Wouldn't you be thrilled to get this in your stocking this year?
Well, you can't have this one, actually...we want to keep her. But you can check out this picture of her stuffed into the stocking the nurses in the NICU decorated for her when we all thought she'd actually be spending Christmas there.
momof2bz and I apparently think alike...I had just uploaded this picture when I saw her comment about photographing Evany in a stocking while she still fit in one!
I just got a chance to really look at the comments on the picture of Ava in the tree, and I have to say they cracked me up. I'm still picking my favorites. If you read the comments and saw one you really liked, will you click the "like" button on the comment? That way I can figure out if we share the same sense of humor. ; )
I got a few questions about where we got our stockings, and believe it or not, they came from the Dollar Tree. So did the ribbon. I didn't think I'd be able to find decent looking stockings there, but I was pleasantly surprised!
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Several of you have asked what happened when John met Evany. Nothing really happened...the first time he saw her was kind of an accident as we had to meet up for some other things and obviously I had to bring her. It felt weird to "introduce them", so I didn't really say anything, and neither did he. However, the past couple of visits he has been able to spend a little time with her and I could swear I caught him baby talking to her the other day, so I'm reasonably sure that Evany is getting him to fall for her just like she has everyone else. If she's anything like her sister she'll have him wrapped around her finger before he knows it.
For now she comes with me during visits since she's still on the monitor and nursing. As she gets older we'll reevaluate. John really does love our kids, and I do think that he'll love Evany the same way. Yes, I wish things had happened differently during her birth and NICU stay and I hate that he stayed away. But I hope that he still manages to have a good relationship with her because she deserves that.
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Around three or so I walked out into the parking lot after attending Ava's Christmas party with three dirty, sugared up kids (Evany was not dirty or sugared up, so I'm not counting her), and as soon as I got them all buckled in and got into the driver's seat, I felt the biggest weight lift off my shoulders...I am intensely thrilled about three weeks in which I can sleep in, never change the kids out of their pajamas, and do fun Christmas Break type things. I probably won't do all of those on the same day, but who knows. The first week home with four kids has gone well, and I've managed to make it to each kid's school drop off or therapy appointment on time, so I'm counting it a success, but I am still really excited about not having to get them all clean, dressed, and out the door by 8 am for a while.
Speaking of, when I wake up Ava in the morning, she actually says "Five more minutes!"
She's five. What in the world? What five year old says they need more time to sleep? She's so funny.
