A milestone

We are now officially OLD.

From Van

We just bought this.

The only thing more embarrassing than owning a minivan is the fact that we really like it.

It's amazing how much smaller our cute little sporty hatchback got once we added the second car seat, the second diaper bag, and all the extra sorts of luggage that seem to go along with small children. Just for a day out we find ourselves needing the stroller, two diaper bags, snacks, books, toys, a baby carrier, blankets...it's crazy. When we went to Chicago for the weekend we had more than we did when we moved to Thailand for a year.

Now we have room galore. And when the kids are fussing, there's room for me to sit between them with both my hips intact. I can even put my arms beside me instead of in their car seats. And the next time we buy a dresser or outside toy off craigslist, or we want to take two friends along somewhere, we can do so all in one trip.

Chalk one up for team "minivan mama".

Long overdue update

I keep thinking I'll wait until I get all my pictures uploaded and then make a big post, but that may be awhile yet.

Recent events-my grandma passed away last week. She was 86 years old. My dad's death last spring was especially hard on her. He was the second son (of 3) she's had to bury, and she just never got over it. She got depressed, stopped eating, and stopped taking care of herself. In some ways it may be for the better. She was getting more forgetful, and there was some question of whether she should still be allowed to drive. If you knew my grandma, you'd know that living with someone else to help her was just not an option she would consider under any circumstances. As it was, she passed presumably in her sleep, in her own room. It's the way she wanted it.

We were able to make it to Chicago for the funeral. Jeremy had been out of town for work but was able to catch an early flight back and we left at 5am Saturday morning. Thankfully, both kids slept for most of the way and we were able to get there and change clothes with 15 minutes to spare. Ian was not happy about sitting still after the long ride, and Rinnah was fidgety so neither of us got to hear the whole service, but I'm still glad we were able to be there. We spent the afternoon with my family and then came home that evening. The trip home didn't go so well, and for a couple days afterwards Ian was still pretty difficult. Overall though, it gave us hope that maybe someday we could go somewhere. Not yet, but maybe someday.

This week Rinnah had her 4 month checkup. She is now 24" long and weighs 13lbs 11oz. She's growing! She is a very happy baby-she smiles all the time and laughs a lot.

This week all 4 of us seem to be fighting some sort of a cold, so that's not much fun. Hopefully we'll all be rested up and better by the time the weekend is over.