Finally

After over two months, we are finally getting around to posting a slideshow of Elsa's five-month photo shoot. We narrowed down the hundreds of photos we took, and feel these are the best. Now it's nearly time to do another session with her!



*The song playing in the background is "Blue Eyes" by Cary Brothers.

Protein Shake

Homemade pureed chicken thighs and sweet potato -- could there be anything more delightful? Elsa thought it was a perfect Easter dinner. Mommy thought cleanup was an absolute nightmare.

More Easter Shots

Happy Easter

We Made It Back

Elsa, Merckx, and I arrived back home yesterday evening just in time to let her daddy feed her some sweet potatoes, allow us to give her a bath, and get her to bed. And thankfully -- after four nights of not sleeping through the night at my parents' house -- she slept a full eleven hours. I am not sure what was causing the waking up over the course of our trip. I think many factors could have been involved -- she was in a different place, we were sleeping in the same room (maybe I was snoring?!?!), she was teething (and has been, it seems, for months now -- when are those teeth going to come in?!?!), her tummy might have been bothering her. Who knows. All I know is that my sleep was much interrupted. But it was still nice to spend a good chunk of time at their house and, more importantly, away from mine so I didn't have to be concerned about cleaning or cooking nearly as much, and was just able to enjoy my family's company, knit, watch some television, etc. My mom and I even escaped to a movie one night -- albeit a terrible one (Race to Witch Mountain) -- while my dad was sleeping before having to go into work. We put the monitor in his room so he could sleep-babysit (thanks, Dad!).

On Sunday morning, my parents, Elsa, and I all drove up to High Point and were able to spend some time with some of Jarrett's family (and I forgot to take my camera up there -- dumb me). We first visited with his dad and Susan, where we enjoyed conversation, a yummy homemade snack, and a nice walk out in the sunshine. Later we went over to Jarrett's mom's house and were able to visit with not only his mom, but also his grandparents, Stephen, and Bethany, which was really nice. Jarrett's mom cooked a fabulous meal, which we were all able to enjoy together.

Jarrett actually beat us home from his business trip to Orlando. He probably would have beat us regardless, but he jumped on a flight two flights earlier than that originally scheduled, so he got home quite early and was even able to enjoy a nap. Overall, Elsa and I had a lovely time seeing everyone and relaxing a bit, but I was still happy to get home and see Jarrett... and sleep in a room away from my precious daughter!

Go Carolina!

Elsa and her grandpa, celebrating the Tar Heels' victory...

We Made It

Elsa and I (and Merckx) are in Charlotte and had a fairly uneventful drive here, which was great. She cried some, but overall was a trooper. She still sounds somewhat congested, but she has been without a fever since yesterday morning, thank goodness. It hovered around 101 all day Thursday.

Jarrett is enjoying a day by himself -- I know he has already played his guitar and gone on a bike ride, and I think he plans to work on the nightstand he is building as well as go over to our friends' house for dinner. I asked him last night if he was looking forward to a quiet house -- without us girls and without the dog. He asked if he would sound selfish if he said, "yes." Not at all, Love -- not at all.

Elsa's First Fever (At Least That We're Aware Of)

After Elsa woke up from her afternoon nap yesterday, and after feeding her, I realized she was quite warm. So I got up the guts to take her rectal (ugh!) temperature and it was 103.3 degrees Fahrenheit. We were supposed to be getting ready to go on a walk with Kate since the sun was actually trying to break through the rainclouds, so I just went ahead and gave her the appropriate dosage of ibuprofen and we headed out. We ended up taking a fairly short walk over to a friend's house, and Elsa just kind of stayed slumped over to the side of her stroller and remained rather listless. We chatted with our friend out on the front porch for awhile, and Elsa eventually got a bit fussy. I picked her up and realized she was still burning up, so I internally began to get a little worried. However, as we stood there a little longer, she eventually seemed to perk up and lost some of the extreme rosiness to her cheeks, and felt somewhat cooler, though still warm. By the time we put her to bed, her temperature was 100.5. It was 101 this morning, and is now around 101.4. I am just going to continue to keep an eye on it and will go into the doctor if need be (I've already been e-mailing the doctor about possibly going ahead with allergy testing for Elsa, so I've also made her aware of the fever). Other than the fever and a little congestion that I notice when she is nursing, she seems okay. She's still taking in fluids and wants to play, even if not as much as normal. I hope she gets over this soon -- she and I (and Merckx) are headed to see family in North Carolina Saturday morning!