Alice is a big girl now!

I'm so old.

Little Baby Alice Pickle Pantsy Poo is 4 months old!  Some days I can't believe how quickly she's growing, while other days I can't imagine her capable of doing some "big girl" thing like sitting up.  She is growing more and more expressive (though she's always been one for weird faces), and chattier by the day.  And, let's face it, the more I think my love for her has reached its capacity, the more my love grows.  I sometimes feel a literal pain in my heart, I love her so much.  It's just the honest truth.

That said, let's look at this 4-month-old cutie pie.

Why Colds Can Be Cool

You know how certain smells bring back memories?  I think the lack of smell can do the same.

I'm here to tell you that having a cold makes me feel more organized and puts me in a good mood.  Maybe during the peak of a cold this isn't true, but as it starts to taper off, I find that life is quite lovely.

As a child, my allergies were so bad that I basically had a constant cold or sinus infection.  I had to learn to function while sick and it just became a part of life.  I vividly remember a spring night when I walked outside to get something from our barn -- I breathed in the night air, and in that moment, my nose was clear enough that I could actually smell the air.  I hopped and jumped, it was so delightful to smell.  Most of the time, though, I had to take a "blowing my nose" break and just blow and blow until I could take in a few whiffs (pitiful and gross... sorry).  But this made smells that much more delightful, and the lack of smells that much more memorable.  Congestion slows you down -- it can make you think a little slower.  And somehow I function better when my brain isn't moving 100 miles an hour.  

I'm not the sick kid I once was, and colds have, thankfully, become a rarity.  But when one comes around and I have housework to do, dinner to make, and a baby to take care of, I somehow know exactly how to order my day.  Very little is stressful, and I move at my own pace.  And, to make it even better, a host of childhood memories floods my mind as I go about my daily tasks... my older sister suddenly becoming possessed, and running into our room to throw hangers at me for no reason; filling our tin bucket with water and lugging it to our play cabin; the feel of Skulpy clay as we form cinnamon rolls for our American girl dolls; baby Ethan staying the week with us, and having the time of my life; filling up my Baby Loves to Talk's empty battery box with rocks from our gravel road (so she could feel heavy and real, you know); the feel of my sister's and my matching flannel nightgowns; my pencil against loose leaf, lined paper and staring at a terrible math book; playing the Beauty and the Beast tape on repeat so my sister's and I could perfect our performance for my parents.  Jenny was Belle.  Sally was Gaston.  I was everyone else.  

So, here's to having a cold!  I might hold off on the vitamin C a few days.  

To Grandparents' House We Go

We're at NeNe and Papa Jack's house!  Little Pickle is fast asleep in her Pack n' Play, and Daddy is off to bed early with a bad cough. :(  So, I'm here in the living room with my parents who are playing "words with friends" on their respective mac devices.  You know.

At dusk, the little nieces went out to swing while Aunt Sally pushed.  They love their swings.

Ghost children in motion

In the wagon: supplies (AKA boots and baby doll)

Aunt Sally, entertaining the childrens

Poor Alice is too little to play outside with the big kids!  But since she's a sweetheart, she's more than content to sit in her Bumbo seat and play with her hands and/or burp-cloth.

It's hard to believe that just next year, Alice will be toddling right behind her cousins, trying to keep up.  But she's Baby Alice, and babies don't grow.  So, she'll be my baby forever.  Mm-hm.

See you tomorrow!  I plan to talk about my cold and why having a cold makes me feel nostalgic.  You wouldn't want to miss out on THAT.

Exciting Times

We're slowly on the mend over here... meanwhile, Alice has been enjoying her dose of Little House on the Prairie.  There's nothing that can cheer you up like a sweet baby on your lap.

The hardest part about being sick is constantly thinking about everything I could be doing.  Our house is in the state of the 7 Dwarves' house without Snow White.  But Snow White is sick.  Poor Snow White.  At least I don't look like Snow White... that would just be depressing.

...so strange.

Tomorrow, we go to my parents' to spend some time with them and my sister, brother, sister-in-law, and our sweet nieces (assuming we live until then).  Little Pickle can't wait.

Sick Skillz

While sitting here in Sickly Land, I've been spending time in Blogly Land -- perhaps too much time.  But while I had this time, I thought that pulling up Microsoft Paint and painting a picture of myself would be a good idea.  I think I was subconsciously inspired by hyperboleandahalf.  Here's what I came up with.

Let's talk about this.
This is me (obviously) doing what I've been doing all day: sitting on our ugly-cute couch, leaning on a pillow (yes, that's a pillow), on my giant, 2006 laptop that makes my lap feel like a furnace.  On our window are my white, paper mistletoe decorations.  Outside the window is one of those flying-saucer cars (you've heard of them), and I guess my arm lost all feeling.  It might have lost some bones.  Oh, and our yard is sprinkled with fairydust.  We DO have neighbors who live in houses, but who has the patience to draw houses?  I don't know how Ms. Hyperbole does it.  The only thing missing from this picture is a bunch of used Kleenexes scattered around (however, I did use the spray paint tool to spray my nose pinky-red, which is realistic).

That's what I spent a large amount of my time doing today.

In other news: My brother preached at church today and did a beautiful job.  Caleb and I are kind of starving and I wish I had it in me to cook something decent.  Alice is on top of the world!  And why shouldn't she be?