A Little Holiday Cheer

Here are some pictures from the past week - enjoy!

Our Cindy Lou Who:

From our Christmas card photo shoot. We never did get her to look at the camera.

Fun times at mommy's graduation party!

We fly out to Missouri on Saturday! Merry Christmas!

Good Music, Bad Cakes

I realized that I forgot to mention one important event in the long list of activities below. Last Sunday (right after we got home from the retreat), Peter and I got the wonderful opportunity to see Over the Rhine in concert. It was a fantastic show in a small auditorium, and we got to sit on the second row. It wasn't a concert listed on their tour schedule - just an off-the-radar performance at Fuller Theological Seminary - which also means that we were able to walk there in about 5 minutes! We sat with some friends, sipped our coffee/apple cider, and listened to some fantastic musicians perform some really great songs. If you've never heard of Over the Rhine, do yourself a favor and check out their music today! Here's a quick list of some of my favorite songs by them:

Latter Days
Nobody Number One
Poughkeepsie
Trouble
B.P.D.
The Trumpet Child
My Funny Valentine cover
Suitcase

I also wanted to give an update on our little cuddle-bug's 4-month visit to the doctor on Thursday. The poor girl had to be woken up from a nap to go so she was a bit tired to begin with, which meant the shots didn't go over as well this time as last. But she still took them like a champ. She weighs 13 pounds, 2 ounces and is 26 inches long - in other words, kind of a long, somewhat-skinny baby. I thought she would have gained more weight than that by now, but the doctor said she is doing fantastic with her weight, so I guess it's not something to worry about. More importantly, she is more than meeting all the developmental milestones and generally seems happy, curious, and enthusiastic about life!

On a last random note, I encourage you to check out the following blog for a good laugh: Cake Wrecks: When Professional Cakes Go Horribly, Hilariously Wrong. My favorites are probably in the Missed Marks and Literal LOLs sections. I especially like the wedding cakes where you get to see the photo the bride turned in as a model and then the cake subsequently produced by the professional, such as this example. So funny!

Catching Up

Time for a long overdue update. The last time I posted was before Thanksgiving and a lot has happened since then. So here's the Hough House news in (not-so) brief:

During the week before Thanksgiving we got to see my brother Zach for a few hours, and Eden got to meet her second relative outside of her parents. We went to lunch and later took some pictures and watched The Office together – a nice, relaxing visit if too short.

On Thanksgiving we had a wonderful potluck dinner with a whole bunch of friends. Delicious food and good times were enjoyed by all. We also watched Elf on the biggest "magic box" (any television, computer, or in this case, projector screen) Eden had ever seen. It was cute seeing her stare at the screen with big eyes. She was a hit as always. I think the only time I held her was to feed her. I also think our little extrovert is going to introduce us to more new people than we would ever get to know on our own. On a side note, it was Thanksgiving last year that we found out we were pregnant with Eden - crazy.

On Friday we were able to spend a few hours with Peter’s dad and his wife who were in California visiting family. It was fun to catch up with them and introduce Eden to another one of her grandparents. Saturday we had another potluck dinner with friends where I learned that strawberries dipped in sour cream and then brown sugar taste really good. You wouldn't think so, but they do actually.

Last Thursday I finished and turned in my final assignment for my graduate degree. I've already heard back from my professor about my grade so I can officially announce that I will finally graduate with my Master's! What a weight off my shoulders! I enjoyed many aspects of graduate school and definitely learned a lot, but I am so, so, sooooo glad it's over. Especially now that I have Eden. I know multi-tasking is a valued skill in our culture, but I personally think it's overrated. I'm all for focusing on just a few important things at a time. And I really want to enjoy these last few weeks with Eden before I go back to work in January.

On Friday, Peter, Eden, and I packed up and headed to Murrieta Hot Springs to the Calvary Chapel Conference Center for our church's annual retreat. Because we had a baby we got our own room, but it was kind of funny because it was a room with 6 twin beds! The facilities and grounds were very nice - much nicer than we expected. We definitely weren't roughin' it out in the boonies. I was a little concerned about how easy it would be to participate in the activities with Eden, but I think Peter and I found a nice balance that allowed each of us to get some rest and some time with friends. The retreat center has pools for the natural hot springs scattered all over its property, so I got my first experience relaxing in one. It was interesting because the pools are naturally all different temperatures - the first one we tried was so hot that one of my friends named it The Mouth of Hell. We found a much nicer one on our second try. We also got to try an 80-person hot tub that was on the property. Honestly, I liked the hot tub better - the temperature is more consistent, it doesn't turn your silver rings colors (oops), and it doesn't reek of sulphur. I suppose the hot springs might be better for you since they're not full of chlorine, but really, that sulphur smell is quite an obstacle. Once again Eden took the new surroundings like a champ and got lots of attention.

We got back from the retreat on Sunday night, and Eden and I tried to take it easy on Monday. Monday night, however, was Peter's holiday party at work, so we put Eden in her new Christmas dress (she was the most adorable thing I've ever seen) and headed to the dinner. I think we finally hit Eden's limit for new activities (poor baby) because she became the exact opposite of her usual extroverted self and cried anytime a new person came up to her! She passed out toward the end of the evening. Thankfully, the rest of our week is quiet except that she gets her second round of shots on Thursday. Poor, poor baby!

I was hoping things would slow down for us a bit, but I don't think that's going to happen. We are flying to Missouri a week from Saturday so I'm basically trying to cram all Christmas shopping, decorating, card mailing, etc. into the next few days. I'm already realizing that I'm just going to have to let some stuff go or else I'll stress myself out and go insane (and probably take my family with me). So if you get your Christmas card in January, I apologize! I'm simultaneously excited and scared for our trip. It will be great to see our families, but the whole four-month-old-on-a-plane-during-the-holidays does not sound like fun. I also imagine living out of a suitcase for 10 days will be a bit of a challenge - after all, we filled the car with stuff just to take Eden to a fancy conference center.

I'll try to post again before our trip, but that may not happen if things continue at this crazy pace. So just in case, I'll end by wishing you all a merry Christmas and happy holidays! I'll try to post some pictures of Eden from the last few weeks below.

Acting squirrely:

Back from a walk with daddy:

Who me?

Visiting with Uncle Zach...

...and Grandpa Hough!

Working hard with mommy on her final project for her Master's degree:

Betcha didn't know...

Awhile back I was tagged by a friend and was therefore supposed to share 7 things on my blog that most people probably wouldn't know about me. It's not too hard to think of 7 things that most people don't know. It's really hard to think of 7 things that anyone would really care to know. Simply put, my life's just not that interesting.

But I have 30 minutes until Eden wakes up from her nap so let's see how fast I can put this list together. Hmmm.... thinking, thinking....

1. I married my first real boyfriend/first real kiss. What I'm not counting: the boy I kissed on the cheek on the school bus on our way home from kindergarten, and the boy in eighth grade whom I agreed to "go out" with via a friend on Friday afternoon and then broke up with (again through the same friend) on Monday morning without speaking with or seeing once in between. There are pros and cons to marrying your first boyfriend (I've made ALL my relationship mistakes with him, but have no other relational baggage, etc.), but hey, we'll have been married 8 1/2 years a week from today, so I guess it worked out pretty well!

2. I love cemeteries. I always wanted to live next to one, and I got proposed to in one. I know it sounds morbid, but I just think they're really neat pieces of history. And they're places of deep significance to so many people. One of the houses I lived in growing up actually had 3 Civil War era graves in the field behind it. So cool.

3. The sound of metal scraping on glass, porcelain, or other similar materials makes my teeth hurt. My parents own a set of dinner plates that I absolutely cannot bear to eat off of because of the noise a fork makes against them. I'm sure a lot of people don't like that kind of noise, but is the teeth hurting thing normal? What's that all about anyway?

4. Along similar lines, the blue Otter Pops make me cough. Actually the blue flavor of any brand of those ice pops (Fla-Vor-Ice, generic, etc.) makes me cough. I must be allergic to the dye or something, I don't know. It just makes my throat really itchy. But only the blue ones. And only in those kind of pops - not in any other kind of candy or desert that I know of.

Eeeek!! Only ten minutes left! And I'm running out of ideas...

5. I once had a cut on my finger stitched up by my dog's vet. To make a long story short: I worked for this vet in high school, cut my thumb really deeply while opening a container of cat food, refused to go to the hospital because I had just been there after a car accident and did NOT want to go back, and my vet was kind of excited to try stitching up a human being. So I got 3 stitches in my thumb. It went totally fine except my thumb wouldn't numb very well so I could feel the needle most of the time. Still better than going to the ER!!

6. I once put a fishhook through my brother's ear. Imagine you're a little girl who just learned how to cast a fishing rod and you want to practice casting off the end of your grandpa's dock. Now imagine that you are that little girl's older brother who is standing at the end of the dock, and that your sister just nicely asked you to move so that she could practice casting. Hadn't you better move? Answer: YES, YOU'D BETTER.

7. I like luxury. I guess this one probably isn't very original or surprising - I mean most people like luxury, right? As a kid though I was a total tomboy and was always out tromping through the woods, getting dirty, etc. Now, I really don't like camping that much. I still really like being outdoors, I just want to come back to a nice cabin with like a jacuzzi and a big screen tv and a really good dinner waiting for me. In fact, awhile back I made a life list and one of the items on it was that I wanted to stay in the best room of the Ritz-Carlton someday. Or some sort of penthouse-style room that celebrity-types stay in. It's not that I like extravagance - I think I'm actually a pretty simple girl - I just really like being comfortable (and lazy). Don't know if that distinction actually makes sense.

Okay, there you have it! Seven things about me that you probably never knew before. I'm not going to tag anyone else, but if you see this and have a blog, I hope you're inspired to share your own seven things. Or, you can do like my other friend and just share a list of things you're thankful for. Probably a better idea actually.

Grief

Jesus wept. (John 11:35)

This is one of those posts that could get away from me very easily, but I intend to try my hardest to make it as short and to the point as possible. I've been thinking a lot about grief lately - partially because of some recent personal experiences, but mostly from watching new friends walk through a gut-wrenching loss. I have led a very blessed life. I've had sorrows and disappointments, but until a few years ago I'd never truly experienced grief. And then in July of last year Peter and I lost our first baby in a miscarriage at the beginning of the 15th week of my pregnancy. How we wanted that baby! We had tried for over a year to get pregnant and had excitedly and impatiently waited through the first trimester for the time when it would be "safe" to share the news with the world. We moved to a 2-bedroom apartment so that we could have a nursery. We started thinking about names. We spent time dreaming about what it would be like to be parents, wondering whose personality our little one would take after, which side of the family he or she would most resemble in appearance.

I don't intend to get into the details of the very long and horrible night of our miscarriage. Simply put, there was a moment when I sat alone in the very early hours of a summer morning and faced the horrendous realization that the baby we had loved and anticipated and planned for had died, and there was nothing, nothing, nothing I could do to take that back or change it. I remember that exact moment very clearly. It was probably one of the most difficult of my life so far. In what could only have been a second or two I tried to wrap my mind around this horrible information, and then was immediately hit with the thought that I now had to go, wake up my sweet husband who was sleeping peacefully in the next room, and break his heart.

The point of this post isn't about my grief in that moment, but actually what happened next. I remember thinking clearly (who knows, I may have even said it out loud), I CANNOT do this. I CANNOT bear this. But as soon as I said it I absolutely knew two things. First of all, I was not alone. The God in whom I trusted my life was there with me, loving me. Secondly, and in some ways more importantly, He grieved. My heartbreak was just a miniature reflection of His own. He wasn't just there bearing MY burden. He too grieved. For me. For my baby - His beautiful creation. For a death, a severing of relationship, that He never intended and never wanted. I firmly believe that the God of the universe, the Maker of everything, loved my baby enough to sit with me in a tiny apartment bathroom on an early Monday morning and weep.

It is in no way my intention to get into the problem of pain here. If you were to ask me that morning if I thought God could have prevented my miscarriage I would have said yes. I would say yes today. I don't know why He didn't. But I have no doubt that He loves my child, and I have no doubt that He weeps with those who weep and mourns with those who mourn - not just as a Friend, not even just as a Comforter, but as one who suffers, and as one who feels more than any of us the sorrow of death. As King David once said about his own lost child, "I will go to him, but he will not return to me." Someday I too will get to meet this first child of mine and all my wonderings and longings will be satisfied. Until then I know my baby is safe - more than safe - in the arms of Someone who grieves our every pain and who loves beyond all our imaginings.

Calling All Moms

Whew! Ok, that thing I said about Eden sleeping/napping well in the previous post? I have to take that back. A couple nights ago she woke up at about 12:45 am to eat, then tossed and turned in her bassinet until 1:30ish when she decided, enough with sleep, it was time to wake up. So she babbled and smiled and squealed at me for another hour or so and finally dropped back off to sleep at 3 am. At 4:45 am she was back up again, then 6:30 am, with very little real sleeping in between. I finally got her to sleep from 8 to 10, and then tried to put her down for another nap at around noon (when she started acting tired), but she would have none of it. Crying in her crib, crying in her swing, crying when I held her, you get the idea. I'm pretty sure she wasn't sick or anything (although possibly teething), just tired and out of sorts and very sleep-resistant. It was just one of those days (or nights, I guess). The last two nights have been much better but getting her to nap during the day has become an enormous challenge. In fact, I recently had a never-made-it-out-of-my-pajamas day which I thought I had put behind me with her first few weeks.

Anyway, the point of this blog isn't actually about Eden sleeping, but about what to do when she's not sleeping. To put it simply, we're bored! She's at the age where she's definitely beyond just sitting and looking at things, but still too small to sit up or have the manual dexterity to manipulate toys very much. The few toys she has (rattles and teether types) are boring to both of us (after playing with them every day for weeks). I try to take her on walks (when I make it out of my pajamas), but that doesn't fill all her activity time. She doesn't really like her swing or bouncy seat anymore. So... what to do? I've never been that creative, and I'm definitely out of ideas for keeping her entertained (and you know, learning and developing and stuff :) ). If any of you moms out there have some suggestions, I would love to hear them! In the meantime, I will try to think of more ways to make funny noises as that always seems to be one of her favorite things.

A Sad Heart

Peter and I had our first date night last night (thanks, Latshaws, for babysitting!). Unfortunately, it wasn't too fun. We went for a short walk and had dinner at a nice Mexican restaurant, and Peter tried (with some success) to keep us from talking about Eden the whole time, but my heart just wasn't in it.

In many ways it's been a good week. Eden has been napping/sleeping well, we had fun eating pizza and watching election coverage on Tuesday with friends, the weather has been beautiful, everyone is healthy, etc. But my heart has been heavy lately, mostly because of some difficult situations currently being faced by friends, acquaintances, and even some relative strangers. Sometimes it just seems like the world is too full of bad news, injustice, suffering, and grief, and it's about all I can take. And ever since having Eden I've been particularly sensitive to any suffering experienced by children and the consequent grief and agony experienced by their parents. This week has been full of bad news of the latter sort and some of these situations look to get worse before the week is over. I'm sure there are happier days in store and happier experiences to enjoy ahead, but for right now I just feel heartbroken and low and sad about the world in general.

A Month of Happenings

Man oh man, I'm behind on updating this thing! I guess I'll just dive right in:

Eden officially turned 3 months old yesterday, November 1st! We celebrated by keeping her up way past her nap time and when she finally succumbed to exhaustion we went for a walk and got caramel apples and chocolate-covered honeycomb pieces. Yum! I just can't believe 3 months has passed already. Since the last time I posted she has had her first round of shots, giggled for the first time, learned to roll over from her back to her stomach (she could already do the reverse), begun to show a real interest in playing with toys (ok, mostly in chewing on them), been to a pumpkin patch, dressed up as an elephant, and become the proud owner of a brand new Christmas dress!

It is so much fun to buy her cute clothes. I thought I would really have to talk Peter into buying the dress with the rationale that we need it early for the Christmas card photo, but the second I made the suggestion he was ready to go. We actually went through the Macy's infant section together comparing all the cute dresses and discussing the pros and cons of each. There are surely few things in this world more fun than watching my husband seriously and carefully debate between a rose-colored dress with embroidered flowers and a satiny red Christmas dress, both in sizes that are still too small to fit many of Eden's teddy bears. (I couldn't find a picture of the red dress online which is too bad because it is the cutest thing ever and what we finally decided to buy.)

Eden took her shots like a champ. She screamed when the nurse put the needle in her chubby little legs then immediately quieted down when Daddy picked her up. Previous to that she had been smiling at the pediatrician and nurses and not complaining a bit about the exam. The nurse who gave her the shots said it was the worst part of her job. I can definitely believe that!

The first giggle happened a few nights ago when daddy was playing with her and tickled her neck. We now proceed to act like fools on a regular basis to try to get her to giggle again.

Eden's learning to roll over onto her stomach feels a bit like a mixed blessing. We're glad that she's showing another positive sign of physical development but I kind of wish she would have waited awhile on this one. She now immediately flips to her stomach anytime we place her in her crib or co-sleeper to sleep, which as all new parents are told time and time again, is a big no-no due to the risk of SIDS. It only took about two naps though for me to realize there was no point in trying to constantly flip her back over, so now we just let her be and pray even harder for her health and safety. I do sometimes think the whole SIDS thing is over-emphasized to new parents. I definitely believe in health education (that's what my undergraduate degree is in after all), but for something that is relatively rare and for which there is little anyone can do about, it sure gets a lot of press. All of which results in a lot of temptation to worry - but I'm determined to not give into it!!

We took Eden to a big pumpkin patch a few weeks ago and that's where she wore her elephant costume for the first time. Peter posted some pictures on his blog. She also wore the costume on Halloween for a little trick-or-treating and children's parade in the town of Sierra Madre. Those pictures (as well as pictures of me carving my first pumpkin ever) are still on the camera, but I'll try to get some posted soon. She wasn't too fond of her costume at the pumpkin patch (but it was in the 90's then, so who can blame her), but she seemed content enough to wear it all through our Halloween events, while strapped to Peter's chest in the baby bjorn. She got lots of comments from passers-by on her cuteness and was the only baby elephant I saw in what must have been hundreds of children.

I had a bunch of other things that I wanted to mention, but as I've been working on this post in spurts between household tasks and taking care of Eden, I've forgotten most of them. So I think I'll just go ahead and put this up and hopefully find time to post more often as the other thoughts and events come back to me.

Happy November everyone!

Things You Should Try

Breyers Pure Fruit Bars - Pomegranate Blends.

Seriously, I could eat 100 of these things. So tasty and refreshing!!

Our Trip To The Mountains

Every year Peter goes on several school-related retreats and conferences, and until this year, I've never been able to go with him. This Saturday, however, I was able to head up with him to a retreat center in Forest Falls, California. We spent Saturday afternoon, all of Sunday, and Monday morning in the mountains and got back home Monday afternoon. I didn't take a single picture, but here's a quick summary of our experience:

First of all, I was overwhelmed by all the stuff you have to pack to take a baby anywhere overnight! Eden easily had more luggage than Peter and I combined, even though I actually worked really hard to only bring her "essentials." In a way I think I did a good job because we thoroughly used every single item that I packed for her with the exception of a couple of small items like some extra onesies and a receiving blanket. In fact, she could have used some more clothes as a couple of minor diaper leaks limited our already small supply of warmer wear for her.

A day or two before the trip we went shopping and bought an extremely cute pair of pink corduroy overalls with a long-sleeved shirt, hoping it would be a good outfit for the cooler temperatures and that it also might last her a few months - in case it ever gets cooler here at home (doesn't seem like that's ever going to happen at this point). We held the outfits up to her in the store and selected the one that seemed like it would give her a little growing room. Well when we put the outfit on her on Saturday, it looked like she was wearing capris! I don't know if the clothes shrunk that much in the wash (they were still plenty big around) or if we just have an exceptionally long baby or both, but I was so disappointed I wanted to cry. The outfit went from looking super cute to looking slightly ridiculous, and it will honestly be a miracle if she ever wears it again. So sad. I've been trying to be economical and restrain myself from buying her cute clothes except for special occasions, so the whole situation was a bit of a blow to me. When she later got her other warm outfit dirty I resorted to putting her in a onesie and hat and just wrapping her up in a big fluffy blanket anytime we left the cabin. She seemed happy either way so I guess it was okay. She did get to wear this extremely cute little white coat that someone gave her - it also will be too small the next time she needs it, but it was fun for the weekend.

Our cabin was very nice and close to the dining hall and meeting center. The only disadvantage was that it was split duplex-style and the dividing door/wall was very thin. So when the people in the adjoining side spoke in anything above a whisper you could hear what they were saying word for word like they were standing right behind you - and unfortunately, our neighbors were rather loud talkers. When they first moved in I was alone in the cabin with Eden and was startled at how clearly I could hear their (rather embarrassing) conversation. I started chatting with Eden hoping they would hear me and realize how thin the walls were. It didn't seem to work. They also stayed up talking way past the camp's "lights out" time, so between that and Eden's regular nocturnal feedings, I only got 2 hours of sleep the first night and 4 the next. Needless to say, I was exhausted! But this was really the only difficult part of our trip at all.

The weather and surroundings were beautiful! It was so nice to feel something like autumn. I had a great time getting to know some of Peter's students and spending time with his coworkers and our friends. We saw some wildlife (Peter saw a bear wander through camp!), and I was able to see the stars through the cabin's window as I was putting Eden to bed. Eden made lots of friends of course. I hardly held her anytime I was out of our cabin - she was almost constantly surrounded by a crowd of fans.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was that I went on the camp's zip line! I had always wanted to ride on a zip line, but I have a fear of heights and I was nervous about the initial jump off the platform. (I was pretty sure once I was going I would be okay.) Peter and I and two of our friends, Jacob and Skip, got in line and as we got closer to the platform I found myself looking for excuses to avoid the experience. Peter was holding Eden and I decided that I would just offer to take her back to the cabin to feed her so that he could ride the zip line in my place (what a martyr!). However, the line started moving more quickly and when I stumbled through my offer he pointed out that he could just meet me at the bottom of the line, and I would still be able to take Eden back to the cabin just as quickly - and that he would rather see me go than go himself. I think he knew I was scrambling for an escape.

The next thing I knew I was getting strapped into the harness and was climbing the spiral staircase (almost as scary as you could easily see through the gaps in the metal steps and it swayed near the top) to the top of the platform. (I'm not good at guessing measurements, but Peter says he thinks the platform was probably at least 3o feet in the air - way too high for someone like me.) I honestly was so scared at that point that I had tears in my eyes - I just tried to stare at my feet or the posts or my harness - anything but the giant space that I was shortly going to have to jump off into. There were actually 4 lines that ran simultaneously so I was able to go at the same time as Jacob and Skip. I never would have made it otherwise - they were so encouraging! The camp staff person at the top of the platform (who was also very encouraging - I made him assure me twice that I was strapped in properly and wouldn't die) strapped us all in and then did a short countdown and told us to jump. I didn't let myself think at all, just quickly walked to the edge and stepped off into the air - and the next thing I knew I was flying down the valley, surrounded by some beautiful mountain scenery and hearing Peter's students (who were waiting in line at the base of the platform) cheering for me. It was a wonderful experience! Like I expected, I was fine once I was sliding down the line, and I was honestly so proud of myself for doing something I found terrifying. I think if I did it again I would be almost just as scared, but knowing I had done it once before would certainly help.

The truth is being a mom has changed and is changing me in a lot of good ways and the zip line experience is one great example of that. Eden was my motivation as I was strapped into the harness, climbed the stairs, stood (shaking) on the platform and stepped off into space. I kept thinking that I could never tell her not to be afraid, or to have courage to face her fears, if I wasn't willing to be a model of those behaviors for her. I wanted to do the zip line for myself, and there was a certain bit of pride involved in not wanting to look silly by bailing at the last minute, but it was definitely Eden that got me through the experience. Just another of the unexpectedly powerful parts of my experience as a mom.

'Cause She's Got Personality

Peter took over 200 pictures of our sweet munchkin the other day - here are just a few:

A Few Firsts

I'm writing this as Eden naps and have no idea how much time I have - it could be minutes, it could be an hour (doubtful). So I'm just going to chuck out news/thoughts as they occur to me which likely means this will be a very disorganized post. But whatever, here goes:

Eden News (which, be honest, is probably all you're really here for anyway - and I don't blame you - it is, after all, why I started this blog in the first place):

• Since my last post, Eden has successfully rolled over multiple times - always from stomach to back and always over her right side. The first time we thought it was a fluke and maybe she just kind of fell over since we had her propped up a tad, but then we removed the prop and she promptly rolled over again - twice in a row. She has done it several times again since then - even once on request in front of a friend. (I would like to think that this means we are going to have a very obedient child, but I doubt this is so based on the following observation.) It should be noted that this rolling over always occurs when she has grown tired of mandated "tummy time" and has decided that if we aren't going to move her she is just going to take matters into her own hands.
• Speaking of her hands, a few nights ago she also sucked her thumb for the first time. She likes to suck on Peter's arm when he's holding her and she occasionally will kind of gnaw at her fist, but this was the first time she was clearly focused completely on just her thumb. It was very cute.
• She has become a very smiley baby - and she does the great baby thing of smiling with her whole face - wide open mouth, squinted eyes, etc. She smiles the most right after a good long nap, occasionally while pooping, and definitely while being cleaned up on the changing table. (She especially gets a kick out of being fanned dry.) For this reason, we are often reluctant to take her off of the changing table. She also really likes her crib mobile. She smiles the least anytime I get out the video camera. :)
• She took her first bottle this week - just an ounce (for "practice") on Monday night and then a full bottle (about 4 ounces) on Tuesday night while I went to women's Bible study. Peter said it took her about 20 minutes of fussing to drink the first half ounce or so and then suddenly she seemed to get the trick and downed the rest in just a few minutes. (I'm looking forward to the freedom that a bottle will provide, but I was also secretly pleased that she didn't immediately prefer the bottle over nursing. My baby needs me!)
• She attended her first high school football game last Friday and was very well behaved. Probably because she was being held by other people almost the whole night. She was able to wear her footie pajamas (it's normally too hot for those here) and looked extremely adorable.
• She's starting to make little baby talk noises: oohs and aaahs and squeals. I still haven't heard a clear laugh or giggle (except once or twice during sleep), but I'm really looking forward to it.
• She's getting chubby thighs. I think I'm finally able to let go of my fear that she's not getting enough to eat because of this clear evidence to the contrary. I continue to read that she should be eating 20-40 minutes each meal time, and she continues to eat for only about 10 minutes - with some coaxing (she's usually really done after about 7 or 8 minutes). She also continues to have green foamy poop. (Are you officially a parent when you consider the status of your daughter's poop important enough to announce to the world?) But as this does not seem to concern her (or Peter or our pediatrician) in the slightest, I guess I will have to officially resign my fear. But it's really the chubby thighs that did it.

Other News:

• Ummmm. Can't really think of much to say here.
• Peter's job is going well.
• I need to find time to finish my classwork or it's never going to happen.
• I'm not allowing myself to read another baby book until Eden turns 3 months old (she'll turn 8 weeks tomorrow by the way!). I'm reading Little Women in little bits as I can for fun.
• Our friends threw a "Midwest Fest" to celebrate our birthdays - we grilled steaks, ate casseroles and peach cobbler, and watched football. It was lots of fun.
• The fact that it is now officially fall has really made me miss home. No changing leaves or cool temps here.
• Eden and I get to go with Peter to a school conference in the mountains in a few weeks - I'm really excited!

Well, that's all for now! Overall, life is very good, and we feel very blessed (although a bit discombobulated by all the changes at times too). Here's a picture of our beautiful daughter, who is indeed a delight (as her name means), to leave you with:


And she's awake!!

A Few New Photos

We took these pictures on the computer today:

Fear

So I've been thinking lately about how big of an issue fear is in my life.

I've mentioned several times recently how much I worry about Eden, and although that's sort of gotten a little better - mostly just because I'm a little more used to my role as a parent - it's still a very big problem for me. In fact, I was just telling Peter recently that I feel kind of angry about how much of the joy of these first few weeks of our daughter's life has been eaten up by all my stress and worrying. I guess in a way part of all this fear and doubt and anxiety can be blamed on the miscarriage. I still very much feel the pain of that loss (just thinking of it now brings tears to my eyes), and I suppose the experience has made me somewhat hyper-vigilant about anything that might cause similar loss and pain in the future. But the truth is, at the end of the day, I know it's just plain ol' fear stealing my joy and peace regardless of what face it wears.

I'm pretty familiar with fear actually - I've been a worrier all my life, I think, and have had some pretty serious struggles with stress and anxiety since high school at least, maybe junior high. And at the moment I'm kind of mad because I'm 29 years old now, and I'm still bearing the same weight on my shoulders - constantly worrying about everything. Part of what attracted me to Peter is his ability to not worry and not stress about things, but the truth is I envy him sometimes. I really, really, really want to not be a worrier. I want to just enjoy this time with my daughter. I want to just enjoy this time in my life period. And as a Christian, I know I'm supposed to be free from fear. I mean "don't be afraid" and "don't worry" are pretty common commands in the Bible. But in all honesty, right at this moment I'm so frustrated because I know I'm not supposed to be afraid or worry, and I don't want to be afraid, and yet that's exactly what I keep on doing all the time, and I have no idea how to be any different. All I know right now is that it isn't a matter of wanting or trying because I've got a lot of that under my belt and it hasn't done much good. (For crying out loud, I led a Bible study on overcoming fear in college - what on earth made me think I was qualified for that?)

Anyway, this post isn't actually going anywhere because I don't have a conclusion for it at the moment. That's kind of the point really - a conclusion to the fear and worry is very much what I'm looking for, and right at the moment, I'm just wondering if it's even possible.

I Don't Understand...

...how I can spend so much time trying to get Eden to fall asleep (hoping that this time she'll stay asleep), and then 5 minutes after I've walked out of the nursery, really miss her and wish she would wake up so I could see her pretty face and eyes again.

First Smile

Okay, this isn't actually Eden's first smile - but it's the first one caught in a photo. This also isn't a recent picture - it's from her first week, but it was already on my computer and I wanted to get at least one "new" photo up soon. She smiles a lot more now - and as much when she's awake as when she's asleep, although I'm still not 100% sure they are actual reactions to what's going on around her. She's also had a few belly laughs - but only in her sleep so far. Wish I had a video of that - it's way too cute.

The Week In Review

Here's our latest stats:

• 3 - number of times Eden has thrown up on me this week (according to our pediatrician she's a "happy spitter"). This kid's first chore is going to be laundry.
  
• 1 - number of leaky diapers (but it was on Peter this time - way to go, baby!!)
• 28 - number of days it took for Eden's umbilical cord stump to fall off (it fell off yesterday - I was beginning to wonder...)
• 16 - number of ounces Eden has gained in the last 2 weeks
• 2 - number of treats required to lure Sheba and Pudge out from under the crib this morning (their new favorite place to sleep)
• 1,378,902 - approximate number of times I've worried about something today alone probably (still working on this, people)
• 0 - number of new pictures posted to this blog (so sorry, I have new pictures and video but they're all still on the camera)
  
• 1 - how many months old Eden is today (congratulations, baby!)

I'll work on getting some pictures/video up soon. Hope you all are doing well!

Adjustments

Well, this is going to have to be very short - but I know I haven't posted in awhile and wanted to get something up. Things here in the Hough House are going well - I think. I've decided that probably the hardest part about this new parent business is that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing or what's normal. So far it seems like Eden is playing the role of newborn perfectly - lots of sleeping, eating, diaper dirtying, and crying. I guess in a way I am also filling the new parent role to a T in that I spend a big chunk of my time worrying about everything - mostly because everything is new to me, and I have no idea what normal is supposed to be. Is she sleeping too little, too much? Does she eat enough? Is she crying because she's about to die or is she just crying because she's a baby and that's what babies do? That's a pretty broad spectrum of possibilities to choose from and it seems like most of my day is spent trying to make judgment calls about what is normal - and hoping that I'm right or at least right enough to not cause or allow any serious harm to come to her. Anyway, in the end, I think the hardest part of adjusting to my new role as a parent is the mental/emotional energy required in all this constant evaluation and decision-making - the sleep-deprivation and inconsolable crying aren't actually as tiring as the worrying about the crying (or the eating, or sleeping, or whatever). Peter, as always, has been wonderful just in his ability to not worry and to share that sense of calm with me when he comes home from work everyday - otherwise I'd probably be going crazy.

On a side note, the cats seem to have adjusted quickly to Eden. Sheba, as expected, is utterly bored and uninterested unless food is somehow involved. Pudge runs away when Eden cries sometimes, but also often seems very curious about what she's doing - he'll regularly come up and sniff her head or peek in at her when she's in her bassinet or bouncy chair. The most amazing thing is how quickly the cats have realized how much more freedom they have to misbehave now. They definitely know that when I'm holding Eden I'm much less likely to get up and chase them away from doing something bad - so they'll pretend to not hear me yelling at them and go right on trying to chew through the aluminum foil to the plate of brownies or scratching the couch, for example.

One funny story before I go: a few nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night to feed Eden and while I was busy doing so, Pudge decided to see if the side of the bassinet was a nice thing to scratch his claws on. I yelled at him, which he ignored. So to get his attention, I grabbed an empty Kleenex box by my chair and tossed it on to the floor next to him, hoping to startle him and get him to stop. It worked, not because he was startled, but because he immediately became interested in playing with the empty box. Fast-forward 30 seconds, and I'm chasing Pudge around the living room and kitchen with Eden hanging on in one arm as I try to get the Kleenex box unstuck from his head. One of those moments that's funny later.

One Week Old!

Hard to believe but Eden will be one week old as of 5:28 pm today. It has gone by in a blink. We came home from the hospital late Sunday evening and have been getting used to life with a baby ever since. In the last week I've had two stretches of 24+ hours without sleep, something I don't think I've ever experienced before, even in college. (What can I say, I like to sleep.) Overall though things are going very well. My mom arrived on Wednesday and is staying with us for a week. She has been a huge help - I don't know what I'd do without her.

Here are some more pictures!

Welcome Eden Adelei!

Born 8.1.2008
5:28pm
8 pounds 13 ounces
22 1/4 inches

Baby and mom are doing great! 15 hours of labor, 35 minutes of pushing, 1 knot in the umbilical cord, 0 complications. Praise God!

And now for some survey results:

She was born after her due date, but on her own. She has a lot of hair, but it's not red (yet--Peter and his siblings all had dark hair at birth and red hair later, so we'll see). And we decided on the name a few days ago, before she was born.

And now for the first picture!

And another!

The Waiting Game

Blessings on the four people who voted that baby would arrive on or before her due date, but unfortunately that possibility has come and gone. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday (at which my OB politely asked me NOT to go into labor as she had three other patients in labor at that very moment), and we have another one scheduled for this Friday. I think if nothing has happened by that day my OB will talk about scheduling an induction. I don't really want an induction so I'm hoping things progress naturally before then, but I'm not completely against the idea either, especially since Peter's paternity leave starts tomorrow and it would be nice if he got to spend as much time home with the baby as possible. I'm still holding out hope for a July baby actually - but that means things need to start happening very soon! At the same time I'm trying to have a good attitude and not hold too tightly to my preferences. I know we'll have our baby very soon one way or the other.

We had a nice little earthquake here yesterday morning. The interesting thing about earthquakes (as opposed to other natural disasters like floods, I suppose) is that when they don't do any damage, they're actually kind of fun. Yesterday's quake, my sixth since moving to Southern California, was the strongest one I've felt so far and one of the longest. I actually scooted back from the table I was sitting at and told myself that if the shaking got any stronger I would go under the table just to be safe. But it didn't get any stronger, and it was really all over very quickly. The windows made a rather alarming popping sound at one point and a couple of small things fell over, but that was it. I tried to tell baby that God Himself was trying to shake her out, but apparently she remains unconvinced.

Well, that's all the news for now! I'm going to go clean my house (again) just in case I get my wish and baby comes today or tomorrow. One plus to this waiting game is that I just finished reading a book for fun - something I haven't been able to do in a long time. It's called Before Green Gables and is supposed to be the prequel to the Anne of Green Gables series. I recommend it, although I would also remind potential readers that Anne led a pretty miserable life before arriving at the Cuthberts on PEI. The author tries to keep the story in the same positive, upbeat tone as the rest of the series, but that's a bit of a challenge in light of Anne's history. However, although it's not 100% cheerful, I would still consider it an enjoyable read.

Countdown

Hello all! Well we had our 39th week appointment yesterday. Our OB guessed that baby is about 7 to 7.5 pounds now. She also said that she wouldn't be surprised if I go a "few days" past due since baby is showing no indication of coming out anytime soon. This is also a guess, of course, as apparently babies are well known for doing whatever they want and surprising everyone. However, it's an educated guess, so I'm preparing myself for a wait. I've heard that most first-time-moms deliver after their due date anyway, although that hasn't been true in any case that I can actually think of at this moment, except once (out of three kids) for my mom.

I would rather baby arrive sooner rather than later as 7-7.5 pounds sounds quite nice and as my class is now over. (Temporarily, that is - Peter decided I was too stressed and asked my OB to write me a note which she happily agreed to - I now have until December to finish the last few projects.) But at the moment (now that the pressures of my responsibilities at work and school have been lifted), I'm also more than happy to wait as long as it takes for baby to feel ready to make her entrance into the world. It is a rather big deal after all, and I don't think it's fair to rush her. (I know that I hate to be rushed, and maybe she's like me in that way.) On the other hand, my OB said she probably wouldn't want to let me go more than a week past due, and as I really don't want to be induced, I'm hoping that our daughter decides to come out on her own sometime before that point - which is actually two weeks from today.

That's right! We are now only one week from my official due date: July 29th. And, in celebration of all the wonderful free time I now have, I've decided to create another poll! Isn't it exciting?! Actually, I just may go poll crazy, for no other reason than I can - so definitely take a look to the right and toss your opinion into the ring. I would say that the winners get to name the baby (nope, we still haven't decided on a name), except that a certain friend who I won't identify (okay, her name sounds just like a famous perfume) showed me last time how you can cheat on the polls and vote multiple times. (Said friend then left me with the sad task of informing Peter that "Adelei" had received a significant number of fraudulent votes - which I guess didn't actually make much difference in the end as it still ended up dead last in the poll results. Poor Pete.) Anyway, don't cheat!

The Exodus

As part of getting the apartment ready for baby, Peter and I recently unpacked the last few boxes from our move a little over a year ago. In the Hough House the last few boxes are always the toughest because they're always full of all the little random odds and ends that don't really have a home but you couldn't bring yourself to get rid of when you were packing up - so they all got dumped together in one big mess of a box. Well, my nesting instinct having kicked in to some extent, I recently decided that the time had come - the boxes had to go, along with any contents that we couldn't find a logical place or use for. I hate tedious decision-making though, so working through those boxes took me over a week - but now we're done! And that's a pretty good feeling.

At least two of the boxes were half-filled with all the notes and journals and handouts that I've collected over the years from apparently every Bible study, sermon, missions conference, etc., that I've ever been a part of. Now this stuff is especially difficult for me. I know that I will never read or even look at the vast majority of it again and we really don't have the space for it - but somehow throwing it away feels terrible, like I'm throwing away all my merit badges that prove (mostly to myself) that I am, in fact, a Christian. In the end however, good sense and the nesting instinct won out and most of it went in the trash, but I did keep a very few things.

One of the items I kept was from a Bible study on Exodus that Peter and I led back in college - I think just after we'd gotten married. It was one of my all-time favorite Bible studies - and to this day Exodus is one of my favorite books of the Bible. The item I kept is really just one small piece of paper titled, "What I Learned From Exodus." Here's the rest in case you're interested:

1. It is not about our capabilities, but about God's will and sovereignty and power. (What God chooses to do - He does.)

2. Deliverance rarely comes in the form or manner we expect. (Examples: Moses, manna, Jesus)

3. God has had this whole thing planned out since the beginning. (Moses' preparation; References to Christ in the Passover/Tabernacle)

4. It is very important to God that we know Him (who He is).

That's all! But after 8 years, it did my heart good to read those again.

A Little Baby Insanity - Straight From Me To You

I am so sorry that I haven't posted to this blog for awhile. I always knew I'd never be the daily posting type, but I was hoping to have at least a weekly update. And now it's been a month... Well, all I can say is that I started this blog to post news about the baby, and since she's not technically here yet, everything so far has really just been a warm-up! Or something like that.

Speaking of baby, did I mention she's not here yet? I'm not sure how I feel about this. In a way I don't feel ready at all - I tried to swaddle a stuffed animal this morning and failed miserably (and I tried about 5 times). So much for that Baby Care Basics class we took. I also would love more time to get more stuff done around the house. The nursery is functionally ready, but not really decorated yet, etc.

On the other hand, people are starting to stare at me wherever I go. I am generally feeling awkward and uncomfortable on a daily basis - almost like my body isn't my body - at least not the one I've known for almost the last 3 decades. I keep dropping things. When I get out bed, my legs feel like they might just snap off. (Seriously, no one told me that at the end of pregnancy your legs might feel like they're just going to break off completely from your hips at any moment. I feel like the Barbie dolls that my brother and I used to use as test dummies for random experiments until they're appendages started to come off on a regular basis. What is that?) I only have two more days of work (yaaaayyyyyyyy!!), but school is running me into the ground. (My professor will give me an Incomplete when I go into labor, but I really want the Incomplete now so that I can have at least some time to rest and appreciate the last few weeks/days of life as just a couple instead of working to 1:30 in the morning like I've done lately.) So in a way I want the baby to come as soon as possible. But then I feel really selfish for wanting our daughter to be born just so I can get out of school or avoid some of the more uncomfortable physical aspects of pregnancy.

The truth is I can't wait to meet her, and I'm terrified at the same time.

Peter is extremely excited which is so cute and always gets me feeling super enthusiastic and ready. But when he goes to work and it's just me in the house with the homework and the to-do list and the Barbie doll legs, I start to wonder. What have I done? Am I ready for this? Is this kid even going to like me? Dr. Phil says that kids are just blank slates that we write on for better or worse. I'm pretty confident that I have no business writing on anyone's slate. I guess this whole pregnancy has been like the beginning of the roller coaster where you're slowly chugging up the hill for the first big drop - and now I've reached those last few moments where we're really high up, and the anticipation is overwhelming, and I can see the drop off that's just ahead - and from up here it looks like the edge of the world. And panic is setting in. And the only thing keeping me from screaming my head off and begging to be let off is the increasingly meaningless idea that I'm supposedly an adult and am too cool and mature for all that.

And then the baby kicks or something, and I just can't wait to see her face to face and find out exactly who this new little person is whose soul and body have been knit together by the hand of God.

So yeah, baby isn't here yet. And I'm not sure how I feel about that.

Early Morning Ramble

Well, it's 5:57 in the morning here, and I've been up since about 4:15 am. I finally decided that if I was going to be awake, I might as well do something - thus, here's a new blog post! We're in a bit of a heat wave here in Southern California which has made falling to sleep initially difficult, and for me anyway, third trimester pregnancy has meant that once I wake up (which usually happens sometime in the 4 o'clock hour), I can't fall back asleep again - at least not until about 7 or 8 o'clock, which is when I have to get up anyway.

Other than my sleep deprivation issues, things here are going pretty well. Baby is kicking and moving around like a madwoman right now, which I always figure is a good sign of health and vitality. Work is going well enough. I've noticed a slightly decreased interest in my reference questions lately - I don't seem to be enjoying the research quite as much as normal - but I think this might just be a reflection of being distracted by other non-work life events. For example, school is being a bit of a bear: I'm taking a web design class which I thought was for beginners, but 80% of what the teacher said in lecture yesterday went completely over my head, so I may have been misinformed about that when I registered for class. The information is interesting though (we're learning HTML and CSS right now), so even if I'm facing a monstrously steep learning curve, that helps. Unfortunately, I'm having to spend about 4 hours a day in homework on this class just to try to keep up at all - and I'm not even sure that's enough (since the last lecture was mostly gibberish to me). Normally this situation would stress me out to the extreme, and I definitely have felt some serious stress at moments, but on the other hand, it's my last class before graduating, it's more of an elective (not essential to my job so anything I learn is a bonus), and there's a reasonable chance I'm going to have to take an Incomplete for it anyway if Baby comes on or before her due date. All good reasons not to worry too much I figure. Although it sure would be nice to have some free time for other things.

That's about it for my life here at the moment. Pete's enjoying his job and getting to work with some new colleagues. He has a really great group of chaplains for next year. And he's starting a drumline which both he and many of the kids are excited about! We've enjoyed a couple of great baby showers recently and feel so appreciative of all of our kind, generous, and supportive family and friends. Peter and a few of my friends even conspired to fly my mom out for the baby showers as a surprise - it was wonderful being able to see her and have her present for those events. I feel very, very blessed. If I can get it to work, I'll post a picture of me and my mom below (so you can see my big pregnant belly). It's crazy to me that we only have about six weeks left before this baby is actually here...

Diapers and Propane

So I recently started a list on our refrigerator door of the things we might need to buy or stock the nursery with before the baby comes. Yesterday I stopped to do a quick skim of the list and was surprised to see the word propane scribbled in at the bottom. I was a little taken aback, as I think you will understand, but figured Peter had just assumed it was our regular shopping list and jotted down that we needed more propane for our grill without looking too closely. Further inquiry proved that this was in fact the case, but every time I look at that list now (with the word propane scratched off), I have to chuckle.

One of the things I'm most looking forward to about parenthood is getting to see Peter be a father. I think he is going to be a really great dad - it's one of the reasons I married him. And I'm really excited to celebrate Father's Day this Sunday with him too. (So I guess we'd better go buy some propane so we can grill up some steaks just like he likes.)

Baby Names Part Two

Ok, so the polls for voting on the spelling of potential baby names has ended and here are the winners: Annabelle, Adelei, and Laney. I agree with you all on two out of three - the first two that is. I must confess, I like the spelling Lanie best for the last poll, but that didn't seem to be very popular. I've decided to go ahead and make another poll for everyone to vote on which of the above three they actually prefer overall. Same rules as before: feel free to comment as long as it's relatively positive and, of course, we reserve the right to completely ignore the results and choose whatever name we want in the end (especially since we now have Shanelle's promise to personally defend our child against any bullies or mockers). But I really enjoyed getting everybody's opinion on the last polls, and I'm curious to see what everyone really thinks is the best name for our daughter (given the limited choices we've provided). I'm getting a lot of variety when I talk to people in person - no one name seems to be heavily favored so far, so again, I'm curious to see what another poll will show. (And, in case anyone's curious, we have no idea about middle names. Feel free to comment with a "write-in" vote on that if you'd like.)

In other news we went to our hospital orientation yesterday. It was fun and informative but also a bit surreal. We both had a moment of panic when, as we were walking to Labor and Delivery on our tour, we passed the nursery and saw 3 little brand new babies through the window. Hard to believe we're going to have one of those in about 8 weeks. (Well, you know, not one of those specific babies...) I also had another personal moment of panic when they were showing us the fancy beds in the Labor and Delivery rooms that can convert to chairs and then have the bottom of the bed be removed for actual delivery. I think they meant it to be comforting/impressive somehow, but it just looked like an instrument of torture to me. Even with the pretty, brightly covered bedspread. But overall I feel much better now that we're pre-registered and know exactly where to go, park, etc. when the time comes.

Things are pretty busy. My last class begins next week. (I should be doing the reading right now.) My college roommate, Stacey, is coming in town tomorrow with her family, so I'm really looking forward to that. Peter's enjoying his slightly more relaxed summer work hours. And we just celebrated our 8th anniversary on May 27th! I was feeling quite proud of us and thinking that that was a really long time until I remembered that my parents will celebrate their 40th anniversary later this year. So yeah, we're still just newbies in so many ways.

Hope you all are doing well! Keep us updated on your lives!

Thunder!

Yay! We're having a thunderstorm!! Do you know how long it's been since I've heard thunder? At least a year, maybe two years. Maybe even longer. Right at the moment we're enjoying a little thunder and lightning and a downpour of rain. We even had some hail earlier. Peter is very, very happy - he always talks about how much he misses thunderstorms. They do make it feel a little more like home.

Now I just miss lightning bugs... and real grass... ooooh - and Route 44 Cherry Limeades!! Why oh why is there no Sonic here?

School, Books, Names, and The Pregosaurus

Let's see, some updates:

1. I'm done with school!!!! Okay, just the spring semester, but it was a killer, people. AND I have only one more class to take before I'm finished with the program, have my degree, and never, ever have to be in school again (fingers crossed). I'm currently signed up to take a Web Design class starting in June. The last day of class is actually my due date, so it should be interesting. I've already been pre-approved by the instructor for an Incomplete if I need it, but I'm really hoping that by some miracle I get everything done before I deliver so that once the baby comes I won't have to think about work OR school. It's probably wishful thinking, but a girl can hope.

2. Peter is almost finished with his school year. This upcoming week is his last week - which I think means it's mostly finals. A good wife would know for sure, but the details seem to have slipped my mind at the moment. He has a year-long contract so there's no big break coming up for him officially, but he will soon have A LOT more flexibility and free time in his work day which will be nice, and he'll be able to spend more time on the things he enjoys doing but always has to put off for other more urgent tasks. So we're looking forward to that.

3. I'm apparently at the irrationally-angry stage of pregnancy. Although perhaps this isn't actually a new stage and my friends and family have just been graciously putting up with a lot of abuse. I hope that's not the case. Anyway, the last week or two I've found myself becoming basically enraged by situations/circumstances/people that I might normally find frustrating but wouldn't consider homicide over. Yesterday at the library a patron I'd just finished helping grabbed a hold of my arm with both hands because she had just thought of another question to ask me and she wanted to quickly get my attention before I walked away. For me, it was kind of like a scene in a movie where you're looking out through a character's eyes, all the other noises in the room go silent, and you just hear the character's heartbeat and everything looks red - or something like that anyway. Fortunately, in the few seconds it took for me to get a grip and remind myself that I could NOT kill this woman (at least in the library with all the witnesses), she let go of my arm, and I was able to carry on like nothing had happened. As Andy from The Office once said, "That was an overreaction." I've been having a lot of overreactions lately, although I think I've successfully kept most of them hidden. As Baby Center informs me, I am now a "pregosaurus" - which is apparently the equivalent of bridezilla. I apologize in advance.

4. I finished The Host. If you don't know what I'm talking about see the below post on why it pays to be a librarian. Overall, I liked the book. The author is a good storyteller which is definitely what makes her Twilight series so popular. The Host took a little while to get going for me, and I lost my patience with the main character a few times (this could just have been pregosaurus warning signs), but I was definitely sucked in after awhile. I also cried at the end, which is often the sign of a good book just like it can be the sign of a good movie. It is a bit on the long side - or longer than it needs to be - but it seems to me that good storytellers often have trouble with being concise and self-editing in their writing - like J.K. Rowling, for example. But because they're good storytellers, we don't care. If anyone out there would like a more detailed review than this, just let me know and I'll send you an e-mail with all my thoughts, cautions, recommendations, etc. (without giving away the ending, of course). In more Stephenie Meyer news, the next book in the Twilight series, Breaking Dawn, is coming out in August. I just signed up on the library's wait list yesterday - I'm number 29. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm pretty excited. (By the way, Twilight the movie is coming out in December. This must be quite the year for the author.)

5. Thanks to everyone who voted on potential name spellings for the baby! (We had an ultrasound yesterday by the way, and she's looking great and apparently around 3 pounds now.) I'm debating the wisdom of setting up a poll so that everyone can actually vote for which of the 3 names they like the best, but I haven't decided if that's a good idea or not. We'll see...

Okay, well I hope that gives you a good summary of life in the Hough House at the moment! We hope you all are doing well!

Baby Names

I'm finding the process of choosing a name for our baby to be rather stressful. In fact, if I could think of a good way to get out of it, I probably would. I just really don't want the responsibility for choosing another human being's name - it's such a big deal. The odds of us picking a name that our future daughter will like, that other people will pronounce and/or spell correctly, that can't be turned into some kind of instrument of torture in the hands of mean kids, all seems impossible to me. And I've given up completely on finding a name that all family and friends will like and approve of. Actually, Peter and I have only really come up with three name possibilities that we can both accept/agree upon just between the two of us. And of those three, there's at least one name that the other person can accept, but doesn't necessarily love. So it's tough.

In the interest of making it a little easier (I hope), I've listed the three names on the right side of this blog. As you will see, in addition to picking a name in the first place, we also need to decide how to spell our final selection. Frankly, I don't care about spelling too much, but I would prefer to find one that will lead people to at least be more likely to pronounce the name correctly. So please do me a favor and vote for your favorite spelling of each of the three names to the right. If you want to leave a comment explaining your choices go right ahead. However, out of mercy for me, please, please, please don't tell me if you hate or even just dislike any of the names. Sadly, the raging pregnancy hormones will not allow me to take it objectively and any criticism will likely result in me, in a fit of hysterics, randomly selecting a name from our giant book of 100,000 baby names that will be a curse to our child forever. None of you want to be responsible for that.

P.S. Sorry the various names are hard to read - I can't figure out how to change the font color to make them stand out more.

It Pays To Be A Librarian

So I know that librarianship is not a career option at the top of most people's lists - it definitely hangs out under the radar. Often when I tell people that I'm a public librarian the response I get is one of pleasant surprise. Sort of, "Oh yeah, I forgot that people did that," or maybe even, "Oh yeah. Libraries. I went to one of those once." (The second response is usually, "It sure must be nice to read all day!" To which I reply (silently, of course): Ha! I wish.)

But let me tell you, despite the hazards of daily working with the possibly entirely insane general public, there are definitely some perks to this job. One of those perks is sitting on the table next to me: an advance reading copy of The Host by Stephenie Meyer. Now, if you've never heard of the The Host or Stephenie Meyer, then I assume you are either a) not a girl between the ages of 12-18, or b) not in the young adult book (or library) business. In other words, 99.9% of the people reading this blog. However, believe me, there is a sizable group of individuals out there (again, mostly adolescent girls) who would quite happily push me in front of a moving vehicle for a chance to get their hands on this book before its May 2008 release. I know because the last time Stephenie Meyer released a new book (Eclipse, for those who are curious), I attended a book signing event at Pasadena's fabulous Vroman's Bookstore. I had heard a little about this book and about how popular the Twilight series was (of which Eclipse is the third book) and I thought I would be a good public librarian and go hear the author speak.

I was unprepared. It was an early Saturday morning but I might as well have been at a concert for some popular boy-band. First of all, the courtyard was packed (yes - courtyard - there being about 10 times too many people to fit indoors). Secondly, every girl there was either in costume as one of the characters or sporting a homemade t-shirt proclaiming her love for the characters, the books, Stephenie Meyer, or some other related theme. Some of them had driven (or forced their parents to drive) for hours to be there. Many had arrived and set up camp 4 or more hours before the event was to begin. When the author appeared on stage the screaming was so intense that she couldn't be heard at all for several minutes. It was intense - and also a little surreal for the only person there who was not either a parent or 14 years old.

To be honest, I didn't even think they would be giving out advance reading copies of The Host. (By the way, advance reading copies are usually uncorrected proofs of a soon-to-be-released book sent to reviewers, bookstores, and libraries to generate publicity and sales.) Publishers usually only seem to send these copies for new authors or books that they don't have confidence will sell well or be "discovered" on their own. (In other words, no advance reading copies of Harry Potter.) But I guess since this book is not only not a part of the Twilight series, but also (gasp!) science fiction, the publishers decided a little extra marketing and promotion might not hurt. Frankly, I don't care. I'm just excited to exercise one of my librarian perks and read a book a month before it becomes available to everyone else (regardless of whether or not the story is any good - I actually expect it to be mediocre). So there you go, people - it pays to be a librarian!

Now if only I could find the time to read.

5 Projects in 5 Weeks

Just thought I'd post a short note to say that you probably won't be hearing much from me for awhile. The end of the semester is approaching, and I recently realized that I have 5 major projects due over the next 5 weeks. Between other school reading and busywork, my job, and normal life stuff, I'm a little short on free time at the moment. So, if this blog isn't updated frequently, don't worry - I haven't forgotten about it! I'm just busy banging my head on the table (or wall) or daydreaming about a time when I could drink lots of coffee in order to power through long, boring papers. :) Oh, how I miss caffeine sometimes...

Fun Times with Family

Recently my sister-in-law, Laura, and my nephew, Cedric, came to Pasadena for a visit. We had a great time enjoying the Southern California sunshine, eating at Pinkberry, touring the library and Peter's campus, eating scones, strawberries, and cream at the Chado Tea Room, shopping in Old Town, and stuffing ourselves with all the great food Laura cooked for us while she was here. (Yes, that's right, we're the kind of hosts that make you work for your board - so if you're planning a visit, come prepared with a few tasty recipes.) I also got a crash course in baby care which I desperately needed and learned that our apartment complex was not designed to be stroller-friendly. We were very sad to see them go, and by "we" I mean Peter and I. Sheba and Pudge, while appreciative of all the crumbs and bits of food that might be dropped by Cedric at mealtimes, have recently discovered that the changing pad makes an especially cozy bed, and I think they are happy to not have to share it again for awhile.

I'm still waiting for the pictures that are on Peter's camera, but in the meantime, I'm going to try posting a few below. Enjoy!