Interloper

Last night, at 2 a.m., I awoke to a little elf with big hair sleeping in my bed. I vaguely recall the little patter of feet circling to the far side of my bed, then this warm body snuggled up spoon-style, his little 'fro tickling my nose, never making a peep.

So what, you ask? You see, this 18-month-old, who's still getting steady on his feet, BUSTED out of his bed without making a sound, found his way in pitch black to my bed without tripping, falling or stubbing his toe. He never uttered a word, just climbed in like it was what he'd done every night before.

I couldn't resist letting him stay, even though I find it very hard to get enough sleep with someone's feet across my neck. I fear I may have crossed a line I can't uncross. We'll see what happens tonight, but we're now shopping for a crib tent. It's like a mosquito net, but it keeps elves in rather than mosquitos out.

Family float

This boat's got two captains.

Ten minutes in, the short captain did a heels over head into the river. He decided he'd better hang on to Daddy's legs for a while.

Spence decided to take a cooling dunk...

...causing Dawie to throw a fit. Under water, bad.

'

But a Rice Krispie treat makes it all better.

The walk back home.

18 months and growing...I mean seriously!

Dawit's been home nearly 1 year. In that time, his weight has doubled. And he wasn't that small to begin with! As of his 18-month doctor visit yesterday, he weighs 30 pounds, is in the 91st percentile for weight and is in the 82nd percentile for height at 33.5 inches.

Wow!

I mean, WOW!

My guess is he weighs about 5 pounds less than Caroline at 3-1/2. He does like to eat...and eat. He actually can eat more than Caroline if we let him. But he's not a whole bunch of baby fat. He's solid as a rock. He's solid as The Rock. Maybe he'll be a pro wrestler.

Cousin fun

Savannah and Caroline had a sleepover at Mama Norma's, Savannah's first sleepover. Caroline fussed because she wanted it to be her first too.

After dropping off the girls, Tara and I took the little ones to Cinco de Mayo for dinner.

Can you see how wet D is?

He helped MN wash my car!

Favorite bedtime ritual

Someone wasn't happy about the pic opp. Someone's always not happy.

Making oatmeal for MN.

Squeaky clean and wrapped in fluffy towels. Doesn't get any better than that.

Canoe camping with Daddy on Spring Creek

 

Canoe camping with Daddy on Spring Creek

A year ago today...

...we found out Dawit was ours. We had passed court. Honestly, I'm not sure what happened between April 24, our court date, and May 7, but this is the day we found out.

Seems like a lifetime ago.

My two butter beans

The good and the bad

While we were doing this...

and this...

...unbeknownst to us, this was brewing back home (this is a field):

We cluelessly had a wonderful anniversary trip to the Tellico River while Nashville and surrounding communities got pounded -- houses and cars swept away, people stranded on roofs, homes and businesses filled with water, devastation everywhere.

We arrived home in the valley Sunday evening just as the second storm rolled in. The ground already saturated, we watched the river rise all around us. By morning, we were trapped, the roads up and downriver flooded. We had no electricity for 10 hours. Once again, our fence was gone. But we were safe, the horses were safe, and we were very thankful.

I just arrived in Nashville this evening. My house and office there are both fine. And again I'm so thankful. I'm so so sad for my friends who lost their homes or suffered severe damage or their place of business is still under 5 feet of water.