Mon Jan 03 2005 19:20 There and back again: Home at last. I hate that drive, in the winter especially, and with a broken tailbone. And especially when an evil policeman has no sympathy on me for going a tinsy bit over the speed limit. Lily has changed lots since we have left. She has now been rolling over every chance she gets. This is great news but has complicated her ability to sleep. Since she sleeps on her tummy, when we put her in her crib she rolls over on her back and then she is unable to fall asleep unless we either hold her still and pat her back until she is asleep (could take up to a half hour), or we could keep checking on her and putting her back on her tummy every so often. The second is ineffective b/c she plays too much in between, kicking her legs and grabbing her toes and cooing, to even get sleepy. What a rascal. She is, however, cute as ever, and it is fun to see her grow and become an interactive person. She is very adorable now being able to grasp objects and shake them around, and excitedly put them in her mouth and start sucking on them while cooing, singing, and talking. She is also very strong and on her tummy, she now holds herself up by her arms and she looks around for extended periods of time now. She is getting over a cold (or allergies) she caught in San Antonio, and is getting back to her cheerful smiley self after much sadness from her mommy. It is not fun having a sick baby that can't breathe.

She was a hit with all the aunts in San Antonio. I can't go to any store or see anyone without Lily getting multiple compliments on how cute and tiny she is, and I have to agree with them. Lorna was an excellent babysitter, knowing all the tricks. I found myself missing Lillian b/c I didn't get to spend as much time with her as I am used to with everyone wanting to hold her and play with her, which was nice b/c I had more free time, but I did miss her like I said. I am glad my family got to enjoy spending time with her though. She has also found a spot in Grandpa Ben's heart, and it is very sweet to watch. All in all, Lily has matured quite a bit, apparently so much that everyone thinks she is old enough to start tasting solids. I don't know what it is but it seems like people love getting a reaction out of me by asking if they can give Lily a lick of a gummy bear or let her suck on a french fry**. This is not limited to her father. Contrary to popular demand: Lily is not going to try solids until she is 6 months old as recommended to me by her pediatrician and many nutrition specialists. So the final answer is no, and don't ask.

**Note: at a restaurant in Helotes, TX on the menu they were serving Freedom Fries. I thought that was hilarious and some people who read this might appreciate more ammunition to dislike Texas even more.

We had a steady diet of fajitas and Tex-Mex to last us until we move back in July for good. Alas, it was a fun vacation, but it is very good to be home.

Tue Jan 04 2005 14:47 Rejuvinated: I slept in till 10 this morning. I was much sleep deprived after this vacation especially since Lily's clock was all messed up. One night she woke up at 1:50 and wouldn't go back to sleep until finally I put her in her crib and closed the door at 3:30am after I had had it. Then the night before we left to come back home I told Aaron that I needed some sleep and that I would drive early in the morning to trade off for him having to take care of her all night. I left bottles for him and I slept on the couch. Just my luck she slept all night till 7. Anyway I went to bed at 12:45 last night, woke up once at 2 to get Lily and fell asleep with her in bed all night until a feeding at 7 and back to sleep until 10. I hope she doesn't require sleeping with us now, but it felt so good to sleep in.

(2) Wed Jan 05 2005 17:27 All Done: I am finally done with East of Eden. It is my new favorite book. I loved it. I could resonate with almost all the characters in it in some way. I do have some questions though that are unanswered. Maybe I wasn't paying attention to those parts, but was there any resolution with Tom and Dessy when Tom gave her the drink and Dessy was sick...It made it sound like Tom was going to kill himself from grief and guilt, but then the story ended all the sudden? I can't think of anymore questions, but I will comment when I remember.

Wed Jan 05 2005 19:27: Lately, Aaron and I have seen a lot of new movies. On vacation we were able to see Napoleon Dynamite, Mona Lisa Smile, and half of Raising Helen. And since we have been back we have taken advantage of our Netflix subscription which we have seen Home on the Range and SWAT. Tonight we will watch Connie and Carla probably. To my surprise I really liked Mona Lisa Smile. I heard bad things that it was feminist and such, but I didn't think it was too controversial. I enjoyed it as well as Napoleon Dynamite. I only saw half of Raising Helen because, well, it sucked and was terribly predictable. Home on the Range was good but a let down from what I expected. SWAT I had already seen before-lame, but Aaron hadn't so he watched it. I heard Connie and Carla was a miss, but I am still curious about it since I thought Nia did a fabulous job on My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Speaking of which the dude on MBFGW is on Raising Helen. Anywho, we no longer have lives b/c we will be watching enough movies to sink a ship. (Its good thing for us with no rental fees and plus we don't go out on the weekends much anymore.)

(3) Mon Jan 10 2005 19:21 When it rains, it pours...no pun intended: I am so mad, and I have been having a bad week when it comes to finances. No, I take that back...a bad yearly quarter. It is so stressful to try and make ends meet especially when there is poor communication between Aaron and me when it comes to which accounts to use, thus resulting in $75 in overdrafts fees. It makes me so mad b/c the banks don't do anything to deserve my hard earned money. All they do is reject the check and still charge me. What is up with that? At least put the check through if you are going to charge. Stupid! Not to mention one of those charges was Aaron getting gas and buying a quart of milk for his brother-come to find out the charge was only shy of the $1.25 it cost to buy the milk. So we do something nice for someone else buying milk and essentially it cost us $26.25. Sometimes life just sucks. I know I should put things into perspective right now, and it is only money, but I don't want to think rationally right now. I'M MAD!

Tue Jan 11 2005 16:42: I'm feeling a little better now after finding out that by working on Monday (holiday) I am getting double pay-$22.66/hr. Maybe I will work 8 hours that day.

(2) Mon Jan 17 2005 20:37 "I did not have sexual relations with that woman, and by that woman, I mean my wife."*: I worked today. I would have rather had the day off, but getting paid as much as I did, it doesn't bother me much to be here. We entered lily in a tie dye contest, so everybody vote for her if you can. The website is: http://www.jonestiedyes.com/site/658739/page/375858 and she is entry #7. I had Aaron submit the photo, and out of all the adorable ones, he picks this one. Don't ask me why. He thinks it is funny, while true, it is not the cutest one of her. But I hope she still wins, and I get the $100 shopping spree. It will be the first contest Lily or I win, so wish us luck and vote.

*Ok, I know. I'll admit, I have bad taste in jokes.

(1) Tue Jan 18 2005 14:31: Tomorrow is Aaron and my 3rd year anniversary. I still don't know what I am going to get him. I can't really spend too much b/c we are saving up for a down payment on a house. I don't know if I mentioned this yet, but Aaron and I are buying a home in San Antonio. It is one story 3 bed 2 bath and a giant yard. It is a little far from the dental school, but we are building this house and it is an amazing deal for us. The only way we could afford to get a house is to build that far out. Another really cool thing is, is that it is 'out of city limits' outside loop 1604 so our property taxes are half of what they would be inside city limits. Property taxes are a lot in TX.

Also, Aaron applied for the Air Force scholarship. We will most likely get it. I guess we will be moving after dental school somewhere else- wherever the military takes us. We will owe year for year of school which is 4 yrs, but I think we will have a great shot at Alaska. This actually works out really well for us, b/c we love Alaska and this is the only way we can test it out and know for sure if we want to settle there or not--for good. So many life choices. But if we do get Alaska, you guys better come visit! It will be a ways away from the lower 48, and not getting to see family as often will be the downside of it all.

(5) Wed Jan 19 2005 17:03 Happy Anniversary...to me: It is Aaron and my 3rd year anniversary, and we're going out. Susie and John graciously agreed to tend Lily, and Aaron and I are going out to 'our' restaurant Carrabbas. It is where we had our first date, our engagement party, and the groom's dinner; so it holds a special place in our hearts. It has been pretty romantic so far, starting with 8 o'clock in the morning when Lily woke up, and me handing her off to Aaron so I could get some more sleep, having been kept up by her all night. For some reason she is waking every 3 hours now for a feeding lately. I hope it doesn't last. Aaron also bought me flowers at school and gave them to me when he came home. They are lilies, my new favorite (but I still love irises).

(1) Fri Jan 21 2005 18:14 Say Cheese: Yesterday we had our first 'family' pictures taken at Sears. The lady was late getting to our appt. b/c she was with a previous customer, so Lily puttered out at the end of the shoot and we didn't get a good one of her in her blessing dress- the whole motivation for me to get pictures taken. I timed everything perfect so she would be in the best mood possible to get her pictures taken. We first did a family photo, then her alone in her regular dress, and then Lily in her blessing dress. She had it at that point, but we got really good pictures of her in her regular dress. Our family pictures turned out well too. I am glad I got that done finally instead of having it looming over me every since she was born to get portraits done.

(4) Tue Jan 25 2005 15:46 Baby toys are taking over: I got a flyer in the mail for Babies R' Us. Apparently, they are having a 30% off sale on their baby things including high chairs. Plus with the flyer you get a $10 off coupon. I think I am going to get a high chair tonight or tomorrow. Next month we are starting Lily on rice cereal, so she needs a high chair soon. I can't believe that in just a few months she will be eating regular food (sorta). My baby is already making steps towards not being a baby anymore. Once I get used to her at a stage, she gets bigger on me. It is fun, but sometimes I find myself looking at her newborn clothes with a smile on my face remembering how cute and tiny she used to be. (She still is, but just smaller back then.)

Lily is at a really fun stage right now. She is getting much stronger, and is able to stay awake for longer periods of time now, making it easier for me to run errands. She is getting a lot more personality and playfulness. Lately, her favorite thing to do is stick out her tongue, or to buzz her lips as spit comes dripping out. We also borrowed a saucer from my sister-in-law. (You put them in a ring, and there are toys all around the saucer and the chair spins around.) At first she freaked out every time we put her in there (the spinner with beads in it scared her) but now she likes it, and she can be occupied for about 10 mins with that before getting bored or lonely.

Mostly she is so pleasant and happy with a toothless smile, and much more interactive. She is just too cute for words.

(2) Fri Jan 28 2005 18:46: I forgot to mention that on Tues, Lily laughed for the first time. She giggled three times. I was playing 'This Little Piggy' with her and she was grinning and laughed. It was the cutest thing in the world.

I just finished watching 'Whale Rider'. It was very good, and I recommend it. Also, with our Netflix subscription, Aaron and I rented Baz Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet b/c we hadn't seen it for awhile. I recognized his style more after seeing Moulin Rouge and then Romeo and Juliet again. Has anyone beside me ever been watching a movie, and you know the ending, yet you hope for something to change while you are watching it again. The thought that it can't change comes to you, but you don't want to accept it, so in your mind you just say "It's ok, I will pretend that everything works out and it all ends happily. I won't let myself believe that the story really ends sad or unfair." Or is it just me that likes to create alternate realities to escape grief?

Mon Jan 31 2005 20:09 The power of the Internet: http://www.globeexplorer.com

If you go to that website and put in your address, you can see an arial shot of the house you are living in. I did it with mine and my old house and I could see them crystal clear. Kinda Spooky.