Kendra's First Car

My newest craigslist find...a push car! She loves it!

Goodbye, My Toothless Wonder

My Toothless Wonder is no more. Instead she is now the One Tooth (or maybe two, it's hard to tell) Wonder.

We've spent the past 48 hours dealing with a fussy, feverish, cranky, pissy, unhappy baby. We wondered about teeth, but couldn't feel any gum inflammation or hard spots. At the neighbor's tonight, Kendra was chewing on their son's finger and he said her gums were sharp. It seemed like an odd statement so I stuck my finger in there, and sure enough, I can just feel a tooth starting to poke through.

During a screaming jag I was able to look inside and see what looks like her two front, bottom teeth pushing up. I can't see any white tooth yet, just some odd coloration on her gums.

Poor little girl. No wonder it's been such a tough weekend - on all of us!

Pictures!

Here are the promised photos!

Click here for pictures of Kendra meeting my extended family. There are also a few pictures of Kendra meeting Ilan - Rebeca & Tim's cute little guy. He's quite a bit bigger than Kendra, even though he's three months younger. It's one of the few times Kendra has been around other kids her age. It was very cute.

Here are pictures of Kendra meeting Dan's extended family. It was also the first time I had met most of them, but I think Kendra is the one who charmed them all. We all had a wonderful time meeting them and visiting with everyone.

Home Again

After a very long day of travel, Kendra and I are home again. We flew SW via Chicago - and I have to say, both legs of the journey were great. SW really does have some fabulous flight attendants.

Kendra was wonderful on this whole trip. She had a few fussy moments, but considering we were gone two weeks, and covered four states in a car, went through two time zones and daylight savings time, a little fussiness is expected. She was a hit on the flight back - the flight attendants carried her up and down the aisles and she just chattered and smiled at everybody.

Both sides of the extended family have now met Kendra, and in Dan's family's case, me. I think we were both a hit :) Here is a picture of Kendra and her great-grandma. Grandma adores her, and was sad to see us leave.

I'll get pictures posted in the next few days. Dan did a great job of keeping up with the house, but there's still some stuff for me to catch up on.

Happy Anniversary to Us

Today is our one year anniversary! This year has flown by - so many wonderful things. I knew I married a fabulous, wonderful, sweet man - and this year has confirmed it on so many levels.

Who knows...maybe next year we'll actually spend our anniversary together. :)

Rest In Peace, Sandy

Today we buried my cousin, Sandy Eagleburger. She was 50 years old.

Sandy's life on this earth was troubled. She searched so long for that elusive something that would make her feel complete. She came close to finding it during the early years of her marriage to Mark, and in raising her children, but it slipped away from her tenuous grasp. She struggled again to find it in the smiles and hugs of her grandsons, but it seemed to once again elude her.

I hope you found what you were searching for, Sandy, and can rest with an untroubled spirit. Say hi to mom and Craig for me. You are missed.

In Springfield

We made it to Springfield last night. It was a long, uneventful trip. Laurie (my cousin's cousin) was amazing at keeping Kendra entertained - which was no small feat. Nothing like an 8 month old strapped into a car seat for an 8 hour car ride. Good thing I have an easy-going child. She played with Laurie, napped, played with the doll her Great Aunt Dee gave her, giggled and generally had a good time. I think Randy was surprised that she didn't cry at all.

Today I helped Marilyn with prep work for tomorrow's service and luncheon. Randy and I went to lunch with another cousin, then a stroll through the mall. I found Kendra's Easter dress, and a few other outfits for her. What can I say? She's cute :)

The rest of the clan converged on Marilyn's house tonight. We sat and talked for a while, then everyone went to the hotel for a good night's rest. I think we're meeting for breakfast in the morning (depending on if I can get Kendra and I up and moving fast enough), and the service begins at 1:00pm.

Oh My

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From the Lone Star State

Greetings from the hot and humid weather of Texas! Dan, Kendra and I arrived last night to the steamy (by Seattle standards) city of Dallas. We spent the evening catching up with my cousin, and are heading to visit Dan's family the rest of our stay. That entails driving. A lot of driving. I think we're covering half of Texas by the time we leave.

Dan is heading back home Tuesday morning. Kendra and I are staying on, and will drive with my cousin up to Springfield, MO to attend his sister's funeral. My eldest cousin, Sandy, died very suddenly on March 1. I was hoping to be able to her funeral, as she was Aunt Marilyn's only daughter and oldest child. Sandy and I were never close - too big a spread in ages and lifestyles - but you know I adore my Aunt Marilyn and I wanted to be there for her. Sandy's kids were kind enough to set the funeral date out far enough to give travelers time to get there, and as a result, our whole family is converging on Springfield, including my dad.

Since SWA is awesome and has no change fee to rebook a flight, I canceled my original ticket and re-booked to fly home on March 17. Kendra and I will catch a ride with dad back to STL, see my grandma and a few friends (we'll only be in town 24 hours, so I'm afraid we'll miss most of you :( and fly out from there.

If my dates are correct, March 16 is a dinner club night. I do plan on going...so I hope to see you there!