Because it's been a while...

When perusing my archives yesterday, I realized it has been a very long time since I've posted any Gabbie pictures. So, here are some from the past couple of weeks:

Gabbie and I, hanging out in our usual cuddle spot.

Gabbie, wearing one of my baby bonnets. It was hat day at daycare earlier this week.

Gabbie in pigtails yesterday. It was the most I could coax out of her hair for weird hair day yesterday. (It's theme week at daycare, can you tell?)

This is how I find Gabbie sleeping frequently. I finally had to take a picture because it is just so darn cute! Note the hands tucked in to keep warm. Really too cute!

Things that are making me feel old today

My little sister, seven years my junior, has her last college class
today. It's a golf class, so it sounds like it will at least be a fun
one, but I just can't believe that she graduates from college next week.
How can she be old enough to graduate from college?

Also, when I was relating this story to a group of three coworkers, I
realized that one of them is about my brother's age (four years younger
than me), another is the same age as my sister, and yet another is
younger than my sister. And they're all college graduates.

Then I got to thinking that 10 years ago this month I finished my first
year of college. My husband turns 30 next month, which means I have
about a half-year before I hit the big 3-0 as well. And my daughter
turns 1 next month, and how the heck has almost a year passed already?

I remember being little and thinking about how slowly time passed. I
wanted time to speed up (especially so that I could be a teenager
faster, as that was my main goal in life as a kid). My birthday and
Christmas are less than a month apart, but it seemed like eons in
between the two. Every year took an eternity to pass back then, and now
the months fly by like seconds, the years like minutes, and I just want
it to slow down. (Although, I can't say I mind when the work week flies
by so that I can get to the weekend and two whole days with my little
family.)

Aaron and I were discussing last night how impossible it seems that
Gabbie will ever be old enough to do things like drive a car, graduate
from high school and college, or even be an adult. It also seems fairly
impossible that I will ever be 50 years old. And yet, these things and
more will come to pass, and I'm sure I'll look back and treasure all of
these years, even though they went by in the blink of an eye.

Burning with Love

Sometimes having a baby is hard on a marriage. News flash, I know, but it's true. Aaron and I still love each other madly, but when nobody is sleeping, nobody is particularly slow to anger. Just sayin'.

After an irrational outburst at Aaron yesterday, I felt simultaneously better and horrible for taking it out on him. In an effort to try to make it up to him, I made him a batch of madelines, something he's been requesting for weeks now. He appreciated the effort and all was basically forgiven. We talked it over and both agreed that we'd make more of an effort to be nice to each other.

So, this afternoon, I thought I'd do the nice wife thing. I got dressed up all cute, and had dinner mostly done by the time he got home. All I had to do was cook some ravioli, and dinner would be on the table. I handed him a beer, went to the kitchen to add the pasta from the boiling water, and through an amazing display of uncoordination, managed to splash boiling water all over my face and chest.

I am awesome. Just thought you should know.

I'm totally fine of course, but he had to finish up dinner. Also, it's hard to look cute when you're doing the ugly cry, are red and splotchy where the water hit, and have mascara running down your face. I was so close to creating a perfectly nice evening before I earned that giant FAIL. At least everything tasted good. Here's hoping the burns fade by tomorrow morning!

Baby's First Ear Infection

To say this week has been kind of hellish would be an understatement. I am completely drained, and yet I still have to manage through the next few days before I get a break.

I've been really, incredibly busy at work, and decided I needed a break, so I took off last Thursday and Friday. When I picked Gabbie up from daycare on Thursday afternoon she felt a little warm. She'd been acting a little off, the teachers told me. Friday morning came, and she was definitely sick. A cold I thought; it will get better soon.

It didn't get better soon. Sunday we achieved the grossest parenting trifecta ever: she kept sneezing out what we call snot rockets (huge gobs of snot - so gross!), had a poopsplosion that reached her neck, and coughed so hard at dinner that she threw up every hard fought bite of food we had managed to get her to eat. She really hadn't eaten much besides nursing since Wednesday, which was incredibly worrying for us, especially since she's consistently on the very low end of normal weight-wise.

She (and I both) got increasingly more miserable as the weekend wore on, and by Monday morning we were watching the clock waiting for the doctor's office to open so we could call and make an appointment. We got there, found out she'd probably lost half a pound from not eating, and had a nasty infection in both ears. Oh, and she's working on cutting her two front teeth on the top. Fun!

We got her on antibiotics immediately, and she's doing much, much better. Thank goodness! Going back to work today actually felt like a break, a treat. No one was using me as a human kleenex, head-butting me, or throwing fits because I dared to try to give her some food. Tonight she ate her dinner happily, and we've breathed a cautious sigh of relief. Here's hoping an ear infection doesn't crop up again any time soon!