back from the beach

eating sand. i'm at the point now where as long as she can't choke on it, i don't care. and i figure sand's pretty non toxic, right? i hope. i did try to wash it down with water.








so we're back from our 3 day mini vacation to ft lauderdale. patrick had to take a plane down to a show there, and we got to go. (he leaves tomorrow for the whole week, so we wouldn't have seen him for a long time). the premier national headquarters is in ft lauderdale, so he's there quite a bit. it was neat to see. they have a beautiful office there, or three, actually with three hangers (sp?). i got to meet everyone that i've heard him talk about. hannah did the best she's ever done while travelling. she slept good in the hotel. (that whole sleeping through the night thing didnt' last, though :-(. we were on our own most of the time, which was interesting. she wasn't a huge fan of the beach. actually, i've never seen her more scared. she would hold on for dear life and bury her head in my shoulder if i tried to put her down. she was fine on the mat, just not near the water. i dont' know if it was the noise, or what. we still had fun, though. and i must confess, i'm proud of my new mommy skills, because she's the only one in the bunch who didnt' get sunburnt to a crisp. (get it? ha ha :-)


bathing suit compliments of meghan. i'm going to get one of those body suit things, though. too much work to do the sunscreen constantly.


our self portrait. i love her facial expression.


the fam at the bubba gump shrimp factory.


another self portrait. we tried a 'romantic' walk on the beach after, but by this time it was about 8.30, and let's just say not all of us were amenable to the walk suggestion. we had one party pooper in the bunch.

i should have taken more pictures, it's a beautiful place. called the venice of america, or something. huge mansions along all these canals. it was something else. like i said, patrick goes to louisiana for the week tomorrow. i believe i'm going to have some good news on the job front here soon, but i dont' want to jinx it. actually, i just don't want everybody to know that i'm a miserable failure if they reject me :-). i've started going to women's bible study at our church, and that's been really good. patrick is working, as usual. he's making plans to build an arbor in the back, and i'm super excited about that. things are good. those of you that post, thank you so much. sometimes i wonder if i should take the time to do this if nobody ever looks at it!

i felt the need to come back and tell you about yesterday morning, as well. yesterday, it was cold and nasty and wet so as soon as she was done eating, it was still not even seven so i took hannah to starbucks. (patrick has been having to get up super early these days, like 5, so i wanted him to sleep on the weekends.) and she actually sat in her carseat and played for like 30 minutes while i drank my coffee and read the paper. it was surreal. she was just chewing on a straw. i know when i have more, i wont' be able to do things like that. i didn't take advantage of my pre-baby freedom like i should have, so i'm definitely going to take advantage of my one baby freedom.

patrick and i are really noticing how old she's getting. more toddler than baby. she can stand for a good while now before plopping on her bottom. and we're pretty sure she says momma when she's upset and wants me to pick her up. crazy!

So, guess who's sleeping through the night? for the past 2 nights anyways. I think it might last. she is 8.5 months now, and she eats like a horse. i'm not sure who made up that tablespoon rule, but whoever it was didn't feed hannah. but that means she's waking up before six. usually around 5.45. And you all (or some of you) know how it takes me awhile to start running on all cylinders. so this morning, i went in and got her up and fed her and changed her diaper. well, just took off her diaper. since it was super wet, i wanted her to dry off before i put another one on. so i leave her in her room to play (it's babyproof) for a second and go down to the kitchen to make my 'sunday morning have to get up way too early i'm feeling sorry for myself' hot chocolate treat. then i hear quiet. i yell down the hall to see if she'll yell back. nothing. i run down there and find a perfectly healthy happy injury free baby, smiling ear to ear, covered in poop. yep. i promise i'm not exaggerating for dramatic effect. it was everywhere. thankfully not in her hair or on her face, so i doubt she ate any. just on her toys and smushed in to the carpet. so i did what any capable, exerienced woman would do: yelled for her husband. alas, my knight in shining armor was still sleeping. so i put her in the bath, put a clean diaper on, go get the vacuum and carpet cleaner, move her to another room so she wont' be with the carpet cleaner fumes, blah blah blah. it's now eight oclock, and i'm finally sitting down with my cold hot chocolate.

a celebration of life

I would like to start out with my exciting announcement: i'm going to be an aunt (again). Meghan and Chad are having a baby, and I am thrilled. More than ever this time, i guess because I understand the blessing and miracle of a baby. (I also feel waaaaay more bad for Meghan, because as much as i love my darling baby, i still hated being pregnant :-). She's due approximately the end of November. Kennedy will be about 4.5, Parker 2.5, which is just about perfectly spaced out. And I am so excited that we live moderately close, at least, so i can be there more. if the price of gas ever goes down.
that leads me into my next topic of the day:
I'm sure this gets old for some of you, but hey, nobody's forcing you to be here. I would like to reiterate how much I adore my daughter. I realize I only have one, and she's still young, but I really never knew it could be this good. Patrick and I are so in love with her it's ridiculous. I feel so priviledged to get to be with her like I do. I think I told pretty much everyone, even strangers on the street, how rough it used to be. I was confident she would forever be the world's most difficult baby. (But now that I look back, I think that was because 1. i didn't know what i was doing 2. I kept trying to obey these random rules i thought were important, instead of listening to her needs. i realize many people think it's unwise or even bad parenting to really pay attention to your baby and allow them to have some say, in their own way, of how things go. that it makes them spoiled and manipulative. honestly, how can a 3 month old be manipulating me? but next time around i'm going to be more sensitive, not less. if she's hysterical when she's put down, then don't put her down. fighting it just prolonged the difficulty for both of us). anyways, all that to say, she is now the world's most perfect baby. to me, at least. most people would say she's much



too attached, but i am still young enough to remember, from personal experience, that very soon she won't want me around, she'll want to be with her friends. i do, however, keep putting her in the childcare at the gym (only for an hour at a time) with great hopes that one day i will come get her and they'll say, oh, she was great, she didn't even cry. (i can dream, right?)
the other day i finally got her to drink from a sippy cup. i was so excited, then i cried. she's growing so fast. she has 4 teeth now. she can wave, which she does all the time, even to complete strangers. she has a variety of sounds including dada and baba (i'm still trying to work on ma ma, to no avail :-). she can even stand on her own for a split second. not sleeping through the night, but it can't last much longer, right?
anyways, to any new mothers out there, don't despair. it does get easier.

i realize that many, if not most of you, have your own children. i realize she may not always take my breath away like she does now. one day i will even take her (and her siblings) for granted. they will not always fill my heart with wonder and amazement that i have such a precious gift. but hopefully that is a long ways away. for now, every day, every moment is still new and exciting and wonderful and unparalled in beauty. thanks for letting me share it with you!

happy spring!

it seems like the past month or so has just gone by in a blur. we had a really low key easter, then the crisps came to visit, which was really fun. hannah had a nasty ear infection, but she's doing better. she has 2 teeth now, and more are coming soon. she can walk holding onto the couch, too. things are just beautiful here with the azaleas and wisteria all over the place. i've had a few days at my new job now. 3 kids under 2 makes for nobody being bored, that's for sure. just two days a week. patrick will be gone all next week to an air show in florida. that's pretty much it for us right now.


on easter we took a picnic to the park.


we took about a hundred pictures, so here are just a few.


this is one of our favourite


i think she likes the swing. we've only done it a few times.


different day, different park, same precious baby!


last easter seems like just yesterday. so glad hannah's outside the belly in this picture!




chewin on a carrot.