Work Starts Tomorrow

Tomorrow is April's first day back to work after 2 1/2 months on maternity leave. Contrary to popular belief, she's pretty excited to get back to work. I'm sure that everyone has their different opinions on when/if a mom should go back to work. We're comfortable with now. Our bank account would have been comfortable 2 months ago.

We're now experiencing what is called "Oh Yeah Moments." It happens when you are packing for your infant's first day at the sitter. Typical conversations: "Did you pack extra diapers?" "Oh yeah..." & "Did you pack her pacifier?" "Oh yeah..." Actually none of that happened. I'm sitting here typing at the computer and she's packing all the stuff to take tomorrow. Isn't that how its supposed to be? If I tried to do it I'd pack the most complete Baby Cleanliness Package you've ever experienced probably screw it up. So why bother trying? As the Mythbusters always say, "Don't try this at home." I agree. Here are some more pictures of V so that you all can go to work feeling sorry for April:

Her best Ted Theodore Logan impression. Be excellent to each other.

You tell her something's next to her and she wastes no time reacting.

"Get that camera outta my face 'fo I sock you!"

V is such an avid dancer she practices in her sleep.

She got crazy drunk one night so we had to put her in a Straight-Jacket.

 This is the closest smile we've ever captured on digital media.

Flying with Infants

Yes friends, the ole "Flying with Infants"... All in all the worst idea, ever. Seriously we were stupid. "I'll take 'Extremely Bad Ideas' for $800, Alex." We didn't have a clue. There aren't enough characters in this blog to completely convey the utter and complete ignorance of taking a two-month-old over 2000 miles away at 30,000 feet. Here's the thing: She was an angel on the way to St. Louis. A few minor fuss episodes are normal and there were the people that I'm sure were annoyed with her, but the majority thought she was fine. Then a week passed and the return flight happened. I had to kill 13 other passengers because they threatened to inflict bodily harm to our child take her to the lavatory a couple times to give the other passengers a break.

We were so wasted when we got home that we needed two days just to recover. That doesn't happen often unless you have an infant,,, oh yeah. Anyway, here are some pictures from our trip. As always, please note that these pictures are Awesome or your money back:

Neither V nor her cousin Elliott (or E) are comfortable in Missouri.

V's first MLB game and the Cardinals win!

She pities the Foo that make fun of her sunglasses! Hey, it was 98 degrees.

Bro and Sis with V and E. Cousins are off to a friendly start.

After the flight, she fell asleep... until the return flight as described above.

They're such good friends, they even look in the same general direction!

Off to St. Louis

My uncle Dave died recently rather tragically in St. Louis. Fact of the matter is that when no one expects it, it can hurt a lot more. My Grandma is one of the strongest women I've ever come across, but no one can prepare to lose a child. Children are supposed to lose parents, not the other way around. God works in mysterious & amazing ways though. Through this tragedy, He has given the opportunity to bring joy to my Grandma through Vivian. Our blessing will be a source of happiness for Grandma. Though the loss of a life is sad, God has allowed us to use our new life to somewhat "replace" that which is lost. Fortunately for my Grandma, my sister and her husband have also just had a child. DOUBLE TROUBLE!

In order to get to St. Louis, we will be flying across the country with a two-month old. This usually does not mean an easy trip for us or (potentially) the people around us. I've never experienced the looks of disdain or rolling of eyes that are so famous from people that see an infant walk into a restaurant or board a plane. It's one of those uncontrollable variables that you're not sure about until it happens to you on the receiving end. How many times have I been on the giving end of those looks? Probably too many. I'm pretty sure we'll get a couple of those looks. If we do, I'll bust that chump with my Kung Fu Grip just smile and shrug my shoulders with a look that says "Sorry, but as you probably know, there's really nothing I can do."

We feel blessed that God has allowed us to make this trip, even with the financial hardship that comes with having a new baby. God finds ways to make things happen if they're supposed to happen. That is DA COOLEST! Anyway, I reckon we'll have some pictures to post after the trip. Until then, remember that God does things for a reason. Who knew that a year ago when we decided to have a child that she would be able to fulfill her "destiny" two months after being born? I sure didn't.

Cat's New Play Toy

Today we were sitting down for a leisurely breakfast... Wait a second... Allow me to elaborate. First, I close at my job on Tuesdays which, before we had a child, allowed for a leisurely breakfast. Second, we only have about 1-2 leisurely breakfasts every fortnight. Third, those of you with kids just nearly fainted or laughed hysterically at the thought of what leisurely breakfasts they used to have.

Back to the story. Today we were sitting down for a leisurely breakfast. V was asleep and we were enjoying waffles expertly made by the Short Order Cook we have here at the house. All of a sudden we look over at one of our end tables in the living room and notice the cat is playing with something attached to her claw over the side of the table. We don't know what it is at first because V's play yard is masking the object. The cat rarely plays with things like that so we both looked to see what it was. It was a small cord... and the cord was attached to our brand new camera. With lightening speed and quickness, I got up to grab it from her and she (as many of you know about our cat) got scared and dropped it. Fortunately for us, Sony makes a fine product and must understand that things like this happen. It didn't break.

Here are some pictures of V that we might not have been able to post had God not given the people at Sony the wherewithal to invest many hours and research into developing a drop resistant product:

Sophie thinks V tastes like chicken.

The cat does come out but only when the baby is vulnerable to attack.

C: Wait! Don't end yourself!
V: Dude, we are totally over that now. Leggo my jacket!

We're both watching TV right now. It's how we always watch TV.

This builds character and puts hair on your chest.

"I'm so bored. When do we start the party?"