September 4

The worst part about traveling with my children is that they never sleep in hotel rooms. It is awful. But Chris and I were pleasantly surprised last night! Eli slept in a little crib, Chris and I slept in a queen bed, and Caleb, Daisy, and Lily slept on a queen bed turned sideways. Eli slept through the night, like a champ.

The older three had some issues, but it was mostly ok.

But then they decided that 5:30 am was a great time to wake up, after going to bed at 9:30 last night. Boo.

We were picking Grandpa up for breakfast at 8, so we had two and a half hours to kill. We decided to check out sunrise over the lake. Sounds beautiful, right?

Unfortunately, it was overcast, windy, and chilly. Daisy forgot the cardigan I set out for her, I forgot Caleb's hoodie at home, and we were all woefully under-dressed. Boo.

We made use of my wraps as blankets, as well as a baby blanket from the hotel crib.

It was cold and windy, but the kids were still fascinated.

(Don't worry, Mom. Eli didn't fall in the lake. Chris watched him the whole time.)

Then we moved on to a playground. Apparently it had rained overnight, because the whole playground was really wet.

The kids didn't mind!

Soon it was nearly 8, so we headed back to the hotel to change into dry clothes and pack up our stuff. While Chris and I packed, the kids watched Spongebob Squarepants. 

High-quality television programming right there. The kids were transfixed. Look at how even Eli is staring at the screen!

Breakfast with Grandpa was wonderful, and then we went to visit Grandma in her nursing home. Thankfully, the common area right by Grandma's room was completely empty, so we had plenty of room for the kids to spread out and play.

Caleb and Daisy found one of their favorite games - Zingo - and it kept them pretty well occupied for quite a while.

Grandma recognized us, but couldn't come up with our names on her own. She fretted that she hadn't had her hair done in a while, but we reassured her that she was still lovely. Most of the time, she sat quietly and watched.

Grandpa was doting and attentive the whole time. They have been married almost 64 years, and have known each other for about 80 years. It is painfully beautiful to see how tenderly he cares for her.

Eli was the first kid to warm up to Grandma and Grandpa, and he played a toddler version of catch with Grandpa. It was pretty cute.

I really wanted a picture of the kids and me with Grandma and Grandpa. 

The kids felt differently.

Take 2, without Eli. Still a nope.

Take 3. It's not going to happen. 

Or at least, a perfectly posed photograph with all of my children smiling and looking at the camera isn't going to happen. But a real-life snapshot of my kids right now happened, and that's something.

Eventually, Grandma and Eli began playing catch together.

It was pretty sweet. He handed her the ball, and then she handed it back to him.

Then Eli showed Grandpa the kids meal toy he had earned with his cheeseburger last night.

Look at how Eli's little hands are clasped behind his back. He was waiting patiently for Grandpa to wind up his toy.

She's not the woman I remember, and that is sad. Dementia is cruel.

Daisy worked to draw a special picture to leave on Great-Grandma's bulletin board.

Eli was fascinated with Great-Grandpa's ruby ring.

Lily loved Great Grandma's wedding ring, and long fingernails that were painted pink.

Eli admired them, too!

Then he tried to show Great Grandma how to wind up his toy. I love his little hand resting on her knee! 

I snapped this picture of Grandpa smiling at Grandma, and when I opened it in my computer, I realize that he wasn't just holding her hand, he was playing with her wedding ring. 

I love that their love and devotion remains so strong, even in the midst of this. 

Before we left, Grandpa took Grandma for a quick walk up and down the hallway. Grandma hates walking, but needs to keep as active as possible. A trip up and down this hall is about all she can manage.

The kids and Grandma were both done after about two and a half hours, so we ended our visit and went back to Grandpa and Grandma's condo. 

Grandpa was excited to show the kids his "toys". 

Eli wanted desperately to play with the trucks. Poor kid.

Lily thought Grandpa's real truck was pretty cool. 

(Don't worry, Mom. It was parked, turned off, no key in the ignition. No Lilies were harmed in the making of this image.)

Grandpa made us what he called a "Bachelor's Lunch".

The kids approved.

They approved even more when he got out ice cream cones for them after lunch. 

This may have been the first time we allowed Eli to handle an ice cream cone on his own. It went about as well as can be expected.

Daisy thoroughly enjoyed her ice cream, too.

Then Eli was beyond ready for his nap, so Chris took the kids for another spin around the water park while I put Eli down on the floor of Grandma and Grandpa's guest room.

My wraps come in handy for so many things!

I emerged to find Grandpa enjoying an afternoon nap, too. Chris and the kids returned an hour or so later, and they were so happy with their adventure. Unfortunately, it was time for us to go. We hopped in the van and began the 8-hour drive home. It was a lot of driving for a very short visit, but in the end it was just about perfect. We made it home before midnight, and we were able to sleep in our own beds. Perfect.

September 3

My grandma has progressively worsening dementia, and a few months ago Grandpa and their kids decided it was time for her to move into a nursing home. It's been a really challenging time for the family, and the fact that they live 8 hours away from us has made the situation even harder for my Mom. She has made the long drive many times over the past few months, and we decided that it was finally time for our family to make the drive to visit Grandma, too. Unfortunately, the logistics of traveling with 4 kids and work and school and everything meant that our visit would be really short.

We hopped in the van at 8:00 this morning and headed north to our first destination. Amazingly, we only had to stop once, and it was just for gas. Praise the Lord for DVD players! We made it to the halfway point, where we met my Grandma (my dad's mom) for lunch. At least, that was the original plan. But then we realized that my parents would actually be in town, too, for my dad's 45th high school reunion. So Mom and Dad met us for lunch, too.
And then Mom decided to invite my half-brother, Tim, and his wife, Carli, and their son, Isaac, to join us. It turned into quite the lunch party!

The last time we saw Grandma was on Memorial Day weekend, and she and the kids spent a lot of time coloring together. Today, she saw Lily coloring and immediately asked if she could color, too. I love watching my kids do something with her that I remember doing with her as a child, too!

I wanted a picture of me with Grandma, and Lily insisted on being in the picture, too. None of the other kids seemed to care about being in pictures. Their loss.

Grandma is 95 years old, still living on her own, and feisty as ever. Gotta love it!

Mom cheesed for some pictures with Tim and Carli. Aren't they cute?

And Dad with his Mom. 

Not pictured is when Isaac hit the jackpot in the arcade, twice. He graciously shared almost all of his winnings with my children, who were delighted to have new toys to play with during the rest of the drive. What a good kid!

Once our bellies were filled with pizza and the kids' hands were filled with toys, we got back on the road. Amazingly, the kids were great and we didn't have to stop at all. Seriously - DVD player for the win! We rolled into town, grabbed some dinner, and checked into our hotel room. Luckily, we still had plenty of time for a quick visit with Grandpa before the kids melted down from sheer exhaustion and road-weariness. (It was that road-weariness that kept us from visiting Grandma in the nursing home tonight; we wanted to take cheerful, well-rested kids to visit her, not wild animals who had just been released from their cage.)

Eli loved his great-grandpa's condo! The balcony, which overlooks a busy-ish street and the lake, was his favorite spot. 

He was so excited to watch all of the cars and trucks drive by.

Pointing at a truck and making the noise that is his word for truck: "Brrrr-brrrr!"

My brown bear.

This one is totally out of focus, but I love it. 

And then the kids were done, and we whisked them off to the hotel room. Except that our hotel also has a major waterpark attached to it. So while I nursed Eli to sleep, Chris took the older three for a quick bedtime swim. It worked out perfectly - when the happy, tired children returned, Eli was sound asleep in his little crib. Hooray!

So many more pictures tomorrow!

September 2

My van's air conditioner has been having issues since the beginning of June. For some reason, we haven't been able to take it in to the shop to be fixed until today. September 2. But today was the day, and Chris took my van into the shop, leaving us stuck at home for the day. It worked out perfectly, though, because my friend Amber needed a last-minute sitter for her two boys. It was a win for everyone!

Except maybe Eli. He was a little bit freaked out at first by the two new people who demanded Mommy's attention.

Luckily, I have a wrap for that.

(Don't you love the way he's playing with his toes?)

It was beautiful out, so we spent a while in the back yard. 

Sandbox for the win!

Also, Daisy caught a bug in her bug-catcher. She was really excited.

Then I got out my big camera. 

Have I mentioned that Eli is all about trucks lately?

Obsessed with them. When he found two bulldozers in the sand box, he nearly lost it.

This is officially my current favorite picture of Caleb. It's so hard to take pictures of him lately; they rarely reflect the true him. This one is Caleb, through and through.

Hi, Lily!

The sandbox chaos makes my heart happy!

Drew didn't want to get in the sandbox, though. He had on new shoes, and he didn't want to get them dirty. Good call, kiddo! Instead, he zoomed Roger and Moon Mater around the yard.

"Hand?"
(Do you see the red mark on his forehead? That's from when he walked right into Daisy's path as she was swinging really high. She kicked him in the face, and then he fell over and hit his face again on the ground. Poor baby.

I have a wrap for that, too.

He got over it, though, thanks to snuggles and the sandbox. 

Sweet boys! Dean is just a couple months older than Eli, and both are very much in the "parallel play" stage of development. They both made a fine mess!

After lunch, Dean went down for the easiest nap ever, then I put Eli down, and then Lily went down. Winning! The big kids and I played outside. Amber picked her boys up around three, and then my kiddos and I had a nice snuggle.

(Daisy was there, too, but she kept putting her feet in front of the camera, so we kicked her out of the picture. She was sad. And I don't know what Eli is chewing on, but it is probably a choking hazard or made of lead. What do you think, Mom? Should I go check to see if he's still breathing?

September 1

How on earth is it September? I have no idea.

The kids and I packed this day full: we spent all morning at MOPS, and then Caleb and Daisy and I rocked the home school stuff while the little ones napped.

Daisy has been fighting writing practice with me, so I found some worksheets that have her writing, coloring, cutting, sorting, and gluing.

She loved them, and did four pages without a single complaint. This girl is going to keep me on my toes, though. 

When the little ones woke up, it was time to make dinner. 

Lily did not want to be awake, so I popped her in the Lillebaby carrier I am borrowing.

Then Eli got jealous. His jealousy is relatively new, for both him and me. I can't remember any of my other kids being so possessive of me, but Eli is definitely possessive. If one of his sibling tries to snuggle me, he attempts to head butt them away. Even if he had spurned my requests for snuggles just moments before, he gets mad if someone else gives me snuggles. 

I had just asked him if he wanted to go up, and he ran away screaming. 

I grabbed the carrier for Lily, and he yelled, "NONONONONO!"

I put Lily in the carrier, and he shrieked even louder.

I put my ring sling on to wear both of them, and he lost it.

I picked him up to put him in the ring sling, and he kicked and screamed and fought.

As soon as the ring sling was snug and secure, he nestled in to my chest.

 Funny how that goes.

Eventually, Lily was done being worn, but Eli was still happy. 

Making dinner while wearing a baby on your front is not easy. But snuggles like this make it totally worth it.

After dinner, we had a quick family snuggle before I had to run to a chiropractor appointment. Actually, the family snuggle started when Chris - who has been up since about 5 am - decided to rest on the bed for a minute or two. All of the children ran into the room and pounced on him. Eventually, Chris couldn't take it anymore and got up, but the kids kept bouncing and rolling.

They are too funny!

(Side note: Eli totally thinks he is a big kid now. At MOPS today, I brought the kids down into the gym after the meeting was over so that they could eat leftover MOPS food. After they ate, the remaining kids ran and chased and screamed. Eli was so excited about the running and chasing and screaming that he couldn't even finish his junk-food lunch. He abandoned it and joined the throng of children, doing his best to run and chase and scream with them. 

The look of joy on his face was the best thing ever, and he laughed delightedly the whole time. My little boy is so different from his siblings, and I'm so glad to have him!)