Hello, again! We are back, though I wish I was sleeping as well as my daughter is right this second! It has been an exhausting little sliver of life, but we are enjoying every moment! The past three weeks have been very involved, but we have done some fun stuff! There have also been a few challenges, all of us have been sick in one way or another, which makes life more exhausting than it needs to be.
Week 23: December 20-26
Christmas week! Our first one with Amelia. It was my week I work the fewest days, though the back-to-back 13 starting it off can make it feel longer than it is! Monday and Tuesday were busy days for us. I was gone both days and Jonathan had different obligations both days as well. He had an appointment with the eye doctor on Monday and a site visit in Ravenna on Tuesday! He DID get to work the in apartment on Tuesday night, which always brings him joy and has been very fruitful in general!
Wednesday we really started getting into the Christmas spirit, we even watched a Christmas movie for our weekly 'date night'...basically, watching something we both enjoy after Amelia goes to bed. Jonathan had to go help set up for our Christmas Eve Eve service during the evening, but it worked out because he brought DQ back! Thursday night, the service was quite lovely and I got there in plenty of time since it didn't start until seven! I had an eye doctor appointment in the morning to pick up my glasses, worked, then got dinner and went to get Amelia at Mom and Dad's. The glasses pickup was a bummer...my prescription didn't change for the first time since I was nine, but I hadn't updated my glasses in a few years, so I got new ones so they will, hopefully, last awhile. Well, the new guy at the doctor's office ordered my lenses wrong and they looked very bad. I don't think they would have stayed on my face the lenses were so massive and heavy. Anyway, they sent them back, so it prolonged my lack of vision with glasses on, but definitely worth it to have lenses worth wearing. Church was great, Amelia was cute and we watched Christmas Vacation when we got home! All good things!
Friday was my day off and Jonathan was off, so we finished a few last minute Christmas tasks, prepped our Christmas food, did laundry and enjoyed a day home together. It was such a great day. We finished Amelia's 1000 books before kindergarten challenge with a new book from Santa. We were given a copy of Ferdinand, but it was missing pages and looked like it had been through the ringer, so Santa brought Amelia a new, hard-backed copy. She and Jonathan opened and read it Christmas Even night before bed! We watched a Christmas movie before bed, then we brought Amelia's gifts down. It is our tradition to hide our gifts from each other until Christmas morning. Growing up, we did not do the Santa thing, but our gifts weren't under the tree until Christmas morning anyway. I am not the person who wants to celebrate Christmas starting in November, but the week of Christmas is just so full of anticipation! All week I want to give everyone their gifts and see what is in store for myself! It is so exciting. Anyway, the tradition of the gifts not being under the tree until the morning is something I find to be so incredibly exciting so Jonathan and I have always made it happen. In the past, one person takes the gifts downstairs, covers them with a sheet, then the other person takes their gifts in and pulls the sheet behind them as they walk away, then both of us are surprised the next night. This year, our tree was positioned so one side was hidden walking up to it. It was the perfect scenario, no sheet needed! I took Jonathan's gifts down and arranged them, then he arranged mine and couldn't even see his stuff!
It is hard for me to sleep Christmas Eve night. I woke up on Christmas Eve morning at 6:30 and had to go to the restroom, then Jonathan got up too and we both tried to go back to sleep, but the excitement was too much, so we got up, did our devotions, got Amelia's breakfast ready and woke her up at 7. After she ate, it was go time! I put breakfast in the oven, Jonathan set up the video camera and we were ready to roll! I have always heard how boring the first Christmas is. Kids don't know what to do, they would rather play with the boxes than the toys, blah, blah, blah. All hogwash for us! Amelia LOVED the presents. She is so good at opening them and got very excited about each and every toy. The first gift she opened was the piano xylophone. She got two from us, one of the traditional xylophones and one with keys, so the one with keys was her first open and she was THRILLED! Her little eyes lit up and she just started playing us a song right away! I was most excited about the doll we got her, she is a soft little doll in a pink dress with a little rabbit ear hat and Amelia got her out and started rocking her right away! She was so much fun all morning. We all got books and a few other little items. Jonathan got a new leather camera strap and I got a carhart coat! He also made me a ginormous, gorgeous easel to display our wedding slate. It is so beautiful and I absolutely adore it! Next time you come to our house, make sure to check it out in the entry way! After we did our morning celebration just us, we cleaned up and enjoyed some time together, then Mom and Dad came over to hang out and play a game while Amelia took her afternoon nap. We gave them their Christmas gifts and did some planning for the apartment and then they went home and we got everything ready to go for the Dickerhoof Christmas! Christmas evening is spent at the farm, hanging out with family. It was good to see everyone and we all had a great time. Amelia especially loved seeing all the kids and rolling around on the floor with the pillows...it really doesn't take much to keep her happy!
Sunday was the Landis Christmas. We packed up our gifts and our baby and made the trek to Orrville as soon as we could be ready. When we got there, we greeted those who were ready and slowly everyone trickled downstairs. Once everyone was ready, we had brunch and spent some time together. We tried to give Amelia a nap, but she thought we had just completely ditched her and did not do well at all, so we ended up opening gifts instead. It was a good day, Amelia got her third xylophone! Thankfully, there are a lot of xylophone spin-offs and this is not a traditional one, so she usually uses it for anything other than a xylophone, but she enjoys all the other components! She was spoiled as usual! Jonathan got an awesome battery charger for out in the garage and I got a new set of mixing bowls! We got a few other little things as well. It was a great time and we loved surprising everyone with their gifts.
Week 24: December 27-January 2
The 26th was the last day I felt somewhat normal. Afterward, it went slowly down hill. I was hit with a canker sore and a head cold all at the same time. The canker sore might have been the worst part...not sure. Amelia got hit as well, poor baby! Jonathan was off on Monday, so he and Dad spent the day working on demolition on the apartment. We got a dumpster delivered and they made the most of it for sure! He had a good day, I got home at 6 and we enjoyed some extra family time. Amelia had a rough night. After around 2 hours of trying to help her get to sleep, Jonathan took her out on the recliner so everyone could get more sleep than we were. Poor baby was so stuffed up and just started crying when she laid down.
Tuesday was rough for me. I felt terrible, it was a long day and, unfortunately, I was the healthiest pharmacist on staff at the time. We all got hit with the same crap at the same time and so did our staff. We were short handed, it was the last week of the year, people are psycho when it comes to these vaccines, so we were being beat up there, it was my 60 hour week and it was TOUGH! We made it (barely) but it is definitely a week I wouldn't want to re-do. Jonathan and Amelia came to visit me, which was a welcomed moment, but otherwise it was pretty bleak.
Wednesday was the bad day for Amelia. She and I spent most of our day on the recliner. She slept well at night, but she was just not well through the day. Instead of her normal 2 naps, she took 3. For most of the time, she had to be sleeping on me. It worked out for the best because we both got some much needed rest and I soaked up the most baby snuggles I have had since she was itty bitty! Jonathan was a little sick at this point, but his symptoms only lasted for about 24 hours, so I think he dodged whatever we had!
It was my weekend to work, so thankfully Jonathan was home early from band and we got some bonus family time on Thursday! Amelia as doing great until she woke up at 10:30 at night with a croupy cough...she just couldn't catch much of a break! It seemed like she was a day behind me with symptoms. Unfortunately, she is very similar to me, fortunately, Granny has already dealt with this before and she gave us pointers over the phone!
Amelia was better by the morning and I was elated. Partially because she felt better, partially because Jonathan was off since it was New Years Eve, partially because I only had to work until 9 and mainly because I got to start my new planner! What a day! Since Amelia was feeling well, Jonathan, Dad, John and Kyle worked in the apartment for most of the day. The main accomplishment was flipping the attic stairs! They look so good and will be SO much more functional! I got to come home at nine and we had a great day at work. It slows down pretty good on the last day of the year. So it was stressful until about 3, then it was dead. So I moved a lot of files, did a lot of cleaning and was very happy with all that we accomplished.
Jonathan played at church on Saturday and I had a pretty slow day at work. First day of the new year? Yeah, no one thought we were open, so we continued the task of finishing everything we needed to. Did I mention, it was also my birthday? Jonathan and Amelia got me a book I have been wanting and kitchen rugs! I have been needed kitchen rugs since we moved here and they match perfectly! With all the cooking I have been doing recently, I have already noticed the improvement. My work friends gave me this super sweet basket full of all of the most Alli things ever. It was incredibly thoughtful and made me feel so loved and cherished! They also gave me flowers...which are still looking lovely today! (And, yes, they are real.) Usually when Jonathan plays, Mom and Dad take Amelia to church and I meet up with them there, but Amelia had been sick and I felt like crap, so they brought her to my car at work and we did a quick trade before the went to church. Amelia was feeling great by then, but we were both glad to spend the evening home together. Mom and Dad stopped on their way home from church and brought me birthday gifts as well! They got me Muck boots and new shoes from Sketchers!
Sunday was our crash night. Jonathan worked in the apartment during the day and I had a productive day at work, but then I picked up KFC for dinner, we crashed on the couch and just lounged for the rest of the evening. I think we all needed it after the week we had!
Week 3: January 3-9
Monday we were both off again, so we decided to go out and celebrate my birthday breakfast then! Once we got Amelia up, fed and dressed, we headed to Alliance. Bob Evans is one of my favorite breakfast joints, so we got that for breakfast and it was hardly busy at all! We went right to our seats and got our food super quickly! After that, we went to TJMaxx to see if we could find anything we needed...I don't even remember if we did! After that, it was Aldi's and home. We had beef stroganoff for lunch/dinner and enjoyed a day at home relaxing. After her afternoon nap, Amelia took a downhill turn again. Crying, wanting held, sleeping on the recliner with me again...and we were so sure she was getting better! After a bath and some tylenol she bounced back, but that wasn't a good sign in my book!
Tuesday morning I ended up calling to get her an appointment at the doctor's office. As I expected, they were completely booked for the next few days, but I found out there is an office in Lisbon, they weren't booked, so we got on their schedule for Wednesday! I had a super productive day at work. All my staff was back, healthy and ready to roll, only drawback? Masks are being enforced again...*heavy sigh*. Masks make 13 hours feel like a solid 20. Jonathan and Faith both kept me updated on Amelia and told me she was doing great...which only made me question my decision to schedule her an appointment, but we kept going with it because you never know how the night is going to go!
Wednesday morning Amelia was doing great, but for fear of her getting worse again, I just took her in. Thankfully, I did! She had an ear infection on one side and wasn't doing great in the other side either. Poor baby hardly even cried other than the Monday incident! She didn't pull at her ears or anything. They gave her some antibiotic, we got it up the road at the Lisbon DDM, did some shopping and came home. Since she has been on the antibiotic she has been so happy. We didn't really notice how down she was until she was back to her normal self. So much more smiling and laughing! Thankfully, an easy fix! I made muffins in the afternoon, we had ham braid with mac and cheese and green beans...Amelia loved all of that, plus, Granny and Grandpa came to eat with us! We spent the evening relaxing and I just kept trying to feel better! Amelia recovered from the cold a lot quicker than I did...this cough just will not let go!
Thursday Jonathan had a short band, so I picked Subway up after work and we ended up getting home at the same time! It was a good day at work and I was glad to just be home with my family afterward. Friday was my 10-6 Friday. It was pretty chill too! Jonathan and Amelia had dinner almost ready when I got home! So that was a treat! Steaks, ranch potatoes and, you guessed it, green beans!
Saturday was a fantastic day! We went shopping for Amelia's birthday...it was so much fun. When we left I just kept thinking, 'She doesn't need anything' but we found a bunch of stuff for really good prices! After our shopping, we went to Samantha's for lunch and then came home for Amelia's nap! In the afternoon, I made Mexican Delight for us to eat for dinner, then we went to church. Half way through, Jonathan got sick, so he stepped out...apparently lunch didn't sit well with him! We came home and he was feeling a lot better, but he took it easy for the rest of the evening.
On Sunday we had a lot going on. Jonathan and Dad worked on the apartment since it was our last day with the dumpster. They came over for breakfast, then the guys went to work and Mom and I sat and caught up for a little while. They got all the carpet removed and took out the rest of the drywall, so we are close to getting ready for construction! After they were done, they went up to the farm to get ready for this next weekend! I made chicken and potato chowder, stuffed shells, peas for the baby to eat, packed lunches, dinners and her basket, did laundry and got everything ready for the rest of the week! We ended up having a nice evening together and wrapped up our week ready to go!
As you have read, it's been a little crazy, but we have had a great time and are excited to start 2022! Lots coming up this month: Amelia's birthday, lots of weekend stuff to do and a lot of work for Jonathan! He is working on a few different projects and has had a lot on his plate, but he is handling it really well and is working diligently. Now to just get rid of this cough!
Happy New Year! Hope 2022 is off to a great start for all of you!
Love,
Allison, Jonathan and Amelia
Amelia Christmas Photos:
