Grandma Yoder

Late Saturday night, Mom called to tell me some news I had been anticipating. That evening, while Mom and her sisters, and their husbands, surrounded Grandma, she passed away. The emotional reaction that followed was something I had not anticipated. Grandma was finally free of her body bound by dementia and had moved on to be reunited with Grandpa in heaven. She had talked for some time about being "ready". Yet I struggled with the news. As the tears came, I thought about the Grandma I grew up with. I thought of the slumber parties she hosted. I thought of her ever present smile and her bubbly giggle. Even after the dementia had affected her personality, I would still get to hear her giggle as she held Morgan and watched her play during our visits. I thought of her kind spirit. I can honestly say that I never heard her say anything negative about anyone - I don't think I can say that about anyone else I know. So we had say good-bye to Grandma. Although it isn't easy, I am happy knowing she is free of all that was binding her earthly body, and that she is reunited with Grandpa who died over 30 years ago.

I love you Grandma!

Lake Michigan

This past weekend my parents, along with my brother Chris and his family, were out from Iowa. It was nice to have some time together as we processed baby Willa's brief life. We of course went to Willa's memorial service on Saturday evening. Then on Sunday morning we headed up to Lake Michigan to join Mitch, Heidi, Theo, Adam and Jan, Heidi's mom. They had been staying at the lake in a friend's cabin, and we were more then happy to join them for a day at the beach. We had a great time.

It was about a 10 min walk to the beach from the cabin. These lucky little guys got to ride in the wagon. As you can see, they loved it! We made quite a procession walking down the street carrying all our beach gear, pulling a wagon and pushing a stroller.

Becca was happy to show Morgan and Adam what all could be done with their sand toys. They were pretty impressed with the start of the sand castle ... but they couldn't resist smashing it. Becca wanted to be buried in the sand. The little guys started dumping sand on her, but before long Tommy came in for reinforcement. I joined the party later and we turned her into a mermaid. Morgan and Adam weren't sure about actually burring her in the sand. Morgan actually started crying when Becca started to bury Tommy.

Here we have the strong of heart who climbed up this sand dune. They said the view was worth the workout, but I opted to watch from below.

Adrienne did really well. It helped that we had Grandma to help us out. She really loved watching the waves crash in. She would get all excited and kick her feet. She dug her toes in the sand too. She had to gasp for air when the cold water washed over her feet, but she never fussed or cried.

We took a break from the sand and headed back to the cabin for a quick lunch. It was nice to be able to eat away from the sand.

After lunch Adrienne was beginning to show the true colors of a nap deprived baby. The cat naps just weren't cutting it. Here we are as she sleeps soundly after a serious struggle. Mission accomplished!

After lunch the little kids really got in to the sand. A huge thanks to Mitch for playing with them. They had a ball digging, rolling and jumping in the sand. I was informed that while I was holding Adrienne, Morgan was actually rubbing her head in the sand. SICK! This was another time where I had to let go and just let her enjoy this time of discovery. But let me tell you, inside I was going crazy! In the end she had a great time and it only took 3 days to get the sand out of her hair.

We had a great day!

Willa Esperanza

Yesterday was a sad day in our world. My niece Willa Esperanza Siemens-Rhodes was born at 8:15, and died several minutes later. Born at week 29, Willa weighed 1 lb. 5 oz. and measured 12 in. long. Willa was diagnosed with Trisomy 18 a little over one month ago. I pray that Mitch, Heidi, Theo and Adam will be comforted. I also pray that those of us around them will know how to best support them.

Eating my words with a smile

So after lovin' her first encounter with cereal, Adrienne proceeded to sleep for 7 hrs before needing to nurse again. Thank you Lord! I am hoping she gives me the same kind of treatment tonight. However, I am trying not to get too comfortable with the idea yet. But I have to say, I felt like a new woman this morning. How does such a cute little package have such a huge impact on my life? I love my little Adrienne Grace, but I'm not going to lie ... I also love my sleep!

Adrienne - 6 months

I know I say this every month, but seriously, how is it possible that Adrienne is 6 months old already? She continues to be a super happy little girl, during the day. She smiles at everyone who takes time to talk to her. And if you stay around a little longer she will usually start cooing too. If I lay her down on her back, it takes a pretty interesting toy to keep her from rolling on to her belly almost immediately. I guess the view is better from her belly. At least she is better able to keep track of her sister, one of her favorite things to do. Today was the first day that she started sitting up straight. And as you can see, she even kept her balance long enough for me to get a picture! She is chewing on everything that comes close to her mouth. Her face lights up when we sing to her. She continues to love her nightly baths. However it's not all smiles. Nights continue to be a struggle. Lately I have been feeling like she wants to nurse all the time (day and night). I am a mom that waits until 6 months to start solid food, but the last few weeks I was starting to wonder if I should have been starting earlier. So today was the day we had been waiting for. Adrienne got to try solid food for the first time. We started out with peaches. Dave voted for peaches since that was one of Morgan's favorites. As you can see Adrienne was not amused. I tasted them and decided that they were too sour for the first food...


So I mixed up some cereal with milk and watch out. She LOVED it! She could not get enough. You can see in the picture that she was actually grabbing my hand and/or the spoon and pulling it to her mouth. It was great! She never really did act full. I just stopped once I had used all the milk.


Now this is the face of a satisfied little girl. I have always rolled my eyes when people say "oh my baby started sleeping through the night when we started giving him/her cereal" I am hoping that I get the chance to eat my words. I am trying my hardest not to get my hopes up, but at the same time I am saying please, please, please let this make a difference in our nights.