Has It Really Been THAT Long?!...

Yep, I guess it has! Almost a month has gone by since my last blog post... (I suppose that's what happens with a baby that takes up most of your time...and a new house and other random day-to-day "stuff" that takes up the rest...) So, here's a glimpse at the highlights of the last month or so (and in no specific order):

• Kassia's grown and grown! I can't believe how quickly she's changing...it seems like she looks a little different and a little bigger every single day... How is that possible?! My sweet "baby" won't be a baby too much longer... She had her 2-month check-up on the 21st of March...(yep, that would be the "21st of March" that just happened to be Good Friday, so we spent Easter weekend at home, trying to recover from her 2-month shots and missed the Easter service that Sunday... Ah well, I guess there's always next year to take photos of her in a cute Easter dress...) At that appointment, she weighed 10lbs, 13oz and was 23 inches long... We went back to the hospital yesterday, because she has a yucky eye infection in her left eye...and when they weighed her then, she was 11lbs, 4oz! She's literally "growing like a weed!" The doctor prescribed her some eye ointment that we have to give her twice a day for the next five days...and see how she's doing... Let me tell you - putting that ointment on the inside of her bottom eyelid is NO fun...and even with Scott and I tag-teaming it, it's still quite a chore...(and it breaks Mommy's heart to see her so uncomfortable! I was in tears last night while trying to administer the treatment...) I'm hoping to finally schedule a time to get some professional photos done next week sometime, after she's feeling better... We'll see how it goes... I'm listening to her semi-cry/moan on the baby monitor right now, as she's in her room in the crib "trying" to take a nap... I'm trying to get her used to her bed now that her room is just about finished...so that we can make the transition from the pack-n-play... We'll also be experimenting with trying to sleep most of the way through the night over the next couple weeks... I'll keep you posted on that one... (Oh, and speaking of her room...the painting was a success! Everything looks so cute all put together...with the crib set and some of the decorations... We just have one last "project" to complete, and then I'll take some pictures of the finished product and post them here for ya'll to see...)
• A friend of ours from Germany was in town for a week back in March for a military training class at Randolph AFB...so we got to hang out with him on a couple of evenings... It was so good to see him! We've known Lindley for years now, and we spent a lot of time with him and his wife, Emiley, and their kids when we were stationed back at Spangdahlem... We miss them a ton... They're really wonderful Christian friends! We went to dinner with Lindley and some of his other friends from here in the area the first night...and it was a little "different" for him to see Scott and I with a baby... Lindley came over to our house the second night, and he was used to sweet Kassia by then... He used his video camera to record me showing off our new home...(even with all the piles of stuff and boxes everywhere!)...so he could show Emiley when he got back to Germany... I also recorded him playing with Kassia on his lap... She was really enjoying the attention...and I don't think Lindley minded playing with her, either... Even though the time was short, we really enjoyed getting to see Lindley and just hang out and chat and catch up... Thank You, Lord, we really needed that!

• We went to go see "Phantom of the Opera" at the Majestic Theatre downtown...and it was spectacular! It was a combined belated birthday present for both Scott and I from my parents... We went to dinner at a restaurant on the Riverwalk beforehand, and then walked to the theater from there... And, yes, Kassia went with us! She was quite startled in her sleep by the pipe organ playing... And, she did really well during the first half... But, during the second half, she started to get hungry and needed a diaper change, so Mommy missed a little bit due to that... The whole thing was so amazing, though! We loved it! Thanks again, Mom and Dad!
• Kassia had her first "IKEA experience" last Thursday! Mommy was so proud! I had my mom snap a photo of us outside before leaving... I hadn't been to IKEA in what seemed like forever...(I know it was while I was still pregnant...) I bought a few new things for the house, mostly for the kitchen...like: a new tea pot, some "chef-like" cans to hold my cooking utensils, a couple of drawer organizers, some cutting boards, and some other odds-n-ends... I also got a cute new lamp that will eventually be sitting on the cabinet I'm hoping to return and buy for behind the new sofa... We're also going to eventually be getting a TV cabinet that comes from the same set, so we're excited about that... The living room's really going to look nice when we get everything all put together...
• And, on the topic of "living room" and every other room in our new house... Nope, we still haven't gotten everything unpacked yet! I have a feeling it's going to take quite a while... The weekends are really the only time we can fully devote to getting stuff settled in, since both Scott and I are home to take turns keeping Kassia entertained... We're excited for the plans we have for decorating, though... It'll just be a few weeks before we get to see them "in action"... And, I have high hopes for splitting the 3rd bedroom into a guest room/craft room... It'll be really nice to have all my scrapbooking and cardmaking stuff all organized and to have a nice space to be creative in...
• We got to spend a lot of time visiting with my brother, my mom, and our nephew, Caleb... He really had a good time coming over and hanging out with us...and we were so glad to see him! He enjoyed throwing the football around in the backyard, since there's plenty of space to play and run... He "helped" Uncle Scott with some boxes and played in the loft upstairs... He watched a little TV here and there to take a break from running around... But, the coolest part of the whole weekend was making tie-dye t-shirts! He asked Jeff, his dad, just what "tie-dye" was...so Jeff showed him some pictures of shirts on the internet...and that was it - Caleb said he just had to make some! So, Jeff, Mom, and Caleb all went to Hobby Lobby before coming over and bought a tie-dye kit and some plain white t-shirts, as well as some extra dyes that weren't included... And, we were off! Saturday afternoon was spent just trying to figure out the whole process, so we only finished three shirts...(two of which were Caleb's, so he really enjoyed that) Then, on Sunday afternoon, we finished up shirts for everyone else in the family and for a few friends as well... Caleb wasn't too interested in the actual process anymore, though, since he's only 5 and a half years old... All he wanted to do was just "point"...(tell us where the colors should go...) The rest of the time, he played outside with a toy car and some of our leftover bricks, making roads for the car to drive on...and he also had a lot of fun rolling down the driveway! We sure do love that little man! And, the t-shirts turned out awesome, too!
• We've been busy with the New Braunfels campus of RCCC... Scott's been helping out with the praise band by playing guitar for the service on Sunday's... He also sometimes helps to "set up" and "tear down" before and afterwards... And, tonight marks the first meeting of our combined small group with Chris and Lynn, so we're all really excited to see what God's going to do with that... For now, the McCord's have graciously decided to use their home for us to meet in until Scott and I have our house more "visitor-friendly"...then, everyone will meet over here... What a neat opportunity... It's definitely a "God thing"...

Other than all that, we've been: trying to grow our yard from dead and brown to green and thriving, trying to get some sleep when we can, trying to learn the "ropes" of owning a new home and having to pay all the bills that come with it, trying to spend time with family, and trying to relax every once in a while...

So, yes, it's been a very busy last month!