Look Out--Here Comes Memorial Day Weekend!

Martin woke me up this morning saying what a beautiful, perfect, gloomy, rainy day it was. We appreciate rainy days around here. And I like the gloomy mornings because it makes the mornings last longer. For instance, right now it's 9:15 but it feels like it could be just 7 or 8 o'clock.

I think Anja might be teething. I know I've been thinking this on and off for weeks and she's still got no teeth to show for all her fussing and staying up late, but I don't know what else it could be. They say symptoms are drooling, but she's always drooling, and chewing on things, but she's always doing that too. But another thing they say is that teethers have a hard time falling asleep because when they're going to sleep they can start focusing on the pain in their gums. Poor babies. Well, the past two nights have been terrible when it comes to putting Anja to sleep. Last night she was up until 10:00! And for a little girl who goes to bed between 8 and 8:30, that's pretty late. She's not into the car thing anymore, but she'll only fall asleep while nursing, so I basically get one chance. I can nurse her until she starts spitting up, and then I'm kind of screwed. So that's what happened last night--twice-- before we finally gave up and put her in the car, hoping for the best, then drove to Battle Ground singing "Five Green and Speckled Frogs" over and over again until she fell asleep. And then, for the first time in many days, she slept from then until 5:30 in the morning. That's another reaons I think she might be teething... lately she's been waking up about every hour. She takes great naps... but at night she just doesn't sleep well. It's kind of too bad.

Yesterday afternoon I did some work in the backyard. I trimmed up the Snow on the Mountain that is in the bed below the window to the Big Back Room, pulled out a ton of weeds in the same bed, and hung some impatiens so now we have three pots of hanging flowers on the patio. It looks really nice, i think. With the hanging baskets, my little blue pot of cilantro (that will hopefully grow some day) and my other pot full of lavendar, and the two rose bushes it's looking really cute back there. I'm excited to have Perkins and Joel over for a cookout of sorts on Sunday afternoon. It won't exactly be a cookout... it'll be more of a cook-in and an eatout, since we have yet to get a propane tank for the grill that my parents gave us. But that's okay! I'm really looking forward to this long and fun weekend. We've got Alison's rehearsal and dinner tonight, tomorrow we're going to do some more yard work (put pavers around the garden, trim up the bushes, etc.) then Alison and JC's wedding is at 4:00. On Sunday we'll probably do more yard work until we hang out with Perkins and Joel, then on Monday my sister has invited us over for a cookout at her house! Super fun days ahead. Sunday will be especially nice, with no obligations too pressing... if we're still working in the yard when Perkins and Joel show up for dinner, we'll just enlist them to help us. That's the beauty of best friends.

When Anja was born my cousin Lori brought over a whole gift bag full of stuff for her (as well as the exersaucer which Anja adores!) and one item in the bag was this crab bath toy. I've never used it in the bath, but I got it out for her the other day when she seemed bored with her other toys. She loves it!!! She loves it as much as she loves her little hanging Eeyore doll which came in a trio alongside Pooh and Tigger; she doesn't give either of them the time of day, but she really is in love with Eeyore. It's super cute. Anyway, she loves this little crab guy too and it's funny.

She's becoming so active!! She's discovered how to roll the other way now, and she gets a real kick out of it. This morning she got up a couple of times to her hands and knees and she's just generally crazy... I put her down on her quilt, which is quickly becoming too small for her level of activity, and she manages to get off it in a matter of seconds!! Very funny. Except for the part when she gets on the carpet and gets a bunch of dog hair in her mouth. That part is not so much funny as it is gross.