Amazing how quickly five weeks can fly by!

Bonnie and Emery came in on Friday and stayed with us till Monday. We were sorry we didn't make it to Amarillo this time but never seemed to have a good opportunity to travel that far. Thankfully they were able to come and see all of us. Emery is doing great, walking and full of energy! She says, "Hey!" in the cutest voice when she spots anyone. She loved playing with Elle and walking all over the house, trying to climb steps and playing with toys. She didn't want her Mommy too far out of her sight but warmed up to the rest of us after awhile. She is adorable!

Sarah and Bonnie

Miles

Sweet cousins Elle and Emery playing together

Emery watching Beck have a real bath

Our cute little guy is still pretty laid back and non-fussy except for an occasional tummyache. He's very alert and looks around to see what's happening. He's also holding his head up really well already.

One day Grandpa and Gigi kept all three kids for a little while. They did great and it was quite the little adventure. Emery's looking a bit serious here.

Beck slept the whole time

Miss Personality Elle loves to perform and we got a huge kick out of watching her sing and dance. She has a great imagination and loves playing with her dolls Sally and Betsy, pretending they are sick so she has to "doctor" them, pretending she is taking them to the park to play, changing their diapers, feeding them and so on. She also knows lots of books by heart and will quote them with proper enthusiasm and facial expressions. Really reminds me of her Mama.

Emery playing

Lunch time

Yum, yum!

We had a little birthday party for Emery since she turned one year old on Nov. 23rd.

Mommy helps open presents

Uncle Miles takes photos while we have mini cupcakes

Good stuff!

Aunt Bonnie with Beck

Bonnie and Emery

One of Elle's favorite things is looking at photos on our computer with Rich. She's learned all about eagles and seagulls and Aleutian flowers and boats and the Russian Orthodox Cathedral and our cats Ajax and Kali.

Emery is growing up on us!

We tried to get a few group shots outside but the sun was in our eyes and it was hard to keep three little ones still and focused at the same time!

Sweet siblings and cousins

Three of my five precious grandkids. Wish the other two had been here as well!

Elle and Gigi

Two of my girls and their kids. Wish Susan had been here!

Sarah and Bonnie

Aunt Sarah and Emery

All too soon we had to take Bonnie and Emery back to the airport to go home to Amarillo. We had a great time! Thanks for coming!

Sweetie pie Emery getting ready to go. We had so much fun with her and can't believe how much she's changed since we last saw her!

Sarah and Beck

We leave tomorrow afternoon and will spend the night in Anchorage before going home on Thursday. It's been wonderful to see everyone and to have special time with the grandkids. All five are just the best kids and lots of fun. I am really proud of my girls and sons in law for raising such sweet children. :) Can't wait to see what Beck will look like and what kind of cute personality he will develop as he gets older.

After five weeks off, it's gonna be a little bit difficult to get back into my routine at home and I am not even thinking about what the weather is gonna be like! We have been so fortunate to have sunny and warm days 98% of the time we've been here. Nice!

It's sad to leave but we are already planning the next gathering at the Jersey shore in July!

How we've spent Beck's first week

Elle hanging out on her mama's hospital bed. She stayed with Miles' parents Monday night and Tuesday night and with us on Wednesday and Thursday while Sarah and Miles were still in the hospital with Beck. Rich and I had fun taking care of her and I got in lots of "Gigi time."

Here's our cute girl on Thanksgiving. We got up early and watched the Macy's parade on TV. She had never seen such a thing and loved all the huge balloons, the floats, the bands with dancers and twirlers (she tried to dance along with them), and especially the characters of Dora and Boots. We then had an absolutely delicious Thanksgiving meal with Miles' parents, his grandmother, and his brother and wife.

What a beautiful dining room at the Durhams', all set for Thanksgiving dinner!

Rich made four desserts, including pecan pie.

Apple-butterscotch crostada

Miles' parents Bob and Suanne in the kitchen. We must have been too busy talking and eating because we didn't take many photos during our visit.

Pumpkin cheesecake with candied ginger/pecan crust and sugared pepita garnish

Vanilla bean pots de' creme with candied orange zest

After dinner, we took Sarah a plate and visited in the hospital for a bit.

Sweet family of four

There's not much better than holding a baby!

This was Friday, when we were waiting for everyone to get home. Elle was having lunch and making me laugh with various "looks."

Other than a couple of cold or rainy days, we've had wonderful warm weather just about the whole time I've been here. Love it! We played outside while watching for Mommy and Daddy's car.

Yay! They're home!

Here's baby brother!

Our handsome little guy on his first day at home

Elle loves to sing and dance and is a little bit obsessed with Taylor Swift. Sarah happened to record Taylor on the Ellen DeGeneres Show one day and we have to replay the performance at least once a day so Elle can perform along with the singer. It's very cute. She sometimes dresses up in her mother's old dance costumes as demonstrated here.

Look at those big eyes! Beck has been very calm and laid back most of the time. We think he hung the moon, of course. I don't know how I managed to get the five cutest grandkids in the world, but I am sure that I do have that honor. :)

I'm not sure where our days and weeks have gone but we have stayed pretty busy. Rich has cooked us some fabulous meals and caught up on his reading. I think he's on his third book and I am not sure how many magazines he's finished. We've made many trips to Target, Barnes and Noble, Whole Foods and Central Market. Oh, yeah, I was not happy to see that Sarah Palin was going to be signing books at the B&N near the house. I SO wanted to stand outside with a sign that said, "Vacationers from Alaska against Sarah Palin," but I didn't want to get beaten up or arrested so I held myself back. I am not sure why she followed me to Dallas but I did not appreciate it one little bit. :)

Yesterday Grandpa and I took Elle to the Galleria for a couple of hours. She was just perfect and we had a great time. There's a kids' play area so we started there, then had some lunch and wandered around.

We found some riding toys and had to try them all. Here are two of them.

We checked out the ice skating rink and watched some skaters. We were impressed with the huge Christmas tree!

Mostly we've been hanging out at the house and helping where we can. Sarah and Miles are doing great as the parents of two, even though it's hectic and it never fails that both kids need something at the same time. Pretty soon it will all seem very normal and they won't remember what it was like to have only one child.

Here's Beck after a sponge bath. One week old already! Bonnie and Emery arrive tomorrow night and my sis and some of her family are coming in on Sunday. As always, the time flies by and we will be heading home on the 8th.

Welcome to the World, Beck, and Happy Birth Day

Sarah and Miles were up early this morning (I don't think Sarah really slept much at all) and out of the house in time to arrive at the hospital by 5:30 AM. Rich and I followed about 7:30, when the Csection was scheduled to begin. After sitting in the waiting room for a little bit, we were happy to see Miles come out, all smiles, to tell us that Robert Beck Durham had arrived safe and sound.

Miles took Elle in to meet Beck first. I'm sure it was a sweet moment for the family of four to have some private time together before the rest of us descended. Sarah and Miles had prepared a "big sister" bag of goodies for Elle to keep her busy during her hospital visit.

Next we got to come in and meet our new grandson! He is perfect and adorable! He weighed 8 lbs., 8 ounces, and is 20 1/4 inches long. He was born at 7:53 AM and has light hair and dark eyes. We can't tell who he looks like! But he is definitely a beautiful baby.

Miles, Elle, Beck and Sarah

Grandpa Rich helped keep Elle occupied while we all hung out in the Recovery Room. Things have really changed since I had my Csections. We certainly couldn't have lots of people and other children in the room!

My first time to hold Beck--what a happy moment!

Miles and Elle (wearing her Big Sister shirt)

Elle patting Beck's head while Miles' mom Suanne holds him. How cute! Elle is going to be a great big sis!

Sweet boy! We're so happy you're here and we love you very much!