Free!

It has been an awesome weekend. Not only did Sidney sleep in until 8:30am this morning, and thankfully not because she was sick, Dad and Mom went out Friday night. We were invited to a relatives wedding reception. Ahhhh, to have a conversation with my husband in blessed silence on the the drive over. We were transformed back into Tom and Cara.

This was the first time we had someone outside of family watch the kids since coming home with Sidney. It wasn't that we were afraid to leave her with someone else. Life has gotten in the way with typical summer activity. However, it felt great walking out the door knowing we have established a sense of trust with Sidney. This is definitely a privilege that has been earned by our family. When a toddler has never expereinced a constant sense of routine stability, it takes a long time. Love can move moutains. Of course, she shed a few tears when we left. Tom said she was playing me and quickly shooed me out the door. Turns out he was right, as she stopped quickly after we left.

Of course, Eli was more than happy Mom and Dad were leaving. I have written many times about my independent boy. He couldn't wait for the baby sitter to get here, after heeding several warnings that we were to do nothing embarassing. He was more than happy we were leaving for the evening.

After we got home Friday night, I was expecting some kind of aftermath with Sidney. It is not uncommon for her to wake up several times in the night when something is outside of her routine. We had a pleasant surprise when we woke up on Saturday morning, and she slept all night without issue. Another mountain climbed and conquered! Notice the photo of Dad conquering a mountain of his own, left over wedding cake. The same was true last night after playing with her many girl cousins at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We measured the kids over the weekend. Our little chili pepper has grown 6 inches in the last year! This is something that is always in the back of my mind due to the giardia she had when she came home. This has stunted her growth, and it is something we are closely monitoring. This is a great start, and we pray her health continues in this positive direction. Eli also grew, 2 inches in the last year.....wasn't it just yesterday he was 14 lbs during his 2 week visit? Yes, you read that correctly. Maybe that is why it was so shocking Sidney was only 15 lbs when we came home. As I said last week, she is now a whopping 20.5 lbs!

One more week and Eli is back in school! Routine and structure, music to this mom's ears!