............................it's been a LONG week and a half

And I've been exhausted and I'm very very sorry I haven't been updated. There will be lots and lots of pictures posted this evening when I get home but, at the moment, I am at work so do not have the ability to upload pictures.

Momma came into town on June 27th. It was so great to have her in town for awhile. She hasn't been in Key West since right after Lil Miss was born, so she hasn't seen her, in person, in three months. She's gotten much bigger, and I swear she grew an inch in the time that Momma was here visiting. She is sprouting like weed! She's at least thirteen pounds now. She's definitely going to be more than double her birth weight by six months!

We went to Orlando late last week so that Jimmy could interview for jobs. He looked at places in Orlando and also interviewed with a company on Ponce Inlet, near Daytona Beach. He was offered a job there the next day and took it. So we're moving to Daytona Beach! He and Momma are actually there right now (they drove up last night), finding an apartment and getting things settled. Then he's going to work up there for two weeks and I'm going to finish things up down here with Charles. He's coming back down the last weekend in July and we'll be moving up then. It's going to be a long two weeks without him here, but it will be good because both of us can work and get as much cash as possible for the move. Charles is calling around to see if anyone he knows or anyone else knows is working in Daytona Beach or the surrounding area and looking for help. Hopefully we'll be able to find me something quickly. Even if it doesn't pay as much as Charles is paying me, it would hopefully be full or mostly full time and, also, living expenses in Daytona are about HALF of what they are here.

Crazy, I know.

Mommy was happy to be in Orlando because you know what they have in Orlando? Targets and Walmarts. And I have some gift cards from when Miss Abby was born that I wanted to use to get her some 0-3 month clothes because she is finally growing out of her newborn stuff (I think she finally got too long for most of it this last week). I have lots of newborn stuff and lots of over 6 month stuff but now until 6 month stuff is a little less full. So I got a few things for her to fill in the gap. They also have outlets (including an OshKosh outlet!) in Orlando, but we did NOT go. It's good to know it's there, though, for when we need stuff down the line.

So Miss Abby had two firsts last week -- her first experience with Disney and her first experience with fireworks. We didn't go to a Disney park (Abby's a bit young for that, and they're a bit expensive to pretty much just go walk around in) but Momma wanted me to see the marketplace part of Downtown Disney, so last Saturday we went down there are walked around for awhile. Abby was fascinated by all the people and the stuff. Momma got her a stuffed Stitch that's almost as big as she is. She's still very attached to Raffe, but she does like her Stitch -- she hugged on him and chewed on him the entire time we were at Marketplace. Momma also brought me a stuffed Figment from Epcot, that I will most likely share with Abby. It's very cute and makes Mommy a VERY happy girl. I got Momma a stuffed Squirt to go with her stuffed Crush (from Finding Nemo) so she can remember to relax when she needs to.

I also found the "Team Mickey" store, which is dangerous. I do so love some of the stuff in there! And even though we're in Daytona, we're still going to be close enough to go to Disney pretty easily (it might be an hour and a half drive, and that's WITH hitting Disney traffic and going all the way to Ponce Inlet -- Port Orange (where we will most likely actually be living) is about twenty minutes or so closer). My goal is to be able to afford season passes to Disney and a few treats each year from there once Abby is old enough to really get it and have fun.

The fireworks were, of course, Saturday night. The hotel we were staying at was right by Celebration (it was called Seralago -- if any of you are going to Orlando, it's a great hotel, very comfortable and safe and perfectly nice, great for families and rather cheap. Good spot to remember), so we decided to go watch their fireworks. Traffic was, of course, horrible, so we pulled off into an office building parking lot and decided to watch from there. There were a number of other groups doing the same thing and, to be honest, it was perfect. We were able to avoid most of the traffic leaving and, while we couldn't see the really low fireworks perfectly, we could still see the fireworks just fine and were far enough away that the smoke and noise weren't too bad. I was worried about the loud noise frightening Abby, but she was perfectly happy and liked watching the pretty lights. She actually fell asleep towards the end though (considering that they started more than thirty minutes past her usual bedtime and by the time they were ending, it was almost an hour after she usually goes to bed). The noise didn't even seem to phase her!

Lil Miss travelled pretty well. She didn't necessarily LIKE being in her carseat all day for two days and a bit the rest of the time, but she dealt with it. And she was perfectly fine in the hotel (we took her pack and play, so at least that was familiar). She actually let Momma be the one to wake up with her most of the time she was here, so Mommy could get some sleep (though I still generally heard her wake up and would go talk to her). Momma swore up and down that she wanted to get up with her. I think she just wanted as much grandbaby time as she could get her hands on. It was cute. Abby likes her Grandma, though she definitely knows who I am. It's nice to see her face light up when she sees me, and Momma said that in the mornings, when she was up, she would watch the door waiting for me to come in. Very cute.

So it's been a very long week and a half, but it's good. It's going to be okay and things are going to get better. I just know they are.

And I'll try very hard to be god about this again! Love you all!

still in key west, where it's too damn hot

June 19, 2009

Lil Miss got her first immunization shots yesterday. Oh good lord let me tell you that was NOT fun.

She was good, she really was. Don't get me wrong: She was not at all shy about letting Mommy know, in absolutely no uncertain terms, that "That fucking hurt!". Right after the needle went into her leg, she looked up at me for about two seconds in absolute shock, then screwed up her face and started screaming. She cried until the nurse was done.

However, she didn't kick. She let me hold her in place and let the nurse do what the nurse had to do without too much trouble. As soon as the shots were over, I stood up (to let her know it was over) and she got a little bit quieter. As soon as we got outside the building, and she was sure it was over, she stopped crying and just snuggled really close and sniffled. I held her and rocked her and cuddled with her in the parking lot for about twenty minutes before putting in her carseat to leave.

I gave her Tylenol like her doctor suggested and she never ran a fever. She was a little fussy yesterday afternoon, but I think that was more because she was in the car a lot yesterday (we took Daddy to the hospital in Marathon before her shots appointment, drove back to Key West for her appointment, back to Marathon to pick up Daddy, back to home to drop Daddy off, back into town to drop off his prescription and get him some OTC sleeping medicine then back home -- LOTS of time in the car) than from the shots. In general, she was so good.

June 20, 2009

It was a bit of a sad day. I had been hoping to be on the road to Orlando first thing this morning, but Jimmy's still sick. That wasn't happening. He kept saying this week that Lil Miss and I should go without him but I didn't want to leave him sick, especially on Father's Day weekend. I asked him if he was saying that because he WANTED us to go, if us not being here would make him feel better, but he said no, he wanted us here.

So we stayed.

Lil Miss misses him, I think. She hasn't really seen him much this week and he hasn't played with her. Every time she *does* see him (when he walks through to get something to drink or something) she grins at him and does the thing where she kicks her feet and reaches towards him, like she does when I go to get her up from her naps. It's a very cute thing to see and it makes me very happy. I'm sure it would make him happy if he noticed it, but Daddy is very sick.

Watching WALL-E tonight before bed.

Lil Miss got to "talk" to her Aunt Anjie today. She called to talk to me about an interview I have next week and Lil Miss was talking a little bit while we were on the phone. I tried putting the phone to her ear so Anj could talk to her (she did) and she could talk to Anj (she didn't). She apparently haven't picked up on the fact that we WANT her to make noise when we put the phone to her ear. Her family wants to hear her talk! Her Grandma Lynn wanted to talk to her this morning, but she was napping when Momma called and I was talking to her.

I'm sad we didn't get to go to Orlando, but Momma's coming down here next weekend, after her conference is over. So Lil Miss and I will get to see her, which is nice. And, hopefully, we'll all three be going to Georgia in the end of July, for the open house at Andy's new church, once they're settled into the parsonage.

It's hot down here. Hot and humid. I feel bad for Lil Miss -- she has GOT to be miserable. I try to keep her room nice and cool for her -- her Daddy likes the cold too, so we're pretty used to it. She's doing really well sleeping in her own room.

She's such a good little baby. Mommy is spoiled.

My liyyle munchikin, being grumpy for some reason.

baby one coming in for landing!

June 18, 2009

Yep, that is my little airplane coming in for a landing! She plays horsey with Daddy and airplane with Mommy (what? Mommy needs to tone up her thighs -- this helps!). She likes it -- she leans forward or she'll "Superman" while up there. It's very very cute.

Lil Miss was so good for me today. We went to work this morning and I knew it was going to be a busy day because Charles is leaving for Costa Rica for ten days tomorrow afternoon. While Lil Miss did decide that the best place to be when Mommy was typing up the dictation was in my lap, once she was there, she was perfectly happy. It was a bit interesting though -- have you ever tried typing with an almost three month old who can't exactly sit up well on her own sitting in your lap?

Let me tell you -- it's quite the experience.

Lil Miss is such a hit up there. The attorneys all love her -- none of them have young children anymore and none of them have grandchildren yet, so there haven't been baby-babies in their worlds for quite awhile. And now that Lil Miss does more than just, you know, sit there and sleep, they think it's great. The first thing Chip does when he comes in is come up to say hi to her and get her to smile (he says it makes her day). And Rae (the other assistant -- her daughter is twenty two and just graduated from West Point (we're very proud of her)) just LOVES Lil Miss. And Lil Miss grins at her all the time. She even lets Rae hold her (not many people other than family have held Lil Miss -- not even Natalie or her daughters. Mainly just me and Jimmy and Lauren, and Grandma Barbara and Grandma Lynn when they were here. Oh, and, of course, her doctor and the nurses). Now part of that is because most of our neighbors and friends are twenty something males that aren't exactly comfortable, you know, holding babies. (c: But mainly? I like holding her. (c:

The Drool Monster attacks again!

Lil Miss had a bit of a grumpy this afternoon (I think she was gassy) but it wasn't horrible and we dealt with it. Thanks for the idea, by the way, Grandma Peggy -- the leg trick worked great -- she stopped fussing right away. She's been trying to be so good for the past few days -- I think she's picking up that something is different in the house and Mommy's slightly stressed. She's doing well sleeping in her nursery. She didn't sleep much today at work and didn't take a long nap this afternoon, so she actually put herself to sleep about seven thirty. I'm fully prepared for her to wake up very very early in the morning. I am, however, going to go wake her up to eat before I go to bed. Also, because I want to put her in her jammies (she's sleeping in a onesie right now -- I didn't expect her to actually be putting herself to bed. I figured she'd wake up again before "bedtime").

Jimmy's still sick. I hate not knowing how to help or how to fix it. I'm still hoping, but I'm preparing myself to not get to go to Orlando this weekend. )c: That makes me a sad panda. I was looking forward to getting off the island and, most importantly to seeing my Momma!

Tomorrow, we have our shots appointment. Mommy is NOT looking forward to that. I don't like it when she cries the "hurt" cry! It breaks my heart. )c:

my daughter is a munster!

May 19, 2009

I really hate to say it, but I think Jimmy may be right -- look at our daughter's hairline -- she looks like Eddie Munster!!!

So Jimmy had the day off today and the new UFC games came out as well. So he got up at 9:30 this morning and went down to the FYE to trade in some of the games he doesn't play much any more and get his UFC game.

And then, of course, he had to play it all day. (c: (It is pretty cool looking).

Lil Miss LOVES her reflection -- she is absolutely fascinated by that gorgeous baby in the mirror!

Lil Miss was a sleepy baby today. Maybe she's growing again? She's already at 22 inches (I measured her when she was sleeping this morning, when I was measuring her pack and play so I can make a mattress pad for it). She would wake up to eat and she was awake for maybe an hour total when we were at work this morning, maybe thirty minutes between when we got home at 3:30 and when she woke up at 6. Then she was awake from 6 until she fell asleep at 9 on the dot.

But all that time she wanted to be a snuggle bunny too -- she wanted to be held. I don't mind, o course, but she is getting rather heavy. I'm going to have to get the nutritionist to weigh her tomorrow -- she's got to be almost ten pounds now, if not over.

See? She's our little snuggle bug!

Lil Miss can't decide if she likes the bath. I'll have to get some pictures of her bath tomorrow night. She knows she likes the warm water, but she's not so sure about the whole washing the face and hair thing. She tends to look at me like I'm trying to drown her or something if any water gets poured on her face. It's actually kind of funny. She's cute when she comes out though, even if she does scream (though I can understand that -- it gets COLD all of a sudden when you get out of that warm water!)

Oh! We tried a new place for dinner tonight (cause I SO did not feel like cooking -- my arms are tired (and I'm tired in general) and I still think I'm a little sick). This new BBQ place that opened up. I was a little weary of it -- I have yet to have good BBQ down here (though, I will admit, I'm extremely picky), but a friend of Jimmy's said it was good, so we decided to give it a try. He had ribs, I had pulled pork.

It's not Loves or the BBQ from that place in Macon that we love (but I can't remember the name of), but it was pretty damn good. Especially for this little Southern girl who hasn't really had BBQ in probably about two years. It's going to have to go on our list of places to keep in mind. And they deliver, which is always nice.

Okay, I have a couple of things to do for work before Charles gets back from Philly tomorrow and then, Mommy's going to take a bath and read. (Once Lil Miss goes down at 9, she doesn't wake up to be fed before 1 am. Usually it's closer to 2 or even 3). And then? Sleeeeeeep.

Watching Daddy dress her after her bath (the green thing is one of her towels -- Jimmy loves it cause it's bright and obnoxious)

cutting the hairs and watching history

May 16, 2009

I wish you could hear the sound that goes with the above picture. It's this adorable little cooing sound that's just the absolute cutest thing in the whole world. I love that sound -- I think it's one of my new favorite sounds in the world (that and her "dinosaur" sound).

It was a pretty good day. Lil Miss was very good. We went and got my hairs cut this morning (yep -- it's pretty short. If this tells you anything -- I donated to Locks of Love, meaning I cut at least 10 inches off -- dry). Jimmy hates it. Mainly because he doesn't like short hair on girls. He's actually a little upset with me because he told me he didn't want me cutting it all off, but I thought he meant all off, like pixie cut all off. That wouldn't look good on me, so I'd never do that. It's right about my jaw line. But that's apparently too short. So he's grumpy that I cut it after he told me not to, but I keep saying he'll get used to it.

I like it.

At the Vandenburg.

After getting the hairs cut we run a couple of errands and then headed into Old Town to check the mail and messages for work (since we were there already) but most importantly to get Moo Cow. After that, we had about forty five minutes to kill before our bus came through, so we walked down to the Truman Waterfront. There's this big old retired military ship, the U.S.S. Vandenburg, there. They're going to sink it off the coast of Key West and make it an artificial reef where people can dive and stuff. I realized that this is a bit of Key West history that Lil Miss is alive for, but won't remember. So I got some of the tourists down there to take a picture of me and Lil Miss so I could prove to her that she did get to see the Vandenburg when it was above water -- even if she doesn't remember it!

After we got home, Lil Miss took a small nap (long enough for Mommy to do the dishes and clean up a little bit) and then got up to be played with and cuddled all afternoon. The switch to soy formula seems to be going well. She seems to like it enough and I don't think it upsets her tummy as much. She has a much easier time with her messy diapers and doesn't seem to be as gassy. So this may be the trick.

She has put herself on a schedule though, so she's a grumpy butt from about eight until she finally falls asleep, usually around nine. She fights sleep for almost an hour -- I guess she thinks she's going to miss something?

Sleeping in her pack n play.

So one of the many things we inherited from our neighbor Natalie was a pack and play for Lil Miss. Obviously she hasn't really used it yet, as she's not big enough to really need it yet. She still sleeps in the bassinet with us in our room. But when we got home this afternoon, I was doing some stuff in our room and didn't want to wake her, so I laid her in her room. I was going to put her in the second bassinet, but decided to see how she liked the crib.

She seems to like it. She slept just fine in it. Putting her in and getting her out is a little harder on Mommy's back, but it's not bad. And she seems comfortable so yay!

Yeah, again, don't feel like loading all the apartment photos. At some point, I really will put them up here.

Also, I'll try to get some photos of the hair cut tomorrow. I like it. I hope y'all do too. I'm sure Jimmy'll get used to it -- it's just very very different (I'm glad Lil Miss is too young to really freak out about Mommy looking so different!)

And now? Sleep.

i've grown!!!

April 20, 2009

It's official -- Lil Miss Priss is already growing up. *tear*

I measured her this evening because her newborn sleepers are getting a little snug (in the feet -- it felt like she was getting a little long for them). Miss Priss is officially 20 inches long! I tried to take a picture, but she wasn't cooperating. She wants to wiggle and squirm and kick and such. I'll try to get a proof picture tomorrow or some point when she's sleeping. But she's definitely getting taller and she's definitely gaining weight (we don't have a scale in the house, so I don't know how much she weighs, but she's definitely growing. My guess is eight pounds).

We got the last of the things we ordered from Target (thanks to her great-aunt -- thanks Anne!) today. Some more onesies and sleepers that are 0-3 months instead of newborn. They're a little big, but she'll grow into them. She still fits in her newborn onesies, so I'm holding off on the new ones (they're in her dresser for in a month or so), but she's already wearing one of the sleepers, because the other three all need to be washed and are getting slightly small. I rolled up the sleeves (just so they weren't hanging over her hands) and they're a little long, but they fit and are cute and she'll grow into them and be able to wear them for a couple of months at least.

She's such a cute little well dressed baby. (c:

We're on day three of cow attachment. I checked the card from the flowers -- they came from a local shop that's only a few blocks from work (heck -- anything in Old Town is only a few blocks from work!) so I think I may walk down there before or after one day next week and see if they can tell me how to get ahold of an extra cow or two -- maybe they'd be able to sell me just the cow. Especially if I showed them Miss Priss, asleep, with her death grip on Moo Cow. I told Rae (the assistant to the other attorney at work) this afternoon that the cow better be glad it's a stuffed animal -- when Miss Priss gets a hold of it, she is LOCKED on. The only time she lets go is when she's eating and gets so excited about the food (see? Porker!) that she forgets to hold onto Moo Cow.

My little one is funny.

She did good at work today. She was actually in a fussy mood today and awake most of the afternoon, but she never squalled and she let Mommy work while she was fussing. I've learned to feed or burp her one handed (I'm pretty proud of myself on that one) and type or go through filing or papers with the other hand. She whimpered some, but she never cried when I was on the phone and was really good when I tried to calm her.

I think this might work.

Apparently, though, bringing babies into work isn't all that uncommon, at least in most of the law offices down here in Key West. Rae and I were talking about it today. The law offices, like everything else down here, are a little more laid back than every where else, and with the whole cost of living thing, day care being expensive, apparently a lot of people have to work but can't afford day care (we could if we needed to, but I'm just not willing to leave Miss Priss with strangers, even well recommended ones). Rae says she took Jen into work with her until Jen was about three.

Guess I'm lucky.