On the road again......

Our pretty girl, getting loved on by one of her Papas. Notice her shirt: it says "I love my Papa" , and yes, it means "I love daddy" in Spanish, but we thought it was cute for her "Papas".

Yes, we're still alive.

We've been out of town for most of this past week - well, Keifer, the fur kids and me have been. We did our last summer visit to my parents and squeezed in visits and got many visits from our friends and family, as we're unsure as to when we'll be able to head back up there, now that I go back to work *grimace at the thought of working again*.

Keifer, the fur kids, and I , we drove up on Monday morning last week, and only had one pit stop - for a bottle and some fur kids bathroom action. Keifer usually does OK on car trips, but this time she was not a happy camper on the way up there. So we had our stop and she did OK once we got to Papa and Nana's house

First, we visited my Grandma, so Keifer's Great-Grandma, and then my aunt and uncle. We discussed my cousin's wedding in Charleston in October -(which I'll be attending, but CJ is staying home with the kids). I'm very excited to go, as I've been to Charleston once before, when my friend Katie went to college there. It's so beautiful and it'll be a nice mini-vacation to go on (although I'll miss my girl and family terribly!). That night, my Auntie Barb came over, and we all went out to eat - where Keifer had a mini-meltdown and had to be put to sleep in her sling by mama.

Playing with Nana & Great-Auntie Barb - showing off my new Babylegs (in the cow print) from Nana! Thanks, Nana!

What? I'm crabby and you put me on a table?

The next day, after Keifer got some good naps in, we visited my friend Julie, and her girl, Holland. You'll remember Holland from my previous posts, she is a big fan of baby Keifer, and boy, she had lots to share and tell me at their house.

When we arrived home from their house, Aubrie was waiting with baited breath for baby "Keeser" to come home. Aubrie is Keifer's number one fan, and I've honestly never in my life seen a 2 year old as IN LOVE with a baby as she is. She is constantly showering Keifer with kisses and giving her things, and talking to her. It's amazing to watch in action. Keifer is starting to swipe her hands at Aubrie's hair when it tickles her face (upon receiving kisses) so it was fun to watch them interact and giggle at each other.

Here's the new bucket head, Aubrie!

Cousins, sweet cousins

My friend Taryn brought her 2 year old, Ethan, over that night, and what a hoot he and Aubrie were together in my parent's basement, playing with a pop-up Sesame Street tent. They had fun running around and Ethan enjoyed getting MANY open mouth kisses from Sassy Sager. *gross, huh? LOL*.

The next day, my good friend from high school, Alicia, brought her two beautiful boys up to meet our Keifer girl, and we took a walk. Sorin (age 3, and Keifer's birthday buddy), and Talen (age 11 months), were so much fun! It made me cherish the fact that Keifer is still not mobile, as they are a handful when they are on the go. We had a fun mini-walk, with Sorin helpfully holding the stroller, and then playing in our basement again.

Talen, Sorin, and Keifer: New friends

That night was my mom's birthday, and we joined my brother, Auntie Barb, cousin Becky and Aubrie for dinner out. Aubrie was as attentive as ever to Keifer, and Keifer finally got a little lap time with her Uncle Darren (my brother). He has rarely seen her, so it was good to have him visit his one and only niece.

Happy Birthday, Nana!

It's OK, Keif, he's your Uncle!

Not for a few more years, silly girl!

The next morning, we did a quick visit to my other grandma and grandpa's assisted living home, where they were just being served lunch. Needless to say, Keifer was a HUGE hit with all of the elderly folks there, and my mom got a kick out of walking around and showing our big girl off. My grandparents are very proud of their great-grandchildren. Then it was time for Keifer, the fur kids and I to hit the road, and come back home to our daddy CJ, who was missing his family something fierce.

The rest of our week was a blur, as I honestly can't recall what we've been doing (nothing crazy, obviously!). We spent the past few days grocery shopping, hitting IKEA and Babies R Us, and Sam's Club, and feeling bad for the fur kids, as it has been downpour raining all weekend and they hate going outside in the rain. Who can blame them? It's cold and wet. Yuck.

The countdown to me returning to work is one week officially. However, I'll be bringing Keifer to her first full day of daycare this coming Thursday, as I go in and start to unpack my boxes of classroom items (we were moved from a different site back to our remodeled rooms this year).

Tomorrow is Keifer' s 4 month checkup with our Pediatrician, so I'll be sure to post how big our monkey girl is getting!