Hope: One Less: Day 16

So I slept with her last night and if you don't need sleep, if works out just fine. Most of the night, it felt like she was either sleeping against me or sleeping sideways and using my neck/chest as her foot rest. She slept in, but as soon as she woke up she wanted to know when we were going in the car and her next question was where her rings were. She had scrambled eggs for breakfast and wanted shredded cheese on them because she had seen Chris have some on his yesterday. Chris was in charge of breakfast and getting her dressed while I worked on straightening up the house and putting away the Christmas decorations. She came downstairs to see what I was up to and started saying "ho, ho, ho." Then she broke into the Happy Birthday song. I guess after hearing it once yesterday, she is a quick learner. She has also been singing Jingle Bells a lot. It amazes me how observant and smart she is. She has watched me get ready a handful of times. This morning she was in the bathroom with me and took all of the toiletries I need out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. After seeing me put on my belt, she decided she needed one and that was her focus for at least 15-20 minutes. She even went and told Chris she needed a belt. For her morning snack, she had mandarin oranges and green beans (both her choices).

Papa Swing and Grandma Barb drove down to spend the day with us. Grandma Barb made her a special bracelet. While they were here, she worked on using the scissors and cutting construction paper. She wanted us to trace her hands and feet and then cut them out. The first few cuts were a little rough but she really got the hang of it. She wanted her picture taken lots and would let us know by saying "cheese" and pointing to a phone. We had a yummy lunch at Smokey's BBQ in Charleston. We ordered her chicken strips and applesauce, neither of which she ate. Instead, she tried things off the rest of our plates like cole slaw, baked beans, french fries, cornbread, brisket, and smoked turkey. Of course, she liked it the best; it was off of my plate. Afterwards, Papa Swing took his car through the car wash, but she was not a fan. She looks terrified in most of the pictures and covered her ears through most of it. She also kept wanting Papa Swing to drive out of it. At home, she had rice, yogurt, and string cheese for a snack. She had little interest in playing with most of her toys, but we did play Barbies for a little while since they all needed a bath again. She also played with the Angry Birds game. She even convinced Pap Swing and Grandma Barb to play Ring Around the Rosie with her. We said good-bye to our visitors and she was ready to eat again.

For dinner, she had green beans, the leftover chicken strips from lunch, and white rice. She ate really well. She loves to go in the car so we headed to Effingham. She was super tired and cried most of the way, but was fine once we got out. We stopped at Chris' office quick so she could run around and we rolled around in his office chair. Then we went to see Chris' coworkers, Ann and Dennis and their family. She made herself right at home from the beginning. She loved playing with Jeff and Kayla. They played pool, raced matchbox cars, and had pillow fights. Anytime I got too close, she shooed me away by saying "bye, bye." Caroline was sweet to give her a gift of a stuffed cat. She had a great time with everyone and was the life of the party. She was not shy about eating the snacks of chips, dip, salami, and cheese they had out. Everyone kept saying how cute and precious she was. She gave everyone hugs and kisses on the cheek as we were leaving. They even turned on their Christmas lights and inflated the Minion as we were leaving. It was a late, but great evening.

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