trip to va

the girls and i were lucky to be able to have a trip to virginia this fall.  it was so great to see friends and family.  i definitely needed it.  and i think my mom needed us there as well.

to say i was anxious about flying by myself with two kids is an understatement.  i was terrified.  because we bought the tickets on such short notice, i had to make a stop on the way there.  it wasn't too bad.  the girls did pretty good.  the worst part was in the chicago airport.  mae needed to go to the bathroom, but the toilet seats there have a plastic covering that moves and replenishes.  and she was so scared of it.  she would not sit on it.  she was hitting and kicking the walls, and me.  throwing herself on the floor, screaming.  oh my gosh it was a nightmare! i even tried to hold her over the toilet...no dice. finally i walked out of the bathroom, and went to a different one, where i proceeded to pull the toilet seat up, so she sat on the nasty pee covered underside.  whatever...at least she went.

she looks like a seasoned traveler...

she was psyched to get some apple juice and watch a show on the plane.

 and izzy pretty much spent the entire time strapped to my chest.  she slept a little.  but she did well.

one of the best parts of the trip was seeing my cousins. i don't get to see them very often, and i love when i do.  they are all so wonderful.  and sweet little penny came too!  she and izzy are about 2 months apart.  so stinkin cute.

 they had fun together.  izzy loves babies and other little people like herself.  she squawks like a bird when she sees them.

 bom was staying with my parents when we got there, so we got some extra quality time with her.  it was so great for my girls.  and i think it was really great for bom as well.  as i'm posting this mae said "hey, it's bom.  she did my books with me."  so glad she can have a relationship with her great grandma.

 erich also came into town, and mae was loving him this trip.  he was great at playing with her.  he's going to be a great dad!! i'm glad we have these trips so my kids can have relationships with my brothers and their wives.  i have such good relationships with my aunts and uncles, i want that for my girls too!

 all tuckered out.  this girl was a champ as we went all over tar nation.  despite massive meltdowns in airports, she's a pretty good kid.

Pop's Funeral

i'm so glad that the girls and i were able to go back to virignia to attend pop's funeral.  it was a very small service, with only family.  he served in the air force, so he was buried in Quantico National Cemetery.  it was a lovely, peaceful service.

it was such an honor to be present for this ceremony.  beautiful things were said about a truly amazing man. 

 it was humbling to witness the flag being placed on pop's casket.  and was a reminder to me of the millions of men and women who have served and are serving to protect the freedoms that my family and i have.

the most moving part of the ceremony was when the flag was presented to my grandmother.  it was such a beautiful, honorable experience for me.

 we couldn't have asked for a more beautiful fall day.  pop's grave site is in a quiet spot, very close to the trees.  the colors while we were there were amazing, it was the kind of day that pop loved.

one of the songs pop requested be played was 'rock of ages'.  reid was able to record himself singing and email the recording to my mom, so we were able to listen to it as we placed roses on his grave.  tears blur my eyes as i write this.  i will never forget the spirit and peace that i felt in those moments.  the veil felt so thin to me as i held my baby girl, and listened to the beautiful music. 

 

i've seen death pull families apart, but i felt like the opposite was true in this case.  seeing the relationship between my mom and her siblings grow, the love and respect they have for their mother, and the time and effort taken by grandchildren and great grandchildren to attend is a testament to me that families are forever. 

we love you pop. 

Pop

my grandfather passed away on friday as 12:20pm.  his health had declined much in the past year and a half, and we all knew it was coming.  it was harder for me to deal with than i thought it would be.  i am so grateful for my knowledge of the plan of salvation and eternal families.

i've thought a lot about what i wanted to say about pop. and as i've grown up, i've learned through stories and witnessed myself a lot about his character.  he was a quiet example to me of hard work, charity, and honesty.  growing up he never voiced affection, but his actions spoke more to me than i think his words could have.  if i had a piano recital or band concert, he and my grandmother were there.  they went to at least one game of all of my sporting events growing up.  he was at my graduation, and so many birthdays i can't even count.  although he was not a member of my faith, he attended every baby blessing, baptism, mission farewell, and wedding that is health allowed.

i'm grateful for the example that he was to me.  and while i have struggled with his health decline and his death, i am grateful to know that i will see him again.

day to day

i've had a hard time the last week or so.  i've been pretty homesick, especially because there has been a lot going on at home that i haven't been able to be a part of.  pop has been really sick for a year and a half, and was finally put into a place with end of life care.  meanwhile bom found out she had cancer, and had to have surgery.  cody's grandma has also been in and out of the hospital as well the past few months.  i have felt so useless here. i've really gained a testimony of prayer.  not just praying for others, but in really communicating with Heavenly Father.

with two kiddos that need my care, everyday life has to continue.

mae asked me to straighten her hair one day while i was doing mine.  after i did it she said, "oh mom i look just like rapunzel"  it didn't stay straight for long.  this girl sweats like a beast, and that hair was back to it's fro in no time.

still doing our letter of the week craft.  and she still loves every bit of it.  we've also started doing halloween crafts each week.  this girl is quite the little crafter.

every friday and saturday mama gets a 'special drink', a girl needs her diet coke.  sometimes mae gets lucky enough to get a drink or slurpee.  this happened the other week while i was putting izzy in her carseat.  i went over and found mae trying to pick it up and put it back in her cup...nasty.  there was still some left in the bottom, so she was fine.  and i was happy...less sugar for her.

oh teething, how i loathe thee.  it's in full force around here.  and this girl is a grump with a capital G.  she's all smiles if i'm holding her, or right next to her.  but if i walk away it's like the world is ending.  there's been major finger chewing and tons of snot.  poor thing.

we play up on our balcony sometimes if we need to get some fresh air.  mae's old walker is up there, and the other day she was using it as a stroller for her baby.

this girl is eating so much.  forget about pureed foods, she wants the real stuff. we tried meatballs the other day, and she loved it.  

another letter of the week.  right after she finishes she walks over to the stairs and says 'take my picture mom'.

mae's new thing is to have 'parties'.  she sets the table and gets snacks for 'all the girls', whoever they are.  it's pretty cute.  what's not cute is when she takes a chair into the pantry to get snacks for the 'girls' and knocks stuff over, or climbs the shelves and gets stuck.  life with a three year old.

when mama is around i get some pretty wonderful smiles from this girlie.  there's no such thing as a small smile with this one.  always a open mouthed, crinkled eyed smile.

very proud of her puzzle skills.  

fall-ish

well, it sort of feels like fall around here.  at least in the mornings.  and by fall i mean, the highs have only been in the upper 80s/ low 90s.  definitely not the fall that i'm used to, but we're enjoying the slightly cooler temps none-the-less.

this little scooter, has been awesome for this girl.  we have gone on a walk every single day since she got it, so she can ride on it.  seriously, every single day.  she's gotten really good at it.  

this little nugget bends so far forward in her umbrella stroller, that i dont think she'll be in it much longer.  if i'm not holding the back of it, she'll tip right over.  as you can see, we are still rockin the chicken legs and arms.  her belly is getting a little meat, but thats it.

she's had one tooth for a few weeks, and it seems like the second one on the bottom has been working it's way out for weeks! it's finally starting to cut through.  no crawling yet, but she rolls around and spins in circles until she gets to where she wants to be.  and she has some seriously long arms, so usually whatever she sets her sights on, she can reach. she pretty much cries anytime i leave the room, and has gotten pretty attached.  i'm not sure if it's a teething thing, or just wanting to be near mom all the time.  cody and i have decided that she is either happy or mad.  she doesn't really have much of a gray area between.  but, when she's happy, you can't help but smile.

our pool closed labor day, but it's still hot enough to swim, so we've gone to the lake a few times so this little lady can get her fix.

izzy used to just sit and play in the stroller, but now she wants to be part of the action.  i don't even want to know how many pebbles made it into her mouth...but she loved it as well.

i had to make a ton of cookies for primary a few weeks ago, and of course i had my little helper with me.  she pilfered quiet a few cookies.  

 and scraped every last bit of cookie dough off the mixer.

another gift she has loved is the care bear that grandma and grandpa baldwin sent her.  she's taken it to bed and on a few errands.  the icing on the cake was when he had to be buckled in last week.

mae is my girlie girl.  she loves everything and anything that's pink, princess, sparkly, poofy, remotely girly.  her new favorite is to pretend that she is rapunzel.  she asks me to tie an ace bandage or a blanket or streamers in her hair, so she has a long ponytail like rapunzel.  and she loves to listen to the soundtrack...over and over and over.  

we're still doing our letter of the week.  although, if i'm being honest, all we really do is a craft one day a week.  and read a book with the letter.  i'm totally slacking, but it's better than nothing, right?

this little girl has become a book worm.  she's always reading books to herself, her stuffed animals, or to izzy.  or she's asking me to read to her.  pretty soon we're going to have to go to the library more than once a week, because i am getting tired of some of those books!  or else, we're going to have to get a bunch more.  i love that she is enjoying books so much.

one of the best

i'm a lucky girl.  i've got some awesome family.  and i'm so lucky that i have such good relationships with them.  i'm even luckier that they come to visit me!  and last week one of my favorites came, my cousins sydney.

i always have a good time with her.  we just pick up right where we left off.  and even better my little girls absolutely adore her.  mae was on sydney like white on rice.  we did lots of fun things while she was here.  first up, we went to zilker park to ride the train.  despite mae's face, she really did love it.  she's always mean muggin.

 we went downtown and saw the sights, went shopping, and of course ate at delicious places.  and even had a blast just hanging out at home. 

 izzy started this tounge thing while syd was here.  she has her little tounge out like this a lot now.

 part of our nightly routine...the milk.  i have some seriously long kids.  izzy is already getting to long for her 12 month clothes and she's not even 8 months yet.

 every waking moment mae had to know where sydney was and what she was doing.  i'm glad that sydney didn't get tired of her. 

 this is mae's fat girl face.  she makes this face very frequently.  especially when you're trying to take a picture of the two of you.  she'll hate me one day for putting that on here, but you have to document these things, right?

sydney did lots of educational stuff with mae while she was here.  seriously, good thing she does that in her career because she is amazing at it.  she set up a learning space for mae, and brought all these games.  we've done them everyday since she's been here.  mae loves it.  and i'm so glad someone helped me do that, because educating my child is seriously daunting to me.

syd was here for our letter of the week craft.  i'm not sure how much of this mae actually retains, but, it makes me feel better to be doing something that is somewhat educational.  

after we do our craft we read a book that has the letter of the week. 

mae was in heaven with sydney here.  i feel like i don't give her enough attention, and it's always fun when someone different comes and can fill that void!

 miss iz.  sydney took this cute picture of my smiley little babe.

so grateful that sydney could come spend time with us, she's awesome.  and she came just when i needed a pick me up.  love her.