I Am Here At Last

Mikayla at the airport keeping up with the calls by cell

Mikayla and Dad getting ready to go

Pumba the my sister and twins' family pig

getting ready for a walk

Mikayla and her twin cousins

Mikayla cooking fried fish and rabbit stew

fried fish yummm!!!

Hmm Rabbit stew!!

The new style in earrings for men and girls

Aunt Arlene and Mikayla met for the first time

out for a wild ride

walking in Grandma's shoes is not as easy as Mikayla thought

The new fostered son

The past few weeks have been a whirl wind. What started out as a new exciting meeting of Grandma and Mikayla turned in to ... all I can say is, a horrible tornado. Grandma did arrive and had 2 fun filled entertaining days with Mikayla when the news arrived that my Dad had passed. He had suffered from Alzheimer's for 5 years as some of you know along with some other ailments on top of that. He passed on Nov 12th of a Heartache at age 77 while Mom was here. Although there was heartache it was also a blessings that Mikayla was a welcome distraction for all at this time. Mom stayed until Monday afternoon and left on the original schedule and G and I followed her home later that evening staying until Friday. Here is the quick run down of events from Moms arrival... Mom arrived on Wednesday, the boys went to the doctor on Thursday which did not go well, that night the news came in about dad, we had lots to think about as far as travel and the boys, Friday I called the in home care for the boys, Sunday the boys met the babysitter, the decision was made we would have one go to the hotel and one stay home so another doc visit was needed asap, Monday we called the doc and was able to get in we raced to the doc came home to get to the hotel and raced back home to get mom to the airport, while racing from place to place the cell phone rang non stop. While G was helping mom get checked in at the airport new plans developed, the sitter canceled now I had to race back home and back to the hotel and then do other errands to race back home to pack and make a flight to NY. The outcome at this point was I lost my dad, I lost a son and my daughter was more content with Grandma and Dad who had just recently arrived home from Hawaii after 2 weeks. We went to NY spent a week, I don't need to tell you all how that was, other than Mikayla got to meet a lot of the family she had only heard about. While there Mikayla got very stuffed up and needless to say by the time we arrived home we were all sick and then to add to that G wound up with pink eye. G is still coughing, Mikayla is still trying to keep up with her nose and my sinuses are still draining but we are making it through. With the loss of our son we also gained another, which we are not sure will become a permanent fixture, hopefully tomorrow will help us to make that decision. I know that all of us are feeling a loss including Louie. Louie is trying very hard to be nice to his new temporary brother but I know as it is hard for all of us to adjust to a new young one in the house Louie is feeling it too. I can see how he misses his brother and feels the changes of our feelings, we all wish we could have his brother back. I know this post has not been much of a cheery one but hopefully the pics I have attached will help and maybe next time some happiness will shine through. Thanks for continuing to check on us and continuing to follow the blog. I know it is hard to continue following when you check and check and there is nothing new. Thank you for all for being there and thank you all for your blessings and prayers at this time of change in our lives. AJ

Just To Let You Know

I missed nap time but hope to be here tonight after bed time....so please check back soon.

Emergency Flight

I am sorry I have not posted this week but we had to make an emergency flight to NY as my dad passed away Thursday while mom was visiting along with a few other emergency issues we had to take care of and we are just now getting ready to get on a flight home. I will be back to post as usual come Monday or Tuesday when we get home and settled back in.

Here We Are Again!

It seems I was here just yesterday. It felt like we were so busy yet I do not have many photos for you some how. I guess I was slacking. If we weren't playing outside or in the house having big belly laughs just being silly, we were playing at the park with our buds, D, G and AnnaBelle. They took a bit to warm up to each other as Mikayla arrived napping and awoke to find the park was hopping with fun. AnnaBelle was not too keen on her Mommy holding and playing with Mikayla. It seemed AnnaBelle did not mind it as much when Daddy played with her but Mom was definitely a no-no. In the end they did seem to like each other at least. They even had a precious moment of hugging but I am sorry to say it was one of those typical moments when you ask, "where's the camera when you need it?". I did get a pic of them going in for a hug/kiss on G but of course the camera was too quick/slow to get the actual act... hey it was the camera, at least that's my story and I am sticking to it. When we were not laughing through the day we were playing in the bath. You got to get a pic of the bath hairdo or your just not taking the right pics. Then I washed and washed some more and her halo fell off and the true Mikayla began to show. Isn't she a ham though, she is a girl of many faces. I do want to mention that I have included a movie of Mikayla's first go at the slide herself of course you will here us cheering her on, what I am sorry to say is the camera was turned and I do not know how to rotate a movie. Movies do not give you the option to rotate like a pic so if anyone knows of anyway that I can rotate a movie please let me know. I would love to turn this one and a few others. Well, I guess we have come to a close of another Monday but hey don't forget to check back because this Wednesday will be Grandma's first visit to meet Ms. Mikayla in person (the first family meeting as she has met no family as of yet) so I am sure there will be more fun to be had coming soon. I might just wait until next Monday to share as I do want to spend time with Mom and Mikayla being it is their first meeting and all plus Mikayla's Daddy will be coming home before next Monday also. I will be back soon though don't you worry. Hey one more thing..... Diana and Wendy... Dale you too and any other of you followers let me know if you are up for an adult game night and we will get that worked in. We have been talking of doing a game night again but have not taken action so action is what I am looking for now. Let me know guys via email, blog or phone I am sure you all know how to find me. Talk to you soon... Enjoy the pics.

What An Interesting Week We Had!!!

If we weren't tormenting the dogs for amusement, we were coloring and not getting much on paper as you can see. Of course, there was Halloween, Mikayla's and the boys first. She went Trick or Treating with the Big Girls; the boys just stayed home and gave out - I mean ate the candy. Just kidding the boys stayed home and relaxed. Mikayla had a blast and need I say she got so high on sugar which she never really had until Halloween other than the occasional sucker from the bank. She was so funny and had so much fun with herself. She walked on her own with no carrying around our entire block. If that was not enough, mommy needed to get rid of some of the sugar in her system, so we went to the mall. We no longer collected candy but we strut our stuff all around the mall and checked out all the other creatures that were out and about. Mikayla as sugared up as she was walked the entire mall herself. Toward the end she would stop, bounce on her knees a bit and then just sit right in the middle of the floor for a second before she was up and walking again. Now I am not a mean mommy, really, she really did want to walk, like I said she was wired and that is putting it lightly. What those mini M&M's can do! I did feel bad as I was sure she would probably have leg cramps and charlie horses later but thanks to the normal routine of a nightly warm bath and a wonderful massage from mommy afterward I think she did just fine. She slept through the night no problem and then next day no sign of problems either except the over loaded diaper. :) I do know that the costume that in the beginning she hated putting on now puts a big smile on her face every time she sees it. I just can't wait until next year and see how she does with memories. :)) Just in case you are wondering, the outdoor pics are before the sugar and the inside are after. I have also included a video of breakfast one morning that shows how most meals go these days, you will love it. Well, the word is out, the surprise I mentioned in an earlier post has been let out of the bag. Mikayla's Grandma was just informed this week that she has a plane ticket to come and see her. She will be coming all the way from NY and they will meet for the first time for about a week. I am sure it will be exciting for both of them and I am sure I will get lots of pics to share. I would have mentioned the surprise earlier but I know Grandma follows the blog and I did not want her to find out here as I am sure you all understand. Grandma! Mikayla can not wait to meet you she has been hearing all about you and can't wait to have you stay for a while and play. Kisses and Hugs from Mikayla. See you soon and for the rest of you enjoy the pics and the videos that I know you all look forward to finding every week.