December

I have mixed feelings about this last December. It started out great in the first few days. I was planning a trip to Oregon to spend Christmas with my family and I was going to surprise them all with the news that we were expecting our third child. On the 3rd, the day I was 8 weeks pregnant, there was a tiny pink spot. On the 4th there was more bleeding, but still not heavy so I went to the ER to ask for an ultrasound. I spent all day there and all they told me was that everything looked good for me being 5 and a half weeks and my dates must have been off. I know my dates so I knew the baby had stopped developing before 6 weeks. I did a lot of crying that weekend and my little Emily patted my back. These are the times it is hard to have a husband who is deployed. I had to share the news that I was pregnant over the internet and the news that I wasn't anymore over the phone.

On the 8th I boarded a flight to Oregon.

It went well until both kids ears started to hurt on our second flight's landing and they both screamed at me. I was so happy to see my brother and sister waiting for us after all that. The next afternoon the little baby left my body after days of cramping and bleeding. My brother was kind enough to go out in the pouring rain to bury the little one under a rhododendron bush for me. My mom had been through this before and it was comforting to not be alone.

The next week passed quickly. They were full of visiting and shopping and I even found time for a coffee and pedicure with my cousin and finally got to see the new Harry Potter movie. Then on the evening of December 17th Emily broke her leg. She is a prime example of why kids shouldn't play on coffee tables. Because it was the weekend and then the week before Christmas it took until the 23rd to get a cast on her leg.

Once she had the cast on there were less complaints of pain and she quickly learned how to get around. She was even climbing up and down stairs. While I took care of Emily's leg Anika got to go play in the snow with her cousins and grandparents.

We had a fun Christmas Eve with Eric's parents and sisters. Eric was able to get online and watch as everyone opened their gifts that evening. The next morning we went to my parents' home for more.

 Emily slept through most of the gift opening.

She woke up just before lunch and opened her presents before eating.

On the evening of the 29th we headed home. Thankfully my sister-in-law had a double stroller she needed to get rid of because a midnight layover with 2 sleepy girls in pjs would have been nearly impossible without it. Especially with Emily unable to get far on her own. We made it home at 4am on the 30th and are slowly getting back into our normal routine. The girls and I also had head colds for the entire month of December and Emily broke my "shockproof" camera by hitting the table with it. After that emotional roller coaster of a month I am hoping for a smooth and quick first month of the new year as we impatiently await Eric's return.