This hasn't been a really terrible week, but it has been pretty rough. We had a great time at home, which was great, but also made coming back more difficult. The transition there went very smoothly and things fell right into place. The kids did great adjusting to the time change and a different schedule. We felt like when when we saw people, it was like we never left. Everyday was meeting up with friends or family, so basically every day felt like a party.
Date night at Head and the Heart
At the zoo with the Kerstetters
So sweet.
Watching the kangaroos.
We got to meet baby Emma! Ava loved her.
Beckett turned 2!
Love him!
This was the only time he paid any attention to Emma.
All of the cousins (for now). #7 comes in February!
Ava had so much fun with her cousins.
Sisters!
Fun with Kendall and Carter
Ava loves playing with Carter!
Saying goodbye was rough. While we were saying goodbye to Laurie and my Mom at the airport, Ava asked me why I was crying (yes, there were quite a few tears!) and then went into why things were going to be ok and gave me hugs. She can be such a sweet girl sometimes!
We won't be back home for an entire year. We are going to miss birthdays, holidays and a couple of special babies being born. This makes it so hard! We are excited to be out here again, but leaving friends and family at home isn't easy.
The transition back to our life here was rough. The kids did great on the plane even though they only slept for 2 hours. The first couple of nights were terrible. Both kids were awake from about 10pm-4am and at 4am, the kids and I would finally crash in Ava's bed. We would all be so tired, I would have to wake everyone up at 10:30 in order to get back on schedule. Ken went to work 2 hours after we landed and had to work the rest of the week, so he wasn't much help at night.
Our third night home, we were determined to at least get everyone in their own bed. Ava went down ok, but Beckett was awful. He learned how to climb out of his bed for the first time that night and proceeded to climb out 110 times! Ken kept putting him back, but Beckett was determined that he was not going to sleep in his bed (this went on for over 2 hours). I finally gave up at 1am. Ken had to work the next day and I thought our neighbors were going to hate us. So, I moved with Beckett to the couch. I took away his taggie and paci and made him sit at the end of the couch. He sat there without doing anything until 3:30, when I gave up again and just took him to bed because I was so tired.
By the fourth night, things started to get better and now everyone is sleeping in their own bed. No one is sleeping through the night, but everyone has to go back to their bed.
The past couple of days, we have been able to get out and go to the parks and meet up with friends. It is so good to see everyone here again. We are reminded why we really do love living here. I tell Ava all of the the time that she is a lucky girl because she gets to have so many people both at home and in France that love her.
