john deere: leg one

Well, we did it. Ryan finished up in China yesterday and is currently on an airplane from Tokyo to Boston to work from home for a week. And three weeks later, the Layton girls are still alive. I won't go so far as to say we're all alive AND well because Kate has been screaming for the last three hours straight, I'm dripping sweat just sitting in my house {the fans are upstairs with the little ones} and Leah has three carpet burns on her face from falling over during a seizure. But...we are alive. And that's all I asked for. 

Ryan is going to crumble when he sees Kate. She is so much bigger than she was when he left just three weeks ago. She's kind of a tank, stays awake a lot more, cries a lot more, holds her head up a lot more and....SMILES a lot more. Although, about a week and a half ago, I was trying to get her to smile when I said, "Are you just waiting so your dad doesn't miss it?" I kid you not, later that night when we Skyped, she smiled just for him! It was perfect. She smiles lots now. Kind of a lazy looking smile, but I love it. It's hard work to lift those cheeks up!

Leah hasn't changed much other than those huge battle wounds on her face. Awesome. They look much worse now that they've scabbed over.

As for me, not only did I keep myself and two children alive, I also kept the tomato plant alive that Leah planted with her grandparents. I'm pretty sure this is a first. I usually only have plastic plants. 

Now we just have to get through three hours of church...