We'll teach table manners later...

Tonight at dinner, the little bit took matters into her own hands....literally. She has this incredibly independent side to her little personality (I have no idea where in the world she got that) and she decided she was fully capable of feeding herself, thank you very much. So, enjoy the first attempts at self-feeding, and be thankful you didn't have to clean up after her:).

It's been a while...so there are lots of random thoughts

First of all, I need to say thank you to anyone who's reading this...it only proves that you have faith that I would, indeed, blog again. 

The 6-week blog hiatus was not intentional...the first 3 weeks were legitimate--we had no Internet access at home. I must have actually gotten used to being disconnected because I really haven't been on the Internet much since we've gotten it back. As much as I complained about the lack of Internet, I guess I adjusted and managed just fine. Who knew?

So, as I re-enter blogland, here are a few things going on in our world....

1. Kevin got his permanent (well, at least one year) assignment with HPD. He's at the Northeast station, and working 3PM-11PM Friday-Tuesday. We thought this was the shift we would hate, and it's not the greatest, but there have been some really great things about it, including: 

• We now have Friday and Saturday mornings to hang out. We've taken Laurel to the park a couple of times, and she has loved it. 
  
• I no longer sleep on the couch because I dread getting ready to go to bed by myself. I was pathetic...when Kevin wasn't home, I couldn't motivate myself to go to bed. I'd end up sleeping in my regular clothes on the couch until about 3 AM, and then just go straight to bed like that. 
• Selfishly, since Kevin is home in the mornings, I get to run before work because he is home with Laurel. 
• I don't have to keep Kevin awake during church. Seriously, he could not stay awake when he was working nights. Not that I blame him. If I'd been up for 20+ hours, I'm sure I'd be nodding off too.

2. I have officially registered for the Austin Marathon. I was putting it off to see if I was really going to be able to train. There are no refunds, so I guess I'm in. If anyone doesn't have anything to do Valentine's weekend, you can come cheer me on in Austin:).

3. Our little pumpkin has been sick all weekend. She's got this random fever...no other symptoms. Well, none except being miserable when the Infant Motrin wears off. She woke up yesterday really whiny and tired acting, which just isn't her. She's gotten 5 teeth in the past 6 weeks (bringing her up to 7), so I didn't think there were many more for her to get. We were getting ready to go to Discovery Green when we noticed she was a really warm, and her mood was quickly disintegrating. We took her temp and it was 101.5. We decided to take her to her doctor, because they do sick visits on Saturday morning. By the time we got there, her temp was up to 102, and she just kept getting hotter. I've never seen her so miserable. Dr. Jung was afraid she had a urinary track infection, so he put a catheter in her to find out. Yes, a catheter. I couldn't even watch. Good news is there was no UTI, but we still don't know why she has such a high fever. So, no church today. It's funny since Sunday is a work day, I forget what it's like to be at home. Since our balcony windows look out onto the church parking lot, it was pretty strange watching everyone come and go while I watched the Disney channel and played with Laurel. By bedtime tonight, her fever was down to about 100, so I'm praying it will continue to drop tonight. There's nothing more miserable than watching her be miserable.

Okay, that's all for now. I promise to blog again soon. I repent from non-blogging. But, before I go, here is a picture from the park:)

Just a quick note...

...to let everyone know we are okay. Praise the Lord, we have no damage to our condo, but our complex did sustain some damage. Bayou Woods has a down fence and lots of tree limbs, but other than that,  compared to what went on in the rest of the city, we're good. We got our electricity back last night, and are waiting on the full return of water. Laurel and I left for Austin last night, mostly because of the lack of water and electricity. The electricity came on right after we had packed, but we decided it would be best for her to get out of town and get some Nanny and Papaw love in Austin for a few days. So, that's where we are until probably Tuesday. Kevin is working 12 hour shifts (6 PM-6 AM) until further notice with HPD until things get a little more back to normal. So, we are incredibly thankful. Please pray for the thousands who didn't fare so well. 

I'll write more later...I know, I know, I've been blog-slacking again:).

So, it won't be gymnastics in 2012...

My quest for the 2012 Olympics may have been hampered today. I still hadn't determined an event, but I think we cross anything that requires gracefulness off of the list. Honestly, we could have done that years ago, because I'm pretty much notorious for falling flat on my face. Just ask my recently healed elbow and knee from my latest encounter with the ground at Memorial Park. And, I would love to say that was the first time that had happened, but no...my knees bear the marks.

Today, though, it wasn't a trail encounter, it was much less glamorous. The balcony was the culprit. I had cleaned the wood floor out in our enclosed balcony the other day, and apparently the cleaner had left some weird slick residue that I'd watched Kevin almost trip on a couple of times. I, of course, wouldn't fall on such a silly thing. Yep, that's right, I didn't fall. It was much less graceful. As I went out to fill Toby the wonderdog's food dish, my right foot started to slip and my left foot jammed into the metal on the base of the French door into the balcony. I danced around in pain, but didn't really have time to think about it, because it was officially 8:02, and I was supposed to be at work at 8. Laurel's babysitter showed up, I put on the shoes I'd decided to wear, and headed out. As I walked my 500 ft commute to work, I noticed that the middle toe on my left foot was hurting. Actually, throbbing. And the shoe choice for the day wasn't the best...the peek-toe wedges were really cute, but not helping. I thought it would go away, but about an hour into the day, pain only increasing, I decided to take a look. What I found was a bright reddish-black, swollen middle toe. By the end of the day, I'd changed shoes and taped it up. Broken. Well, that's not an official diagnosis, that's  Kevin looking at it, laughing at me, and saying, "yep, that's broken." I refuse to go to the doctor so he can tell me that I shouldn't walk on it or give me some dorky air cast. Maybe my limp will look like some really cool swagger. Doubtful. I guess my Olympic dreams will have to wait until my toe returns to normal size and color.

Laurel's 6 Month Appointment

There is a pre-post to this post...kinda like a pre-party, so be excited...

The pre-post happened on Sunday. I took Laurel to the nursery, and as I did, got stopped by a friend, who has a little boy in Laurel's same room (he, by the way, likes to kiss her, but that's not important right now). As I was talking to my friend, another lady brought her little girl in and dropped her off.  She did what she needed to do and moved aside, and I gave Laurel over to the sweet lady behind the half-door that all church nurseries have. This unknown lady took one look at Laurel and said (and I quote)..."I just LOOOVVE fat babies, look at those thighs." She then looked at me and proceeded to ask me what she was fed, etc. I was so in shock by her assessment of my daughter, that I just dropped Laurel off and walked away, totally disoriented. Every ounce of energy was being taken at keeping my mama bear instinct at bay and keeping my mouth shut. I'm pretty sure I would have been fired from my job at the church had I told this (I'm sure she's sweet) lady what I thought...how I really didn't want the word "fat" ever spoken over my daughter, how one of my greatest fears of raising a daughter is that she will get caught up in our society's struggle with weight (as her mother did), and how, (and this I'm not proud of) I could've made a few comments about her weight. Can I just give Him some praise that I kept my mouth shut???? 

So, as we went into our 6 month check up today, I have to confess there was a little fear that our doctor would agree with our friend from Sunday. Great. Now I wasn't only dreading me ever getting on a scale, I was now fearing for my sweet little 6 month old. This is just wrong and warped. Please, Jesus, take my thoughts captive!

However, just as the book of Isaiah tells me in Isaiah 40:11, He is the one that carries our little ones as He guides us. And, truly, I could tell story after story of how our Father has carried Laurel to save her from us. Her weight was awesome. And, the doctor even made a comment about how her weight was perfect. Yes, perfect. I hadn't even mentioned it. She's weighing in at 17 lbs and 12 oz...which means she's in the 8oth percentile and 26.5 inches long, which is in the 75th percentile. So she's bigger than about 3/4 of the kiddos her age and smaller than about 1/4 of them. It's amazing the dumb things I fear about her. 

The incredibly fun thing about the visit, though, was how great Laurel was the entire time. Sure, she screamed bloody murder right after her shots, but she was a little champ. We ended up having to wait in the exam room for about 30 minutes, and she just played like we were at McDonald's playland with the little lab paper that rolls over the table she sits on. She just laughed and squealed the entire time. When the doctor came in, I thought it could go down hill, but she just hammed it up for him. I personally thought she was trying to talk him out of those shots. Didn't work, but nice try, Laurel. Here are some fun pics that Kev grabbed with his phone....

I heart the Olympics

1984. I was 4 years old. The Olympics were hosted by the great U S of A. My only memory involves me begging my mom to buy Wheaties. I'm pretty sure it's the only time in my life that I've ever even had the desire to eat Wheaties. But, this was a special box of Wheaties. They tasted better I'm sure. They had Mary Lou Retton on the box, and it was the only acceptable breakfast for me. As the story goes, my parents were going to put me in gymnastics...but, well, I wasn't exactly built for gymnastics. I was a huge child. I tell people that and they don't really buy it, but that's because I don't share pictures of that chapter in my life. I was probably bigger than most gymnasts at the age of 4. But, back to the original point....I adore watching the Olympics. I've stayed up way too late most nights of the past week. I feel like I know Michael Phelps for crying out loud. I got all teary when our 2 gymnasts won the gold and silver Thursday night/Friday morning (depending on where you were watching). I realize my view is probably pretty naive,  but it seems so pure...people that have trained and worked and sweated and cried to train their bodies to participate. It's not like professional sports as we know them....it's not about ego, it's about doing your best to represent your country and push your body to show off what God gifted them to do (and I realize most of them don't acknowledge it's God-given ability, but I'm acknowledging for them). It's incredible. Man, I'm always so inspired. I could could swim, I could run, I could jump on a trampoline for crying out loud. And, apparently a baby and over-25-year-old body don't disqualify you. Watch out 2016 Olympics...here I come.

I just have to figure out what sport I'm good at.

One thing that has really stood out to me as I've watched, though, is what these games mean to other countries. I was blown away when I watched the opening ceremony. Country after country paraded in. One country has an average yearly income of $130. That's it. We probably spent more than that on the shoes our athletes wore at the ceremony. Some countries only brought 3 or 4 athletes. Can you imagine? Being one of the 3 or 4 chosen to represent your country? Our athletes invest countless hours, dollars, and energy into the games, but at the end of the day, without them, their life is still okay. But it's a big fat hairy deal to the other countries. For some, it's all they've got. They may be the only people from their country to leave their country this year. Inconceivable.

My favorite story of the evening, though, is that of Oksana Chusovitina. Don't ask me to pronounce her name, but you have to hear her story. She's the 33-year-old gymnast from Germany. She didn't start out in Germany, though. This is actually her 5th Olympic Games. She was originally a gymnast for the former Soviet Union, and then one of the Soviet States. However, her son developed leukemia. She couldn't get treatment in the country she was living, so she called in a favor with a friend in Germany. Would Germany help get her son treatment? Well, yes, in exchange for participation in the Olympic games. She agreed, the son received treatment, and is currently in remission. And, on top of that, she medaled tonight. Amazing. This is what the games are all about. Camaraderie. Competition. Hard work. Blood. Sweat. Tears. God-given talent on display in phenomenal ways. Ah, in my heart, I'm an Olympian. I guess I'll live vicariously through these athletes for the next few days. 

That is all for now...my gymnasts are getting ready to come back on.

Kiddie Kandids

I don't really do too many "Mommy Things". It's not that I'm against them, or think they are silly, most of the time they just don't occur to me. I grew up in a house with two older brothers and a single dad, so I'm pretty clueless when it comes to the whole mom bit. I know I had a phenomenal mom, but she passed away when I was 7 years old, and well, I just don't know that I paid a whole lot of attention up to that point on how to be a mom. And, my wonderful stepmother came into my life later, so that just leaves me, well...clueless. I spent the majority of my pregnancy praying for a resilient child. In my mind, this thought was so that I could take my little one on all kinds of adventures. Maybe, though, God put it in my heart to pray this for my child because He, in His sovereignty, knew she would need to be resilient in order to survive! This definitely isn't a pity party, so please don't take it as such...it's just life as I know it. I've spent my whole entire life trying to pretend it hasn't affected me, and the one thing I will say about motherhood, is that it has proven more than anything, that I need my mommy. Perhaps she would've at least put a bug in my ear that it's the "Mommy thing to do" to get professional pictures taken of your child. Hmm...hadn't thought of that. We didn't even get the professional shots from the hospital. We take plenty of pictures of our little bugaboo, as can be seen on our Smugmug site (and trust me, this isn't NEAR all of them).

Last week, though, as we were in line at Babies 'R' Us, a saleslady approached us as we were in the Exchanges line to get Laurel's picture made. I couldn't really get away, because I was trapped in this line with a whole stack of things to return, so we listened to her little promo and walked away with a ton of coupons. Later in the week, the idea returned like a light bulb flashing over my head. Perhaps this would be a good thing to do with a baby. Get pictures made. What a novel idea. No sitting fee, so what do I have to lose...30 minutes of my life? As my day off approached on Friday, I began to plan it out. On Thursday, however, Laurel woke up with this bright red spot on her lower eyelid. The perfectionist in me reared it's ugly head. On Friday, the spot remained, so I decided I'd give it one more day. I was bummed. I was really looking forward to this mommy moment. By Saturday, her eye was looking better, and I had to get a grip on reality and realize if it wasn't a spot on her eye, it would be a scratch, or a booger, or something. So, we called and made our appointment, and off we went to Babies 'R' Us.

The photographer was amazing! She won Laurel over in a heartbeat, and got these shots. Laurel was so excited during the whole thing her little legs and arms just kicked and waved during the entire sitting!

Ahh...a successful mommy moment. Perhaps we will try more of these as I figure them out.