Reprieve

The boys and I have been at my parents in CO since the beginning of February. It was a disaster trying to get down here. Leo had the stomach flu several days before we were supposed to leave. He's never had it before and he puked 2x in the kitchen and 3x in our bed that night. And once more the next morning. Then I started vomiting the day before we were supposed leave. Every 30 min. For a better part of 5 hours. Then Dave started vomiting that evening. We hadn't even finished packing yet. Mandy came over to help us with the kids and ended up spending the night. We are so grateful for her! I finally called the airlines a couple hours before we were supposed to leave to reschedule our flight for the following week. It was a tough week. Leo ended up getting the coughing crud and passed it to Max and Noah.

The flight wasn't as bad as it could've been. Our rescheduled flight was a red eye which I wasn't too psyched about. The kids slept some which was great but we didn't sleep hardly at all. It was another tough 2 weeks. Max was getting better but Noah wasn't. We ended up taking him to urgent care and he was diagnosed with bronchiolitis and needed to be on oxygen for a couple days. All this was happening while some of Dave's family was visiting. Then Ama got the crud. Then it was time for Dave to go back to AK.

Everyone's finally mostly recovered and we've been able to get into a routine. Ama and Agong have been helping with the babies at night so I've been able to get some much needed rest. I've been taking Leo to do something fun in the mornings - swimming, playground, shopping, children's museum, open play at the gym, library, etc. And taking a walk outside during his nap after lunch. The weather has been amazing - warm with a few snow storms in the middle. As much as I'm not ready to go back to the cold, it will be nice to be in our own home and have Leo back at Dana's so he can play with his friends and I can get a break from him during the day and try to tie up some loose ends with papers that need to be submitted.

It's amazing how quickly 5.5 weeks have gone by. It's still so difficult to do anything with them as they take 2-3 naps a day. Despite their unpredictable nap schedule we've packed quite a lot in. It's been such a treat to be able to get some good sleep (Thanks Ama and Agong!!) and getting outside every day. I'm sure it comes as no surprise that I've had enough of cold, dark, LONG winters in Fairbanks. I miss how easy it is to live down here. I will miss our friends when we finally get out of Fairbanks. After living in the same state for almost 15 years it is scary to think about starting over somewhere else. Every year it gets harder and harder for me up there, and I'm actually getting really depressed about having to go back to winter in a couple days. Sure, Alaska is amazing in it's own way. But the tradeoffs of living somewhere with milder winters and closer to family is winning out for me. I'm hoping that breakup happens quickly and snow melts fast once we get back!

Photo dump coming soon.

Winter

The days go by quickly after Thanksgiving and the countdown to Hanukkah and Christmas begins. And now the New Year has started. Here's a photo dump from November and December.

I've been spending one-on-one time with Leo on the weekends. On Sunday mornings we go swimming at the pool. On Saturday mornings we do our weekly grocery shop, or meet up with friends for a play date. Sometimes in the afternoons Leo plays outside with Dave. Or if a special event is happening in the afternoon/evenings we try to make it to that. The Festival of Trees was happening the weekend after Thanksgiving so Leo and I went to check it out. Their was live music and it was REALLY loud. Leo didn't seem to mind it. He even watched and listened for a little while and bopped to the beat. He tried cotton candy for the first time (made from birch syrup). And we checked out all the trees. Santa was there. He was pretty wary (I don't blame him! I personally think Santa is weird) but did say hi and accept a candy cane from Santa.

Excited about his candy cane

Mom and Leo selfie

Checking out the ornaments

That is a very tall tree Mama

Time for a new crib! They are starting to wake each other up from naps.

We met up with Adrian and Gavin for a sledding adventure

Buddies!

Leo wanted to sit by himself when he got his haircut last time. Still nervous but he did great!

Lighting the candle on the first day of Hanukkah

We (I) indulged this year and went a little nuts with presents for Leo.

It's the first year he really started to enjoy opening presents and it was my way of making him feel special since he's a big brother now and my attention is more than divided.

First Hanukkah present

Our fake Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Leo was so excited to set it up.

Putting the presents under the tree the night before the big day

Leo with his first present

Dana, his day care provider, had a holiday party and invited Santa. The kids were very excited. Leo said he wanted to give Santa a hug. I think he was more inclined to sit on his lap because the other kids were doing it. I still think Santa is weird.

Checking out Santa

I gave Santa Max when he was sleeping and he woke up with a very worried look on his face.

Noah was all over the stocking that he got

I took a series of photos with these guys in their hats. This one cracks me up. Noah seems to be very concerned about Max.

 We packed up all the kids and headed out to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas with friends. It was a lot of work but nice to spend the holiday with our Fairbanks families.

Dave and the boys all dressed up

 It was a lot of work to head out with everyone so I decided to lay low with the babies on New Year's Eve. Dave took Leo to see the fireworks at UAF. They had a great view from the botanical gardens and Leo loved spending some one-on-one time with Dave and the fireworks show. It was a balmy 30F that night. Amazing for this time of year!

Champagne after they got back!

Brook came up for a visit. It was so lovely to see her

My Christmas gift from Dave was 3 hours of one-on-one time with Brook. We got pedicures and a nice dinner at the Turtle Club. 

 

 

 

Date night!

Now we are back to our daily routine which can get monotonous for me. I try to get out for walks around the yard and house when the babies are napping at the same time. It's hard to believe they are almost 6 months!

Max at 5 months

Max and I out for walk while Noah was napping

Harder to tell them apart when they have hats on. Max (L), Noah (R)

Noah at 5 months

Max. Very proud of himself in the exersaucer

Happy Max

Noah in exersaucer

Noah falling asleep in exersaucer. Don't worry! I moved him into the crib as soon as he started to nod off.