She spent two full weeks with us, her longest jaunt so far since we moved South. She came in before the cruise to help us prep and spend time with Carly while we were at work, then spent another week here after getting home from the cruise. In that time she did all of my cooking, cleaning, laundry and grocery shopping and provided early morning childcare so I could sleep in and entertained Carly for hours so Brian and I could nearly finish Luke's room! She also ran back and forth to the airport to pick up my Grammy (her mother) so that we could all spend some time together. It's truly a blessing that I've consistently seen my 84-year-old grandmother twice/year...even while she lives in Cali and us in Fla! We very much enjoyed the company of one another and she got quite the kick out of Carly. This picture is precious to me because this necklace is one that I played with for hours when I was little. I'm glad she wore it when she arrived. There is just something fun about counting strands of gold on a pretty necklace worn by one of your favorite ladies. ;)
We thought it would be super silly and super FUN to all dress in red and head to the parks for a 4-gen pic that included Minnie Mouse. So...one of our days was spent half at EPCOT and half at DHS. We got some cute pics of us with Minnie Mouse and then later at the Osborne Spectacle of the Dancing Lights. I think it's safe to say if we weren't in Christmas spirit before seeing the lights, we certainly were after. :)
Another one of our mornings we gallivanted over to the Grand Floridian to see the gingerbread house and then took the monorail to MK so Grammy could see Carly dance with her favorite characters during the "Move It Shake It Celebrate It" dance party. I didn't bring my camera, but you can all imagine exactly what that looked like, considering I've posted a million photos of her with characters in previous posts.
Grammy was only here 4 days before my Mom took her to Tampa to spend time with her Brother's family so my Mom could get back to work. I'm thankful she has a boss who lets her leave for two weeks! Oh how I cried as I hugged my Mom standing on our front porch and watched her get into her car. It was emotional for me because this is the first holiday season that we won't be with family at all until after Christmas when Brian's folks come AND because by the time I see them again my life will have once again changed drastically. I realize 7 weeks left of pregnancy feels like the home stretch to most of you...but for me it feels like it's in the very distant future. I also knew I was going to miss her help! No one can come into a woman's home and help out quite like her own mother. And there's not another soul on Earth I can completely let my guard down with (other than Brian, of course) and live life without questioning glances. #grateful.
But we seem to be getting along okay without her. I've definitely felt more tired without the extra rest, but it just means I have to sacrifice my productive time during Carly's naps as my own nap time. C came down with a cold on Wednesday so she's been sleeping extra long in the afternoons. Today her and I both crashed for 3 HOURS! I woke up to Brian calling me at 5pm that he had just left work! Generally speaking, Carly being sick doesn't slow her down much. This week we enjoyed a wonderful night at Magic Kingdom so we could see the castle light up, put up our Christmas tree, had our lovely 4th Annual Thanksgiving Meal with Todd & Brenna and spent time outside enjoying the (finally) beautiful weather. It's been in the 70s during the day and 50s at night...so pretty perfect.
Thanksgiving morning (we both had Thanksgiving off...I think that is a FIRST for us since moving to Florida...having a holiday off together, that is) we took a stroll around the Grand Floridian and introduced Carly to hot cocoa. She had no problem learning that word and requesting "more cocoa" about every 30 seconds. The Nelson's came over in the late afternoon, strategically planned so we could cook while Carly took her nap. Brian handled the turkey and I managed the other dishes. We had a really nice time making the meal...it's certainly a sense of accomplishment and it's sure nice to eat those leftovers for the days following! Here's our photos from the day, including a pic of my beautiful growing bump. I've gained 25 pounds thus far (I was at 50 pounds at 32 weeks with Carly) and it has certainly been HARD work. I'm still jogging 4 times/week even though at this point it is rather painful. I'll probably stop soon...maybe. I have such a different perspective about what it means to have the privilege of carrying a child this time around...and I am beyond grateful that thus far my body has proven to be able to carry so healthfully. :)
#thankful.
Happy December!! We can officially say I'm having a baby NEXT MONTH! ;)
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