4 weeks down.

Since you've been gone...

Charlotte: Oh this little girl was a bundle of energy this week... to have all of that energy... must be nice. With Aunt Courtney's surprise visit (good job keeping that a secret by the way!) ... she was extra crazy... wanting to play every single minute that she could, not to miss one opportunity with Aunt Courtney. Along with all that energy, came defiant behavior though... and she had a pretty rough week with listening/obeying. But, this week has already been looking on the ups... again, I'm sure it has something to do with her excitement from our special visitor. She's been busy playing doctor still, with whomever will let her give them shots. Sometimes Finn is the victim... it's cute. She definitely made me chuckle a lot... including one event towards the beginning of last week... when I noticed her changing out of her pajamas... I saw a bare bum. I asked her where her unders were... if she had an accident... she very politely stated, "Mommy.. I'm going commando... there's no clean underwear in my basket... I think it's time you folded the laundry." Yeah, teaching that one how to fold... is on my to do list this week.

Marley: Oh this little one... she's a handful, but this week she was two handfuls. She recognized Aunt Courtney, and immediately warmed right back up to her, which was great... especially for my arms. She's been wanting a lot of attention lately, like... she's jealous of me carrying around Finn. Note to self, must figure out a way to double carry babies in a wrap or sling. She's constantly on the go. Runs all over the house, pointing at everything and anything she sees and wants... "I wan dat." Yeah, it's not really polite, but she gets her point across clear as day. She's been eating up tons of cutie oranges and devours everything at dinner... can we say, growth spurt?

Finn: Oh this little guy... he's slept through EVERY (except last night) night for the last 5 nights... I'm talking, from 8-7 or 9-7 or 10-8:30... It's amazing. I'm SO happy. It makes for a lovelier Mommy... that's for sure. Not sure if he's growing, or creating his own little rhythm... but I like it. He's starting to roll all over the place this week. Well, really, it's more like a wiggle roll. He can go from his tummy to his back... easily, but now he's working really hard at his back to his tummy. He's getting there. He's starting to lick his lips when he watches us eat. Like he wants to join along (soon, very very soon). He had some serious heart eyes for his Aunt... smiled at her... cooed to her... He's definitely the ladies man.

Me: Oh what a glorious week it was, especially since part of it was spent with your sister. It was like I had a part of you here... and it felt so great. It was definitely a wonderful recharge... although you were still terribly missed. I'm fairly certain I talked your sister's ear off...you know, because I don't have adults around very often during most days. To have someone drink coffee with me, and share stories and have pray for me... it was a treasure. It was SO hard saying goodbye to her. In fact, dropping her off at the airport, it's like PTSD... I had to pull over to the side of the road and clear my eyes for a bit, before I could continue driving home. I will cherish that time with her though.... like nothing else.

Story of the Week: Well, this isn't as crazy as last week's story... BUT, it's a cute one. You know how much your son loves the water, right? Well... this week, while he was in the tub... he was doing his normal cooing and sort of laugh (you know, where he breaths in and chokes on his smile sort of laugh)... I was in the dining room cleaning the table from dinner, walked over to load the dishes in the dishwasher, and noticed it had all of a sudden gone awfully quiet. Look over, and Finn was completely asleep... yup, that's our boy... little fish.

Closing this post with pictures of our trip to the Christmas Tree Farm. Since Courtney was in town, I took advantage of the extra set of hands! We found the sweetest little (6.5 feet tall) tree... Courtney cut it down, and it's standing beautifully in the living room waiting to be decorated. But for now, enjoy the photos of our adventure there. Wish you could have been there to find one with us. Crazy to think that tomorrow, it'll be 1 month without you...