BACK 2 SCHOOL

it's hard for me to believe, but i am headed back to school tomorrow. has it already been 6 weeks!?! apparently so! it may sound crazy, but i wish i could stay home with her AND go back to school. i miss seeing my students and the great teachers and staff at waukee elementary, but of course leaving this little lady at home will be hard, too. i always wondered what stay-at-home moms did all day, and now i totally get it. the day passes, and you think... what happened to the day? we went and had her 6 week pictures taken this afternoon. quite a production! it's not easy trying to time feeding, keep her awake, alert, and happy. i am anxious to get the pics back, but it takes 2 weeks. bummer. well, i have to get things ready for tomorrow. enough stalling... :)

FLYING NUGGETS

afton & zaida will surely be best of friends. they're only a year apart in age, and when zaida gets a little older and can play, i'm sure they'll have hours of fun! last night we had bunko at vaske's house, so grandma jan babysat the two little ladies. afton has just discovered zaida, and likes to give her lots of kisses. she has also mastered saying, "zai-da", and she practices her new talent a lot. :)

it was dinner time for afton, so she was in her high-chair chomping on her chicken nuggets. my mom brought zaida over in her car seat and put her on the floor next to afton's high chair so they could see each other. mom went over to break apart more chicken nuggets, and while she was over there afton kept saying, "zai-da, zai-da, zai-da". mom was thinking, 'oh, isn't that cute'. then she turned around and looked at her two adorable granddaughters... and believe it or not, afton was throwing her pieces of chicken nugget to zaida each time she said her name! (fortunately, no one was harmed in this operation.) my mom was picking little chicken nugget bits off the floor and out of zaida's carseat. HA!! What a hoot!!

ALMOST 6 WEEKS OLD!

it's hard to believe that it has almost been 6 weeks since zaida was born. in ways it seems like she's always been a part of our lives, in other ways it seems like she just arrived yesterday. it's amazing how it changes ever facet of your life, and enhances the day to day joys. we're so lucky to be her parents!

MY 1ST MOTHER'S DAY

yesterday was my first official mother's day. i woke up with this little punky smilin at me. eric brought in a card that he and zaida selected (very sweet) there was a giftcard to jordan creek mall inside. sis got the same thing from afton and clint. the boys will do the babysitting, and al and i can go pamper ourselves. how fun!!

we went to church, and then to clint & al's to grill burgers & brats. mom and dad came and brought grandma vu. it was such a nice relaxing afternoon... the food was delicious (of course). we sat around and played with the girls, and passed them around. zaida if you wanted to snuggle, and afton if you wanted to play. and what is a spring/summer day without baseball-- i don't know!?! so we watched the brewers and cubs games.

not bad for my first mother's day!

SLEEP, OH PRECIOUS SLEEP

i've never been one of those people who needs lots of sleep. i take about 3 naps a year, and even that's a stretch. i have always had these "sleep issues" just like my mom. my parents even had to get me relaxation tapes for me to listen to to try and help me get to sleep at night. so there is a little history on my life as a sleeper....

since zaida has arrived, i've learned to cherish sleep like i cherish oxygen. since she chows every 3 hours, you really can't get more than about 2 consecutive hours at a time. well, fortunately things have improved. first of all, she has her days and nights switched back around. yeah! secondly, she sleeps up in our room in her bouncy seat, so eric and i can both sleep in our bed during the night instead of taking turns on the couch downstairs. and last but not least... she has started waking only once during the night to nurse. we usually get up in the 3am hour, and lucky us -- young & the restless is playing at 3 on SOAP network. (we can't complain, it's better than sister, sister)

so life is good, and getting better.