A Heavenly Week

My mom came and stayed with us for an entire week and it was heavenly. 

 We went swimming in our pool (we should have done that much, much more because it was an exceedingly hot week, even by Miami's standards).

 Grandma is the best at playing with kids in the pool!

This is for Kami. Mom brought your old doll for Ruthie and she is in *love* with it!

 We went to the zoo. I wanted to show it to mom, but it was kind of a poor choice of activity due to the heat, a newborn baby, and my own recovering self.

Mom helped Will play dress-up the entire week. Sterling is slightly appalled at Will's fascination with these high heels. Haha.

 We also went to the beach. We should have just driven a bit further and taken mom to a really nice one, instead we had tons of waves that the kids hated and hardly any shallow water and lots of seaweed. Come back mom, so we can show you a better time! Again, it was hot, so I went back to the van to feed Molly and cool her down while everyone else cleaned up.

 We blessed Molly, which I already posted about, but here is a cute photo of Ruth from that day.

Haha, this cracks me up.

Classic, 

 We also went to the temple with her. But it was Sunday so it was all locked up. It was stifling hot but still incredibly beautiful to see.

 Molly turned 2 weeks old the day after mom left. Mom was happy she had visible eyelashes before she left. Also, she's getting some definite weight to her (I can't quite call it chubbiness, she's still so tiny.) and starting to look a little less newborn-ish. Sob. She is still gorgeous and happy and wonderful.

 These (above) were mom's favorite photos. Molly is so incredibly beautiful. I love having a newborn. Mom was amazing and let me lay on the couch and just hold a sleeping baby on quite a few afternoons. There is nothing quite like it in the entire world. Their warm little bodies so tiny and perfect. Their little breath. Their smell. It makes me want 100. Provided my mom always comes to help, of course.

Not only did she play with the kids, she made bread and cookies to freeze and eat (keeping the kids entertained with her in the kitchen the entire time), helped do all my laundry, cleaned all three bathrooms, bought us some treats, cleaned up a couple separate accidents of Ruthie's, made every meal, and entertained Ruth and Will for HOURS on end. I don't know where she gets her energy from, or her ability to play the same toddler game over and over and over. and over. again but I am so thankful! You are the greatest mom ever! (Not to mention I stopped being so engorged the day before she left and no longer have to pump, perfect timing.)

Ten tiny toes.

Oh Ruthie. How I love you! 

Thanks to Aunt Amy for the cute dress! (and for everything else!)

 We really didn't want grandma to leave. Now that I've eaten all the leftovers she made, I REALLY want her to come back. The night before she left was ridiculous. Molly stayed up til past midnight so mom said she'd rock her and sent us to bed (it was amazing!) and then Ruth woke up hysterical at 2:30, then Molly was up several times, and then mom and Sterling had to leave for the airport by 5am. Sterling woke up at 4:15 to get all his school stuff ready to go. I wanted to cry and crawl onto my bed and make my mom come back. But last night Molly was asleep by 9:30pm and didn't wake up til 1:30am and except for the random time Will woke up at 2 (which was ok since I was already awake with Molly) we got lots of sleep. It's amazing how much brighter the world looks after a decent night of sleep. Maybe I can manage without my mom?

 Nope, nope. I don't think so. Come back ASAP mom! We love you and miss you and Ruthie asks about you every morning and tells me you'll be coming back. I hope she's right! Thanks so much for such a wonderful week and for taking such great care of us!