Bittersweet.

I never really knew my Grandpa on my Dad's side. He was very ill most of his life and he passed away when I was just 10 months old. I've always been told just how much he adored me. I've heard stories of how excited he would get when he knew I was coming over, although he pretended he didn't want to see me :) I've heard that I would tickle his feet at the edge of his recliner. I've heard that he would have been so proud of me at least 1,000 times.


Last week, Sophia and I visited my Dad in Asheville, NC. This was the fourth time I have taken my girl across the country to visit her Grandpa. About two years ago, my Dad found out that he has an incurable lung disease called Pulmonary Fibrosis. The disease itself is terrible, it is breaking down the connections in his lungs to the point where he is only able to use less than 1/2 of his lung capacity. They have put him on a new drug to try to slow the decay, but this drug has caused even more problems for him. It is a steroid which has caused him extreme swelling, nervous system issues, diabetes, etc. At this point, they are pretty much trying to keep things stable, but if he wants any chance at a normal life, he will have to undergo a double-lung transplant. In his current health, this isn't an option. He is doing all he can to get himself more healthy so that he can get on the transplant list. If anyone out there is reading this, prayers are MUCH appreciated.

It pains us all that my Dad has only been able to see Sophia in person a few times. We Skype as much as we can to keep her familiar with him. Truly, my greatest fear is that she won't know him. My Dad has always been such a huge part of my life. To think that she won't know his ridiculous sense of humor, giant heart, and incredible intelligence is unimaginable to me. I pray everyday that when Sophia is 30 years old, she will know first hand how much he adores her, how excited he is every time he sees her, and how incredibly proud of her he is, not just have to take all of our word for it.

Since he is not allowed to travel, we have to go to North Carolina to see him. Sophia loves it there! She is completely in LOVE with my Auntie Nonie, as all kids who meet her are. This time I know for sure that she recognized everyone she saw. She had a great time playing with her cousins Bryson and Aiden and discovered that Auntie Nonie's exercise machine makes a great jungle gym. She had us all cracking up when she discovered that each time she climbed all the way on then all the way off everyone would clap for her. She did it over and over and if we didn't clap, she would look at each of us applauding herself saying "Yay!" After a while, her attempts got pretty sad and she expected applause for very little effort :)

Here are some of the highlights of the trip.

Loves her Auntie Nonie ♥

Here Grandpa, have this stick.

Our traditional Sushi-fest!

Each time we try something new that is out of our comfort zone. This time we chose Baby Octopus:)

Who needs toys when there is a cardboard box to play with?

Happy place ♥

While going through pictures I came across this one. It's stunning how much Sophia resembles me at this age.

Grandpa bought her this pretty dress before we came home.

We are hoping to visit again in the spring, even more hope that someday soon he can come visit us.

Sophia hearts Jayden

Jayden is a little boy at the HVHS daycare. Sophia thinks he is the bee's knees. No matter what he is doing, she thinks it is hysterical.

Here they are playing with "blocks".

Wait! Are you ready?

1)Each night around 7:30 Sophia starts to fuss around. She rubs her eyes, climbs all over us, and snuggles into her stuffed animals, pillows, and blankets. We run her bath, get her "nakie", and bathtime ensues. She LOVES her baths. So many fun toys to play with, bubbles to dip her hair into, and splash splash splash she goes. She especially loves her many, many ducks. She says "duckkkkkkkkkkkkk" then she quacks and quacks, although it sounds much more like a roar. After getting "all clean" and letting her play a while (she would play for hours if we let her) we pull her out, dry her off, and get her into her jammies. We read a book (or three) then turn out the lights. Every night I hold her while Daddy leans in to give her a kiss and she repays him with kiss, after kiss, after kiss then tells him "na-nite". We lay her down and (9 nights out of 10) she goes right to sleep. Last week we had gone through the majority of the nightly routine when she threw us a curve ball. "All clean" and ready to get in bed, Daddy leaned in for his kiss but Soph pulled back. She stuck out her hand, palm out to Daddy and said "Wait!" Haha! This is not something that we tell her often, especially not with the full hand motion. He tried again and again she told him "Wait!" She has since returned to the normal routine. She continues to stick out her hand and tell Chuck to "wait"...especially when he climbs up on to her chair wanting scraps of food:)


2) Last night, in the usual fashion of the Elflein's on Monday nights, we were watching the pregame of Monday Night Football. Hank Williams Jr. was signing the familiar "Are you ready for some football?" only tonight, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, he sang the end of the song in Spanish.

"Estas listo para football?!"

I listened carefully, as I was curious if he was actually saying right.
Then I asked Ken, "Estas listo para football?"
"Oh yeah!", he said.
Next I asked Sophia, "Estas listo para football?"
She yelled, "Yessssss!!!"

Sophia habla espanol.