In January, Albert had a work trip that meant that Erin would have the kids for two days. Unfortunately Erin also had a trip immediately following which meant trouble if it wasn’t for the fact that Julie was able to step in and take care of the kids during the overlap. The reality was that they only needed care for dinner and bedtime since Albert’s flight got in just after bed time, but there was the possibility that his flight could get canceled or delayed. So it was fortunate that Julie was there and prepared to stay with the kids just in case.
If it was just the possibility of flight delays, it would have been easy, unfortunately, Erin had a blow out on the highway right at pickup time, meaning that she would be late for both Elia and Curie’s pick up. Julie was teaching so wasn’t able to pick up the phone. Erin called Candace who got Curie and watched her at Milano’s while we figured out what to do next. Erin called Albert in Nashville and amazingly he was able to get Kate, a co-worker to get Elia. Little did we know that it would take almost three hours to get AAA to fix the tires, so we were grateful for both Kate and Candace for taking care of the kids while we got Erin safe and running again.
After getting the tire changed, Erin was able to get both Elia and Curie and get home safely. Elia spent the time with Kate watching Netflix and periodically Facetiming Kate’s little boy Eamon. Eamon spent the greater part of the time wanting to talk to Elia. Neither Elia nor Curie were unduly worried which was a relief, and while it was a scary time, all is well that ends well.
Now when Albert left for his trip, Elia cried inconsolably for a while for the fact that he was going, but he did leave them Instax pictures that they could take with them to school which helped in the morning. When Erin was gone Albert took them to Scramble and spent time drawing pictures with them. The girls each posed and we drew the posing girl, and later he drew them with their superpowers. At Scramble, Albert drew while the kids played.
For Elia’s birthday party we hadn’t invited outside family because it was 24 kids at Jumping Joeys, but we ended up having both Alice and Derek and Steve and Julie come. So for Erin’s birthday, Erin’s parents really wanted to come down and be here. We had a great time, however they brought with them a cold that would last for a month after first with Elia, then Albert, then Curie, and then Erin, and as colds happen we would reinfect each other for some time (to be fair, both Jim and Brenda also ended up with lasting colds and possibly the flu).
For Erin’s birthday, everyone pitched in and bought her a Nintendo Switch. The game we bought was Mario Kart 8, and we found our that Curie could play already. We also found out though that Elia wanted to play and with the motion controls and the new auto accelerate and inability to fall for kids, that she could. Elia drives with the motion control and so likes the steering wheel. the cutest part though was how she drove. She would move her whole upper body to make her car turn and so would sway back and forth as she played.
Elia is in her last year at Bright Horizons and as one of the older kids she is enjoying her time there. She loves playing with the kids and has a number of BFFs, though the two BFFs happen to be boys: Mommy, Eric wants to marry me, but I want to marry Lucius.” Why, Erin asked. “Well, because I like evil, and at recess, Lucius is a vampire.” She is also very aware of wanting a family when she is older: “when I grow up, I want a boy and a girl, the boy will be Albert and the girl Erin. So cute.
Elia and Curie continue to get closer and closer, and while Curie leads a lot as the older sister, Elia doesn’t back down when she wants something, sometimes to the point where Elia is making Curie upset instead of vice versa that you might expect. One night they decided to pop all of the balloons from Elia’s party – which had miraculously been floating for almost a month. It must have been a savage time with toothpicks because in the end there was balloon parts everywhere.
Elia keeps working on her pronunciation getting from “yets doe” to “let’s go” though reverting when she is not intentionally getting it right. It is adorable so long as she does not get worried that she should be talking differently than a five year old should. Elia’s perception of the world is amazing and it is amazing to see the world from her eyes. Julie asked the girls, “What is the weirdest thing you can think of to put on pizza?” And Elia said, “Socks.” Elia also is very conscious that her brain and her stomach are independent from her: “Mommy, my brain and my stomach both say they want more chocolate cake.” But when they both agree, then it is time to have chocolate cake. Elia is a joy to be with and makes you feel wanted and needed as a parent. What more could you ask for?