Sniff, Sniff

It's been such a wonderful time with my parents and grandparents and family. We played with their new dog, laughed till our tummies hurt, hugged each other each chance we got, and shared many stories.

I love visiting family. I love seeing my mom with the girls. I love the way Hannah follows her around like her little shadow. I love the way my dad can make McKenna giggle. I love how Hannah loves to be here. I love that Hannah runs right up to her great-grandparents for a big hug.

And mom, I loved driving your new car. :)

It's so hard to say goodbye. Hannah is getting old enough to understand what goodbye means. She understands enough to put a sad look on her face and say "I don't want to go buh-bye." Ugh. It makes my stomach hurt. I hate living 3,000 miles away from the people I love so, so much.

At least we can be so extremely thankful for being able to visit a few times a year. And we can do oovoo video chats and send pictures on the phone. Sometimes it just doesn't feel like enough. And that's how I'm feeling right now as I pack my bags and shed my tears. '

Just retire early, mom and dad! Come live in AZ!!! :)

Flying to Buffalo

Well... we definitely had a memorable trip to Buffalo!! Matt flew with us first to Philly. We got an entire row to ourselves in ROW 32... We also boarded with the "families" so we got on first. This is always a good/bad thing. It's nice to get on and not wait for others to board. But with a three year old... it's almost better to let her stand and get her wiggles out before boarding. My conclusion: if it's a 32 row plane and it's going to take an entire half hour (or more)-- just wait to board!!

The girls were great- Hannah kept herself occupied between her stuffed animals and her DVD player. The baby slept for a while which was great relief for us both. They were pretty quiet and I was a very proud mommy. Of course, Matt was a huge help.

THEN... about three hours in-- Hannah "hid" under the seat and I knew something was brewing in her diaper. Just as I suspected, the smell that filled the air confirmed my suspicions. Then I heard her whimpering and looking at the floor. I looked down and OH MY GOSH. There was diarrhea on the floor! AND on her shoes, her pants, her shirt... I didn't know what to do!! I began to take her shirt off and pants off (thinking that was the best place to start) and my plan was to strip her down to her diaper and take her to the bathroom to change it. After I got her clothes off, the flight attendant realized that something was happening (we were at the BACK of the plane) and she looked at me and said, "MAM! You cannot change a diaper here. You HAVE to go to the bathroom!!!!!" And I said, "I know!!" and continued to assess the situation. When we didn't move, she again said, "MAM! You cannot do that here!!! You have to respect the other passengers!!" And Matt turned to her and said, "We ARE NOT changing her diaper!! It is OUT of her diaper!!!" And the lady just stood there and handed us a garbage bag with a shocked look on her face. I wrapped the bag around Hannah and took her down the aisle (Bathroom: Row 22) and past the people in line. I said, "Excuse me... we have an emergency here!!! Please let us in the bathroom!!" and the people gladly opened the door for us.

I stood Hannah up and tried to wash her down. I had wipes, paper towels, and handsoap to work with... Poor Hannah looked down and said, "That's a lot of poopy, Mommy." We got her bathed and "clean" and I came back to our row. The flight attendant was holding McKenna and Matt was scrubbing the floor.

I apologized to the people around us and explained (minus the disgusting details) what had happened. Once they found out what happened they were more understanding.

WOW. This was one trip we will NEVER, EVER forget.

Needless to say, the rest of the flight was less adventurous. I even made it to Buffalo on my own with the girls.

Getting Ready

We are going to be heading back east to visit my family!

Matt will fly with me and the girls to Charlotte... then it's just me from Charlotte to Buffalo! Hopefully someone can pick us up at the airport Saturday in the afternoon... still working on that.

Let's also hope that McKenna does a better job sleeping at night. Or it could be a loooong couple of days!

I can't wait to see family and hopefully some friends, too. And get some relief from the 116 degree weather here. It's been soooo hot here lately.

We Have A Crawler!!!

Today McKenna crawled to get to a toy!!!

She got right up on all fours and moved those legs to slide across the floor and get exactly what she wanted. She took right off- as if she was trying to say "LOOK! I knew I could do it... I have been keeping it a secret, mom!"

Once she did it, she was hooked. She is already into things and I am running around the house baby-proofing and cleaning up little things I didn't know were in her reach!!

Life is about to get BUSIER!! YIKES!

Getting Close

McKenna is trying so hard to crawl! For weeks she has been moving from a sitting up position to down on all fours... she will lean forward and get what she wants and then move right back into her sitting position.

The funny thing is... she never learned how to roll to get to places! If she ends up on her tummy she cries until someone gets her. Until recently-- she CAN move back to a sitting position. I even asked the Dr. what was going on with the no-rolling... and he said it was ok. He could see that she was clearly strong enough to do it- she just hasn't. More like she won't.

So I guess we will pass the rolling stage and go right to a rocking-crawling stage. We have caught her moving with her legs AND arms just a few times. So it's happening... she's just taking her time.

When I was at work yesterday I saw this little baby girl (no bigger than McKenna) zooming around on her hands and knees. Guess how old she was?? 9 months. Same age as McKenna. Oh well. I am not concerned. As far as I AM concerned she can take her time... it makes things easier!!

Friends Are Needed

Today we went over to a friend's house and stayed there for hours. It was a blast!! There's just something nice about being in someone else's house... playing with someone else's toys... lounging with a friend. McKenna even took a nap! (It was extremely short- but she did!)

It was just such a nice afternoon. I am so thankful for the great friends I have made while being a stay-at-home mom. I have really been able to do some fun things and meet great people. Thanks to meetup.com and my MOM's group at Central I have a super group of friends!!!

So cute!

Yesterday I went grocery shopping with the girls. Surprisingly- it ended well.

My favorite part of the trip was when Hannah was bouncing through the aisles exclaiming, "I'm Hannah the Explorer! Dora-Hannah the Explorer!!" It was pretty cute. She was very excited to announce her new title to everyone in the store.

Maybe the trip went so well because we were greeted with cookies first thing when we walked in... thank you Fry's!!! I like walking in AND out of the store with a smile on my face. SUCCESS!

Being Three

Hannah is not three yet. We still have nineteen days to say she is two.

And if it's going to get worse... I better buckle my seatbelt.

People say three is harder than two. Oh. My. Gosh. THEY ARE RIGHT.

Now is the time that my mom is getting me back for ANYTHING that ever made her mad when I was growing up. I certainly am getting my share of parenthood.

Time Change Woes

I recently visited my sister in Florida... and traveled alone with just McKenna. I am pleased to say that she did a great job on the flight there AND back!

But for some reason she has such a hard time adjusting to the time change. She had a very hard time taking naps and woke up about 2-3 times each night!! She could only be consoled by nursing... UGH!! My sweet sister tried so hard to help out during the dreaded 1 or 2 am waking times but she wanted nothing to do with her. She just screamed. And screamed. Oh and did I say screamed?

In between the fussiness of that we still had a wonderful time. Makes me really wish we all lived closer to one another. Seeing my sister's house and the life she lives without me there makes me really miss her more! We spent our days just hanging out and enjoying one another's company. I got to see her neighborhood and where she goes shopping and where she goes to the movies... and where she works and most importantly what her life is like! (And her routine with getting out that umbrella-- BOY did it rain!!)

I sure am thankful that we do get to see each other once in a while. And thank goodness for cell phones and the internet! I don't know how we'd live without technology.

Here's to my sister's great job of being a hostess... love you lots.