Phil flew in last night from a SEVEN day business trip, and boy are my arms tired! I had a couple days there where I thought I might bury my unwashed body in the decroded sandbox in our back yard to escape the madness, but it appears we made it through unscathed.
On one of the "Ahhhhh!" mornings, I had spent hours going between a fussy 2.9-year-old and a fussy 11 week old. Elsbeth wouldn't stay asleep and howled with rage if I put her down, and Andrew figured hurling himself to the floor and screeching was as good a plan as any when not getting his way. He had asked at one point to play on the deck (we have a little blow up pool and water table out there), but got that privilege revoked when he screamed and kicked his legs when I tried to put on his bathing suit (apparently I was supposed to remove his shirt first). Later, when he asked again, I decided we'd give it another go. Els was getting some heavy eye-lids in her swing and I figured having rambunctious big brother outside might contribute to her nap. So I got him into his bathing suit, coated him in sunscreen and bug spray, and worked to fill up the pool, bucket by bucket from the kitchen sink. With that done, I turned to finally wash the breakfast dishes but was interrupted by a knock at sliding glass door leading to the deck.
Andrew: You're all done? (translation: "I'm all done." Still backwards with the pronouns, and he says everything like it's a question)
Me: What do you mean, you're all done? You don't want to play on the deck anymore?
A: OK?
M: Well, since we just went through all that work to get you set up out there, I want you to stay out there and play for at least 10 minutes.
This is how he spent his 10 minutes ....
But even with Daddy gone, and Mommy feeling a little overwhelmed, we managed to have some good times.
The picking and eating of our bush's first ripe blueberry ...
Happier times on the deck ...
And lots of really great smiles ....
And ultimately, Nannie saved the day with a wonderful visit. We all got to go see Thomas the Train live at the Fox, which was super cool! Andrew nearly burst as he sat in his seat waiting for the show to start, then a distant train whistle sounded and he clapped wildly, then just wrung his hands together with overflowing excitement. It was so cute I almost cried.
Isn't this a bizzaro picture? Looks like I cut out a distorted washed-out head from another photo and pasted it awkwardly on his neck.
I also had a lovely visit with my mom the weekend before Phil's evil conference. I think she pulls off the Moby look quite nicely.
For a while now, my Nibblet has given me these deep, knowing looks that have struck me as much older than she is and, well, familiar. I kept gazing at her and saying to Phil, "She looks familiar to me," but I couldn't figure out who it was I was seeing in there. So I asked Mom to bring up a bunch of baby pictures so I could figure it out. Didn't take long.
Elsbeth:
My mother:
I love it! However, the stories about my mother during her toddler years are legendary, so if my girl mirrors her Nina in personality as much as she does in appearance, I may be looking into some very powerful medication in the near future.
And while we're comparing people, my son Andrew has bit of my brother Andrew in him, don't you think?
And while we're comparing people, my son Andrew has bit of my brother Andrew in him, don't you think?
8 comments:
Your mom and Elsbeth look like TWINS!!! AMAZING!!! I miss all of you!
allen had a cockroach crawl up his pant leg last night...yuck! i love how your kids all look like your side of the family...thank goodness. :)
That first picture is SO, SO lovely! She's a beauty! Thanks for all the fun pictures. Andrew gets more handsome by the day, and your back porch is looking like quite the party spot these days. So glad you survived your solo madness and that you're now out having cocktails while Phil mans the Moby and the blow up pool...
ps- I opened the door to the armoire the other day and found myself face to face with the largest, vilest cockroach in my memory. No doubt it flew and was planning an attack on my children. Needless to say, I slammed the door, screamed and ran.
The title says it all! You should be wearing a super woman cape after a week with your hubby out of town. My neighbor is a mom at home with 3 under the age of 6 with a husband out of town a lot. I often find see her in her driveway in the evenings talking on her phone, drinking a beer, and smoking a cigarette. Yikes!!
BTW - there are no roaches of the sort here in Rock Hill if you are ever looking to move. :-) Seems they don't reside north of Columbia. Although my poor sister lives with them in Charleston and has even woken in the night with a bugger crawling on her - more than once!! And what's with the wings?!?!! Blagh!
Perfect blog title for a week alone with two little ones! The first picture of Elsbeth is so pretty. You and Phil are going to have to beat the boys away with a bat. And don't you love the wailing and gnashing of teeth that result when we fail to read our toddler's minds? Really, if God had given mothers ESP a lot of trouble could be avoided.
Brea, you mean you don't have ESP??
Your thought of the week, made me LOL! And that first pic of Elsbeth is absolutely adorable! She's such a pretty little girl!
Elsbeth is just GORGEOUS!! The similarities between her and your mom are amazing! So are the similarities between the Andrews! That is hilarious about the pool and the back door! I feel so bad for you about being overwhelmed!
We can't wait to finally get to see you guys!
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