collin for at least an hour and a half. Blows my mind since it didn't feel that long at all. Anyway, lots of fun and I think I went to bed after 2am again. I'm so tired but with my trip being so short, it was better to sacrifice sleep for family time. At least Elizabeth cooperated well and would always wake when I went in for bed so I would just feed her and then I could fall asleep and not wake up until she stirred again after 7 or so. So that was a bonus... That my five hours of sleep each night were unbroken. ; ) 

This morning we got ready and went to church. I rode with dad and we picked up bagito (I have no clue how to spell his name) on the way to bring him. He's been blind for years and thanks to dad helping him out, he can see now!!! And he can see really well! I was shocked and amazed. Went I got to church I went straight to the mothers lounge to feed Elizabeth and em joined me soon after. We listened to the testimonies in there and bagito got up and told about how he can see now the rainbow colors that are reflected by the crystal chandelier in the celestial room and then mentioned that he had a special visitor this morning to wish him merry Christmas and she wasn't even one and her name is Elizabeth. HA! It was awesome. Little Elizabeth got a shout out over the pulpit. Sunday school was fun with em holding Collin, me hanging out, dad holding Elizabeth, and Walter and Bekah with their boys. It was like we were running our own nursery. 

After church, I saw Diana's sil in the foyer and got to talk to her. I was so excited about that! She's super nice but I never get to see her so it was fun to talk for a bit. I rode back with dad but he dropped off Elizabeth and me before bagito because Elizabeth was falling asleep and I needed her to nap in her pack n play so she would be as rested as possible for our flight home. I got her down for a nap, I took out granny's rollers and combed and hair sprayed her hair, and helped set the table. Mom made us cafe rio pork salads for dinner! It was delish. We brought granny upstairs and Liza's family came over and we all ate together at the dining table. We had wonderful conversations about important stuff like how we still can't agree on suitable names for the three kid bedrooms upstairs. ; )  It was a blast. Then we had chocolate cake for dessert. With tons of freshly whipped cream and strawberries (for me) and sugar covered blackberries (for some others). Our family isn't really mindful of healthy eating when it comes to desserts. Bekah was the most. We all couldn't believe how little whipped cream she used (you could still see the chocolate cake under it).

After we were done eating, we took tons of pictures. Of the babes, the siblings, granny with her four grandkids, mom and dad with their four kids, and on and on. Walden was napping, but eventually he woke up and my flight got delayed so we had some extra time. The stars aligned. I thiiiink they got more pictures with all five babes while I was upstairs packing. I told granny bye at least three times. It was so hard for me to leave her. She is precious and she looked extra beautiful today all dressed up with her hair done and pink lipstick. I love her so much. 

Dad took me to the airport. Something super special for me about this trip was how much time I got to spend with dad. So much time together in the car that was mostly one on one that normally doesn't happen. I was sad not to spend more time with mom since she was spending so much time caring for granny, but it was so wonderful to have so much time with dad. It was amazing and I loved it so much. I said goodbye to dad and thanked him for a great trip and was frustrated that my words couldn't come close to portraying my love for him and my appreciation for the time I was able to spend with him this trip. Hopefully he understood at least a bit. I know so many people think I'm spoiled for going on so many trips to cool places but truth is, they will never ever ever light a candle to the time I spend with my own family. I'm on a high and super depressed. It's always so hard for me to come back from Atlanta and get back into my regular swing of life. Perfect timing that Weed is coming to visit on Wednesday!!! Ahhhh!!!  It's a dream come true!