06.08.03

So far behind

I can't believe how far behind I am now!  Things have been just crazy here.  Moreso than usual. 

Last Monday Veine's mother and her boyfriend arrived from Sweden.  They are staying with us until Sept. 24th.  Almost 2 whole months!  It's a long time, but the flight from Sweden is pretty brutal, so I understand why they wanted to stay so long.  Also, while they are here, Raiya will celebrate her first birthday.  No self-respecting grandparent would want to miss THAT!

The whole week before they got here, we were busy getting the house ready.  That meant painting in the girl's room (that is where they are sleeping), buying accessories like curtains, a BED for them to sleep in, and lots of 'little' stuff.  Funny how that 'little' stuff, adds up to BIG bucks, and FAST!  On top of that, we also had to CLEAN.  No fun.  Company is good because you clean things you normally wouldn't, but it sucks to have to do it in the first place.

Did I mention that our house guests don't speak more than 100 words of English??  Well, it has been quite challenging.  I'm getting BETTER at my Swedish, but still I am not at the 'conversational' level that I would like to be at.  It makes for some frustrating moments. 

I'm getting less stressed out as the time goes on.  The first few days were pretty wild.  Raiya thought so too, since her schedule was COMPLETELY messed up.  We've done better at getting her back to 'normal' again.  It makes a HUGE difference- *trust me on this one*! 

Oh- and Raiya took her first steps a few days before they got here.  It was really cute!!  We also got her first walking shoes- actually from Oregon!  I was fortunate enough to have a friend from my pregnancy.org board, that had a Stride Rite outlet near her, so she sent me a pair of 1st walking shoes.  They have made Raiya so much more stable on her feet!  She now walks along things while only holding on with one hand, and even takes up to 5 steps between things or out into the room.  We haven't seen her do more than that, but those are pretty big steps for a little girl!

I can't think of any other 'news' here right now.  I'll try to do a better job of posting here- I promise!!!

11.08.03

Hot summer days

Less than a month until Raiya is a year old.  It's hard for me to believe that it's almost here!  My little girl is going to be ONE!!!!  The time has gone by so quickly, and while I'm happy that I've been home fulltime to enjoy most of it- I have to say that I regret not spending more time laying on the floor playing with her, and watching her grow every second.  The time just goes too fast- and you can never get it back.  It's kind of sad.

The weather here has been hot and humid the past few days.  We all feel like we're going to melt away.  I've been extra careful to make sure that Raiya is drinking PLENTY of water since she is a little furnace most of the time.  Fortunately she loves water.  I wish I loved it as much!

Things have calmed down here for now.  Veine's family is settling in, and our lives are pretty routine.  The boys have gone back to their father's until Aug. 25th, so it's going to be a LOT quieter here (I'm going to miss them HORRIBLY, and so will Raiya!). 

I'm off to take a shower with a little girl, so maybe we can sleep a bit better.  I just hate being all sticky!