By coincidence, my sister had plans to teach vacation bible school every morning this week, so Tory and I spent Wednesday morning visiting my great-grandma at the nursing home where she lives. It was a nice treat to spend some quality time with her and not be rushed to move onto the next event, as is usually the case when visiting back home. I got to spend some alone time with each of my parents and with my sister, which also rarely happens when we're back for holidays or events. I really enjoyed being home for a "regular week" with no plans and I hardly experienced the heartache I usually feel when Andi's away. Tory did fantastic on this trip. As per usual, she was a gem on the short flight to / from Nebraska, but also took excellent naps and adjusted well to irregular bedtimes. As she grows older, life with her keeps getting easier and easier. I'm so thankful for that!
It was great to see my two nieces, Brooke and Neeley. Hard to believe how much those two grow in the weeks / months between our visits. Brookie will be six next month and oh my, that girl is opinionated! My sister advised me many times to "just wait" until Tory gets older. Ha.
On Wednesday night, we went to Brookie's dance recital. It was seriously the exact same recital my sister, cousins and I used to be a part of over 25 years ago. The dance instructor and her husband have to be at least be in their 60's by now, but they still looked exactly the same (albeit, a little more gray). Most of the songs and dance routines were still the same as they were when I was a kid. It absolutely melted my heart to see the little three year olds up on stage doing "the cookie dance" and I was singing along to the tune right along with them from the audience. Never am I home and able to attend these events, so this was just THE BEST.
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| Horrible iPhone photo but ... Brooke (second from left) dancing to Little Miss Muffit |
Thursday morning, I babysat Neeley for my sister while she taught Vacation Bible School. Neeley is such a happy baby so she was easy to care for, but keeping the girls from fighting over the same toys was no easy task. Tory's newest word this week is "no!" and she forcefully used that word to keep Neeley away from her toys. At one point, Tory pulled her favorite green push car into my parent's kitchen pantry and shut herself in there so Neeley couldn't get her toy. Silly girl.
Cousin love ....
Today, Tory put her stuffed monkey in a chair and was pretending to take its photo, so she must have enjoyed our little cousin photo session the other day.
Ashley, the kids, and I went to Lincoln Friday to meet my brother out for lunch and to see baby Reese in the hospital. First, Tory loved Grisantis just as much as her mama. (my favorite restaurant in Lincoln) She scarfed her weight in buttery garlic bread and tomato soup so she definitely has my DNA. I hardly see my brother, Adam, anymore so it was nice to catch up on his life.
Baby Reese is just as adorable as you'd imagine. Jen's the first of four cousins having babies in 2013 and things just got REAL holding a seven pound newborn in my arms again. I still find it hard to believe Andi and I will welcome another one of those tiny babes into our family in November. Happily, all is well with Jen and the baby and I'm looking to her now to give me all the tips on life with two.
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| Tory and Brooke waiting at the hospital to see Baby Reese |
Overall, Tory and I had a great trip back home and I'm thankful for the time spent with my family. It's always such a happy time together which makes it all the harder to leave, but soon enough we'll be together again.
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