To you:

To most of our family that lives in the midwest:

Spring has not sprung here.  It has not been warm.

Here is proof: Today we woke up to snow - 

(On the mountains)

We took advantage of this once a year occurrence and took at hike in the Superstitions.  Although by the afternoon, a lot of it had melted,  but we didn't mind.  We are all excited about the rain we have gotten the past two week, because we will receive a treat in 2-3 more weeks, when spring actually does hit the Valley of the Sun!

This pretty much sums up last weekend -

Cousin James was here.

Sick Tessa, and a cousin who wanted her to play with him so badly.

Maybe next time.

Don't ask, just know it was fun

Sick

Tessa is rarely sick (thank goodness) but today has been one of the worst.  We managed to have some fun outdoors with our company this morning, but as evening grew near she went downhill fast.  I always tell my patients that everything gets worse at night (due to falling cortisol levels) and I was able to witness it today.  Fevers close to 104 and a lethargic baby.  I almost went into panic mode when her fever was spiking and she was not due for more medication until 30 minutes later (I've had her on Tylenol every 4 hours and Motrin every 6 all day long).  I will have parents tell me that their kids are still spiking fever even bring on both meds, and I always think they aren't giving the medicine correctly.  After double checking my milligram per kilogram dosing, I assured myself that I was doing it correctly, and those parents were right, kids will still spike fevers.  The only bright side is that I was able to rock my toddler baby to sleep for the first time in months (probably almost a year).  I actually got to do it twice, and I am prepared and happy to do it a third if I need to tonight.

Even sick, she is a pretty good baby.  After Scott was giving her medication just now, she replied:

"Thank you, Daddy"

I love this kid :)

What's different?

The living room in 90% complete!  New furniture, an ottoman that I waited 12 weeks for and after 5 years with brown - a new paint color, too!  Here is the complete transformation - 

The before:

The during:

The after:

90% done because I have no idea what to do with this big wall!

(that is not a great picture of the color in the den... it is really much more subtle than it looks here)

And I know I need lamps, but since we are 0/3 for lamps thanks to Tessa, I think I will wait 10 more years to buy another.

I feel like the space is much brighter than before, and since our house is surrounded by 2 stories, we need all the light we can get.  

The pillow with the kite on it is from Istanbul, Turkey.  This is the box it came it.  I thought it was picture worthy.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We I made an area in the kitchen for Tessa's artwork (instead of just on the fridge).  This month her inspiration was Valentine's Day :)

FYI - This is a real Tessa smile.  It is elusive... and beautiful.

Something's different...

Under Lock and Key

If you didn't notice Tessa's hair in the dominos post, it was several months ago, and she has worked her way up to more difficult things, including buckles (on her car seat, booster seat).  So I thought she would enjoy working with a small lock and key.  It was difficult for her, but she was able to put the key in the lock after a lot of wiggling around.

Reading A fly went by on a cold day.