Oh. My. Goodness.

It has been so long.  I've written so many posts in my head and even started a few, but of course catching up at this point seems very daunting, and I haven't been able to set aside a large chunk of time to do it.  Life has been pretty crazy.  But you don't want to hear excuses (and by you, I pretty much mean me reading this 5 years down the road), you want to hear what's been going on.

Well, I won't go into detail because I do still plan on catching up *fingers crossed* and also I'm just stealing a few minutes right now while I nurse Ethan back to sleep.  Which means I'm typing one-handed.  Left-handed, in fact.  Impressive, no?  At least, it'll be excusable if I end up with some typos.

Ethan had a six-month check up yesterday, with everything a-okay.  He weighed in at 18 lbs.  He got a bit of a runny nose while we were there, which turned into much more of a runny nose a few hours after we got home.  Fast forward to 11:30-something and Terral and I cannot figure out what is happening with our child.  He just keeps screaming, and nothing seems to help.  At some point the light dawns on Terral, and he asks me, "Where is his duck?"  I immediately feel awful because I didn't realize my son was in pain, and relieved because now we can do something about it. ( The duck is a teether toy.)  Utka (the duck) needed to be put in the freezer, so I grabbed a bag of frozen raspberries as a substitute.  Then I went to go look for the children's pain reliever someone gave us at a baby shower (thank you!) and found the one marked 6+ months.  He sucked it right down, thanks to the sucrose.  I could tell when it started to kick in because he started to quiet down and actually cuddle with me.  He spent the night in with us, and he and I woke frequently.  But in the morning he was his super happy self.  So, that's the big news in Ethan-land lately.  The teeth are in earnest now.  This fight will be fought.

Also, Ethan's independent mode of transportation is rolling.  He has explored every square inch of the living room, except what is blocked by the furniture.  He sits up by himself really well.  I love that.  But crawling is now so much nearer, and our apartment is so not mobile baby ready.  I already have to take care with just the rolling.  He has entered the world of food beyond milk and is very much enjoying it.  I love introducing things to him, but don't love having to think about food for him or taking care of it once it's made the journey through his bowels.

Other goings on: we spent a week in Lake Powell with my family, we went to a double baptism, miracle of miracles we got our garden planted, we celebrated Terral's 29th birthday. .. and did some other stuff I can't think of right now.  But mostly we've been making sandals.  And figuring out legal stuff.  And getting ready for the reunion we are in charge of.  We've been busy.  Which is both good and not-so-good.  Either way, it just IS.  So, hopefully, this post will help satiate those hungering for news of us (ha!) and calm my guilty conscience for a bit.  It may be a while till the next one, but more likely (knock on wood) it is the jump-off point for many more.