I get by with a little help from my family

We were so very blessed to have a constant flow of family visiting us before and after Bradley was born. My mother (aka Gigi) was our first guest and arrived about five days before Bradley made his grand entrance. The extra time was great because she 1) helped do the final bit of organizing before the baby got here, and 2) kept me company while I tried to patiently wait for Bradley to decide he was ready to come out into the world. Then once my labor started, she stayed home with Ethan while Matt and I went to the hospital. Then she even relieved Matt and spent Bradley's first night with me in the hospital, which let Matt recharge, but meant I still had help. It all worked out perfectly. And of course, she was here with us for Bradley's first week at home, which was really the best part of all because adjusting to two kids is tough stuff!

After Gigi, our next visitor was Matt's dad (aka Grandpa). Now while Bradley might not exactly acknowledge or appreciate the guests, Ethan always loved having someone special here, especially his Grandpa. From playing with Ethan's Matchbox cars inside, to playing catch outside, Ethan loved having his Grandpa here to play with. The only thing is, I think Matt's Dad might've needed an extra vacation (or maybe just a really long nap) after how busy Ethan kept him. No matter what, though, Matt and I truly appreciated the extra set of hands to help entertain our ever-busy toddler.

After Grandpa, our next guest was Matt's mom (aka G-ma). I can't say enough wonderful things about having family here. Matt's Mom was such a huge help with everything from laundry, to grocery shopping, to making meals for us, to watching Bradley so I could get a much needed haircut. I mean, you name it and she helped us with it. And, as usual, Ethan kept G-ma ever busy with different games and activities. Having family around those first few weeks meant Ethan never really felt a loss of attention because of Bradley, which was important to us. We never wanted him to feel like he was any less important because he had a baby brother now.

Our last visitors to Clovis were my sister and her boyfriend (aka Aunt Candice and Uncle Matt). They came over my sister's Spring Break and were here to celebrate Easter with us, which meant so much to me. The holidays can be hard sometimes being so far away from family, so having family here with us is just awesome. And now that Ethan is starting to really love hunting for eggs, I'm starting to love Easter all over again, the way I did when I was little and got to run around looking for eggs at my grandparent's house. Plus, having Matt here meant the Matts got to do fun man stuff (aka beer, golf, and guns), which they loved.