ok, first order of business. i realize that my lower-case typing probably has some of you going nuts. really, this is just a bad habit that i picked up after i graduated college last year - i must have felt that by FINALLY being done with school, i could let my typing skills slack. well, i need to be done with it and grow back up. so i am making a change. No more all-lower-case typing, even though it's easier and more convenient. It's silly. And I'm done with it. Yay!

L and I are, at long last, starting to feel better. I have been feeling small shreds here and there of more energy. And the thought of going out to get things done isn't as utterly exhausting as it had been earlier this week. L woke up today and acted famished. She ended up eating like a little horse all day today, which is great! Her appetite is back! And we can all just tell that she feels better - she is much happier, not as fussy and is able to stay up longer without needing sleep. However, she took some super long naps today, which I am not going to complain about! She took 2 two-hour naps! Usually, she takes 2 or 3 one-hour naps. Part of me wonders if her crawling all over the place makes her more tired, so she needs more sleep to make up for it?! Who knows!

Our weekend wasn't too thrilling - we hung out at home the entire time, since we were still working on feeling better. I had some interesting baking experiences (tried to make puffy chocolate cookies that turned out stupid, was going to make brownies when the oven (which is new, by the way) decided to stop working, and I did a practice batch of lefse - there will be a lefse post coming, so stay tuned!!!), most of which just ended up making me frustrated.

Tomorrow is ultrasound day! Woot! I am excited. I am hoping this means that Max will call sometime soon in the next few days, since he knows I'll have the "sex" envelope after the ultrasound. I've been missing him extra bad lately - maybe it's because I was sick or maybe because being sick has made me ultra tired, but I've just been aching to have him back next to me. Almost four months down! That's good, right?! Yeah, until I think about how much longer we have to go. Ugh. Deployments are lame. I just keep thinking that. And then trying to fight with myself and tell myself that I can do this, that with the strength of Jesus, we can get through this. I KNOW that we can get through this, but it still doesn't make it fun or easy.

I feel like I have a lot to get done this week, especially since I was sick last week and essentially got nothing super productive done. I have a lot of calls to make (housing-related for when we move at the end of the year, bank stuff for max, dental insurance hoo-ha-ha, etc.), some projects to get started/work on/finish, and errands to run. It'll get done, that's what I keep telling myself. And it will! And then I will feel much better!

So, the following pictures show a little rendition of L's day. Three notes before you see them: 1. She LOVES music. Always has. In fact, I was very overdue with her (she was born 11 days after her due date), and it was only after I went to an orchestra concert that my cousin played in, that L decided she better start making her debut! Music still has this calming effect on her. She loves to be sung to and to have music playing. 2. Did I mention that she got her bottom teeth in??! Because she did! They are so cute! 3. My parents have two cats and a dog (Ok, so I convinced them to get the dog 12 years ago - the cat in the picture, I got for my dad as a Father's Day present 2 years ago - and the 2nd cat is actually mine - ha ha!) and L likes them a LOT! They mostly tolerate her and have been very patient and gentle with her. She is learning how to "nicely" pet them and interact with them. And sometimes the things she tries to do to them crack me up. Her latest thing is to crawl after them so she can either grab the dog's feet or "pet" the kitty - which means she pats the kitty or graps a hunk of hair and skin! Too funny! Anyways, before I ramble on forever, here are the pictures:

I can't get enough of those beautiful eyes. And I love that I see so much of Maxwell in her. Makes me smile big time and fall in love with both of them all over again.