Life is good!

We are finishing up our first week of the changed schedule with Nam. He has struggled a bit, as he always does when his world changes, but he is settling into the new routine. I really think he is going to like it a lot better. As much as he loves being here and spending time with Grandad, he really likes his alone time with his momma. This gives them a lot more of that. Dennis and I are enjoying the shorter trips to Weatherford, too. It also breaks up his trips back and forth, so they don’t seem so long. He is getting tired of the hour-long drives from his house to ours!

Stephen contacted me Monday morning to tell me that Mandy was in labor. After a long 27 hours, Gracie finally decided to make her appearance. Even after that long of a labor, she looked a lot like a c-section baby. She is a big girl, 8 lbs. 12 oz. and 21.5” long! Mandy was determined to go the distance and avoid another section this time, and she succeeded. I’m really proud of her strength and determination! So far, Gracie seems to have a very sweet disposition. She is content and sleeps very well. Hopefully, everyone can get caught up on their sleep now that they are home.

Nam and the other boys had fun playing together after Gracie’s birth. They were being a bit loud and rambunctious at the hospital, so we found a park just down the road, and took them to run off a little energy. They are getting better and better at playing together! They especially loved romping with Uncle Ricky! Nam was really intrigued with Gracie…especially when she was nursing. After he figured out what was going on, he pointed to Mandy and said, “She milk? Gracie drink her all up!”

Nam and I baked “snickermoodles” yesterday. He is really getting good as a baker’s helper! He handles the controls of my Kitchenaid mixer perfectly and adds all of the ingredients after I measure them. I scoop the batter and he rolls them in the cinnamon-sugar, making sure that they are completely covered. Then he places them on the cookie sheet and flattens them. He was pretty excited when I told him that Grandad and I couldn’t eat any of them, so that left more for him and his momma and Uncle Ricky!

Dennis and Ricky have still been working on trim for the house. Ricky is sanding and painting the old trim that is salvageable, and they are replacing and painting what needs to be replaced. Next week, Dennis hopes to replace the wood under the gables on the sides of the house and get them painted. It will really be nice to get the outside of the house spiffed up. It has needed it every since we bought the place 13 years ago!

We have a dove’s nest in a bush at the corner of the house that has a couple of eggs in it. We are trying to leave it as undisturbed as possible. It is fun watching the momma and daddy dove caring for the eggs and sharing it with Nam. It will be even better once the baby birds hatch out!

Nam discovered the library this week with Dennis. They happened to go during storytime, but Nam was a little too shy to join in. However, they have some pretty cool toys to play with. I need to renew my card, so I can start checking out books and videos for him. I really think that once he gets used to things, he will really like going for storytime. They also do fun projects with the kids. Sheila plans to take him to their local library as well. He is really enjoying books a lot better now that he understands English well!

Our new diet is going pretty well. We’ve both lost a few pounds, and Dennis’ blood sugar is consistently lower than it had been. My blood pressure, even though it had been ok before, has also dropped already. I’ve had a couple of failures with trying new recipes (like cauliflower pizza – UGH!), but mostly we have enjoyed the food. We are eating a LOT more veggies and a LOT less carbs. Nam is doing very well with it, too. We were having spinach and eggs for lunch today, and he said he liked the green ones!

I get such a kick out of listening to Nam talk. Even though we sometimes struggle trying to decipher a word or phrase, we can understand almost everything he says now. His comprehension is what really blows me away! I have to admit, though, that my favorite thing he says is “Thank you, Gwanny!” Ha! He has such a cute little husky voice. I do tire of it at times though…especially when he is using his “outside voice”.  He routinely calls Dennis “ole Grandad”, and Ricky is “Uncle Licky” (still having trouble with his R’s). He is still fixated on relationships; marriage, in particular. He asks dozens a time (or more) a day about what our wedding rings mean, why we got married, etc. He was asking me one day why I married Grandad, and I told him it was because I loved him. So I turned and asked him why Grandad loved him. He looked at me like I was silly and said, “Because I’m his grandson!” Last night, Dennis was talking about breakfast and asked Nam if he knew what breakfast was. Nam didn't hesitate a second before answering, "Pancakes!"

Looking forward to another weekend! All I have planned, aside from normal household stuff, is prepping food for our potluck on Sunday. I’m going to do Daddy’s fried rice. It has been awhile since I fixed it, and he gets such a kick out of it when we take it to a gathering. I also plan to do a (mostly) sugar-free banana pudding…also his recipe. He and Bobbie are both doing quite well at present. They are enjoying their life at Brookdale now and seem content. Daddy hasn’t brought up trying to get his driver’s license back in MONTHS, so we are hoping that is all in the past now. They enjoy their Sundays spent over here, but they are always tired and ready to go home afterwards. It is good to see them happy again.

I hope things are going well for all of you!