Tiny Pink Toes

Last month, my mom took pity on my tired, swollen pregnant feet and decided that she would get me a pedicure.  Of course, Belle came along for the ride, since she's always game for an adventure.  She's never been to a nail salon before, since I can't really afford to get my nails done.  (We're poor, like most families of medical residents and people who work in seminaries, in case you didn't know.)

Well, as soon as we walked in the door, Belle noticed a very special chair towards the back.  It had a teddy bear head, and it was just her size!  She climbed right up to check it out while I got my nails done.

Hey, look at this, Mama!!

She watched the lady paint my toenails, and then she decided that she wanted to get hers done, too.  After spending a few minutes studying the big rack of nailpolishes in the front of the room, and finally selecting a rather loud hot pink....pretty typical of what a two year old would find attractive...she brought it back to me and asked if she could have a turn. 

How could I say no?

I asked if she wanted to sit in the teddy bear chair, but she decided that she'd rather experience this new phenomenon from the safety of her mama's lap. 

 

She held perfectly still, without even being told.

 And in the end, it looked wonderful! 

Have I mentioned that I love those pudgy little knees and feet?

Sweet girl.

New Digs

So rather than marveling at how long it's been since I've written anything, I'm just going to give you an update on what's happened the past couple of months.  I'm sure I'll circle back and write more posts about this stuff later, but at this point, I'm moving on.  Here are some pictures of what we've been up to:

We attended the Covenant Seminary graduation, and a bunch of my students were very happy to be done.  Especially this fellow, Stephen Williamson, who came all the way from Ireland to get his diploma.  He also got the dissertation award!

Then we packed up our cars and headed out of St. Louis and down South to our new home.  Belle was SO good in the car, and she didn't even fuss until the final hour of our 11 hour roadtrip.  I later discovered that she had a VERY wet diaper, and she just wanted me to change it, but I didn't want to stop when we were almost there.  She was a trooper. 

We went to Disney World where we played with grandparents and cousins, and we ate at Cinderella's castle!

Belle was a bit starstruck to meet all the princesses. 

She LOVED Sleeping Beauty, and ever since, she keeps talking about "Seeting Booty." 

James went to a gun show with my dad and met some of the world's best marksmen.  He's thinking about becoming one himself, once this whole residency thing is over.

Belle got her first haircut.  And a lollipop.

She felt so pretty, and she kept grinning for the camera!

My computer freaked out and the screen flipped sideways for awhile.  Still can't figure this one out.

I made a TON of blackberry jelly, so we're set for awhile.

We ate some great seafood.

Belle especially liked the oyster knife.  She attacked her corn with it.

We visited an old fort.

We set off some fireworks in our backyard for the Fourth of July.  Belle liked it for a few minutes, and then she wanted to go inside.  She's not fond of fire.  Smart girl.

Other things that I don't have pictures for...

I've been to the hospital three times (including once this morning) due to pregnancy complications.  I'm now 38 weeks along, so if I have any more issues, they're probably going to induce me. 

Also, my mom has been here to visit a couple of times, and we've had a lot of fun seeing her! 

My sister in law Lisa came to visit for a night with 6 kids (her four and two of her sister's kids), but I can't get the pictures from that to load yet.

James started his new residency program, and he loves it.  The people seem to be really nice, and he likes the work.  

So that's about where we are.  As you can see, each of these things could be a post on it's own, so I will probably circle back at some point and do that!  

What have you been up to lately?