The last 24 hours have been amazingly quiet here at the Doublestein house. There has been an absence of running, whining, constant questions, and Laurie Berkner music. I've been able to hear myself think and actually complete tasks I've been procrastinating for weeks: starting to plan our block party, booking a photographer for the girls, babyproofing the kitchen . . . .

The reason for all this? Annie, our whirlwind of energy, has been at my parents' since yesterday morning. For the first few hours, I was calm, serene, and savoring all the quiet (Jemma is a growler, but really, she doesn't make that much noise yet). Then, around 11:00 a.m., Jason and I started actively missing her. We started talking about what she might be doing and even impersonating her:

"Lemme show you somethin.'" "I sink it is." (sink = think in Anniespeak) We even started answering one another's questions with Annie's trademark "sure," which sounds like "sir." By 2:00, I was humming "Baby Beluga" by Raffi under my breath and had called my parents to see what they were up to.

The small break was lovely, but this morning we're ready to head over and see what our Annie is doing today.