Tuesday, January 31

Lily with her brother before he leaves for pre-school.

Lily, let me steer, we'll get farther.

Lily, there's a lizard in your hair.

Home again! The flight was a good one with some turbulence periodically and we got in to Columbus ahead of schedule. We did learn, after we landed, that our pilot earned his captains wings with our flight. I guess that is the kind of info you really don't want to know prior to your flight. I did think we were going pretty fast as we landed but we were all in one piece as we disembarked so I guess that is all that matters. There was a small glitch in this otherwise uneventful trip. Somehow when I was transferring phone numbers into my new iPhone I neglected to transfer the cell phone number of my friend who was picking me up at the airport. After calling everyone I thought might have her number without any success, I paid $10 for a cab to take me to the cell phone lot where she was waiting. Well, it does make for an amusing story. I'm off to bed to recharge my old battery. I must say, I had a great time in Delaware but it feels good to be back with Mr. B and Molly.

Tuesday, January 31

It was a little chilly this morning, but with our polar bear mittens we are good to go.

Lily loves to wear hats. This one is Luke's.

We had Carlo and Nancy over for dinner last night and Carlo bribed Lily with Hershey's chocolate. It worked!

Luke driving his motorcycle

Lily chose the Batmobile.

Can you believe that January is almost over? Today I will head back home, my work is done and Lily was delivered safe and sound and I had lots of fun along the way. Yesterday we spent some time at X-bo's, an inside playland, and I must say it wore me out trying to keep up in some of those tunnels and slides. We have to be at the airport by 3 so I can make my 4 o'clock flight and I should arrive home around 5:30. Mr. B has already shared with me what he would like for supper. He said he is tired of trying to think about what he is going to fix to eat. Thought I would share some of our fun yesterday.

Sunday, January 29

Walking the beach at Rehobeth.

King of the Hill

Playing at Chic-fil-a

Lily bringing in the paper.

I'm having a great time with Trish, Chad and the grand kids. It is cooler than Hawaii but warmer than Ohio. The kids are keeping me hopping but they are so much fun. We went down to Rehobeth Beach yesterday. It was about 57 degrees but because of the wind it felt much cooler. But we walked out onto the beach a little just to say we did. Today we spent some time out in the driveway and Luke practiced riding his bicycle skills. Tonight was the first night that Luke went to sleep before midnight which has allowed me to get this post written. He has school tomorrow morning but I am sure we will try to do something fun in the afternoon. Mr. B is holding down the fort at home with Molly and is glad the water is finally getting out of the yard. He said there was a little snow yesterday.

Wednesday, January 25

The Hawaiian mountains behind the Lyons Arboretum

Luke at the water park at the Aulani Disney Resort.

Lily just cruising through the kitchen.

The flight yesterday with Lily, departing Columbus and arriving in Baltimore 50 minutes later was interesting and I am pleased to say we both arrived in good spirits. We made it through security and they only had to send my backpack through twice. It seems that diaper wipes look like something else on the x-ray, I didn't ask. Lily was loud on the plane but didn't cry. No one sat beside us so we had 3 seats to ourselves and I'm pretty sure that if the people in front of us had not already been seated those may have been empty as well. Lily finally fell asleep as we were making our final descent into Baltimore. I am so glad I had a backpack because I had to carry Lily and her carry-on Dora bag to the baggage claim and I needed 3 hands to get there. Once I got there, I had plenty of help and Lily woke up then to give Luke a great big hug. Luke who had been on a plane for 11 hours with only 2 hours sleep was so excited he could hardly stand himself (and we could hardly stand him either!). Then we had the 2 hour drive to Dover but it was enjoyable listening to every ones favorite memories of their trip. Chad was just happy to everyone back home!

Monday, January 23

Quick, birders....can you ID this bird?

Oh yes, the infamous masked-ring tailed Racoon bird. This one had a bad front foot which might explain why he was so brave to look for food during the day.

Evelyn at 7 weeks.

Ohio weather, you got to love it. This morning could have easily passed for a spring day in April. Could not believe the temperature got up to 57 this afternoon. Of course true to Ohio fashion, the winds soon brought us a cold front to remind us that it is January. Tomorrow Lily and I will board a plane and head to Baltimore where we will meet up with Trish and Luke and catch a ride back to Dover with Chad. I'm thinking this is going to be one happy reunion.

Friday, January 20

Just call me beautiful.

Wheeee! So much fun I even let Grandma hold my "B" (short for binky)

Are you coming Molly? Molly says, it's cold out here, I'm going in!

The newspaper delivery gal, taking her Pop Pop the daily paper.

I was just trying to help Grandma clear off the kitchen table, really!!

It has been a real treat having Lily stay with us during these 2 weeks. She is such a happy little girl, most of the time, actually all of the time if you are giving her your undivided attention. She loves feeding Molly, our dog and I fear that our efforts to have Molly drop 30 pounds may have been jeopardized by Lily. She insists on having a full doggie bowl and loves to feed her Scooby Snacks. It has helped Molly to overcome her fear of "little people". Lily insisted on going outside again today but we could not stay out very long. She loves to help feed the birds and loves for me to pull her around in the saucer sled. I heard a saying that describes Lily to a tee, she is "all gas and no brakes" and she, like the energizer bunny just keeps going and going. She was going to stay with us tonight and travel over to stay the week end with Grandma and Pop Pop Foulk but I took her over this afternoon just in case the weather gets as bad as they are forecasting. Pop Pop Bichler has really enjoyed watching Lily play around the house. Part of me wishes he could actively participate with the kids and I mourn the fact that they will never know the Pop Pop he would have been if the accident never happened. The blessing is that they are quite content and accept Pop Pop as he is, the always accessible Pop Pop that is never far from his lazy boy. Luke loves to sit in his lap and crack hazel nuts and Lily likes to whisper to him from the stair steps. There is probably a lesson in this somewhere and at some point I may learn to begin looking forward instead of back. For now I will enjoy life day by day.

Wednesday, January 18

A big day means you start with a good breakfast. Lily fixing our scrambled eggs.

Here comes Aurora! Lily wasn't too sure about this.

Lily was trying to scratch her neck and she liked it!

Anana was in the tidal pool rocks.

Two sleepy tigers.

Today Lily and I pretty much had the entire zoo to ourselves. I guess the 29 degrees might have had something to do with that but I kept checking the weather and at least it wasn't too windy today and the sun was shining. We were able to start at Polar Frontier and make it all the way to African forest before Lily finally fell asleep in front of Colo. The polar girls were swimming, Hank, our new elephant was on exhibit and we saw tigers, bats, monkeys, fish, manatees and the turtle. We had a wonderful time for Lily's first zoo visit. We may try and fit in a visit to COSI during her stay. We will see how much energy Grandma has left after today!

Saturday, January 14

Lily playing her new Dora guitar. She can play it with her hands, feet and bottom!

You gotta love recycled toys. I knew I would need these some day.

We even have the cloud mobile and Mr. Cloud Sweeper, the Rainbow car and the bad guy, Mr. Freeze (I think that was his name)

Well I have Dora and the Piggie Pirates and Diego Saves Christmas committed to memory which is really saying something since I don't have much of a memory to begin with. Lily has been a gem and we are having so much fun. She is non-stop energy though and the more tired she gets the more she moves as if she knows that if she slows down she would fall asleep. Last night she was asleep by 7:30 and she slept until 7:30 this morning. This morning we broke out the girl's Care Bear set and Lily spent a lot of time playing with them. We did bundle up once to take Molly out and get the mail but we were not out longer than 5 minutes, they say the temperature will stay in the 20s today. Grandma Peg and Pop Pop Ed just got Lily so I'm going to take the dog on an abbreviated walk and then head to the store, something I planned to do yesterday but it was just too cold to do either with Lily. Trish and Luke have pictures on Facebook and it looks like they are having a great time too. I'm hoping the weather warms just a little so Lily and I can make it up to the zoo next week. Monday is a holiday and free admission so I think we will skip the crowds that may be taking advantage of that. Maybe Wednesday. Stay warm!

Friday, January 13

My mommy is in Hawaii and Grandma thought it would be fun to sit in the snow?? Hope this binky is freeze resistent.

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. When you get snow, enjoy it!

Lily found my camera in my purse and wanted to pose! And yes Trish, I did comb her hair even if you can't tell.

Brrrrrr! It is a little chilly outside. But it sure is warm inside, especially with little Lily here. Not sure if it is because she is so doggone sweet or because I have been working up a sweat trying to keep up with her. She is a pistol to be sure. Peg and I are tag teaming to keep our energy level somewhere close to the energy that Lily seems to have. This afternoon when the wind died down a bit, Lily and I took Molly out and got the sled out. It was a great time! Trish and Luke are having a blast in Hawaii with Sara and Evelyn. They stayed at the Hale Koa, the military hotel yesterday and they are planning to spend a day at the new Disney resort that just opened last year on the island. It seems to be a win-win for everyone!

Friday, January 6

This is what Evelyn looked like the last day I was in Hawaii. She is probably glad Grandma isn't there to dress her up to take pictures any more!

Celebrating New Year's Eve, Mommy said she slept through all of the fireworks.

Thank you Margeaux, for my new slippers and all the other clothes you sent.

"Do these skinny legs make my butt look big?" The air conditioner is broken so it is too hot to wear pants!

The pediatrician weighed me in at 8 lbs 14 oz and said I am just perfect.

What a beautiful day. Anyone who was at work should have played hookie today. My sister in law, Ramona and I did the next best thing, we went shopping. We drove down to the outlet stores at Jeffersonville and among others, I spent some time in Osh Kosh and Carter looking for all the after season deals. From there we drove up to Fairfield Commons Mall to exchange a pair of shoes I got for Christmas. It was a pretty day for a drive and I enjoyed the company. Andy stayed home to cut up a tree that had come down in the yard before Christmas. On Wednesday, Lily had another MRI. It was scheduled for December but she had a cold at the time and they postponed it until now. Trish heard from Lily's oncologist the next day to tell her that the preliminary results looked very good and he would get back with her next week. Can't tell you how nice it is for Trish to have a doctor that doesn't make them wait for test results. And what makes this even more remarkable is that Dr. Rupon is on vacation in Florida this week and still took the time to respond to her e-mail. Lily will be coming to Ohio next week to spend 2 weeks with Grandmas while Luke and Trish go to Hawaii to see Aunt Sara and baby Evelyn. I'm hoping the weather stays nice enough to go to the zoo and I think we will go to COSI one day. I was a little disappointed to find out the Dora exhibit is closing this week end. Lily loves Dora. I better get some rest if I am going to try to keep up with Lily, should be a lot of fun.