busy weekend

This weekend was so busy!

Saturday we hung out with Uncle Andy, Aunt Dawn (Which Nikki has picked up on very quickly), Savannah and Carston in the morning. We left around 1230 for a wedding of some church friends. The wedding was in Connecticut, which meant a 2 1/2 hr drive. The kids (thankfully) did great! They slept the whole way down. When we got there we had some time to play on the beach, the weather was perfect! Unfortunately Nikki didn't want to leave the beach to get ready for the wedding, but, we got through it and moved on. The wedding was beautiful... Jackson, Alli and I hung back and watched from the back... and Steve and Nikki hung around the water front. The reception went OK. I didn't think to pack some food for them to eat prior to the reception (which didn't start till 7). They're used to eating around 5 or 530. With all the issues with food, not a smart idea to try to make it till 7 for dinner. We had lots of snacks, and finger foods before the reception, but it was too late and Jackson had some trouble and decided he needed to scream even when he was being fed food. Finally he calmed down, and we made it till 730ish. Not too bad. They all slept on the way home, and it was nice and peaceful.

Sunday was baptisms on the beach. We dropped Alli with Grammie at Grace Chapel (too much sun for a 3 month old)... and we took the other two to the service. Although Alli is super easy, it was nice to have 1 on 1 defense:-) The kids played on the beach, LOVING it, until service. We got back in our stroller, had snack during the service. Jackson and I made it through. Once again, Steve and Nikki had to roam the beach... to much sitting for a 3 year old. I was so thankful to be able to stay for the worship part! After the service we had lunch and continued to play till about 2. On the way home both kids napped... which started the trouble. Last night was probably our hardest time going to bed. Nikki was very very unhappy, and we ended up having to let her scream it out. I stayed with Jackson on our bed until he fell back asleep. Since he was apt to wake up or roll around, I tried to be resourceful. I ended up putting him in the bassinet so that I could go downstairs. Nikki finally fell asleep between 8 and 8:30.

This morning they were both up around 4. We brought Jackson in our bed and Nikki finally fell back asleep. No one slept very well from that point on, and Nikki woke up with a swollen bug bite from the beach. Poor baby! We've been trying to figure out if we needed to make an appointment, but, she has one tomorrow. Currently their dr is an hour away, so it was a hard call to make. Finally we got a hold of them and we're waiting till tomorrow.

Nikki had her first day of preschool this morning, she was so excited! She kept saying oooh! She went right in, started playing, loved it. According to her teachers she had a hard time sitting (pretty typical for a new 3 year old in school), but they used picture cues to help her. I was going to pick her up at 11, but Jack hid the keys and I didn't find them till 11:10! I rushed to school, rushed to the dentist, and got their in time! She did SO well at the dentist, a real superstar! She was nervous, and not happy, but it didn't escalate into full blown tantrum, and she didn't try to hurt anyone or get up from the chair. I tried to take her to McDonald's as a reward, but, alas, the good behavior wasn't meant to last. I made the mistake of ordering fries for her. When I didn't let her eat all the fries before the chicken... well... let's just say I ended up wearing my Hi-C ORANGE drink on my khakis, and half her chicken ended up on the floor. I made a very quick embarrassed escape, and drove home to screaming from the back seat. Thankfully, this afternoon has been good, and she's been listening very well. It will be very nice to find my bed and pillow tonight, hopefully for a nice 7-8 hrs. :-)