Four Days Off Duty

Arrghh... do I hate laptops sometimes?? I just wrote a post, highlighted it and then apparently, with a wipe of my hand deleted it!

Anyway, the short version is that I have four days off as Sarah and Dan and Raley are on a plane to LA to do a house/apartment/daycare hunt. And I miss them already, especially baby Raley who makes me want to have children more (not less) than ever. I really hate that after this coming week the next time I'll see Raley she'll be nine months old (at Christmas) ad completely different baby... maybe if she lived next door she'd be a deterrent... but being this far away makes me want one of my own to see the day-to-day developments. Plus, as you can see below, she's just too darn cute!

This was at her four and a half month doctor's appointment, with mommy. It's confirmed... she's a happy, healthy baby (though not when she gets a shot in each thigh!). And she wasn't buying our explanation and that meningitis would be more painful.

This is Mr. Flying Flower Frog... she a new addition to her car seat and she enjoys his company very much!

Do you notice a pattern here?? Someone is very interested in eating any fingers offered (either her own or yours!).

This was taken when we got back from shopping at Border's, and walking around downtown Silver Springs together. She was asleep before we got out of the parking garage on our way home! Shopping is exhausting!

And just a random smiling happy baby... she's figured out how to smile around her pacifier... isn't it cute?? I mean I may be a little bit of a biased aunt, but that smile is pretty terrific!

200th Post!

I believe that this is my 200th post! Can you believe that? I certainly can't! But since I'm on nanny duty I don't have a whole lot of time to extrapolate... instead I'll just post a few pictures for the grandparents out there.

Who, me? No attitude here... certainly not... Auntie Jenna thinks the shirt says it all!
With my friend Julie... there are definitely four of us in this picture

Remind you of anyone, mom?

Victory!

I only have a second as I'm trying to get the wallpaper stripped in Sarah and Dan's bedroom by the end of the day (they're working on putting in the floor in the basement). Yesterday was a huge success. Raley was a great baby... very angelic. She slept through lunch, was flirty during our time at the mall (when she wasn't sleeping in her ergo) and even did well with our additional two other stops (at the dog food store and the human food store), as well as riding in the backseat by herself around the beltway. All in all I was very proud of both of us... alright, back to wallpaper.

Today's big outing

Today Raley and I are headed to Potomac Mills so that her mommy and daddy can get some work done here at home. We're going to meet my friends Mike and Julie for lunch and some possible shopping. Then we are going to the pet store to get dog food for Tater and then the grocery store for food for the rest of us. It should be a long day and hopefully neither of us will have too many melt downs! Wish us luck!

A Few More Pictures

Nannying today has gone a little bit more smoothly than yesterday (knock on wood as mommy still doesn't get home for another hour and a half). So I thought I'd post a few more pictures, mainly for the grandparents!

This shot is mainly for grandma who was worried about Raley not reaching out for things... We love reaching out for our star fish!

You have to put up with a lot as a dog with a four month old nearby.

And I mean a whole lot!
But when you look at how cute she is sleeping... well, you can see why Sarah calls her the cutest baby in the world!

My First Day... as a Nanny

It's a good thing she's my niece... because she's cute even when she is screaming her head off every time I feed her, as she did today. All things considering, however, it was a good first day nannying though I could have done with a tiny bit more smiley baby and a little bit less fussy baby. When I described her behavior to Sarah upon her arrival home she told me that this was Raley's behavior when she was a month or two old, but not so common for now... so hopefully tomorrow will be better.

I am sorry that I haven't posted more. But with trying to get their house ready for listing in about two and a half weeks and now having the baby on my own for almost eleven hours a day (a baby who refused to nap in her basinet or crib... really only on you), I just haven't had time to get on the computer. I haven't checked e-mail or other people's blogs and have not had time to update my own. This past weekend we painted the basement and tore up (which required much chiseling) about two thirds of the floor... we still have th rest of the floor, then the ceiling and then the new flooring to put down... and that's on that floor! So, with all the projects left around the house, I'm not sure it's going to get any better. But I'll keep trying.

And now, pictures of Raley...

Chewing on my fingers, who me?

Admiring our singing octopus while on floor time...

And for anyone who wondered what I looked like as a baby... this is it. She looks so much like me sometimes!

Babies are a big time-suck!

Raley is adorable... and she is the main reason why I have not posted in a week. Well, that and my sister has one more week of maternity leave until she goes back to work and we're trying to get as many home projects done as possible before she goes back. And that means little time for blogging, e-mailing, showering... And definitely no lesson-planning or paper-writing. But that's what the last three weeks of August are for, right? I work best under pressure anyway.

So, rather than give a day-by-day blow-by-blow as I had imagined doing, I'll instead give a photo collage of thus far. This is the first time I've been able to download pictures so of course I have many more cute ones but I thought these would help to satisfy all of the grandparents out there.

Grandpa and Raley bond over a mutual love of their own fists.

This is one of Raley's favorite past-times... back time with a human manipulating her fish mobile!

A close-up of Raley with her Grandma... I just love this picture.

Parenting a four month old can leave you a little batty... all of those of us without children should be warned.

A gratuitous cute baby picture while in the car... I get this "take me out" look quite a bit while riding in the backseat with her.

This is Raley in her Ergo carrier... this thing is amazing! You put her in it and she falls asleep instantly! This was two Saturdays ago when we went to a craft fair in downtown Silver Springs, MD.

And this is what my shirt looked like after carrying her for two and a half hours in 94 degree temperature!

And this is Raley in her Bjorn carrier at Home Depot... can you tell I'm a fan of the marsupial parenting technique? And isn't her watermelon hat adorable?

My sister, brother-in-law, father, myself and a family friend (obviously not pictured as he was taking the picture) all went to hear the Declaration of Independence read on the steps of the National Archives as part of our Fourth of July celebrations (mom, mom's friend and Raley stayed at home).

And Raley is actually a very chatty and happy baby who coos and smiles a lot. But when the camera comes out she becomes very serious as she studies the little metal box that is being pointed at her. Therefore I was pretty happy with this picture where she was cooing for me in the car.

Long Time, No Post...

Wow... it's been almost a week since I've posted and I know there are people who were beginning to wonder if I crashed somewhere between my parents and sister's homes... Nope, I'm here. It's just been a busy week.

My sister and her husband are hoping to put their house on the market at the end of the month. So, with helping my sister sort and pack and sort some more... and then to also be baby-wrangling and dog-sitting (for my parent's dog as well as for mine) there has barely been time to check e-mail let alone write blog posts.

My niece is adorable and I am really enjoying getting to know her and her special quirks. Like most babies in their fourth month, Raley is happy... then crying... then cooing... and then sleeping, often in the span of a few minutes. Yesterday she and I went to the grocery store together and left my sister home to get stuff done... and it was a huge success. We got all of our groceries in under an hour and Raley slept in her carrier the entire time. I am definitely a fan of marsupial-baby care.

And that's been my week!