Hodge & Podge

From la Casa de Chen

It's Friday. Welcome!

This will probably be a hodge-podge style post. My week has been something of that sort, so why would my blog reflect anything but?

I will start by saying that we had a lovely, relaxing Easter with my family after church. Instead of the traditional big dinner, we "cheated" and picked up KFC. It was really liberating.

Here is our little Easter princess in her Sunday finery, with her basket and plastic eggs. She might just be the cutest drooling princess I've ever seen.

Sunday morning I had my first week of my rotation to be "in the nursery" even though I've spent probably the last 6 weeks staying in the nursery anyways. (I'm trying to smooth the transition for Lizzie. If she's well enough this week to bring her, I will leave her there.) Unfortunately, Lizzie was sick, so she couldn't stay there. At least I couldn't let her be there with good conscience. But being the noble man that Sam is, he stayed in the foyer at church with Lizzie, while I stayed with other people's children. It was actually easier for me that way!

Yesterday was Lizzie's 10 month birthday, and she celebrated by tearing up a roll of toilet paper. See image 2, below:


Her recent toddler accomplishments are as follows:
Waving "bye-bye" at appropriate times!
Taking 1-2 steps together, though mostly unintentionally. No real walking yet, but we're pretty close!
Sharing food from the high chair
Trying to tear the non-slip mat off the bottom of the bathtub
Turning off light-switches (turning on is trickier)
Finding Daddy's and Mommy's belly buttons (not her own yet)
Sleeping through the night most nights (hallelujah!)
and producing cups and cups of drool and snot

My weekly accomplishments have included:
Figuring out which medicines are safe to take for a head cold, allergies, and general yuckyness while nursing
Taking Lizzie to the pediatrician to find out that "she has a cold"
Getting dressed before noon every day
Going through at least one box of tissues, singlehandedly
Making a menu plan, then:
Going to the grocery store
Making stew in the crock pot
Clogging the kitchen sink making previously-mentioned stew
Cleaning up under the kitchen sink after Sam fixed the previously-mentioned clog
No, it has not been one of my best weeks.

Sam's weekly accomplishment is huge, though. Thanks are due to all-powerful God, and everyone who has prayed for him and his school project this month, because his project has finally been approved to continue! This means that he can finish working on it and if he manages to meet all his other deadlines in the next month, he will graduate this spring! It is a tremendous breakthrough, and we are so grateful.