10 on 10 -

It’s been a roller coaster month, full of cautious highs and terrifying lows, but I somehow still managed to stick with my habit of taking a photo a day.

Take a look.

1// Learning new tricks all the time, from scooping the cookies (mostly) by herself to putting on her own boots (even if it takes a few tries and even if they’re usually on backwards) to sneaking the rag we use to wipe her face to use as a hat.

2// Converting the next generation to the glories of 7-11 hot chocolate.

3// Since we used some of Raven’s Christmas money from her grandparents to buy her first doll, her “baby” has rarely left her sight for too long.

Imagine my horror, then, when I accidentally decapitated the doll’s head one day a few weeks ago when I found a hard plastic thing in the back of its neck and thought it was a remnant from when it was still tied in to the box at the store. (Apparently, it was a zip tie holding the head on, not just a leftover fastener.)

After quickly stowing the beheaded doll behind a bunch of stuff on our counter where she couldn’t see it, we took an emergency trip to the store to pick up a second one.

Crisis averted.

(And Matt actually ended up fixing the original one, too, using a new zip tie, so she now actually has two dolls…oops.)

4// Babies in hats. Never gets old.

5// Found: a new use for the kitchen table (aka, “hiding” from everything and everyone).

6// With Grandpa finally out of the ICU, Raven was able to see him for the first time since everything happened. If you asked her opinion, hospitals are THE place to be since they involve balloons, lots of cousins and aunts and uncles to play with, and even Superbowl parties (complete with snacks).

7// With Matt and I at the hospital so much, Raven got to spend a LOT of time with one of her other sets of grandparents (my mom and stepdad), which she just loved. This little cart/wagon thing is probably her favorite toy over there.

So much gratitude to my mom for stepping in and helping us SO much over the past month!