"See what happens, Larry?"

Holy crap. I don't know how mommies keep their blogs up to date. How are they not too busy feeding, changing, rocking, staring at, and teaching their babies? Not to mention keeping the house clean and keeping themselves fed and looking somewhat presentable and running errands. How how how??
Luckily for me, I have plenty of family close by to help out, they are simply angels, all of them. Even my in-laws have been amazing. (I say "even" because most people I know really struggle with their in-laws. Mine are superb.)
Hazel is the sweetest thing on this planet. Even when she's crying her eyes out, I can't help but think about how blessed I am. This little girl has made me a better person in every aspect. She's made me healthier, more patient, more forgiving, more compassionate, more peaceful, more determined, more responsible... pretty much more awesome. And now the word more looks weird. Honestly, how quickly my anger and irritation leave when looking at that little tiny human. She puts everything into perspective.
She recently developed acid reflux. Before we knew for sure what it was and were able to treat it, our little family was miserable. She was crying all the time because she was pain, I was crying all the time because she was in pain, Otis is always crying when he doesn't get enough of my attention, and poor Tanner had to deal with it all. There's no stress quite like the stress of having to watch your kid hurt and not being able to take it away. Thank heavens for baby Zantac and rice cereal.
And thank heavens for Tanner. Every day he's what I need. Sometimes that fact irritates the hell out of me, but at the end of the day, if I can swallow my pride (which I'm trying to make a habit of doing), I see very clearly that God knew exactly what He was doing when He brought Tanner into my life. Not to say Tanner's never wrong, not to say he's perfect, but I cringe to think about where I'd be without him. And remember, I'm awesome, so we all know Tanner benefits from this relationship, too.
Mel and Greg and Asher moved a million miles away to Colorado. I miss them like crazy. They're having the time of their lives over there, but I can't wait until they (hopefully) move back in two years.
Welp, sweet child is waking up, so I suppose it's time to "publish" these scattered thoughts so they stop taking up room in my already cramped brain.