Mom and Dad's Visit

We had a wonderful three weeks with Mom and Dad. Thanks to Adison's impecable timing we maximized the time with them. Their first week went by in a whirl of doctor and hospital visits until Adison's jaundice went away and she regained her birth weight. While I was at the hospital Mom and Dad would take Jaden, Kirsten and Nicolas to the park and walk Leo. They have promised that they will never come back in summer again as it's just too hot for them, even in the morning. They would both come back from the park dripping in sweat and have to get in the pool to cool off. I have to say that when I take Nicolas and Adison to the park in the morning is miserably hot - my hardcore get fit regime will just have to wait a few weeks!

Nicolas loved all the extra attention he got from Mom and Dad and all the little games Dad would play with him. Nicolas is at such a lovely age now where he understands when you are teasing him and he can role play. I've been having 'tea parties' with him and his teddy bears this week and now he tries to feed me with whatever he has in his hand. It still amazes me that he understands everything I say and will do whatever I ask him, if it suits him.

Shelley and Jamie sent Nicolas his first pair of speedo type shorts. He looks so cute with his little legs showing as I'm so used to seeing him in long American style shorts. Nicolas' new pose for photos is with his head to the side which looks quite cute and I'm not sure where he learnt it.

Adam spent ages in the pool with Nicolas throwing something in for him to throw back. His throwing is really improving, 9 times out of 10 he will throw a ball inf ront of him, where as until recently he would drop it behind him by mistake.
I'm always looking for things to keep Nicolas busy that require minimal supervision from me and Mom suggested washing up with him. I used to do this with Jaden and Kirsten when they were little, but I'd forgotten all about it. I fill the sink up with warm soapy water, give him some bowls and spoons and he'll stand there for about 30 minutes and play. The floor gets a bit wet but he loves it and my chairs have waterproof covers, so no harm is done.
Mom and I took Adison and Nicolas on their first outing together and Kirsten came too. We had to get Nicolas some new shoes and as a treat Mom got them rides on the train. Kirsten wanted to ride up front and ring the bell so Nicolas and I rode in the carriage behind. They both loved it. It was great having Mom with me the first time I took them all out because Adison screamed to start with so I could hold her while Mom pushed Nicolas and made sure Kirsten was OK. That was a couple of weeks ago and now Adison has a routine, it's pretty easy to take her out between 9am and 11am as she is fed and quite happy to sit in her car seat and look around.

Kirsten loved having Mom and Dad here because they are always willing to talk or draw or paint with her, and enter into her imaginary games. Recently I've just had no time or energy to do that, so she loved being the center of attention. The dress below was one of the first things I ever bought for her when she was 2 years old and now at nearly 7, it still fits her!!
She spent a lot of the summer on her roller blades, mostly in the house, but as she didn't break anything and was very careful we didn't mind. I loved her inventive choice of outfit and accessories!
Jaden still doesn't like having his photo taken so he wouldn't pose for these photos.
For the first two weeks of Adison's life we couldn't all go somewhere as oor truck only seats 6 and there were 7 of us without Adam. We took it in turns to go places and usually the kids were happy staying at home playing in the pool with their friends. Mom and I spent a lot of time at Joann's buying material for Adison to make dresses. We also had a trip to Pike Nurseries to buy a plant in honor of Adison's birth and some others that were on sale. Unfortunately for Dad, that involved him digging a huge hole in the rock hard Georgia dirt for me. It took him about an hour in the morning heat, but it would have taken me at least three hours!
Once Jaden and Kirsten went back to their Mom's we could go somewhere everyday. One of our trips was to Toys R Us where Nicolas was totallly spoilt. He's now the proud owner of an easel, building blocks, a play phone (so hopefully he won't delete numbers out of our home phone!) and play keys. All of which keep him busy for ages which helps me out, and improve his motor skills.

His new nickname is "Picasso Pickles" for all the artwork he creates. He's only drawn on the couch once by accident, but luckily it's IKEA and the cover is washable.

Thanks to having Mom and Dad with me Nicolas' bath and bedtime routine could stay the same. Last night was the first time I had to bath them both and put them both to bed without someone else taking one while I put the other one down. It worked pretty well as Nicolas is getting used to Adison.
I was so sad to see Mom and Dad go as we had such a good time, inspite of the heat! Mom and I were frustrated as we really wanted to get in the garden and work on all the projects we have planned, but Dad was glad because it meant he didn't have to do all the digging for our projects! Mom did a lot of knitting and we just spent time talking and relaxing.

I cried when I left them at the airport but carrying Nicolas while pushing Adison made me realize that my family here is perfect and I couldn't ask for better children or a more wonderful husband, and that makes it not having Mom and Dad here more bareable.