Where to begin? December was a much different month than we expected it to be, but very good nonetheless. As a last minute idea, I decided to go early to visit family in Iowa and left Daniel behind to tackle finals and deal with our aging car that was randomly stalling. The five hour drive to Iowa in a rental car was a breeze until the last 15 minutes. Spencer did not have to stop to use the potty once--it's amazing how long he can hold it!--and I just stopped briefly at a rest area to nurse Esther a half hour away from my parents' house. They both napped a long time and just chilled watching the countryside. (No DVD player was on board, shocking indeed). As I approached the exit from the freeway to my parents', the slight snow flurry suddenly became slippery roads and I began sliding and struggled to stay on the road. I inched my way along and prayed and prayed as I drove the last few minutes, super scared and wishing I had simply left home a half hour earlier to miss all of this! We made it there with no further problems, much to my relief. I had planned to go an hour further to my sister Nancy's house because my parents were moving the next day (not exactly the best timing on my part) but I stayed the night and in the morning went down to my sister Amy's house instead. I won't ramble any more about all the details, but even though some of my plans did not go through as I had intended, it was a refreshing trip to visit family and to get a small break from my responsibilities at home. Being a single mom for two weeks was definitely a challenge, however, and I was very, very happy when Daniel joined us. It turns out that he got very good grades and was able to get the car fixed, mostly, so it appears that my overall plan did work. Some pictures to highlight our visit:
Spencer LOVED hanging out with his older cousin, Katie. She was a good sport to let him tag along everywhere, though she mentioned in a note to Santa that it was hard for her to be good with Spencer around :) It's hard for me too, Katie!
For as happy as she appears, Esther had a rough time with teething pains and acting especially clingy to me. I essentially had to be in sight at all times or she went berserk. She was even a little shy to warm up to Daniel when he came, but that changed quickly and I managed to steal a lot of time away, including some fun outings with my sisters.
She loved the stairs--the first she has ever seen!
Baking biscuits with Aunt Nancy.
Sugar cookies with Uncle Ben.
A brave outing in the cold. It was comforting to know that it takes forever to get out the door with kids, that it's not just me, but Amy and I ventured out with the four kids at home a number of times to get a change of scenery and enjoy some of the local attractions. (And I don't mean that last part as a joke, Amy.)
Fun in the snow!
Megan was so helpful with Spencer and Esther, as well as the other aunts who were around. Spencer would tell us which one was his favorite depending on who was giving him the most attention. Hooray for lots of sisters!!
Christmas morning at my parents' new house. I didn't realized I skimped so much on Spencer, this was the only shot that had his face in it! I'll need to do much better next year.
For anyone interested in a more thorough and coherent report about my visit to Iowa, feel free to refer to my sister Amy's blog here and here and here.
Stay tuned for video footage of this little cruiser.
