Jiggling and Juggling
Serena has a vibrating bouncy chair that keeps her pretty happy. At least long enough for dad to fold a load of laundry or for mom to cut up some veggies for dinner.
Tonight it kept her pretty happy during her first premarital counseling session. Scheduling sometimes means our little one ends up in weird places for a baby. She behaved wonderfully though. And the counseling session followed an hour of band practice. Not to mention that Serena and I are still here at the church - until Dad gets done reffing soccer and comes to pick us up.
I'm sure the day will come when she'll no longer tolerate these extended sessions at the church. That day will probably come for me too. For now they're just part of the new juggling act of mom and minister that I'm learning. And tomorrow morning when I wake up and before I come into work a little late, I'll just have the one ball to catch for a little while - and she'll give me the hugest, happiest smile when I change her super-wet nighttime diaper. And it'll be worth it all.

Two Months Already!

It's hard to believe Serena's 2 months old, though she's changed so much already. It's just the three of us now, and back to the real world (such as it is now). I went back to work full time, Joshua is home full-time and began his refereeing work, and our incredibly helpful parents have all retunred home.
Serena's wonderful - smiles now, responds to voices, loves to watch her mobile, and trying her hardest to get full control of that head.
And she's doing a pretty good job of training us as parents. We get up earlier - a whole hour earlier is necessary for me to get to work on time, with a few stops in the routine for cuddling before I have to leave. We only go to the $3 movie theater, and only at less-populated times, and know we probably won't see the whole thing. We take walks everyday and bounce long and often on the exercise ball. We can load the dryer with one hand and pat her back with the other. We tuck bibs and burp cloths into our pockets and set them down in every room, yet never have one when we need it. We tune our ears to slowing of the mobile music and respond accordingly. We smile bigger than we ever have before in hopes of an answering grin and are inordinately pleased when we receive one. We talk to each other through Serena, i.e.: "Tell your Daddy you're tired of watching ESPN and you wonder if the dryer stopped downstairs."
I think she's pleased with our progress, and trusts us enough to stick around.

Amy