Here we go!

The countdown is on... Tuesday afternoon we'll be packing up the Pilot and heading back to the homeland for a week of Christmas fun with our families. Some of you might recall our last trip to Ohio with the whole family... and how much fun it was. And by fun I mean driving all over the place, everyone getting sick, spending two days in the bathroom, just to drive all the way back to Charleston again leaving a wake of destruction in our path. I'm praying to whoever is up there that it doesn't happen again - but you just never know, do ya?

Speaking of great timing, I've actually gotten ill the last two times I've been back to Ohio. Hmm, I'm noticing a trend here. Followers might also recall that Alli's teeth decided our trip home was a good time to bust through, making her quite the miserable little girl. Well, fast forward 6 months or so, and those damn teeth are at it again. We've been able to see her bottom two molars making their way to the surface for the last few days, and yesterday was the "big day." And no, I don't mean that they popped through - they're still working on that. I mean the big day of hurting.

Alli was fine yesterday morning, but we could tell she was a little on edge as the day progressed. After she woke up from a late nap (after only sleeping for about an hour), she was screaming bloody murder. We tried everything - bottle, lying her back down to sleep more, her frozen teething foot, walking her around outside in the cool air, everything. Nothing was working as the tears poured down her cheeks. I looked in her mouth and could tell that her bottom molars were making their presence felt... big time. They looked like jagged glaciers breaching the surface of the ocean. Think of them like a circular scalpel getting pushed through your gums from the bottom-up - that's how they must've felt to her. We were able to eventually calm her down with a fudgsicle, a Pedialite push-pop and a drive around the neighborhood with our live-saver (Elmo) on the DVD player.

Once her mouth had cooled down, she was much better the rest of the evening and slept like a champ all night. She was back to her normal self this morning, which was a relief for single-Dad-E in the mornings. I'm hoping that means the worst is behind us and she can finally start putting those big honkers to good use - bring on the Christmas ham, Alli wants some! I swear to whoever is up there, all Mommy B and I have to do is mention that we're making a road trip and her teeth just pop right in. Maybe we should do it again when we get back so she can just have all her teeth in already. I'm really hoping the worst is over and we dodged a bullet by a couple days... because I really don't feel up for dealing with a fussy baby the entire time we're home.

But enough with the doom and gloom. In all honesty, I'm really looking forward to getting to spend Christmas with our families. It's been five years since we've spent Christmas in Ohio, and we've really missed our families during the holidays. There are a lot of people who are excited to see our little walking Alli Ru, and I'm glad that she'll get to spend time with them as well. Who knows, she might even get to see some good ol' Ohio snow!

We'll have to give a full report once we get back to Chucktown - but just be warned that it could be a week or so until we post again. I hope everyone has a great holiday season and everyone gets home safe and sound!