Uff.

There's a reason that they describe teething as having "molars erupting." Poor Adam has had moments these past few days where he is an absolute volcano of discontent. Last night he woke up at 3 screaming. Not crying or whining, but full on screaming. I ended up rocking him and feeding him, but he was up again at 4, and crying off and on for a half hour before I got up and snuggled with him. It ended up that the only thing that soothed him was being held by his mommy, so I flipped back the covers on the guest bed and we curled up together for an hour or so. He started stirring, obviously restless in my arms and sick of being sweaty, and I was able to put him back in his crib, where he slept until morning. It's tiring, but it's also really rewarding to feel him settle in my arms, and it's sweet to have him fall asleep tucked under my chin. He's becoming less of a baby every day, so I try to find the good in those little moments. And then this morning when I felt like a run over dog turd, I "consoled" myself with the fact that last night was a bad night for Adam, but it would have qualified for an average night with Ellie. And then I wept.

We had music class today, and Ellie and Lexi mostly screwed around together, despite repeated reminders that it was time to listen to Miss Elena, not run around and yell about their outfits and toenail polish choices.

I mean, check out this glam squad!

Afterwards, I had a very comforting message from Dad, who stopped in at the Admirals Club on his way to La Crosse today, pled our case to the people working there, and got us actually booked into seats on our flights. That's a huge weight off my shoulders. And also, sort of concerning that in an age where you have to take your shoes off and let the TSA see you naked, a guy can amend the reservation of three other people, just by knowing their names and flight number. But such is the power of Mr. Frequent Flier (and hey, I'm not complaining, though a couple of my girlfriends are sad that there's no chance I'll pitch a fit about sitting next to my family - they had told Tim to be sure to whip out his phone and youtube any tantrum I might have.)

This afternoon we spent a lot of time out in the yard. I cut back some ivy while the kids played pretty happily. When Ellie rode in the Cozy Coupe, Adam actually took a few independent steps to get to her. He CAN walk, he just doesn't WANT to.

This is what it looked like last night while I was doing the dishes after dinner. It's not a bad life.