Wonderful child

I love this picture of Genevieve because it sums up her personality so well. Actually, I should include a second picture of her putting something in her mouth. She loves to taste! I know it's normal at this age, but because she's always had a hearty appetite, I find it particularly hilarious that she tries to "eat" everything. And she's a screamer! Mostly happy screams, but she definitely lets you know how she feels either way. We're both even keel people, so it took us a bit off guard. It's both fun and strange to have a child with such a huge personality. People even fall in love with her on the quick 30-second ride in the elevator. This is a great age--she sleeps through the night, is a perfect angel most of the day (unless she has a tummy ache), and can't yet run around and drive us nuts.

Tomorrow we interview our first nanny. She operates from her home and only takes care of 3 other kids. She's also Hispanic, which we like because we are dedicated to helping Vivi become fluent in Spanish. Fingers crossed that it goes well! I won't start work for at least another month, but I'm going to start her out at 1/2 time both so she can get used to day care before I'm at work and so I can get something done! Speaking of getting things done, we are moving our stuff into the house tomorrow! Thank goodness for the Government paying for movers. Your tax dollars put to good use. Thanks America. :) I'm looking for babysitters so Nate and I can do some painting and yard work.

I still haven't found a job, but thanks to a word from a friend, I have a potential lead. In the meantime, my current lack of paying work has led me to become creative in my search. I'm interested in freelance writing of sorts (less technical report, more fluffy magazine article), so I'm beginning down that avenue by starting a blog-for-pay. More on that later. The second route is by (maybe) starting my own organizing business. Nate has been on me for years to do this, but the impetus came when my church asked for services they could sell at this year's auction. I'd like to add "life coach" to the business, which might sound laughable to most of you, but I've seen some people take disorganization and clutter to another level. Anyway, my plan is to provide services for free at first, in ways such as the church auction and to parents in my moms' group, and then when I get enough references and referrals, then I'll start charging. Eventually I'll get a business license and register as a "professional organizer," but that's more long term.

Bob Loblaw's Law Blog (aka Why Scott Baio rules)

I may have mentioned this quickly before, but it's worth repeating. If you haven't seen it yet, I think "Arrested Development" was the best show on TV. It's available for rent on DVD, so add it to your Netflix queue. Note: it may take a while for the humor to sink in, so watch 3 episodes before you give up on it. And if some of you were fans of the show when it was on, and told me to watch it when it was about to be canceled, I apologize for ignoring you. You were right, I was wrong. Feel better?

I also just finished the end of the last season of "The Office." When I watched some episodes from that season earlier (like 'The Deposition' and 'The Dinner Party'), I was worried they were going delving too deep into making us uncomfortable. But the episode where the new HR rep thinks Kevin is retarded was HILARIOUS. I loved it so much I watched it twice in a row.

I am going to try to figure out how to upload videos to this blog, so stay tuned. The first one is going to be kind of old, but I'll get some newer ones on soon.

Mijita gorda

Vivi is huge! (basically what the title says in Spanish). Nate and I are incredulous as to how a baby can grow so fast in just a few days. She is growing out of her 3-6 month clothes before my eyes. This morning a woman guessed her age to be 8 months! (Actual age: 4 months), and almost everyone who sees her now says something to the effect of "My that's a large baby!" She sat next to a 5 month old at church the other day, and she looked as though she could have eaten that baby. The fact that she's still pretty much hairless makes her almost comical looking. We hope she grows hair soon, since a fairly typical comment is "What a cute little boy! How old is he?"...even when she's dressed in pink. C'mon people! Besides being fat, she is developing a great personality. She always wants to be part of the conversation, 'talking' sometimes so loudly that I have to raise my own voice to be heard. She has also developed a love of stuffed animals (see picture--Thanks Aunt Katie!) and is noticing the cats more and more. I feel certain pretty soon Sally's fate will be the same as the monkey in the photo.
I got confirmation for the first time a few days ago that people we don't know are reading the blog, so don't be surprised if you see parts of some posts suddenly disappear. It's not that I mind it so much (mind you, it's taken me a long time to get to the point where I can say that), but since I'm applying for jobs, it's probably not a good idea for my potential future employers to know how I feel about our President before they even meet me.

Hallelujah!

Genevieve finally started sleeping through the night beginning last Sunday. Now if only I could sleep through...I still wake up at the time she used to feed because my brain is so used to it. The first night I did the very stereotypical freak out ("Oh gosh! She's dead!") at 5:30am, and then I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to sleep until 7. Her naps are still unpredictable, so I look forward to the time when I can get something done for longer than 30 or 40 minutes.