A time to drool…

And a time for cold rainy days and baking Christmas cookies for the neighbors…a time for sitting in bumper to bumper traffic, joining the army of procrastinators, and wondering why I waited (again)….a time for Christmas parties with youth group kids…a time for laundry and diapers and drool…a time for the hardest semester of one’s life (that would be Sam’s) and a time for replenishing lost sleep…a time for finals and a time for FREEDOM!

Back to the drool….Eva is teething.  Overall she’s handling it quite well with just a little fussiness.  However, her fine motor skills haven’t quite caught up to the tooth progression and it’s very cute. :-)

(Note:  I had written a lovely post a few days ago, lots of pictures and narrative that for once flowed to the page without a huge effort.  I was enthusiastic about sharing it and just needed to crop another picture or two when life happened.  Then there was a computer problem…a restart….and I had forgotten to hit “save”.  So still under the shock of this new discovery, I come to you frustrated, resisting the impulse to close the program in disgust, and will muscle through a post, because it’s not your fault I am a space cadet.)

I bring you the drool machine….

It was not long before the poor duck became a specimen of hopeless sogginess, so we tried a different tactic…

Mmmm….pink rubber…just what I’ve always wanted to chew on, too.

“Uh…it fell out and it’s sitting on me.  What am I supposed to do with it?”

Target practice…

This is not working!

Mamma to the rescue. :-)

Bumbo: the greatest baby invention!  (Bumbo, Boppy, Bouncer, Binky….it’s too much for a poor brain to keep track of!)

Fingers are still the most fascinating thing…

  

Daddy time….working without a deadline!

Hangin’ with Mamma….

 

“Chicka, chicka, chicka…”

A little snapshot of life. :-)

Just a Thursday

Well, not just any Thursday.  It’s finals week for Sam and this is his quote of the day.  (Though he doesn’t know it yet.)

“I’ll thank God when all this is over…then maybe my eye will stop twitching.  It’s kind of annoying.”

I am continually amazed at how Sam keeps on going and going, never giving into weariness, and always with a cheerful attitude, in the face of months of sleep deprivation, a shocking amount of work, and too many deadlines to count….where it stops?  Christmas break.  Countdown: 2 days.

So I took Eva on her first field trip today!  I laugh to think that it’s really begun!  The whole field trip thing.  My childhood is full to the brim with strong, happy, vivid memories of Mom taking us on zillions of field trips.  Having experienced the beginnings of what it takes to bring kids on outings myself, and now adding the work of dragging baby paraphernalia everywhere I wish to go, I realize what a true labor of love it was for Mom to give us such rich and wide experiences growing up!  The remembrance still amazes me, and it’s rather daunting now that I’m diving in myself and want Eva’s childhood to be just as full of wonder and stimulation as mine was.  I have big footprints to fill!

My friend Erin was the brains behind our excursion and I refuse to admit how long it took the two of us to haul ourselves and our wee ladies to the Natural Science Museum in downtown Raleigh.

Eva was impressed with the fish, giving them a wide-eyed look and the compliment of expressive eyebrows….but then she zoned out and fell asleep for the rest of the walk through.  One step at a time: first make it out of the house, then work on nap-time coordination.

I’d never before experienced a butterfly conservatory….one that even housed it’s very own sloth.

Harper joins Eva in dreamland

Before we were married, I discovered that Sam likes french manicured nails…on girls. :-)  I haven’t cut Eva’s nails in a few days, as he discovered her natural “frenchies” and wanted pictures which just weren’t happening right away.  A few minutes of Daddy time during a very, very tiny breather from exams:  (apologies for the fuzz)

She was so sleepy and out of it after a poor nap at the museum!

Fingers are the most fascinating thing in her world these days.

Eva’s little personality is asserting itself more and more each day.  Spunky, sweet, incredibly patient, very opinionated, and all with a heart-melting, fun-loving slimy grin.  “She is my squishy…

Oh, and the “cultcha” continued into this evening.  Eva and I went to a highschool Christmas concert to cheer on one of the girls in my small group.  I was pleasantly surprised….it was very well done.  But full days are no longer just full, they’re exhausting…I think this post makes sense.  But if it doesn’t, you get the idea, and I’m going to join my fat little muffin in dreamland.

Hot off the press

This mamma thing is so much fun!  It’s as if Someone dropped off a treasure box on August 30 and everyday I get to watch in delight for the next surprise gift. 

I was getting my veggies ready to juice this morning when I heard a little tune coming from Eva’s bouncer.  “They”, whoever they are who come up with these obnoxious ditties to program into children’s toys, work for Fisher Price.  And up until now Sam has taken great delight in pulling the little froggy’s ring and playing that tune over and over again, in spite of my moans of protest.  But Sam was at class and I whirled around to see Eva’s little chubby fingers in a death grip around that orange ring.  I thought “Oooooh!  Look at what my little muffin just did!”….but then calmed down and thought, well, maybe it was just a coincidence and waited.  Nope.  I then chortled with glee, told her she was SUCH a good girl and like a silly school girl (or rather enamored new mamma) danced around her seat snapping pictures from every angle, as she grabbed that little ring again and again and pulled.  It’s amazing how the tinkling music suddenly ceased to be annoying. :-)

 

Reach for it….

Almost…

Gotcha!

Well, as I’ve sat here cropping photos, maybe the tinkling music is losing its charm.

Two parting shots from yesterday….

Chillin’ with Daddy while Mamma dashes out on a marathon grocery run….

 

Chillin’ with Mamma while she chats with her mamma…

I think the days of those pink pant are numbered.  What a chubbette!  Takes after her daddy and auntie Leah. :-)

Still need to post pics from Thanksgiving!  But what’s REALLY needed is kicking into gear and packing for VA.  I wanted to pause to share today’s newest discovery with you!