July 18 - 24

Happy birthday to Joe on Monday!  Mary was sleeping a lot and at first, I thought it was just because we had an eventful weekend and she didn't get to nap as much.  Later in the day she was really sleeping a lot and her eyes were all weepy, she had a runny nose and started running a fever.  We gave her some baby Tylenol and she was able to get to sleep for the night.

She was still sick the next morning and slept most of the morning until about 3:00 pm.  She started feeling better and no longer had a fever.  Wednesday I tried to implement our normal routine for the day and that went pretty well.  That night, though, I tried to put her to bed in her own room and she went to sleep at 9:00 pm and got up every hour until I moved her back into our room at 1:00 am.  I think she is teething pretty bad and liked the comfort of being in our room.

We were going to go to the children's museum with Hannah and Addie on Tuesday but had to cancel since Mary wasn't feeling well.  She was feeling better by Thursday, so I invited Hannah and Addie over for a playdate in the afternoon.  We played with toys, read books, and ate snacks.  The girls loved playing together and Addie was very sweet with Mary. She wanted to carry her around and put her in her car seat, buckle her up, and carry her around in her seat.  It was nice for me to talk to Hannah as well, Mary and I need more socializing during the week.  Wendy facetimed Hannah while she was here. Wendy was taking Elaine to a doctor's appointment for her eye and called Hannah so Grandma Kennard could see Addie.  She got to see Mary and me too, which Wendy was happy about and I'm sure Elaine was happy about too.  After our play date, I put Mary down for a nap and I made dinner.  Paul got home after having a hard day at work but he watched Mary and took her for a walk while I went to the gym.  Halfway through my workout, we got a text from Wendy to the family group chat that Mike and Emily had been hit by a car and that she was headed to Primary Children's Hospital to see Emily.  An officer was waiting to meet her there and they would not give her any information about Mike over the phone.  Paul called his mom and a couple of family members to see what was happening but no one had any information.  We anxiously waited that evening for a call from Wendy to see how Mike and Emily were doing.  A zoom meeting was set up and everyone in the family was there, including Sam who is on a mission in Indiana. When everyone was on the zoom call a social worker got on the call and explained to us that Mike had been killed in the accident.  An officer that was at the site of the accident then got on the call and answered our questions.  He explained that Mike was hit from behind while riding his bike and was killed on impact and did not suffer.  Emily was also hit and knocked on her side.  She got road rash on her right side and lost consciousness.  She woke up in the ambulance.  She did not get a concussion but she did get some staples in her head.  We were so devastated to hear the news and shed many tears that evening.  We went on a drive to try to process what had just happened.  Paul called his family members individually and they shared their memories and sorrows together.

Happy Birthday to Sam on Friday!  Paul and Matt still needed to go to work the next day, so Hannah invited me to go to the children's museum with her and Addie that morning.  It was good to get out and also to be with Hannah and talk about it.  Paul said he and Matt were also able to talk at work and find some peace in the circumstances.  Paul got home early and we went to dinner with Matt and Hannah.  Addie was getting overstimulated and had a hard time relaxing at the restaurant, so we went to their apartment to finish the evening.  Addie let Mary wear her costume and Mary got to be a super baby.  We bought our plane tickets that evening for a week to be with the Roberts and attend the viewing and funeral.  We also decided that we would honor Mike's memory by going on a spur-of-the-moment road trip.  

Saturday morning we got up early and made the four-hour drive to Corpus Christi.  We listened to Mike's favorite music on the way down and enjoyed the morning drive.  We were underwhelmed by the city but found a nice beach on the Gulf.  We played in the ocean and in the sand for a while before getting some lunch and ultimately deciding to drive back to Austin.  We made an honorary stop at Buc-ee's in San Antonio on the way back in Mike's memory.  He really loved the Buc-ee's hype and was introduced to the store 2 years prior, to the day.  Paul called his mom and brothers about funeral arrangements while I washed the ocean off of Mary and got her ready for bed.

Sunday we made more preparations for the funeral and shared our memories of Mike.  We are grateful for Emily and that she will make a full recovery from her injuries.  We are grateful that Sam will be able to be at the funeral.