Still Alive

Yes! I am still alive. This very well could be the longest stretch between posts that I've had yet. Well, I don't really know, and I'm not going to go back and look.

We had vacation last week. The week prior to that was spent in a freakish frenzy trying to get tons of work done so that I could actually go on vacation. So, that's why I was quiet the week before vacation as well. Since then, I've been catching up, so that's why I'm just now getting a moment (well, making a moment) to post.

Here are some photos from our vacation week. There aren't very many. I was really, really terrible about getting out the camera. As you'll see in these photos, we built a brick patio. Amanda, Josh, and Ian came up over Memorial Day weekend, and they helped us out a ton. Amanda, Josh, and Willis basically got all the bricks laid down that are there right now. (Thanks, guys!) I haven't touched a single brick yet (which is pretty sick if you think about it, since it's my patio), but I intend to this weekend. I was busy running around like a chicken with my head cut off while they were out there working. I was tending to Nora (Amanda helped tend to Nora as well, which was really awesome), trying to clean up the place a little, and then I'd run into a massive distraction at every turn. That's how my life is. I can go to a part of the house with a mission in mind, and then I end up doing about 17 other things before I realize that I had forgotten why I came in the first place. It's really bad. Willis makes fun of me. I seriously think it's an illness or something.

Anyway, here are the pictures for real this time:












Vacation was lovely, but, as always, it flew right by with no remorse. Now, it's back to life; back to reality. Wah.

Here are some more photos I've taken since the weekend. I watched Randy and Kelly's girls on Tuesday while Kelly was at class, and I had some fun with 'em. Nora pooed through her diaper and me while I was there, so I ended up having to borrow a baby outfit from Kelly to take Nora back home (luckily, she did this while Kelly was there). I was able to wipe off my pants with a diaper wipe, so I was good to go. The outfit that I borrowed was a cute Purdue outfit. There are some pictures of Nora in that in this collection.











Nora is changing all the time. She's enormous (at the doc two weeks ago, she was 14 pounds, 10 ounces, and she was 26 inches—still 95th percentile in height. She's 75th percentile in head circumference and weight now). Her personality is really coming out. She's still just plain awesome. One thing I noticed this morning that made me sad, though: she rarely ever does that awesome baby squish stretch that she used to do. Do you know what I'm talking about? I've posted photos of it before. It's where she reaches up her arms (that end up being right next to her face because babies can't extend their arms above their heads at first), draws up her legs, sticks out her butt, and then squishes up her face. She used to do it every time I picked her up, and now, she might do it one time a day. It makes me so sad. I just love it when she does it.

She has a lot more hair now. Her eyes are still really dark blue (like her daddy's). She really enjoys her naked time (and she rolls over consistently while naked as well). She's starting to roll over more consistently fully clothed as well. She also nearly sits up unassisted, but I think it'll be awhile yet before she masters this one. If she doesn't nap well during the day, she wakes up really early the next day. That's an important lesson I've learned. The more she sleeps: the better she sleeps.

As soon as we get back onto a normal routine here, I'm thinking about letting her try a little rice cereal. She's been interested in our food lately, so I thought it might be cool to see if she is interested in eating a little bit like we do. I need to bust some stuff out and make sure it's clean, though, before I get going on that. (I have a little high-chair seat for her, some spoons, some plates and bowls, etc.)

On Saturday, I drove to Orland Park to a funeral home to see my brother and his fiance at the wake of her father. He passed away two Tuesdays ago. Now, they're (Jerm, Marlene, and Marlene's family) in the Philippines taking him home. So sad: and just a little over a month to their wedding, now.

While I was out, I left Nora with Willis (I didn't think she'd do well at the funeral home because through the bulk of last week, we thought for sure she was teething. Plus, I didn't know that it'd be appropriate to bring her to a funeral home, but it turns out that there were tons of children there). I pumped a bit in a bottle and left it for him. She apparently didn't do so well for him for awhile. She got really fussy and cranky, and she wouldn't take the bottle at first. Daddy kept at it, though, and when I came home, I found an empty bottle, a pleased daddy, and a happy baby. So, that was a relief. I was glad that they were able to have that time together. I missed them dearly, but I think it's neat that they were okay together while I was gone.

Alright. I've got a baby asleep in my lap. I'm going to lay her down so she can get a quality nap, and I'm going to try to get some work done.

I'll catch you kids later.