This was the week I got to go visit Hannah.
I even got to hold her once or twice after standing in line behind Ava,
Jordan,
Kailyn,
Caden, and
Chase. So yeah, my time to hold Hannah was pretty much limited to when I elbowed myself to the front of the line. What a fortunate little girl, having all these siblings to lavish attention on her.
Having had six children myself, I was sure I remembered how busy a family of eight could be. Nope.
Fortunately, I've forgotten most of the gruesome details.
The days were filled with:
1. Girls practicing piano,
and they're getting REALLY good.
2. There's also constant meal making, meal feeding, meal cleaning up. The Bassetts need to hire someone who is willing to come and just load and unload the dishwasher all day. It ain't easy to stay on top of the endless kitchen duty.
3. There was plenty of dress-up: Chase the pirate with paper telescope and foam sword,
and Ava, the dress-wearing princess, borrowing
Shelly's pretty pink high school princess dress. Shelly and her high school buddies found these treasures at a thrift store for Senior Spirit Week fifteen years ago. I believe this dress has been a good investment.
4. This was Valentine's Day week, so there were boxes to make, like Caden's dinosaur
and Kailyn's model of her school,
complete with playground equipment,
and dozens and dozens of valentines to address.
5. There was Karate class two times a week,
Hiiiii-Ya!!
which included Karate blood all over the uniform. That blood came from:
a) the other guy Caden punched out,
b) Caden's face, while defending life and limb
c) a chronic problem with nose bleeds in dry weather.
I'll let you decide, but don't guess a or b.
6. There was plenty of attention from nice older siblings for the newly displaced baby of the family,
and 7. A few catnaps here and there.
8. There were games on Grandma's I-pad,
and 9. A trip to story time at the library.
Ava even choose a movie for Hannah (starring Hannah!), but Shelly put it back. I guess no one at the Bassett's is in the toilet training stage.
10. There was lunch out with Grandma, Mom, and sometimes Dad,
with a helpful brother demonstrating where the cookie should be divided.
11. There was dinosaur bath time
and dinosaur show-off time
with a zoo animal or two thrown in for good measure.
12. There was dancing,
and demonstrations.
13. There was early morning lunch making,
just in case Ava got hungry while running errands. (She did.)
14. There were sweet Valentines, spontaneous and handmade for Grandma.
15. There were quesadillas and catsup for Ava,
and cereal and reading at breakfast for Kailyn.
16. There was sister time,
and sister sharing-we unwrapped Hannah at the store one day to discover Ava had lent Hannah a stethoscope and doll.
17. There was a flat tire after Chase's and Ava's music playgroup at the church.
Should I worry? Here's our 'Burb, last week in Billings, with a flat on the same tire--the front passenger side--the side I sat on both times. Maybe I should cut back on the ice cream.
18. There was the walk we took while waiting for the tire fix,
to a muddy, snowy, chilly park.
All this busy-ness is enough to make you pull your hair out
and I don't even have pictures of Kailyn's and Jordan's Spanish lessons, dance, Achievement Days, honor choir, and Chase's and Ava's pre-school, nor the bedtime stories, and family prayers and scripture reading. That Shelly is one busy mom. Fortunately, Hannah seems to be a mellow soul. Shelly's ward and friends brought in dinner for two weeks, plus a few more for the freezer, and Shelly and I made a few more freezer meals for down the road. I was so impressed by all the food and gifts that arrived daily at their house. They live in a wonderful neighborhood.
See this adorable little face? It's true-if you've seen one Bassett baby, you've seen them all. A few years from know, no one will be able to say if this was Kailyn, Chase, or Hannah.
My last day at the Bassett's was a special day. Here's what Kailyn's hair looks like as she leaves for school on Friday....
...and a front view...
....and a two cute sisters view.
Later that afternoon, Kailyn's school had a "Locks of Love" event.
Kailyn and a few other kids, parents, and teachers volunteered to cut off at least 10" of hair to be made into wigs for people getting cancer treatment.
The whole school watched and cheered them on.
Shelly, Hannah, I, and Ava were there,
and so was Chase, hiding behind his favorite toy (a "no special reason" gift from Kailyn).
Is that Kailyn looking a little nervous? Like she's going to back out?
Too late!
Here's most of the hair volunteers, along with a teacher/cancer survivor in pink.
In exchange for hair, each participant got a gift certificate for a free haircut/fix. Hmmm. I think Kailyn will probably use hers.
Yep--here's the "after" picture Kailyn sent me today. Doesn't she look gorgeous? Kailyn, I'm so proud of you for donating your hair. It's a big decision to cut off so much! I'm proud you did it for a good cause. You look so grown-up with your new do.
I knew the Bassetts just didn't have enough to do, so I brought them a project I've started with Hailey and Makayla: coin collecting. I started each child with books, a few pennies, including wheat cents and that interesting 1943 steel coin, and told them a little bit about pennies and collecting.
Friday was also Ava's third birthday. It's not often I get to watch a grandchild open presents from Grandpa and me.
Oh look, it's a baby bed,
complete with a baby blanket that matches Hannah's new blanket.
I had so much fun with the Bassetts. The children are so sweet, so well-behaved. Shelly and I had too much fun staying up till midnight every night talking. It's good I'm going home so she can get to bed. Shelly and Ken work hard and they have a lovely family. As I downloaded pictures, I realized I have NO pictures of Ken OR Shelly (who already looks like she's never been pregnant). I guess I'll have to go back for another visit and more pictures.
It's a good thing Makayla and Hailey had President's Day off of school so I didn't have to experience grandchild withdrawal. It's not every Winter Monday I get to go down the mega slide at the local indoor waterpark. Yay?
