We're All So Glad...

We're jumping for joy, here at Casa LoLo, because Poppy, Gamma and Aunt Bert (my parents and baby sister) are finally here! They left one snowy wonderland on the West Coast and traded it for a snowy wonderland on the East Coast!

Since yesterday was Gamma's 32nd' birthday (again), we celebrated with a cake and a birthday present - a pair of fuzzy slippers. (Yes, I'm 27. What's your point? It could totally happen!)

One thing you must know about my mother - she is cold. All of the time. Always. She came to visit us in July and spent all of her free time thinking, in a recliner, on the back porch. What's so odd about that, you say? Well, it was about 90 degrees outside and about 85% humidity. The woman was comfortable, y'all - that just isn't natural! (But she was happy, so nobody was complaining. Oh well - when Global Warming turns our neighborhood into a 24/7 sauna, at least one of us will be able to function happily!)

After allowing BBJ to stay up an hour and a half past her usual bed time, and giving her a dinner consisting of four bites of rice with pulled pork, a piece of chocolate cake with whipped cream, a cup of chocolate milk and half a lollipop, bedtime was interesting, to say the least! Gamma's birthday only comes but once a year, donchaknow! (However, have I ever mentioned the constant STREAM of birthdays and holidays that descends on my house, starting with Halloween??? Birthday cake is as common as fruit in our house, this time of year!)

We are enjoying a quiet afternoon at home - church was cancelled (we got more snow this morning, bringing our total to over a foot!). My parents are holed up in their hotel, sleeping off jet-lag, my sister and hubs are out playing in the snow. BBJ is taking her nap and Siu Jeun is asleep next to me on the couch.

Now, I know I shouldn't share this next bit as it will totally jinx me, but...here it goes anyhow.

Last night, Siu Jeun slept from 11:30 - 4 am. That's four and a half hours, y'all! His first night home, he slept from 1:30 - 5, waking up once for milk. He's been adding a half hour here, an hour there, on either end of his "night". The past two nights, he's slept for four or five hours, had a snack, and then slept another four hours, in two hour increments. For this new mama o' two, it is an absolute miracle. I won't lie to you - I was feeling pretty low our first day or two home together. I wasn't getting sleep, and naps during the day aren't really my thing. He was crying, and I didn't know why. BBJ was testing ALL her limits, and whining from sun-up to sun-down. It was a dark time, let me tell you! With the addition of a few hours of sleep at night, a significant reduction in nursing-related injuries and blisters, and the blessing of six extra hands around here for the next two weeks, life is looking pretty good! (My sweet, sweet little sister has agreed to stay here at the house while my parents snug up at a hotel down the street. Auntie Bert has pretty much taken over BBJ Duty and spent all of this morning trying to translate each and every one of my little angel's desires and demands! This is tough for an auntie that doesn't speak Chinese and a toddler that speaks pidgen, at best.)

Have a happy Sunday, y'all!
(Oh, and if you can, spare a thought for Auntie Bert - she's getting a crash course in BBJ Chinese and it's kind of kicking her butt, mostly because BBJ "corrects" the way she says things almost every day. Yesterday's "teeny belle" (Tinkerbell) is todays "kinger bell", and those are just the English troubles!)