Time to Catch Up

I'm not sure why I could never find the time to blog while we were in Texas, but thanks to Jim for at least posting a few pictures! A lot happened while we were there, and I'm going to try and recap most of it. 

First of all, Lily did pretty good on the plane ride over. Unfortunately, our flight left Dubai at 10:00 am so she was awake for about 10 hrs until she finally crashed in my arms. She took 2 short 30 mins naps in those 10 hrs, but that was it. Luckily she was really good while she was awake; the TVs and remotes on the back of the seats in front of us kept her attention for a long time. She crawled around for a little bit in the exit row, and we were luckily sitting near lots of people who seemed to think she was pretty cute and were very friendly to her when she crawled into their space. The worst part of the trip came when she had a major blowout diaper about halfway into the flight. She hasn't done that in months and of course she does it on the plane!! Oh well, we cleaned her up, but I'm sure the entire cabin could smell it. We finally made it, then we kept her up until about 9 pm that night before putting her to bed. She woke up about 4 times that night, sleeping at some point on each of mine and Jim's chests. I think she just didn't know where she was and needed some reassurance. But, after that night she was back on schedule and sleeping through the night!

Sunday morning, April 15th, we had Lily baptized at the 8:00 am service at my hometown church in Dickinson. Lily did great through the entire service, and even kept her bow on until right when we went up to the front. I was thankful to be able to share this with some family members since there will be so many other events that will just be the three of us. 

Later that week family started arriving: my grandma, Jim's parents, my aunts Holly, Nancy and Uncles Roger and Rob. Jim's sister Emily also made a last minute trip to Houston (and probably got a better fare than those that planned months ahead!). 

Friday night, the 20th, we had Karry and Aaron's rehearsal dinner at Haak winery in the wine cellar. Lily lasted for a little bit and then went home with her Granny, Grandpa and Aunt Emily. 

My family at the rehearsal.

Lily with her Granny.

Lily with Aunt Katie at Dinner.

Jim feeding Lily her dinner. Not an easy thing to do anymore without a high chair. Those hands grab everything within reach!

My side of the family at the rehearsal.

Pretty blue-eyed baby!

Jim and his parents and sister took care of Lily the day of the wedding while I was getting hair and make-up done at the vineyard. It was nice to have a "day off" and be pampered! The wedding was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Even with all the dancing later that night I never got too hot. 

All the girls.

Me and my sisters.

One of my favorite things about weddings is visiting with family that we don't get to see very often. We were lucky that my grandma (on the left) and her twin sister (on the right) both made it to the wedding. My grandma has now made it to all 7 of her grandchildren's weddings! This is Marjaleen, me, Karry and Madeline, the twins! For anyone that's ever complemented me on my thick hair, I have my grandma to thank! Even at 85 yrs old, her hair is still super thick with very little gray!

My family at the wedding.

The next two weeks were spent playing at MiMi and Babo's house. This is a picture of Lily at the top of the stairs. We had no idea she could even climb stairs!

We played with Lola.

And tormented Lola.

 

And played with Oma.

Oma fed Lily lunch and a snack every day, and taught her to "patty cake" and do "So Big." It was a productive week for Lily and Oma! 

And, we fought with Lola over Babo real estate.

Finally, we finished the trip with a weekend in Kansas City for another reception for Karry and Aaron, but that will have to wait for another blog post because this one is getting way too long!