so we have been in north carolina for almost a week now. we left january 1st and drove to indianapolis, where we stayed overnight with the lencheck's...my second cousins. then got up and drove to north carolina. we did make a stop in indiana to visit kari stark, a wonderful friend and L's godmother. both driving days ended up being around 12 hours long and by the end of them, maxwell and i were wiped out! L was amazing. slept most of the time without fussing. the last few hours on saturday, she was a little antsy, but she really did well during the drive. we were so proud of her! overall, the drive was good. things got a little crazy in west virginia, going through the mountains, with winds and snow, but we made it! god is good! max took off sunday morning to head back to jacksonville, so L and began settling in!

we are staying with my great-aunt kathy and great-uncle david here in charlotte, which is about 4-5 hours from jacksonville. this week L and i helped "de-decorate" from christmas, went on lots of walks, saw a little bit of the area and got settled in. it's been a "cold" week for charlotte...it has been in the 20's and 30's. i think it's funny cause that is hardly cold to me! but normally, they tell me, it is in the 40's and 50's! i will relish that weather when it gets here. we have been walking outside everyday though. once the sun gets out, it really is beautiful out! L has made the transition well. she is such a good girl! everyday she spends a few hours "talking" to us and laughing. i wish i could capture some of the moments on camera, but whenever i pull it out, she stops giggling! i will get it one day. it is so cute! she is getting bigger and stronger! she can hold her head up real well and she likes to "stand" with my help. she really likes to stretch all the way out.

oh! i never posted after our dr appt. we went in for her 2-month check a few weeks ago. she is doing great, as far as height and weight goes. she was 11 pounds that week, so i am betting she is getting to be almost 12 pounds now. and she is getting longer. all the measurements are in the average range, and she is doing all the normal baby things, so that was good news. she didn't like her shots, but what baby does? and we had her vcug appointment last week. it went well. she screamed the entire time, because they had to hold her down while they put the catheter in and watched the scan...she did not like being held down so tightly! but good news! she does not have urine reflux into her kidney! woot! that is awesome to hear. so she is off the antibiotic and we will do another check-in with the pediatric urologist in 6 months!

it's hard to believe that i am married! i am so enjoying being able to call max my husband! it still feels very surreal! he is currently on his way here for the weekend, which i am stoked about. i am so glad we were able to do this...to figure out a way for L and i to be down here in nc for the next month and a half. i want as much time as possible with him before he leaves. the current plan is that he will leave mid-february and he will be gone for 12-14 months. it's hard, knowing that time with him is limited before he goes, and then it will be a whole entire year before we get him back, but it really helps to get this time with him before he goes.

i have a few goals for next few weeks while i am here. one is to walk everyday with kathy and david. i want to lose the last of this "baby house", as i call it...my belly that is left from pregnancy. and i have a mountain of thank-you notes to write. christmas, wedding, baby dedication...i have been ignoring it...but no longer. i suppose, it will give me something to do during the weeks when max is working. i also have a lot of photos to go through and edit, as well as work on my computer. i did get all the data off my hard drive that crashed and now i am needing to organize back onto my computer.

i don't miss the cold that is killing minnesota, but i definitely miss minnesota and everybody there! ok, ms. L is waking up from her nap. time to eat! i'll be back soon...