10 weeks down.

Since you've been gone...

Charlotte: This was the week of just getting back into a routine, especially after Omi and Opa left... and the holidays were over. Every morning, she asks if she can have the day off from school. I ask her for a reason why I should give her the day off... and it's never a good one, so back to work she goes. She is doing amazing in school. Like seriously kicking tail. She's an amazing speller, and just enjoys everything she's learning. She also has declared that she wants to be a dog sled racer as her hobby... crack.me.up. SO random. But that's her... full of random comments and questions these days.

Marley: Oh this one has been a doozy this week. She's just a spunky girl... or so I tell myself everytime I shake my head at something that she's doing. This week, every time I asked her what she wanted for breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack... her answer was, "cheese." The kid can eat cheese, like it's her job. She says "yolo" for yogurt, and "boobear" for blueberries. Every week it's all new words. I think I'm going to need to make a name/word key book for you, for when you return, just so you can understand her. If you don't understand her, just pretend like you understand what she's saying, because if you don't... then she really doesn't like that, and screams at you instead.... or she gives you "the eye". I'm not sure which is worse... screams or "the eye". She's getting used to her "shiner." Every time someone says something about it, she points to it, and says, "owie." It's precious, and sad at the same time. It's going down pretty quickly though... thanking God that it wasn't something worse.

Finn: He's FINALLY started taking to normal nap times (as soon as my parents left, go figure). Every morning, he goes down between 9-10, and sleeps for a solid 2 hours. These 2 hours are PRECIOUS to me... they're an amazing gift. We're still working on his afternoon nap. He likes to split it up... 1 hour around 2:30 and then hit or miss with a little catnap before bed. I'm thinking once he starts moving more, he'll have a solid afternoon nap as well. He's still not sleeping through the night... but, we're getting there. For now, we're trying our best to teach him how to roll (he really hates it.) He'd much rather stand up and hold our hands. He's even trying to sit up on his own (as you can see in one of the photos below).

Me: It's been a little rough trying to get adjusted to making everything work with just my set of hands again... but it's happening. I'm already dreaming of the day when you come home from work, and help entertain the kids while I cook dinner, help with bath and bedtime... doing it all by myself, is getting so super draining. My to do lists have been tossed out the window, and I'm really just trying to focus on surviving one day at a time. Who needs to think ahead, right? Although my days are busy, my nights seem SO sad and lonely without you. Especially because Finn is going to bed around the same time that the girls are. So, the last few nights since my parents have left, it's just been me, and FRIENDS on Netflix. I'm SO thankful that I really never watched that show growing up. I only watch 2 episodes before I pass out, because I'm that tired. Oh, and this week I started back on my "clean eating" adventure... should be good. It's only been 1 day... but so far, so good. I forgot what it feels like... and I'm looking forward to that energizing feeling that it brings.

Story of the Week: We were in the commissary this week... the fridge looked "sad" as described by Charlotte... so we had a lot of food to pick up. While we were strolling along, one of the retiree grandpa kind of guys walks on over to Marley. He takes a look at her (she's sitting on the top part of the cart) and says, "Well aren't you a cutie" and she sort of becomes a little shy, but flashes him a smile. He looks a little closer, like brings his head right next to hers and says, "And you must be a tough one because of that" as he points to her her poor shiner on her eye. Immediately, as she hears him say the word "tough", Marley starts ROARING like a lion... He laughed at her, and pet her head... as though she were some sort of animal that needed to be tamed.