Hip Hip Hooray!

Three cheers for Trevor & my grandfather!

Trevor returned safe & sound from his mission trip to Africa. Sounds like it was a success on many fronts. I am glad that they were able to reach out to those who are sooooo much less fortunate, and at the same time be mature enough to be touched deeply by the African children's great joy and faith in the midst of poverty. I can't wait to hear more. Hopefully I can post a few pictures soon.

My grandfather (mom's dad) was scanned yesterday and all his cancer spots are gone! He has just finished about 5 rounds of chemotherapy. His battle with cancer over this last year has been painful, but nothing short of miraculous.

Slipping into the past

Something I'm struggling with right now is the way my dad is slipping into the past. He's becoming part of history. I know this is how it works, but it's difficult to process.

Thinking of family members who are alive is so different from thinking of ones who are not. It's like when I finish a really, really good book and I don't want it to end because I want to know more about what the characters do after the final words. My dad's book is over, and it ended so suddenly, without a nice wrap-up. Like someone snatched it out of my hands while I was in the middle of reading it.

Big Baby

While still precious in every way, Noelle is a very big baby (just like her big brother Connor was)! She went for her 6 month well baby check-up this week, and weighed in at 18 pounds 1 ounce, and measured 26 inches in length. That is 80th percentile for weight and 50th for height. She was perfectly healthy in every way.

Let's see... what is she doing right now?
She is making more and more sounds, she is sitting in the highchair (where she loves to eat her favorites - fruits), she is sitting briefly without support, she is squealing to get attention, and she is a mommy's girl. She is very used to her mommy being around all the time, and doesn't much like anyone else to hold her (or for her mommy to leave the room). When she's in a good mood, though, she does love to play with her daddy. Connor makes her smile most of the time, laugh sometimes, and cry sometimes when he is just too much. When she is playing with something special and drops it, she starts crying until we hand it back to her. She loves to shake rattles and bang things, but sometimes she accidentally bonks herself in the head or face, and that makes her cry. She still hates tummy time, although she can go a full minute or two before the protesting begins (this is better than the few seconds she used to go). She spends a lot of time in her exersaucer, which is how mommy gets to do laundry, and cook & clean in the kitchen.