Holidays with the Murphys

WOW~! These past 2 weeks have flown by! I have not had one single second til now to do some updating on my girls!

Thanksgiving was wonderful as we spent the day with my family. It was the first holiday that we have stayed put at one house since I gave birth to Hannah 4 1/2 years ago. It was a nice change of pace. The girls enjoyed their day and they looked adorable in their best clothes courtesy of Papa. My poor father started a tradition about 28 years ago to take my sister and I shopping for our Thanksgiving "Outfit" on Thanksgiving eve. This was mostly to get us out of my mother's hair so she could finish her cooking in peace. 28 years later with three new baby girl additions to the crew, we nearly break the bank! Papa handled it all in stride and all three little miracles looked darling in their new dresses.

On Friday I got to catch up with my High School girlfriends. It was wonderful to see Valerie with her baby bump! She looked adorable and I couldn't be more happy for her and Jack. They are expecting in January. It was also great to share my friend Tracey's baby news. She has tried for so long and has been through so much that I am just thrilled to know that she is 18 weeks pregnant at this point and doing well. She certainly had that Motherly glow. The girls and I had a great time catching up and laughing, as we always do.

Saturday we headed out to Long Island to visit Billy's family who spent the holiday on the island. We had a wonderful weekend there with Jill and Dave hosting. We headed to Dave's parent's Country Club and had a fantastic dinner Saturday evening in celebration of my mother in law's birthday. Mr. Hungerford was so adorable making sure the girls were happy that he bought them all treats to play with at dinner and the private room was decorated in one big Minnie Mouse balloon and another big Mickey Mouse balloon. They are always so very thoughtful.

Unfortunately last week was a tough one for Miss Layla. She ended up with 104.5 fever for 4 days. I ended up in the ER with her Wednesday night for 5 hours. We got home at 5AM with a diagnosis of Roseola. Which I suspected but knew there were other issues as well and they weren't very helpful with those. Thankfully however, Dr. Maddress was a godsend and with some investigating and trying of different things, it seems as though Miss Layla is allergic to the protein in milk products. (This protein/sugar is also in Soy milk and lactaid milk) She had been so extremely fussy and it has just gotten progressively worse. She would wake often during the night and would hardly take naps. She just wasn't happy. We started her on Alementum formula and BINGO.. my happy baby returned. It was so bitter sweet to have her back so happy and full of laughter... but it also made me realize how long she has probably been suffering for and I felt awful. In speaking with the doctor, it would have been hard to detect before 12 months because of me nursing her.. but still. In thinking back there was a time when she would sleep in her crib and at about 5 months it all changed. Who knows.. she could have been suffering from cramps and was uncomfortable then and this is why she would cry and scream in her crib. Moreover, all those times I took her to the doctor between 9 months and a year old when I could swear she had an ear infection yet they would say she was fine.. all this time it was her belly that was causing her discomfort and sleeplessness! I know I cant look back, only forward and we have to move on. I am so happy to have her back though and I can tell you I have thoroughly enjoyed these past 3 days with her as she is quite the funny bug as well. She has gone back to taking her 2 hour naps and actually slept through the entire night last night! Yipeee! She is babbling away at lightening speed.. making no sense of course, but still just the same. We have appointments on the 30th with a GI specialist as well as an allergist to help get to the bottom of things and get a complete diagnosis so certainly we are headed in the right direction with her.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the spectacular time we had on the Polar Express Sunday evening. We drove up to New Hampshire on Saturday and spent some time with Grammy and Grampy as well as Auntie Leanne, Uncle Dan, Arielle and Addison. This was our second trip on the Polar Express and I swear it was just as much fun as the first. My parents drove up Sunday morning and I was so happy that they were able to experience the magic through Hannah's eyes as well. Watching her expressions during the train ride seriously make my lifetime. She is filled with wonderment and excitement and it is just such an amazing time to share with her. As we were walking out of Santa's igloo at the North Pole, it began to snow, right on cue! It was FANTASTIC! It made for a little bit of a hectic ride home, but it was truly worth it!

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Lastly, I am sad to say that this world lost another great angel. On December 1st, Gramma Rose passed away. Although she lived to be 91, it still doesn't make it any easier to know that she is gone. She was always such a sweet lady and always greeted me with a smile. I love to hear the stories that Billy, Jill and Leanne have to tell about their childhood with her. I can only imagine how difficult it is for my father in law to have lost her and especially so close to Christmas. However, it is comforting to picture her up there with my dearest Mama and Memere. I am sure they are thoroughly enjoying each other's company, playing cards, making cookies and cooking up a storm! You will be missed Gramma Rose.