No, We Haven't Fallen Off The Face Of The Earth...

At long last, we're back on the blog! One of Matt's fellow Ski Patrollers (and a dad) recently commented, "When I first looked at your blog, I wondered how long it would last...I'd bet that you wouldn't be updating nearly as often when you got busy with the baby!" Well, I hope Tim put money on that bet, because he surely won.

We're going to try catching up in an organized manner, so here we go, in chronological order:

1. CHRISTMAS! The weather and roads were a bit crazy, but we managed to spend time with both sides of the family, which was nice. Paige met a few more relatives at the Miller Christmas Eve party in Manton, then after breakfast and presents in the morning at Grandma & Grandpa Bunings', it was off to Holland for Christmas night at Grandma & Grandpa Parrotts'. Paige was quite the trooper, but it all came to a head Christmas night, as she screamed through most of dinner...seemed to be her stomach, but she was eventually back to her old merry self! We finally got back to our own house and video taped Paige "opening" her presents and stocking from Santa (well, her 3rd stocking).





2. New Year's...Poor Grandma & Grandpa Parrott were going to babysit, but was sick on New Year's Eve, so the three of us went for a family-friendly dinner and back home to watch the ball drop on TV. We had planned to go to Rosa Parks Circle in downtown Grand Rapids, where a lighted ball of our own had been constructed, and was going to be lowered along with the ball in New York. We're pretty glad our plans didn't work out, because the temperature was right around a big zero, and the local channels showed both balls dropping on split-screen. Then off to bed! Oh, the exciting lives of new parents...

3. Speaking of Rosa Parks Circle...on January 16th, the two of us went to dinner and ice skating @ the Circle with some people from church. It had been a good five years since either of us had been skating, and it went surprisingly well despite the rough ice and dull rental skates...that is, until we were about to leave. While Matt was talking with a few people, I decided I needed one last lap...10 yards later I fell on my side, and learned the next day that I'd broken my arm! The break is near my left elbow, the "proximal radius" (the top of one of the long bones in the forearm). Fortunately, I do not need a cast, and only need to wear a sling some of the time. But you can imagine how interesting it is to care for a four-month old with a broken extremity! I'm rather glad I don't have a cast, since Paige enjoys putting anything and everything in her mouth right now...and if she can get it in or near her mouth, she smear a drool-covered hand over it. I do have a 10-pound weight restriction, so I am not able to care for patients at work. I'm instead helping with education of various sorts, on both day AND night shifts.

4. How could I forget that the day of my broken arm was also Paige's 4-month checkup! She has been growing like crazy, and caught up a bit in the length department: she's now 25 inches and 15 pounds! If only her hair grew as fast as the rest of her :) As you can see, she loves pushing up on her arms while lying on her tummy, and also playing in her exersaucer. We also got the go-ahead to try rice cereal. She seems to like it, but of course, doesn't yet understand the difference between drinking milk and eating off a spoon...there have been a few cereal mini-explosions from her mouth! Next are orange vegetables...I'm determined to have another sweet potato and squash-lover in the house!

5. We celebrated Aunt Susan's 21st birthday on January 20th, along with Grandma & Grandpa Buning. Aunt Susan was a bit miffed that her birthday coincided with the biggest Presidential Inaugurations ever...I told her to sell her Obama-sharing-birthday on e-Bay, she would probably make a lot of money! Anyhoo, we had a nice dinner with her before she went off with her friends. Wow, Susan turning 21 sure has put the OLD in older sister...


That should bring things up to speed...the next update will happen MUCH sooner! We leave you with one of our favorite new videos of Paige...it appears we have an Olympic pedal-boat operator on our hands (and yes, she now does this every time she's in the bath)! Don't mind our crazy chuckles in the background. And, as a disclaimer, both Matt and I were present and standing just out of sight of the camera...we never leave Paige in the water or on the counter alone! Enjoy!