Pictures from Sunday
As close to a smile as I could get
Aaron had one last day off on Monday. I had my two week check with
the OB nurse. So I got up early with Aaron and showered etc. and the
kids were all shocked that I was coming with them to get dropped off at
school. David was not pleased that he had to sit in the back seat, and
Amy wasn't happy that David was sitting there because that meant she had
less leg room because the seat was down. Oh, what a travesty! It was my
first time riding in the Yukon. It has heated seats - that will come in
handy in the winter! It rides so much smoother than the van. It is much
bigger though, and I'm a little nervous to drive it. I hope I don't
knock off a side mirror. I only have about 6 inches on either side in
the garage. It's a lot longer too, there's not a lot of extra room in
front or behind it when parked in the garage.
Anyway...
we dropped off kids, then Aaron dropped me off at the clinic and he put
gas in the Yukon. Then he and the girls found me in the waiting room. I
was called in right then, so Melanie came with me and Aaron took
Michelle to the Peds department. The check up was mostly just a bunch of
questions. As I was answering them I knew just how to answer them
without them prying for more information. But that didn't seem right, so
I answered them truthfully. There were still no concerns, but I knew I
wasn't recovering as quickly as I had hoped. While we were there Aaron picked up David's prize for winning the Halloween Coloring contest. I forgot to mention that they called us Thursday or Friday and told us he had won. He got a $25 gift certificate to Toys 'R Us! He is excited to spend it.
After the appointment Aaron picked up his duck hunting license and then we went home. After nursing Michelle, I was trying to get her to burp, and she was doing such a good job of holding her head up, so I tried to get a picture of it.
It's so cute when she's trying to focus and goes cross-eyed.
She loves to just lay on my bed and stare at the lights
Monday Aaron and Loren went duck and quail hunting for a few hours. He was back in plenty of time to take Timothy to drama. He took Melanie and Amy with him, and went to Costco while they were out there. He picked up a pumpkin pie for dessert. Bonnie and Mark G* brought by a delicious dinner. After dinner we had guests over for FHE. Ken and Chanel S* and their kids and the missionaries joined us. The missionaries taught a lesson on how to show gratitude, then Aaron lead an activity. It's a hilarious game where you try to roll a quarter across the table and make it land between the tines of a fork. It's harder than it seems. They all had fun with that. Then we ate dessert, the brownies Bonnie had made, and the pumpkin pie Aaron bought. It was perfect since Elder R* mentioned, during his lesson, that he loved pumpkin pie. I asked Chanel if she wanted to hold Michelle, and she did after she finished her pie. She was sleeping pretty much the whole time, but I was glad she got to hold her. It was close to 8:00 when we had to send our guests home. It was bed time for the kids.
Tuesday was Aaron's first day back at work. He starts a little bit later than normal so he can drop the kids off at school. Some days I'm ready to get up and join the family for breakfast, but other times I've been up most of the night, and if Michelle is sleeping, I'm going to sleep too.
After the kids were at school I continued to help Melanie use the potty. She loves wearing "big girl panties", and will sit on the potty, but still doesn't seem to have control over her bladder. At Costco Aaron picked up some pull-ups so we don't have to worry about accidents while we are out, or at bed time and nap time. Otherwise she is in underwear, and we go through them way too quickly. She does have a few successful trips everyday, but more accidents than I wish she'd have.
She still loves to hold Michelle, and always had to know what she's doing. She gets right in her face, and had to kiss her head, and says 100 times a day, "Aw, she's so cute!" I can't wait until they can play together.
The kids got home from school, and Aaron got home about 30 minutes later. He has reduced hours for a couple of weeks to help me adjust to a new normal. So he's home to help with dinner, and get things done around the house. Some days Michelle will sleep most of the day, and sometimes she won't let me put her down. I never know what kind of day we are going to have, so we have lots of quick meals, and crock pots meals ready to go. Leftovers are great too!
That night just as I'm ready to go to bed, guess who was wide awake?
I went to change her diaper and get pajamas on her, and she was so calm laying in just her diaper. So I we did some tummy time, and took pictures.
trying to lift her head
That night was a long night. I didn't get much sleep.
Wednesday was Veteran's Day. The kids didn't have school. Aaron planned a temple trip for the youth in Seattle. The original plan was that Aaron would still be on paternity leave at that point, but since Michelle came a few days early, he was already back at work, and had to ask for PTO to go on the temple trip. At first it didn't seem many were able to go, but they ended up with 4 vehicles and 19 youth! They were a little worried about snow on the pass, but everything was fine. It was wet, and rainy/snowy, but the snow wasn't sticking to the road. Aaron and David left early, and I slept in with Michelle. The other kids were up and playing on their own.
Eventually we had some breakfast, and then just had a lazy day at home. At one point I thought I might be adventurous and take the 4 kids somewhere, but then I realized Aaron had the Yukon, and Timothy really isn't tall or old enough for the front seat of the car. So we stayed home. I did laundry, well part of it. I did three loads, but folded and put away one, halfway put away the second and the third one was still in the dryer at the end of the day. The kids played downstairs, and watched a movie, and played outside a little when it wasn't raining.
More pictures of Michelle, because a friend requested them.
Aaron took some pictures of the group walking up to the temple
and then afterward at the Family Discovery Center
They also ate lunch at the temple cafeteria and on the drive home stopped by an ice cream shop. They were home around 5:00 or so. We had dinner and then Aaron took Timothy to scouts. That was pretty much it.
Thursday the kids were back at school and Aaron back at work. I was just home, I finished up the laundry, and I don't know what else. I was thinking of making soup and French Bread, but it was one of those days where Michelle didn't want me to put her down.
I did get some pictures of her almost smiling
After school the kids got some chores done, and Aaron cooked up some chorizo. He had stopped by the store and got some bolillo rolls, and we had churripan for dinner. He had mixed up some chimichurri that morning. We had an early dinner and then Aaron helped David make some peppermint taffy. Did I mention this baking contest he and his friend do occasionally. The pick a treat and bring it to school and they have judges pick which one they like best. They ask a few friends and the principal and a couple of teachers. They've made no bake cookies, and a few other things. This time the theme was peppermint candy. Making hard candy is not easy, but taffy was worth trying. It took a while to pull it, but it was delicious! Amy even got in on pulling some taffy.
Friday was another normal day. Or getting back to normal anyway. I can't really remember what we did. I was home with the two little girls, and I got a few things done here and there. Aaron was home around 4:30 or so. It was already getting dark but he decided to go out and drain the pipes and remove the sprinklers for winter. After dinner we enjoyed watching the BYU basketball game. Then it was off to bed. Picture from Friday:
