Week Update

The Liljas and I celebrated our one year anniversary this week! Can you believe I have been working for them for a whole year? I sure couldn't. It has been so fun to see Luke and Emerson change over this past year. Especially, to have watched Emme learn how to communicate and learn how to walk. Luke, physically, hasn't changed too much. But, he is comprehending so much more, carrying on conversations, and is so inquisitive about all sorts of things - lately it has been the Statue of Liberty and sting rays. Unfortunately for Luke there is only so much I know about these two things. I think we might upgrade from the children's library to the general library this week so we can get books on these two subjects!

Here are some pics of how much they have changed over the year:

Worn out after a day of playing. They both

fell asleep on the ride home.

At the Zoo with the HUGE gorilla! Em

didn't like being so close to him.

J Lo, I mean Emme at the pool last summer.

Picnic lunch last February.

Luke was skating on books.

Poor Emerson. This was after her

night in the ER. I couldn't take my

sunglasses away from her.

Luke swinging with his basketball.

Baby Emme isn't a baby anymore. She was

so little here.

Chef Luke in the "kitchen".

Emerson and her pigtails!

Trying to get them to "smile" for a pic.

Yea right, Mare!

It was a lot easier to get a pic back then...

Well, Reid and I had a busy weekend relaxing, running errands, and spending our last few moments together before he leaves for his new case in...HAWAII! That's right, looks like Reid will be working on Oahu for the next seven weeks. We are really excited for his case opportunity, all those Starwood points and flyer miles we will be earning again, and that we get a mini vacation in Maui the beginning of March. It has been great having him home, but I have always said it is easier to be a consultants wife when the consultant isn't local. The reason? Any wife (or husband for that matter) will agree that you still NEVER see your spouse on a local case. Welcome to the life of a wife of a consultant. Maybe someday I will spend more time blogging about it. Right now, I am so thankful that Reid has a wonderful job that he enjoys that is in a industry that has not been too hard hit by our country's economic recession.

My mom has had a rough ten days. She has been more upset lately - saying she wants to go home, is scared, and has asked several times if she is crazy. It seems this is the first time she has realized she isn't at home. The hardest part, as I have said before, is that there isn't a true measure of how much she really knows. Does she remember we were there five minutes after we leave? Does she know I am her daughter? Does she remember crying twenty minutes ago when she said she was scared and wanted to go home? She can't tell us. No one can tell us. Doctors and nurses can speculate that she doesn't remember. That someone with her progressed state of dementia would never remember something like that, but we'll never really know.

To leave you with a cute story, my dad has started taking my mom three scoops of pralines and cream ice cream from Baskin Robbin's every night. Needless to say, she has gained some weight! My dad says he tells her when he leaves her in the afternoons that he will see her later and he asks if he can bring her ice cream. She always says yes and eats every bit.

I am going to LR this coming weekend and will update you more after my visit.

Here are some pics my aunt sent me from her Saturday with my mom:

Mom and Dad.

Mom and her Mama, my Mimi,

giving sugars. I love this pic!

If I'm honest, I will have to tell

you that my mom is holding her

weenie dog stuffed animal like a phone and

talking to me. They snapped a quick

picture of it to show me. Sometimes

you just have to laugh!

Gigi and Mom.