Ever loves playing with Dun Dun. They played a version of the old favorite "Dun Dun Jail," wherein Ever could only be released if she answered math or trivia questions correctly. She cheated by using her calculator, much to Dustin's dismay:
Always the best sport, Dustin also played the cupcake game and did some arts and crafts with Ever:
There was also some play time inside the circus tent Coco gave the girls last Christmas:
Tired littles:
I hate driving newborns around because it's so freaky when their heads flop forward. The head support in Tyna's car seat does absolutely nothing. I freaked Dustin out with my talk about her head falling off. He was scared to hold her, but he conquered the fear:
Such a cute age:
Nothing gives me lower self-esteem than selfies, so I avoid them like the plague. Photogenic Coco, however, showed Ever a selfie good time:
After a couple of days of doing nothing but hanging out at the house with the littles (plus church), Coco dropped Dustin at LAX for a red-eye flight back to D.C. Sunday night.
Coco wanted to be helpful while she was here. I told her the most helpful thing she could do for me was take me shopping. I never, ever, ever buy clothes and have outgrown some of my old stuff since having the girls. The wardrobe is pretty nonexistent. JoAnn took Ever and Wren on Monday so Coco and I could do some shopping. Aardvark came with us and was dreamy:
The next couple of days were mostly spent hanging out at home. Three-week-old babies aren't supposed to do social smiles yet, but Tyna sure seemed to:
Lots of sleeping by Aardy Party:
And a little posing:
Coco took Ever to Baskin Robbins and somehow believed the worker when he suggested that a single kid's scoop would not be sufficient for a four-year-old. This made Ever happy:
Tyna spent some time relaxing in her swing:
Meanwhile, Wrenzy took an important call:
Wednesday morning, I left Ever and Aardvark with Coco and took Wren to the doctor to take care of her ear tag:
It was not painless, but it was quick. There's still a little bump where the skin tag was, but it's much better.
I'm obsessed with this girl:
Ever was excited to show off her dance moves to Coco at her class that afternoon:
Thursday was round 2 of shopping. Again, we left the older two girls with a sitter and took young Aardvark with us. Coco and I fueled up at Chipotle:
Aardvark slept most of the time. I can't explain her old-lady neck in this picture:
Coco took Tyna out of her seat to feed her in the Ann Taylor dressing room while I tried on clothes. Right before I took a picture of them looking cute together, Aardvark vomited down Coco's shirt. I was pleased that the dressing room was unscathed, but neither Coco nor Aardvark enjoyed the experience:
The spit-up was entirely contained within Coco's shirt, so she continued to look as classy as ever:
The Rob and Annas were going to be in Ventura the weekend of August 5-7, so we made it a big reunion. Jim had to stay back to work, but Coco and I took the girls up Friday morning after enjoying crepes for breakfast:
We didn't get out as early as planned, so traffic was a nightmare. We had to stop at a Burger King not far from Ventura so we could change diapers and get some lunch. The girls enjoyed the break and the food.
By the time we got to our hotel, everyone else was at the fair. We got settled in and then met up with everyone for dinner. The girls had fun in Aardvark's crib:
Aardvark stretched it out:
We met the rest of the fam at a pizza place for dinner. All the seating was outside, and none of us were very prepared for the cold. We enjoyed chatting and being together, though. Plus there was music playing, and I loved watching Wrenzy bop and wave her arm to it. Court, Rob, Christian, and I hadn't all been together since Courtney's wedding nearly three years ago, and the nieces and nephews are always a delight.
Back at the hotel, the big girls snuggled on the couch-turned-Ever's-bed:
Wrenzy also really enjoyed the hotel phone and the lamp switch:
Friday night was one of the worst nights of all time. Wrenzo cried pretty much all night long. There was nothing I could do. I don't know what the deal is with babies/toddlers and their inability to sleep in new places, but it's a real nightmare. I even let Wren in bed with Coco and me, but to no avail. Ever finally fell asleep despite the screaming. At one point, though, the crying woke her. I heard her rustle, and then she just said kindly, "I love you, Wrenny." It was the sweetest thing.
The complimentary hotel breakfast was pretty good. I love when these two get along:
I brought a muffin back to the room, and Ever and Wren were all over it. As Coco described it, I fed them like baby birds:
Saturday morning, Coco and I debated staying another night. Coco didn't want to miss out on any time with the family (serious FOMO), so she voted that we stay and drive home Sunday morning. I thought that was a huge mistake and was sure we'd enjoy another sleepless, scream-filled night at the hands of Lowrenzo. But I let Coco make the call (and turns out it was the right one). We had the hotel extend us for one more night.
Eventually we made it to Christian and Shandra's, where Shandie was making spam musubi:
We hung out at the house for a while, and the cousins became better acquainted with the new addition:
Once the musubi and all the people were ready, we headed to the beach. It was pretty but very cold.
After the beach, we went our separate ways to clean up and let the littles nap. I was desperate to get Wrenzy back on track.
We convened back at the Deetrixes' house that evening. Snapchat provided some entertainment:
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| Lucy and Gunnar |
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| Coco and Lucy |
Rob picked up burgers (my girls' favorite) for the kids to eat at home.
The adults plus Lucy went out to dinner. We took Aardvark, and Tucker and Anders generously babysat the rest of the little people (Clara, Tristan, Betsy, Gunnar, Ever, and Wren). Tucker and Anders were adorable. They worked together to figure out how to change Wrenzy's diaper (a pooper, which I'm sure they enjoyed). The next morning when I went to change her, I discovered that her diaper was on backward. But hey, it still worked great. Those are amazing kids.
At the restaurant, Shandie suggested that we take some sibling photos while we waited for our table. Between takes, we laughed about how awkward and unaffectionate we are.
Since Ever completely conked out on the short drive back to the hotel. She was nearly impossible to wake up. Coco struggled for a long time to get her out of the car.
The girls all went right to bed once we got them back to the room, and they slept amazingly well. I couldn't believe it.
Sunday morning, we ate breakfast and then headed back to Oceanside as quickly as we could. I was teaching Relief Society in church that day, and I had been thinking about my lesson but hadn't written anything down yet. That was a little frightening, as I like to be well-prepared. Coco drove so I could work on my lesson in the car. We made it back in time for me to get ready and get to church, and all was well.
We had a little more relaxing time at home that afternoon. Some relaxed more than others.
Then we said our goodbyes to Coco, and she flew home that night. Hooray for visits with family!
3 comments:
So nice you could spend time together!
The diaper was on backwards! Dying, so funny.
So wonderful. I failed you on the Wrenzo video - I thought I sent it, but it didn't go through on account of its being too large. I'll work on it. Such a fun week! Thanks for hosting!!
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