My Little Little Buddy

  Recently, Heather has been diagnosed with PPD, or Post Partum Depression. She's been told to make "Mommy Time" each day without Troy, so while she's taking her Mommy Time, Aunt Jess gets to step in and spend some good quality time with the newest edition of the family.
  We were lying on my bed, trying to get Troy comfortable because of his collic, and after crapping his diaper and letting out a HUGE burp, I got smile after smile. I would talk to him, and he'd grin a huge grin, then when I decided to pull the camera out, he got shy. Finally, while he was mid smile, I caught this one. I thought this was the sweetest look, and I got more after this was shot.  It frustrated Heather because he'd always fuss for her and "Monroe" but whenever he came to me, he would poo, or burp, then  be just fine, barely fussy at all. They feel bad that I'm always watching him, and I told them that if it bothered me, I'd say something.
  I also told them that it gives me the chance to feed my "Baby Hunger" and I love spending the time that I can with some of my nephews. It's fun to watch Tucker feel like he has to compete with Troy for Aunt Jess's attention. I try to give them equal attention when they're both here, but sometimes, one demands more attention than the other. I love seeing their smiles and watching them grow into little people with personalities of their own. I love it when Tucker walks up to me, turns his head to one side and says "Hi" then gives me a hug and a kiss. Some times we get in little "kiss wars" and just have a ball while Heather's with Troy or he's sleeping.

Sooo Cute!

Saturday, the 19th, Dave and I accompanied Lee and Janelle to Riverfest. While we were there, I went through and got all the freebies, including the plastic red fire hat.  My head was too big for it, but got the idea of giving it to Tucker. When I saw him on Monday, I got the hat, and placed it on his head. I thought it was so stinking cute that I had to take a picture of it.

 At first he didn't want it on, but after a while he got use to it. I can honestly say that I love my nephews, and enjoy watching their little personalities grow and show themselves each and every day. I can always count on them to brighten even my darkest of days, and am blessed to have them in my life.

A Hollingsworth Weekend

 Last weekend, Dan and Chrystal came up from Texas for Troy's baby blessing. While they were here, Tucker clung to Chrystal, and it was so fun watching him talk to her, always walk up to her and want to be with her.
  Though there was a little jealousy from me as he treated her the way he normally treats me, I loved seeing them together and just had to get a picture of her holding him. I can definately say that Tucker has good taste in Aunts, and look forward to how he's going to be as a Big Brother, and a Cousin to more than just Troy. I hope he has more cousins in the future. Watching the little bit I saw with Tucker, Chrystal and Dan, I know they'll make good parents someday, and hope they become parents. I really enjoyed Dan and Chrystal's visit, and look forward to them coming back in November.

Well Needed Weekend

The weekend of Mom's "accident", Dave and I went to Salt Lake with Lee, Janelle, Kailtynn and Madison. We would have stayed home, but already had a hotel room reserved and didn't want to cancel it.  They wanted to share a room, but we decided it wasn't a good idea AT ALL, so got a room 4 doors down the hall from them. When we got to Salt Lake, we checked in, got settled in and then met in our room to decide on what we all wanted to do next.  After much delliberation, we all decided to head to Temple Square and then get some dinner. Because we all couldn't fit in one vehicle, Dave and I took the Sonoma and they took their car. Kaitlynn insisted on riding with us, so her parents let her. When we got to Temple Square, we met up with some sister missionaries who gave us a tour of the church on the grounds, the Tabernacle and of course, the Christus.  When we got to the Christus,  as everyone else was listening to the presentation, I sat there, reflecting. I thought about the importance of the Gospel in my life, and how it's effected me.  I looked at the Christus and thought about the sacrifice that Jesus made for us all in the name of love, how he took all our sins upon him. I looked at my Eternal Companion, and thought of the road we traveled together thus far, how we've hit quite a few bumps along the way, but have stayed true and faithful to each other.  Sitting there, I realized I couldn't love him any more than I already do, that I couldn't live or survive without him.
   By this time, Kaitlynn came up and sat next to me, looking down on her, I realized that though I don't have children of my own, and struggle with that, I've been blessed by the children that are in my life. I thought of the many times I've been sad, how the night my mother was attacked by the dogs, while I was cleaning the blood off the floor, crying, Kaitlynn began to cry for me, and I will never forget the look in those blue eyes when she looked at me and said "Don't be sad Jessata, it's otay." Though her mother didn't know if she should've been near me at the time of my grief, Kaitlynn stood there, hugging me and trying to be a big girl and comfort me. I began to think about my neices and nephews, how they're all excited to see me, how the ones on Dave's side maul me and shadow me whenever I visit, and how Tucker seeks me out whenever he comes over.  Thinking about all this made me yearn even more to have children of my own, so as I sat there, I said a little prayer in my heart for guidance on the subject, for understanding and help to accept things.
  The rest of the weekend was interesting to say the least. Kaitlynn had to ride with us everytime we left the hotel or went somewhere, everyone got along and enjoyed themselves. Though we were sad to leave Salt Lake, it was good to get back home and pick up slack around the house. It was a well needed trip for Dave and I, and we plan on going back in the near future.