Sorry, I’m too tired to edit much so I basically picked them all.

The pumpkins we carved Halloween 2006. I think mine is the bottom.

Driving in awful Seattle rush hour traffic. Circa fall 2006.

Two weeks old!

Two months!

Welcome to town. Also I don’t think I’ve ever posted a picture of Ali’s forked tongue before.

Thundercade!

Yo Alyss!

Two teeth.

Eating out.

So innocent.

Mischevious.

Kissing Elmo.

At the park.

Box hat.

As previously mentioned, Ali had her two week check-up today. Little girl is healthy as can be and growing before our very eyes. Poor thing had to get a second PKU test (the heel poke) which is torturous to watch and hear. Then we had a nice nurse in the post office parking lot (you all should be checking your mailboxes!) and stopped by Subway to get lunch and introduce Ali to Nena, my old manager.  

She loves her milk.

Eight pounds!

Daddy and daughter. They’re quite the photo-op…again and again and again

Eight pounds exactly. Not bad for less than two weeks old. Especially when she weighed in at 6lbs. 15oz. on the sixth. That’s a pound and an ounce in ten days!

Friday night we went to Billie’s house for an amazing brisket Susie’s husband, Steve, slaved away making for, like, twenty-four hours. This was Ali’s first visit to her grand-mere’s. She was unusually awake and active throughout, feeding twice without drifting off (more or less unheard of).

Ugh, I feel bad about my lack of writing lately….pictures are much easier to post. Plus, they sat 1000 words or whatever, right? It’s hot here tonight, or maybe that’s just because I’ve been cooking this half-turkey for two-and-a-half or so hours. Anyway, it needs to be checked and I’m suddenly completely overheated.

Some notes on these pics: Ali is the same size as Tony’s sandwich, the quilt was lovingly made by Great-grandma Swalla and turned out great, can you tell the boys had been swimming?, and Ali loves to suck on fingers…even if they’re not her own!

Last night (well, more this morning) Ali slept for five hours straight! After waking up at two or two-thirty and not going back down until four, she slept until nine. Until then the most she’s slept has been three or three-and-a-half hours. Needless to say, I was a very happy mama in the morning.

It’s ninety-five or a hundred or so degrees here today. We have no air conditioning nor even a fan and it’s getting to be pretty miserable. I’m glad it’s just about five and will be starting to cool down. I miss hanging in the pool but it would probably be too hot for that too. It’s definitely too hot for a baby to be outside. Well, I guess I don’t know that but that’s what my instincts say. We might head to Target pretty soon…just for the air conditioning and a chance for me to get out of the house. We’ve been home a week and I’ve only left twice; the doctor on Friday and the grocery store on Monday. This hat wave was not well timed with my tendency to go a little stir-crazy.

Last night Tony’s Aunt Susie, her husband Steve and their boys Payton and Quinton came over with Billie for dinner. Amazingly, we forgot to bring out the camera. Very sad, but they’re visiting here from Missouri for eight days so we’ll see them again and be sure to snap some photos then. It’s always nice to meet more of the Swalla family, both me and Ali, and to show off the beautiful baby girl we have been blessed with. Speaking of showing off…

The first three pics here are from yesterday….one week old! The rest are from today; the "naked" ones this morning (note the lack of umbilical cord!), the last, sleeping one, during an afternoon nap. I hope everyone "out there" is well and doing their best to stay cool!