Adjusting....

Once again the last two weeks have been really busy for our family and I just have not had the time to post. Wednesday, Sept 12th, John's Mom and Aunt Gayle flew out here for a long weekend and visit. It was so wonderful to have our first visitors at our house, especially after the long first three weeks here all by ourselves. We were both feeling a little lonesome at that point I think, and a dose of family was all we needed! It was wonderful to see them both for us, but having Tula and watching her with family is even more of a joy. She is such a loved little girl! Marianne made a bunch of food for us to freeze. Stuff that tastes and smells like home for John, such a good idea! She made a big pot of their "gravy", which for us at home is tomato sauce with meat in it, sausage, spareribs and meatballs. And of course John's favorite, fried eggplant. We haven't used any yet but will probably start pulling it out as it gets a little cooler here. I am pretty sure it's still too warm to turn on the oven....all the cooking we do right now is on the grill outside!

John's family left on that Sunday but as it worked out the trip got cut a little shorter for John who ended up flying home on Saturday night to DRIVE, yes drive, his truck here to Arizona from Connecticut. He had made arrangements with someone else to get the truck down here for us so we had packed it all up before we left CT and it was ready to go. Well long story short, that deal fell through and John was stuck out here in AZ without his beloved truck. He decided he would go home and drive, but had to do the drive nonstop because the back of the truck was full of stuff. After a few phone calls he had a travel companion for the trip arranged and hew was on a plane to NY. They left Greenwich CT last Sunday morning around 6 am and arrived here in Gilbert AZ at about 4 in the afternoon. They drove about 37 hours straight, only stopping for fuel. It was dangerous and probably not highly recommended, lets just say John had no desire to drive for a few days after that. After a lot of prayer and worry, he was home safe. I have never in my life felt so relieved to see my husband pull into the driveway. What a wonderful feeling!

That Sunday, the day John's family left, my Mom arrived. She stayed a full week and once again Tula got lotsa love from another Grandma. Mom helped me clean the house from top to bottom. Anyone who knows her knows that's her specialty, and I was the grateful daughter. Between Marianne coming out and cooking and freezing food and my mom doing the cleaning, I pretty much had it made in the shade. No seriously, it really was a treat to have both of their help not only with the house but with the baby. Watching Tula with her Grandmother's and seeing them pour out their love to her has been such a beautiful thing for both John and I. Thank you to both of our Mothers for being not only great Moms, but fabulous Grandma's as well!

My Mom left this Sunday morning and it is quiet around here as well. john now has his truck and no company so he is on the search for a job. I have started a Mommy group online and plan to meet with a few of the girls from that this week. I can't wait to meet some fellow Moms from around here and make some friends for myself and Tula! We are all starting to adjust here and it feels more and more like our home everyday. Plus, the weather has broken and it is no longer over 100 degrees, so it has been gorgeous here which is making life all the more enjoyable.

Tula is a busy baby and keeps me on my toes trying to remember and capture all the changes she goes through every day. She is now smiling alot and loves to laugh and giggle. Of course she is very generous with all the smiles first thing in the morning and they slowly phase out by the end of the day. Her happiest times are definitely at the beginninng of the day, which is so fun for me. Let's just say it has made me the morning person I never dreamed I would be.

So what else does Tula love? Well, she is fascinated with mirrors. She LOVES it when I takes her into the bathroom and let her stand on the counter but the sink with me holding her so she can push her her legs up to stand. She loves to look at herself and makes the funniest, most excited faces. Tula loves being sung to. Any song, fast or slow, she seems to really love music of all sorts. She loves her little massages at the end of a long day, when I bicycle her legs around and pull on them gently. She just lays there so relaxed and looks at me with this "Thank You" look almost. It is so sweet. Tula loves her stroller and going for walks, she never seems to mind being in there and even is getting used to the warm weather I think.

Tula does not like the bottle. She still absolutely refuses to take one and at almost 3 months old and after trying every bottle out there, I have pretty much given up all hope. I think I will have to save that for the next baby, Tula's not havin it. Period. I continue to try sporadically and will keep you guys posted with any success we have.

Tula will be three months old this Saturday which is so hard for me to believe! What a great summer we had with her, having John home and bonding with her so much has been a blessing for all three of us. But we are excited for him to get working and strat meeting more people and really living a regular life here. Life really has been one big holiday since she was born.

I posted a few pics last night on the babysite and will try and get an updated video on here soon. Take Care everryone!