Home

We made it. HOME. Got home last night at about 1am and to our surprise Daddy AND Grandpa (or Ba Ba as Lily calls him now) were waiting for us at the airport. The trip went pretty well yesterday but for the record...
1. Lily does NOT like fruit snacks. Huh. I thought they were baby crack.
2. Little people books about the zoo with a million flaps to lift up are the greatest invention ever.
3. So are slinkies.
4. If you put your chair all the way back even before we take off and are sitting in front of a two year old and huff and puff and give dirty looks to her Mama who is getting kicked and scratched and her hair pulled because she is trying so hard to keep your chair from being kicked well you almost deserve to have your chair kicked.
5. Chivalry is not dead-at least if you are in the military. At the check-in at the airport Matt saw a woman struggling to move her very heavy bags while carrying a small child and went over to help her...while everyone else stood watching. And a very special thank you to the soldier who saw that I was struggling and carried my carseat to the bathroom so I could change Lily's diaper, waited outside for me, then walked me back to my gate. You rock sir.
6. Bj said it best in one of the emails he sent me while I was gone..."I feel homesick without you, as though my home is wherever you are." I have never been so glad to be home.

A very, VERY excited Gracie

And a very cute baby Bee :)

She's here. :)

Bridget Sophia Dillow
TEN pounds 4ozs
21 inches long
born 1:56PM
Lots of dark brown hair that will most likely fall out and turn blondie blondie.
Pictures soon :)

Beautiful

I'm so glad that Lily has lost her grumpiness and has returned to her normal happy self. She is just beautiful :)
And hey, for the record, STILL NO BABY.

Still no baby

Yeah, you read that right. Nada. Aunt Marie is going to be a bit miffed if she is not able to see "Rumpie" until August. MIFFED.
To move things along I thought I would check into some "speed it up now" methods. So here is the weirdest ten on tuesday ever.
1. Eat spicy foods or pineapple. Pineapple? Seriously?
2. Go for a walk or march up some stairs. March? Ok.
3. Castor Oil
4. Talk to your baby.
5. Shhhhhh...s-e-x...
6. Unripe papaya may cause early labor...
7. Accupressure
8. Accupuncture
9. Hibachi Japan on a full moon (hey worked for me!)
10. Fearing your sister may explode if she doesn't get to meet this baby before she leaves.

And now for the photo of the day. Maddie and Gracie. Although it may look like an all out WWE wrestling match, this was actually a giggling fest of hugs. Gosh these girls are cute :)

Labour Day

Oh not for anyone here, but in Australia (thanks Nadine) at least. I can't believe this baby is offically late. All I can say is I better hold new baby before I leave or I am going to be one miffed aunt.

So here is everything that I have done so far while here in California. I have been a busy girl :)

Reading

So things are going much better here-only took thirteen days for Lily to get out of Grumpy McGrumperson mode and into fun laughing, giggling, smiling, happy Lily mode. We had a fabulous time going to the park today. Lily has gotten over her fear of slides and went down the twisty tunnel at the big kids park about twenty times. This summer is going to be fun :)

Hi Da!

Rasta Lily

and no I'm not home, but Katherine had a better way of posting pictures
and a bonus picture just for her daddy...although she has refused mac and cheese, hot dogs, pasta, any and all veggies, apples and oranges, the girl loves chocolate banana pancakes...

Sigh...the face

So here is the face we have been seeing so frequently while here in CA. *sigh*

Ten on Tuesday/Photo a day in the month of May

So how about a little update? Things are going better here for Lily, although she has been spending quite a lot of time in the trouble chair, but only once today for hitting so there is improvement. The biggest problem now is having to stay in her room until she falls asleep which can take anywhere from 10 minutes to an hour. Or two. My mind wanders while sitting in the dark. So here is my new version of Ten on Tuesday...
1. It is impossible for me to lay on a bed in the dark for more than 30 minutes without falling asleep.
2. Lily snores. Loudly.
3. I wonder how far the renovations on the Target have gotten.
4. I wonder how many leaves are on the trees? Did I completely miss Ohio spring?
5. I wonder what this baby's name is? I think probably not Rumplestilskin or Rumpie for short.
6. I wonder if E will ever actually have this baby.
7. Little girls sure are fun. But they sure do wear me out ;)
8. I need to look up the words to Fifty Nifty U-nited States and teach it to Maddie. (And yes, I do realize it is just the states alphabetically...)
9. I miss my M & D
10. And my dear husband.
Bonus: And all my friends.
Bonus number two: Photo of the Day for the month of May. Maddie dancing to my Shenanigan's CD...I highly recommend.

Taking a moment to breathe.

I forgot how much I needed a moment while ALL the girls are sleeping (or reading quietly in their rooms)
to breathe
to quietly sip a dr. pepper
to read my blogs
to look at cool layouts on 2peas
to order my ali kit from CK
to listen to the wind howl outside
to just sit
and breathe.
it is good
and now it is over, but it is still good. Maddie is going to read to me now. :)

I didn't forget

I know, everyone would like to see pictures of my lovely visit, but I don't have my cord (Bj are you reading this? I need my cord please...) So Lily isn't settling in as well as I would have hoped. I can't seem to leave the room for more than 1.5 seconds before the extreme screaming kicks in. Unfortunately her scheduled separation anxiety has kicked in just in time for this trip, and no one except her Mama can help. And I think that Gracie has finally found her match. Poor thing has been spending the last few weeks planning all the things she was going to do with Lily, but Lily is definitely a child with her own mind. At one point Lily was hitting the ottoman while Gracie was cowering in the chair. While Lily was growling. Sigh.
I am having a wonderful time with my two nieces however. Lots of reading and swinging and little people and puzzles and goose bumps and giggling and chasing and watching them have a blast running under the sprinkler. Such joy.
And such a face of surprise when Lily accidentally got caught underneath. Not a fan of it apparently.
So here's to a less grumpy day tomorrow...

I made it...

I'm here, in once piece more or less although I really don't suggest traveling by yourself with a 20 month old if you can at all help it. SERIOUSLY. Actually I really don't suggest sitting in front of a 20 month old unless you would like a very interesting chair massage. Uncle Matt had some really unpleasant entertainment on the way home. But you know what makes it all worth it? Seeing Lily hug and kiss her cousins, and the hugs I got from the girls were just so lovely too :)