What A Wonderful Weekend To Remember...

I called yesterday and today, checking on Dad. So far, no more temperature.  Yesterday afternoon, it was 99.2 but back down to 98 this morning. Sunday morning he was at 97. He just finished antibiotics for his UTI, now, they have him on some antibiotics for the cough, temp and wheezing. They are also giving him expectorant medication and breathing treatments.

He has his great appetite, so he must not feel too badly. Personally, I need to hear his voice so I can judge for myself how he is doing...but I seem to have a knack for calling when the nursing station is dispensing medication, despite what time I call. 

I called several times today to speak with him, but my last call, the nurse told me Dad was eating his dinner and enjoying a movie.  So far, he seems to be doing well. 

Early Saturday morning I received the following photo/text via my cell, from my daughter Jodee, which read...                                                                   

"Grandma and Grandpa, I'm coming to see you....Yippeeeeee!"

When they pulled up in front of the house, I immediately went outside to greet them and (let's be honest) grab my precious baby grand son... We were all surprised when Jacob waved to me!  Both Jodee and Jeff told me this is the first time they have ever seen him wave!

We put Jacob in his activity spinner and introduced him to Izzy.  He was quite mesmerized with her and Izzy was very gentle and respectful with him...

Jacob's tee shirt says, "This is what HANDSOME looks like..."   So true, so true...

Jeff, Jacob's Daddy is a major animal lover and outdoors man, so we decided to go to  the Springs Preserve (I wrote about it Saturday here on my other blog).  The weather was warm, so after several hours of walking all over this huge preserve,  we were all ready for a nap.

After our naps, we went to the two for one buffet at Green Valley Ranch.  We had a nice, leisurely, enjoyable dinner and stretched it out to over two hours.  The men left to gamble, Jacob slept, and my daughter savored some precious alone time.  Jacob woke when we got back home; Jodee fed him and he went back to sleep.  I listened for him on his monitor while Jodee and Jeff enjoyed the spa in the back patio.

Easter morning I awoke early to the delicious sound of Jacob's high squeal and jibber jabber.  My daughter had Jacob in my rose chair in the living room, attempting to take an Easter morning picture.  Together, with a little help from Izzy, we were able to get these shots...

This was his reaction to Izzy "sitting pretty' standing on her hind legs...

Here, she had just licked his cute little toes...

Unfortunately, she barked and startled him, making him sob big crocodile tears...Grandma went to his rescue and held him until he calmed down.  Izzy did not bark around him the rest of the weekend.  I was so impressed with Izzy's sensitivity.  This is the first time she has ever been around a baby.

We called my oldest daughter Holly in California to wish the 8 year old and the six year old Happy Easter.  Holly had them grading cheese and cutting string beans for their holiday dinner.  The 8 year old is a DVR hog, (it being 95% full) recording so many of his shows, his Mom can't record hers... So as a special Easter gift to his Mother, he told his Mom he had cleared several of his shows.  "I wanted to clear it to 75% Mom, but I went a little crazy and stopped at 68%."  We got a kick out of his big sacrifice...

I fixed a big breakfast of sausage patties, bacon, scrambled eggs and my famous french toast...AFTER I cleaned up all the broken glass from dropping my big glass Pyrex lid...shattering into a million pieces, shooting out into the dining room, the front hall way, and all over the tile floor of my kitchen!  What a mess!! I caught the side of my finger on the hot lid and when I set it down upon the counter, it was not all the way on it and fell...

We spent several hours being immensely entertained with baby Jacob...

He loves his Grandpa...

Oh my gosh...do you see those cute dimples on each side of his sweet little face?? Just like Daddy...

It just doesn't get much better than this...

While Jacob napped snuggled next to Jodee, we enjoyed the weather on the back patio and played a fun game called Table Topics.  Basically, it is a box of questions which prompt some pretty fascinating conversations.  My husband worked his magic on the BBQ grilling his legendary steaks, while Jodee and I made a salad and some fresh, white corn on the cob. 

After dinner, Jeff, Jacob, Jodee, Izzy and I decided to take a "nature hike" above the canyon where we live, out on the hiking trails which lead out to the open desert.  Jeff used to own a pet store and owned many snakes he kept as pets.  He carried one of those crooked metal snake stick tools to lift rocks so he could look for critters.  We had an agreement I had absolutely ZERO interest in seeing or getting near any snakes...

My daughter bundled up Jacob and strapped him to her chest in a papoose carrier.  Once we reached the bluff above the canyon, the view was spectacular and I wished I had not forgotten my camera...It was pretty windy up there so we had a crystal clear view of the valley below....

Jacob had passed out and fell into a deep sleep, all snuggled and covered with blankets.  Out on the trails, the hills are quite steep going up and going down.  We saw a couple other families pushing strollers up and down the hills.  I marveled at my daughter carrying the baby the entire walk.  Jeff offered to carry Jacob, but she said she loved holding him. 

Once we reached the open desert, we stood on the path and talked, while Jeff went down into a riverbed and snooped...He shrank into the distance as he happily explored.  When we saw up curving back around to the trail up ahead, we walked down to meet him.  Always wary of coyotes, we made sure we were well on our way back before sunset.

Jeff could not stop talking about how much he enjoyed the walk.  He supported Jodee's back and pushed her up the hills, helping her climb the hills with the baby.  Thankfully, I had Izzy pulling me up the hill...but I could not talk, I was too busy huffing and puffing...

Ironically, we saw a couple bunnies and some Quail once we reached my neighborhood, and never saw anything on the trails or when Jeff was in the desert.

My husband was still sitting on the patio when we returned, enjoying a cocktail.  He had been visiting with various neighbors who normally walk their dogs past our house so their dogs can visit with Izzy... I was exhausted, so before I could announce I was tired, I had fallen asleep on the couch.  My husband did too.

Jeff had to be at an important meeting at 10:00 AM this morning, so they planned on driving back at 10:00 PM or 11:00 PM Sunday night.  They woke us up before they left.  Jacob was sound asleep in his carrier, so we all hugged and kissed good-bye.  I will see them next month over Mother's Day...so it is not too far away.  They promised to call us when they got home, which they did.  I stayed awake watching TV until their text at 3:30 AM.  They had to make a couple stops so Jodee could feed the baby, then he went right back to sleep. 

What a good, happy baby he is...what a wonderful weekend to remember...the only way it would have been better, is if the rest of the family had been there with us....