Holiday Travels

We are back home and are all finally healthy! What a past few weeks it has been. We left on the 18th for Tennessee to spend some time with Paw-Paw and G3 (or GiGi since I have a hard time saying 3). When we arrived in TN we got to briefly see my aunt Julie and aunt Lindsey before they headed home complaining of feeling a little sick. Aunt Julie called the next morning and said she had Strep Throat. Shortly after, Aunt Lindsey called and said she had double pink eye. We could only wonder what we would be in for over the next few days!

Since Aunt Julie was sick, JoJo got to hang out with us for the next few days. We had a great time riding all of our "bikes"! I brought my bike from home but as you can see I didn't stand a chance against JoJo's power bike.

Yep, you guessed it! Double pink eye. I tried to look as pitiful as I could in order to get more sympathy. And pitiful I was! I wasn't a happy camper with double pink eye and a new molar popping through. And how no one else (including JoJo) ever came down with pink eye is amazing!

We had planned on heading down to Chattanooga to see Grandma for Christmas but since Grandpa Richard just had cataract surgery we were advised to stay put so as not to pass on pink eye to him.

So instead we hunkered down in the 6 degree weather and curled up on the couch while we listened to Paw-Paw read "The Night Before Christmas".

JoJo got a really cool John Deer Tractor from Santa. Instead of having lots of fun riding up and down the halls we just fought over who got to sit in the drivers seat. All I did was look at JoJo with my pitiful little crusty eyes and I pretty much won every time. The storm the night before brought down 2 trees in the front yard so we put that tractor to use all day picking up sticks and limbs and carrying them to the fire pit.

Aunt Lindsey and Uncle Tony got me a Sling for my babies so I can carry them around just like Mom carries me.

Making sweet music with JoJo's recorder.

With all of the bike riding we were doing Paw-Paw and GiGi got me a really nice bike helmet.

My Pink eye finally cleared up and we headed to Chattanooga to see Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay too long since we had to get back home. Grandpa was recovering nicely but still didn't want to get too close to me and I don't blame him. But that didn't stop Grandma!

Dad and Mom got to have a night out with their friends while Grandma and I stayed home and played. I got so tired that I fell asleep while sitting up on Grandma's bed reading my book. Grandma was afraid to move me so she just gently pushed me over. I fell straight back and never moved a muscle until Dad and Mom arrived home late that evening.

The next day we celebrated Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa. I got this really cool wooden stroller and high chair for my babies. I'm still trying to figure out if my babies made out better on Christmas than I did?

We made it home safely and Dad planned on using the last week of December to get some things done around the house. On the list was finishing the kitchen cabinet and building a bookshelf for all of our cookbooks. We are still not sure how it happened, but on Tuesday Dad got really sick. By Wednesday (New Years Eve) Dad looked dead. On New Years Day Dad came back into the bedroom around 6am and told Mom to take him to the hospital before he actually died. The doctors didn't know what it was but told him he won the award for the sickest patient on the floor. After a few tests and pricks (and my yelling at the doctor to leave Dad alone) we finally made it home so Dad could recover. We think the bacterial infection must have come from something he stirred up in the musty and moldy shed where he was working on the bookshelf.

The finished bookshelf.

Just before we left for TN, Grandma Mary (or as I am now calling her MiMa) came down to visit and to celebrate an early Christmas. We had a great week as she took over some for the Nanny and even allowed Dad and Mom the chance to get out of the house without me. Grandma brought down some great hand-me-downs from Mom's childhood. The Playskool desk above has become my favorite place to play. It has a chalkboard top and a magnetic board on the inside. Since I am eating all of the chalk and crayons now, Mom has taken away my coloring privileges. As long as I don't swallow any magnets I should be fine.

Here are a few of Mom's old puzzles. I'm slowly figuring out how to put them together but I mostly get frustrated when they don't fit. In my mind the pieces should be one size fits all!

Happy New Year!