Carmen Penguina

Sometimes a baby goes straight from the shower to a meal, and sometimes she doesn't have her extra hair towel handy. Then she is forced to use her Halloween costume hat to keep those stray hairs in check.

You can kind of see the penguin's face all mashed up on the upper left. Nice work there, Granny!

Nom Nom Nom

What a delightful (and delicious!) Saturday we had. Here is Smacky having a little nosh on her fist as she waits for breakfast to be served. Luckily she'll always have those little appetizers handy, although they're not very filling.

Ready to go Golfing

This jaunty ensemble was put together by Gary, after a splashy bath he and Aurora took this morning.

She sure loves baths!

Hopefully she'll learn to swim young (it's an essential skill, I think) and we can go river and lake swimming when she's older. And blow-up boating, too.

Reunited and I Feel So Sleepy

Smacky and I took a total of 8 hours of naps together this weekend.

Ah, what bliss! She sleeps so much better when I'm there in bed with her. I hope this doesn't come back to bite me in a couple of years. . .

Anyway, from my headache and sore throat I can only assume that my first week back was fruitful in more ways than one. Who knows where that cold virus came from! Perhaps a young child whose mother works at Regence (which is across the street from Kindercare)? Perhaps it came from a baby who lives in NE Portland and whose father is a stagehand at the Keller Auditorium? The possibilities are endless. I wonder if Smacky and I will catch more colds than when I worked the drive-through window at Coffee People. God forbid!

Here she is at 5:55 tonight (Sunday), conked out in the kitchen as I prepared bottles for nighttime and tomorrow. I love how when she sleeps during the day she sleeps so much better at night.

Weekend Bliss

Today was Smacky's first full day at the Daycare of Granny and Grandpa. It was a rousing success!

Granny made Smacky a little nest on her bed, where the sniffling, sneezing baby had several naps. (Kindercare yielded not only new human friends but new germ friends, too.)

Smacky and Granny went on a stroller ride, played on the davenport, produced and wiped up copious amounts of snot, and generally had a Good Time.

10 hours after I dropped her off, I returned (~insert choir of angels singing here~) and we all had dinner together. At least the grownups did- garlic mashed potatoes, fried shrimp, and green salad. Smacky thought Granny's mashed potatoes looked mighty tasty and she stared at them as long as they were visible.

Then Smacky fell asleep in my arms and we went home for two full days of being alone together, just like the Olden Days. What a relief. This being apart business isn't much fun.

Twinkletoes

Here is Smacky enjoying a cozy morning last week. She had her Big Dogs grey hoodie and her striped legwarmers on- such a stylish baby!

Her foot is blurry because she's kicking so fast- practicing for swimming in the bathtub, no doubt.

First Day of Work

Well, my first day at work was a great success in some ways, somewhat sucky in other ways.

Smacky and I woke up together at 6:30 with smiles on her part and grogginess on mine. I deposited her with her daddy and got ready for work, then left around 7:30 with them still snuggling in bed.

My coworkers decorated my desk with many "Welcome Back, Katy!" signs, photos of Smacky hanging from curling ribbon from the ceiling, some really funny Chuck Norris photos (see 2nd and 3rd phots), and my stuffed animal toys spread out on my desk, waiting to greet me. What a happy surprise! People greeted me with warmth all day and I went to lunch with one of my best work friends. Yay!

After a dark and rainy drive home at 5 o'clock, I arrived at a warm house, an offer of dinner and a happy, babbling baby. She became slightly cranky as I removed her from the swing to hold her, and fell asleep after about 10 minutes of being in my arms. At least we get to sleep together tonight.

Gary said she had three naps today, which is a record (way to go, Gary!), and it was very nice not to have her melt down like she does when she hasn't slept enough.

The upside is that I have extra time to blog tonight!

On sadder note, my ex mother-in-law's beloved dog Ching-Ching passed away this week. She will be dearly missed by Linda and Jim and their remaining dog Sheba. Read about it and see Ching-Ching's photograph at Dusty Angels (link to the right). Rest in Peace, Ching-Ching.