Finally...a weekend recap! Beware...it's LONG!

Oh goodness.....what a crazy few days is has been around here, trying to get settled and back into a routine. I wouldn't have thought that it would be this difficult to get back into the swing of things when I was only gone for 3 and a half days, but alas, it is! The vast majority of my woes this week have been with Ellie. She has been a handful! She began cutting her first two teeth on Sunday, on her 7-month birthday, and just in time for our long drive home....which is why is was SOOOOO l-o-n-g!!!!!! She cried for nearly 75% of the drive...literally, which forced me to stop 3 separate times to nurse/console her. Not fun! And since that day, it has been just more of the same. Crying, fussiness, runny nose, LOTS of spitting up, inability to sleep.....you name it, she's been experiencing it! Blegh!! :( And that is with Tylenol and teething tablets on board! I'm just not accustomed to all this! Luke was the easiest teether on the planet....I never knew he was cutting teeth until they popped through and I could see 'em. He never got fussy or cranky. Not once. We call that his "Preemie Power"...he's got an incredible pain tolerance! But his sister is quite different. Much to my dismay!

Annnnywaaay......back to our weekend.

The drive up on Thursday was actually really nice for me. Ellie was a dream for most of the ride. She slept for her nap, was happy to play with toys while she was awake and we only had to stop once for me to eat and to nurse her. After our stop, she slept for the night, and I engrossed myself in my audio book and soaked in the solitude. It was nice... really nice to have such a long time to enjoy the scenery and the quiet and not have to talk to anyone for hours on end. I guess I didn't realize how much talking and noise makes up my normal days until I had a few hours of silence. Life with toddlers is LOUD! :) My drive was a welcome reprieve. I watched the most incredible sunset of burnt oranges, pinks and yellows over the fruit orchards near Visalia and dreamed of our favorite camping hideaway in Mineral King as I drove past the exit for Sequoia Nat'l Park. We arrived at Amy's just a few minutes before 11pm and settled in rather quickly for the night. Ellie slept horribly that first night and somewhere in the pre-dawn hours, I pulled her into bed with me and we snuggled until daybreak. I relish moments like that with her (despite my exhaustion), when I can nuzzle my face into her neck and we drift in and out of sleep together. Moments like those are numbered, I know.

On Friday, Amy and I took the morning to relax at home and let the kids nap before we headed out to a fantastic lunch at one of Amy's favorite spots called Jack's (I think)! I had a bbq tri-tip sandwich that was to die for! Mmmm! So good! After that, we strolled through the outlet mall, where I was finally able to find some new shoes for Luke and a new pair of capris for me. We headed back to Amy's after that so the kiddos could nap and then spent the remainder of the afternoon snapping pictures of our sweet girls and making dinner together. It was so nice just to be together and relax! Here are a few shots from that day...



Sara is such a happy baby....always smiling like this!

For those of you who know my dad...I can't get over how much Ellie looks like him here!

Just being cute...


We decided to give the girls their first friend-filled bath together on Friday night and they had a blast splashing and kicking together in the water! Then it was off to bed, and thankfully, Ellie slept great that night! :)



On Saturday, we were out the door by 9:15 and on our way to Heidi's in Concord for Brandon's birthday party. The theme for the party was a Safari and we were greeted by giant inflatable giraffes and zebras at the front door! They were so cute...I'm sorry to not have gotten any pictures of them! Once inside, Heidi had done such a cute job of carrying on the safari theme, and there were monkeys hanging from green streamers that looked like vines on the ceiling and more giant safari animals tucked in corners! There was even jungle sounds playing from the stereo! So, so, SOOOO cute! Well done, Heidi!!! (Again, no pictures....sorry!) :( All of her family was there, along with her 5 y/o niece and 8 month old nephew, so there were lots of babies and kids around! With four infants all a year or under, we all took turns rotating naps and playing for most of the afternoon. It was a great time! Amy's mom was there too and having everyone together was like having my extended family around me! It made my heart happy! And more than once during the day, as we sat around the living room talking and reminiscing, I found myself just sitting back and taking it all in; smiling to myself...amazed at how quickly time seems to have passed us by. There we were, sitting together with our babies in our laps when it seems just a short time ago, we were kids ourselves. Indeed, time flies by!

Brandon seemed to love his birthday! He dove right into his cake, with little hesitation and would have eaten the entire thing had Heidi and Justin not removed it! :) He is an incredibly handsome little boy too! Here is a quick shot I snapped of him before the major festivities began...isn't he cute in his little safari shirt?! He looks so much like his momma to me! But every now and then, I caught a glimmer or Justin in his eyes or as a smile flashed across his face!

Ellie and Auntie Heidi


My only regret for the day was that we didn't get the chance to take the few pictures I had hoped for of the three of us together with our little ones. :( Nap times and all the fun left us with little time to sit and play with the camera! Not to mention the fact that our kiddos are not prone to sitting still long! :) So here is the only one that came out even half-way decent. In all the rest, either one of our kids was crying or someones eyes were closed. Oh well! Maybe next time!


After dinner, we drove back to Amy's again and got the kids ready for bed. We hung out and watched tv together for awhile, chatting. Ellie had another turbulent night that night. Must've been those dang teeth starting! I didn't discover them until the morning though, so at the time, I just figured she was just having a hard time in a strange place. We left for home around noon on Sunday, and I've already told you how much fun the drive home was!! Ty kept Luke up so that I could see him when we got back, and he ran across the garage to me as soon as he heard the door open! I was so happy to see him and hadn't realized how much I had missed him until my arms were wrapped around him! I brought him back one of the cute inflatable monkeys from Brandon's party and you should have seen the smile on his face when I pulled it out of the car to hand it to him! It was adorable!! Wish I had my camera then too!

So...that was our weekend. Well worth the lengthy drive! Thanks again girls, for having me! We had an awesome time!