eight weeks!

i can't believe this kid is 8 weeks old already!! she is doing all kinds of fun things like making new sounds, making great eye contact, watching us when we walk across the room...her head is getting so strong, she holds it up almost all the time now when she is upright. and just in the past two days, she has really started getting some motor control with her hands, pulling them up to her mouth to try and suck on them. last night on our way home from a shopping trip, she was crying in the car and kept trying to suck on her hand to soothe herself...but after a few seconds of unsuccessfully trying to get the whole thing in her mouth, she would start wailing again because she had made herself so mad at that stupid hand! other than the tears and crying, it was pretty funny.

as for her baptism, we have had some turmoil in the family and felt it was best to postpone the baptism until things are better. we'll certainly let everyone know the new date once we have it.

we've been taking some long walks with charis this week...makes me so glad we caved and bought the stroller. she seems to really love trees and will just stare up at the canopy as we walk under them.

i've been feeling a little stronger each day, but still need to be careful not to overdo it. the hematologist said last friday that all my tests came back normal and i must have just been having all those bleeding issues due to the retained placenta. as far as he is concerned, i have a clean bill of health and just need to keep taking my iron supplements for another six months to get my body back to where it should be. so that's great news!

derek has been loving his new job but i think he loves the short commute (10-15 minutes) even more :)

last night she slept about 7 hours straight (after a day with virtually no naps and a LOT of fussing)...and last week, she slept 7.5 hours two times in 6 days. we are very optimistic that this trend will continue...

next week we are going to a free outdoor concert with Over the Rhine (my favorite band), and we are hoping for cooler, less humid weather so we can enjoy being outside with her again.

here are some recent pics to enjoy...

finally we have some pictures to share from derek's graduation!

and here's derek getting charis a good workout on the exercise ball

and some naked tummy time...note the craziness of the long hair in the back...when all the rest is little more than peach fuzz...

and finally, some fun sitting pics with daddy. her neck is so strong!!

and believe it or not, she is supporting her own weight here...daddy is just keeping her from tipping over :)