Survivors

We fought the 2012 Norvirus over the course of about 3 weeks and- I have to admit it- the Norvirus won. Thankfully, we survived. That thing was B-R-U-T-A-L. Daddy got it first, then Mommy succumbed. Poor Susannah waited as long as she could and then it took her out. Saddest thing I have ever seen. And, very scary. Matt traveled to Austin for a work conference and Suz got sick that evening. My fantastic, awesome, selfless neighbors came to help me out and care for Coleman/ coach me through "stomach virus 2012". Susannah actually really liked sleeping in the bathroom and continues to recount her perilous encounter with the "gut bug." She still tells everyone about it and asks people if they have thrown up lately. In fact, she told Mia, "Oh! You haven't been sick yet? Well, you will!"

Little Coleman is one resilient fella! He had the bug for the longest period of time, but for some reason, it wasn't as violent for him. Thank you, Lord! His appetite disappeared and he was not himself for about 10 days. I spent a lot of time worrying about his weight and offering him various foods, but he was simply not interested. That has all changed now. I think he consumed an entire sleeve of Ritz crackers at the park yesterday. He absolutely loves chomping with his new teeth (two bottom and one top) and when he wrinkles his nose, he looks kind of like someone from The Goonies. See what I mean?

My girl is feeling much better too.

She has been busy wearing beautiful dresses and sunglasses.

And spending time in her room with books.

And snuggling in her big girl bed!

In other news, we have a little "jenny wren" building a nest in our birdhouse outside. She is so fascinating and can't wait to see her little birdies! Oh, and birthday party planning is in full swing around here.

Silly and Sweet

This sweet, silly, funny, strong-willed, imaginative and all-around awesome little girl is growing up before my very eyes. It makes me sad. Happy-sad, I like to say. She has not had the easiest transition to life back in G-ville (sans 24-hour audience). We have had some rough days lately, but on the whole, this girl is pretty fabulous.

She comes up with some hilarious stories and songs, too. Sometimes her songs include insights into her rationale for disobeying. (I always love these.) Susannah is great at taking care of Coleman. If he accidentally (insert a bit of sarcasm here) picks up one of her toys, she gently replaces it with something she thinks he will enjoy more. Most of the time, she really is pretty sweet about it and she helps watch out for things that are too small for him. She is such a helper, and boy, can she make her brother laugh!

Here are just a few faces she uses to get him a-gigglin'.

My baby is turning into a little girl! She is growing so quickly! In fact, her long body is almost as long as her crib, so this weekend she is getting a big girl bed. The bedding arrived this week and she was thrilled with it. "Oh good! There is a lot of pink and I love those flowers!" she said. See, doesn't that just sound like a big girl? I imagine there will be some tears when we tuck her into her big girl bed for the first time. But, knowing Susannah, there won't be time for too many tears before she launches into her list of bedtime demands- singing Adelweiss, swaying, one more drink of water, one more chance to potty, putting Baby Hal's clothes back on, etc.