a few photos from when my mom came to visit

^^waiting for grandma at the airport^^

Wish I could remember all the thoughts and feelings I wanted to write about way back in January when my mom came to visit, but it was such a long time ago, and I was sleep deprived, and to tell you the truth I haven't had a whole lotta sleep since ;)

What I do remember is it was a nightmare and a half for her to get here. Her connecting flight was canceled during her first flight, then she was rerouted a couple times and missed a couple flights..? Ended up at a different airport further away from us but the timing was different? So we ended up waiting for her for a couple hours at the airport. And while we were at the airport, my milk let down everywhere and Luke peed all over Jeremy during a diaper change. Fun times. But she made it the same night she was supposed to! Which we were so grateful for.

It was a lot of fun just being together. We played games, went to Storyville one day. Got to show her where we go to church and let her meet some of our friends here in Baltimore. 

I sure love my mom, I'm so grateful for her coming out to help us out.  Wish we lived closer, but super grateful for technology that makes it seem like we aren't quite so far way :)

photo dump/recap on fun times with family

We had the absolute best time with my dad and Jeremy's parents last week. It was hard to see them go… They came to see us and where we live and in particular to meet Luke for the first time and be here for his blessing. We feel so blessed to have such great parents who are so supportive and wanting to be a part of our lives and the lives of our kidS (still getting used to the plural :) Wish we lived closer to either of them, but we're so so grateful for the ease of communication and travel we are blessed with in this day and age. 

^^My dad got here Tuesday evening. This was taken not two minutes after my dad walked through the door. Madeline knew exactly who he was and was showing him everything in her room^^

^^Wednesday we made an IKEA believer out of my dad^^ 

^^And we also hit up Build-A-Bear. It was always a hit with us as kids growing up (Jeremy had never heard of it though!) so my dad thought it would be fun to take Madeline. And boy was he right. She loved it. Two funny things about our trip there: The name the bear has on its foot is "Bearemy" which we got a kick out of because it sounds like "Jeremy". Then at the end when Dad and Madeline were picking out a name for her, I gave Madeline three suggestions, the middle one being "Danielle" (trying to be funny because my Dad's name is Daniel) and without hesitation that's what she picked! And it's totally stuck. So far her little toy friends haven't had names that have stayed (i.e. her doll is "Dollie", baby is "Baby", etc), but Danielle stuck from the beginning and is still going strong. It took her a day to say "Danielle" really well, so at first she'd say things like,"Hey Daniel. Do you want me to burp you Daniel? Do you need a diaper change Daniel?" We had several good laughs about it :) 

^^We were taking a picture of Jeremy's parents for them when Madeline walked over with the straightest face to be in their picture ha^^

^^Thursday Jeremy's parents got into town and we visited the D.C. Temple. Wish we would have had time to go inside, but it was still fun to see it and see the Visitor Center, too.

^^Friday my dad was attending a conference in Virginia. I had hoped to make a little something out of the day with Jeremy's parents, but thanks to a rainy afternoon we kept things pretty chill at home. We did manage a little walk and played at the park near our home for about ten minutes before it started to rain! We rushed home but we were still pretty soaked.

^^Luke talking to Grandpa Wells^^

^^Saturday was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! I wish that weather would come back, because we're back to cold and snowy… blah. But I'm glad it was nice for when they were here. My dad was still at the conference, but the rest of us had a great time checking out Fort McHenry and Federal Hill park.

Saturday was the day of the blessing. I'm so glad they were all here. (group shot at the bottom of the post) It was sad that my mom couldn't be here, too. She sure wanted to, but I still have a lot of siblings at home who needed her. (She came in January, which I'm realizing now I never blogged about… pictures coming soon!)

It was so much fun to have them here. We were packed in like sardines in our two bedroom apartment, but it was so worth it. A big thanks to all of them for making do with our humble offerings as far as room, food, and uh personal space go. Someday I hope we'll have a nice guest room with a private bathroom to offer you :) 

Promise I took a picture of Jeremy's parents with the kids, too. But I don't know what I did with the memory card!!! oops. I'll find it.

Lots of teary eyes at the airport Monday morning. Jeremy's parents flight left first so Madeline and I took them to the airport (Jeremy had a test Monday morning at 8am…). I don't think she fully realized we were leaving them there because she didn't seem terribly sad, which surprised me a lot. About half way home, though, she suggested we go back to the airport to pick up grandma and grandpa Wells. I told her they were going home to Florida. Then I suggested we call them on the computer (Skype) them on Sunday. And the flood gates were opened. It hit her hard that they weren't coming back in a couple hours. That things were going back to normal… She just bawled the rest of the way home.

Luckily she got it together for the last couple hours with my dad, but on our second trip to the airport that day she knew what was going on and the tears fell freely. *sigh* I hate goodbyes. 

^^I sure love my Dad…^^

I can't tell you how great it was to have all of them here. It was so special to show them our city and our home. And especially to let them meet Luke. Thanks to all three of them for making the sacrifice to be here with us! Looking forward to the next time :)

Fort McHenry

^^Rabid baby…?^^

Last week when we still had family here (more pictures from our fun weekend to come) we went out and visited Fort McHenry. Jeremy and I had never been, and it was absolutely beautiful outside, so it seemed like the perfect thing to do :)

I grabbed my camera as we were heading out the door because I haven't felt camera creative in a long time and it was kind of calling to me. So glad I did. These might not be the most amazing photos in the world, but it felt good to "warm up" that side of my brain again. Didn't get to editing them, too. But it was a good place to start. 

Kind of bummed we didn't get a group shot! But that's ok. Fun to go explore another piece of our beloved Baltimore. Can't believe we live here! So gorgeous :)

family pictures - say what??!!

^^couldn't not post this one… it was the first one I took of them ha^^

I decided that since we've been married over three years and have two kids that it's about time we had our family pictures taken. Thank goodness I know a photographer (THANK YOU DAD!!!) I can't tell you how happy it makes me to finally have a good family picture to hang on our sad bare walls. So happy :) My little family means more than anything to me and I'm so happy to have some pictures to go along with all the memories we've been making lately. And I love that they were taken in our neighborhood that we love so much. Life. is. good.  And seriously, thank you Dad. We would not have been so successful with my tripod ;)

goodnight my little princess

The other night as I was tucking Madeline in she was being silly and 'roaring' while I sang her a song. After I'd finished I said, "Goodnight my little lion." Just playing along with her game and being silly. I got up to leave and turn off the light when all of a sudden she burst into tears, which isn't her usual behavior. She was mumbling something about the light, I thought, so I explained that the light had to be off so she could go to sleep. I went out and closed the door. Her tears turned into screaming and it was pretty obvious to me something else was going on. I listened by the door for a minute, trying to make out what she was saying. When I finally figured it out I had to fight back a few tears myself.

Almost every night the last thing I say to her is, "Goodnight my little princess, I love you." She was upset because I had said, "Goodnight my little lion" instead of princess. I opened the door, told her how sorry I was and told her how she'd always be my little princess. She felt better, but was still kind of shaken up. I gave all her animals a kiss and ended with a big kiss for her and once again said, "Goodnight my little princess, I love you." 

At the end of every day I go to bed feeling so overwhelmingly grateful for the chance to be a mom.  These two kids make my life great. I'm still looking forward to more sleep and I really don't like nursing all that much. We certainly have hard days that I think will never end. I'm excited for when they're all at school and I have the house to myself, or when they move out and Jeremy and I get to travel the world together, but I'm loving this stage of life. I really am happy. Happy to be tucking in a little princess and prince each night. Happy to be needed and loved.

Dear Luke, on your blessing day

Dear Luke,

Today was your blessing day. The weather was perfect, the sun shining, even birds in the trees, but sun or rain, it would have been a perfect day. Your daddy gave you a beautiful blessing… tears streamed down my cheeks as I listened to the heaven sent words he spoke while holding you. I hope you know what a special boy you are, and what a special man you will come to be. I hope you know how lucky you are to have such a great dad. He's as great as they come and I know you'll see that someday. I hope you know how much I love your daddy, and that your existence came to be because of the love we share. There really isn't anything more beautiful than that. Baby boy, how I love you. How blessed we are to have you in our family… I love you.

Mom