Happy New Year!

It's been a REALLY busy week for us here! It all started Friday when I finally figured out why my socks kept getting wet every time I walked into the kitchen--a water pipe was leaking inside the wall behind our washer and dryer.

So, in come the flood of people and devices to remedy the problem--insurance agents, the plumber, the water remediation guy with his big, noisy fans that have to run 24/7 for 3 days straight. We did our best to seclude baby away upstairs. The house has dried out pretty well now--the fan guy just came to haul away his equipment--hooray!








Other less eventful happenings include:

• our 7th wedding anniversary (we celebrated by buying a Christmas ornament for Tess);
• a chocolate chip cookie fire in the microwave (with flames and everything--evidently 2 mins. is too long to nuke a cookie);
  
• my mom and Ry's shopping spree in the preemie department for clothes that actually fit the wee baby Tess;
• Ry's mastery of Excel to chart the baby's growth (including her head circumference, which he mistakenly thought we'd measured in inches, not centimeters: "35 inches! She's off the charts!")
  
• an actual public outing (to somewhere besides Kaiser) to a restaurant for a festive New Year's Eve lunch (where I lost and later found my camera--hence, the recent lack of pics on the blog);
• 
• a fun and relaxing New Year's Day evening with the Higginbothams, including yet another gourmet dinner and a night of fast-paced puzzle action;
  
• and the occasional jig-dancing by me since I've now weigh 20 lbs. less than I did before I got pregnant (this baby ate it right off of me!)

And the very best happening of the New Year: we learned at Tess's pediatrician visit today that she has made incredible strides over the past couple weeks. She has grown a full inch, and now weighs 7 lbs., 8 oz! That is 1 1/2 lbs. more than the 6 lbs. she weighed 2 weeks ago! She is strong and thriving (despite the chaos) and we adore her sweet spirit.