Conversations with a 2 and a 4 year old.

Now that Lily is talking, we have some really funny conversations around here. Her favorite new word, "Cup Cake." Today while we were leaving Jena's ballet class so made her first ever comment on weather. "Mama, its hot!" and "Mama, car hot!" Thanks, Lily. Because the sweat pouring off all of us didn't clue me in to that.

Jena asked me to help her draw "boxes on paper" so I helped her draw a grid. They she took it to Lily and said, "Lily, this is your sticker chart for going potty. You go in the potty and you get a sticker to put on this." Thanks, Jena. Could you handle the rest of potty training too?

Happy 2nd Birthday, Lily!

Lily is 2 today! It is hard to believe two years have passed since I held her in my arms for the very first time.

And we have had the privilege of watching her grow into the vibrant toddler she is today. We loved seeing her firsts.

Her first Christmas.

Her first birthday where she celebrated with all her friends. Her first steps and words came soon after. But with everything, she did it in her own time and her own schedule.

Happy Birthday to our big girl. We can't wait to see your next new moves.

Somebody else's daughter

She was somebody else's daughter. Someone I never met. But in my mind she will be forever linked to Lily and that summer she was born. If things had been different I would have met her that night Lily was born, but I never got to meet her.

Her name was Holley Wimunc and she was a Mother/Baby nurse at Womack. She died a week before Lily was born. The police say she was a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of her husband. It was an awful story. They found her apartment burned, but she was missing. They found her body over near Jacksonville, NC just outside of Camp Lajeune where her husband was stationed. She was only 24 years old and she left behind two children. She was the 2nd soldier in a month found dead in Fayetteville. The 3rd in the state in 6 months. And we were reeling from it all.

Roger knew her from work and told me she was a bright, joyful person and a wonderful nurse. Her good friend was one of my nurses after I had Lily. Since just about every one of the nurses on the floor stopped by during those two days, I'm sure I would have met her at some point. She was missed by all. A memorial to her was in the sitting room of the Mother/Baby unit. Everyone of the nurses she worked with went to her Memorial Service. Nurses from other floors along with the doctors covered the floor so they could.

So, even though I never met her, in my mind she will be linked to Lily. As Roger and I were getting ready to welcome Lily into the world, Holley's parents were getting ready to say goodbye. As we were bring Lily home for the first time, they were bringing her home for the last time. As we adjusted to life with Lily, they were forced to adjust to life without Holley. My heart continues to go out to her parents for their incredible loss.

Our trip out West

Back in May the girls and I packed up again and headed west to Nebraska, this time for my Grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. Sadly, Roger was not able to make the trip with us. Such is the life of a physician 's family. Many people commented I was brave to travel that far alone with the girls. I just think I'm crazy.

Jena was very excited and dressed Stompy and herself in matching headbands for the plane.

Our flights were plagued with delays and going out we were routed through ATL with a 30 minute lay over. All the running I have been doing paid off as I was forced to run through the airport with the girls to make our flight. Thanks to all the fellow travelers who helped along the way.

Casa de West was our base camp again, along with EVERYONE else. Thanks again to Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jim for your hospitality. We stayed in Omaha for a few days before heading out to Kearney.

My grandparents surprised us with a trip to Omaha for doctors appointments. While they were in town Defreeze Manor, where they managed for many years and my aunt now works, threw them a reception. Grandpa hates surprises.

On Friday we headed out to Kearney. We stopped in Lincoln along the way to pick up my niece, Desi. It was quite a weekend with three girls. Lets just say I'm not ready for a tween. My brother Ben and his family drove out from California and we met them in Kearney. We have not seen them since they moved there last summer and were very excited to meet Liam. The cousins had a great time getting reacquainted.

The party was Saturday. Tanya (my awesome cousin who never reads my blog) and I once again had cake duty. The curse of being the oldest.

There is a long story behind these mints (and the nuts too), out of respect for those involved in the insanity, I won't share all the details. The mints were good.

So was the cake. It was toddler approved. (my nephew Colton).

Jena and Lily once again enjoyed being surrounded by cousins.

We had a great turnout. Thanks to everyone who came out.

Tanya and I live 4 hours apart, sadly we have to travel 1500 miles to see each other.

The fam.

The cousins.

For dinner we headed out to a Nebraska fav, Valentino's. Our good friend and fellow resident here a Bragg, Jason, is a fellow Nebraskan. I sent a picture of my dinner to his phone apparently as he was on call eating Army meatloaf. His reply was not kind.


Sunday we went to my grandparents church where they were honored for they achievement of 60 years of marriage. For lunch we went to a local park for a picnic and fun.

Family pictures. Since we live in 4 different states, this is the first one we have had in 10 years.

Dinner was at Perkins. Yum!

Monday we headed back to Lincoln to drop Desi off. Before we left we stopped at Nebraska's answer to the Arch to look around. It showed a history of pioneers in Nebraska. In the gift shop Jena found this hat. Super cute, but at $40 Super expensive.


These hats were cheaper.

The buffalo was not real.

The Archway from a distance.

We were able to grab Runza for dinner after dropped Desi off. MMMM. From there we went back to Omaha to get ready for our flight home on Tuesday. Unfortunately, there was a tornado storm that delayed us until Wednesday.

And we also ended up with a 3 hour layover in Detroit. At least we got to eat. And the concourse was labeled on the sign as mile long, so I got my workout in too.

And we found a play area to keep the girls busy. We made it home in once piece but a day late which put us behind for getting ready for our next trip. This time, North. Stay tuned!