Just let her play with the nails!

Our girl fills our life with smiles and often, bouts of uncontrollable laughter. She's an odd duck, but she's our quacker and we love every minute of her. She insists on having her foot held while she nurses... seriously, this is an imperative. She uses "hello" like Aloha. It is one of the few words she uses correctly, except for that it also means goodbye. She's working on it and her babbling is becoming more like our speech patterns everyday.

Oh, and you'll appreciate this one: Lily has a crib and a big bed in her room and this morning we were all cuddling in the bed. She slips off and starts roaming around while Mark and I enjoy some time together. Next thing we know, she's reappeared with a box of nails clutched to her chest like they are the most precious things she has ever discovered. She wouldn't let us take them away and well... how much damage could she do with a box of nails and no hammer, anyway? So we let her play with them. Only in a carpenter’s home would a child fall in love with a box of nails. We did draw the line at taking them to bed with her, so hey, we're still good parents, right?

She's a blast.

As for news on our plus one, I had my first midwife appointment yesterday and it went very well. I am measuring where I should for our weeks and feeling well. I was reminded about the importance of eating more veggies and taking a walk everyday... a couple of things I am less than stellar about. I really like our midwife and am pleased we have decided to birth at home. It will be a bit insane as we are talking about being in the midst of a remodel at that time, but hey, what's like without a little chaos?

We have also finalized our plans for holiday travel. Lily and I depart via plane on the 25th to be picked up by Steve in Sacramento. From there, he will give us a lift to Zacco's for Christmas dinner. Mark will be driving up with Maya and will meet us there for dinner. Then onto Heidi's for a couple of days. We fly/drive home on New Year’s Day, just in time for Mark to leave for a gig in Palm Springs. I don't know yet if we'll go with him or stay here. Depends on... lots of stuff. But at least we have a plan!