Better Late Than Never…..

As many of you know, pregnancy and I don’t always mesh so well. As far as my last pregnancy with Aveline, most went well until the last month or so when I swelled up like a balloon, so to speak. I could hardly walk at all, let alone make it down the stairs to do laundry, or play with and entertain Novella. We spent most days that Ryan was working in my rocking chair, with my feet up, reading books with Novella…we also had our fair share of movie days due to this. Luckily, my parents and Grandmother made some special arrangements and set out on a road trip to Wisconsin.

The day of their arrival we were just getting home from an ob appointment in Green Bay, and Novella had decided to skip her nap that day, not to mention it felt like a bazillion degrees to me and my super pregnant and swollen self (although in reality it was probably only about 65 or 70 degrees!) Lol. As soon as they pulled up in the driveway, she lit up and started yelling, “Gran Gran home, Gran Gran, Opa, home!”, needless to say, she was over the moon excited to see them, and we were relieved to have them here for their help. The two weeks they were here flew by in an instant, and to me were a bit of a blur. Dad helped Ryan with some projects, mom and Grandmother prepared food and made sure we were all fed and cared for. They played and played and entertained Novella in ways that I most certainly couldn’t. My mom did all of the laundry, taking Novella to the potty and bath. Grandmother folded laundry, and read and played with Novella. Dad took Novella for walks and played outside (They had a lot of fun with the sidewalk chalk!). They took her for outings, and took me for outings as well since I couldn’t easily drive and get out myself.

When I went into labor Novella was able to stay home with my parents and grandmother (her Opa, Grand Jan, and Great Grandmother). Funny story about that, out of no where Novella started calling Grandmother, Great Memaw out of nowhere, we tried to correct her, but she was set that that would be the name she had for her. She has since corrected herself and calls her great grandma now, which is much closer. It is so incredibly special to see a 2 year old bond with her 94 year old great grandmother, there is something just amazing and beautiful about that relationship. We were in the hospital for 2 days, and Novella had a wonderful time with them, they didn’t tell her it was her birthday, but still took her out to a special lunch and got her ice cream to celebrate on her 2nd birthday. After we brought Aveline home from the hospital they stayed almost a week more. We got to celebrate her new and beautiful life, (read about that HERE), and we were able to celebrate Novellas 2nd birthday. If you didn’t already know, Aveline was born May 21, and Novella turned two on May 22; Aveline was determined to not come on her due date of the 20th, but by golly she didn’t want to share her sisters birthday, so she decided to come the day in between. Had she been about 5.5 hours later, they would have shared a birthday! It is special that their days are so close, but wonderful that they each have their own day…now, I have gotten completely off track here…

My family visiting as I said, is quite a blur. However, it left an imprint on my heart forever. We made some lovely memories, and those two weeks, as blurry as they might be some days, will always mean the world to me. Thank you Mom, Dad and Grandmother for being here to help us out, feed and entertain us, wash and fold our laundry, taking care of our little girl, and being here for the birth of your second granddaughter. You truly did come to the rescue! We love you all!