Dog Days

The dog days are over. So says Florence and the Machine, and so say I. What are the dog days? I looked it up. You can read the definition here if you give a hoot. Essentially, they are the sultry, hot days toward summer's end.

Our dog days included a couple of excursions to the river, football games and practices, a visit from grandpa and grandma Dudley, Marlo's first steps, and the joyous first day of school.

I must say, it has been busy, but really fun.

I will admit that I cried after I dropped my baby off. At Junior High. Yep. I'm old. She is getting old. Only 6 more years, and she'll be gone. And Lolo will be in kindergarten. How did I manage that?!

Josh started 5th grade, and Pip is in 2nd. They were excited to start school again, and I was excited for them to start again. In theory.

The good news is that BSU football starts up this weekend, so I will never wonder what we are doing on the weekends between now and Christmas. (As if I wondered).

What Can Happen in One Year...

One year ago, I was coming off 16 days of hospital bed rest and spending all my time in the NICU with my new little girl.

In ONE YEAR, my preemie baby has grown from 4 lbs 10 oz. to a whopping 16.5 lbs, can crawl super fast, walk around furniture, stand and balance on her own, jabber constantly. Say, "Hi Dad", Mama, Tay, and lots of other words that we can't quite make out yet! She will now, finally take a bottle, which is giving me a little break...hallelujah! She has 2 bottom teeth, and thinks she can eat anything, but her favorite foods are avocado, watermelon, sweet potato, and bananas.

Marlo hasn't been a "low maintenance" child by any means, but she is still loved too death by everyone. She really is such a mama's girl and doesn't want anyone else to even attempt to hold her if I am around. She is very smiley, and has discovered her voice. We get lots of comments like, "Oh my goodness, is that big voice coming from that tiny thing?" Yes. Yes it is. She definitely knows what she wants and usually gets it...ugh, how do you not spoil the last baby?

She had a birthday party on Saturday and didn't get too thrilled about eating cake, (weird) I guess I should have lit a candle on a bowl of guacamole, she would have loved that. But she did think that opening presents was pretty fun.