More Pictures!

So in tracking down the photo of my sister with William, we also found a handful of other William pictures that I had forgotten about. And even though they are all taken back when we were in the hospital (a month ago!), I'm still going to share them. Happy Friday!

First Family Photo! Please disregard the puffiness of my face; sadly Darrell couldn't photoshop that out  :)

Proud Daddy

Snuggles with Mama

One day later = much less puffy. Woot!

Ready to go home! And for the record, William had outgrown that outfit in a week. Our "newborn" didn't stay in newborn clothes (or diapers!) for long

Meeting the Fan Damily

Okay, so I know I'm really late in getting these pictures posted (nearly a month!), but better late than never, right?

William and Grandpa John

William and Grandma Sherry

William and Uncle Mike

William and Aunt Macy (and yes--she's officially "aunt"--my brother finally put a ring on it two days before William was born!)

William and Uncle Nick

William and Great-Grandpa Will (and yes, the name connection is intentional. Although the older "Will" is actually Wilbur, not William. We were a little more fond of William than Wilbur though)

William and Great-Grandma Doris

Darrell assures me that there is a picture of my sister holding William for the first time, but apparently I'm just not intelligent enough to find it on his computer. I'll have to post an update once I track that photo down.

5/10 Update: Found it!

William and Aunt Amanda--who was a little uncomfortable holding such a tiny baby, but she's already gotten much better

New Friend

Well, the weather has finally been nice enough for us to get outside, so you can bet we did just that this morning. I intended for our walk to be a short one, hopefully just long enough to get William to fall asleep so I could get some stuff done around the house when we got back. About halfway through our walk, though, this little cutie came scampering across the street toward us, looking for some loving and someone to play with:

I gladly obliged, assuming the owner would be following shortly behind. But no one came. So I played with the puppy some more. And still no one came. I knew I couldn't just walk away and leave the puppy alone in the street, so I called the veterinarian's office listed on the dog's tag. They quickly confirmed the dog's identity, and promised to put the owners in touch with me so they could retrieve their puppy. Unfortunately, I had no way of knowing how long it would take to get a hold of the owners, so I had no choice but to bring the puppy home with me.  All I have to say about that experience is that Darrell and I will never be getting a puppy so long as there is an infant in the house. I definitely had my hands full. Thankfully, the owners called about thirty minutes later, and before long I was back to just one fussy baby in the house.

Definitely ended up being a lot more eventful of a walk than I had bargained for; hopefully they don't all turn out that way!

Who Knew?!?

It's no secret that breastfeeding has many documented advantages, both for mother and child. While most are well known (helps mother lose weight, free, full of anti-bodies for baby, etc), I discovered a new advantage to breastfeeding last week that I was completely unaware of: it can get you out of jury duty. Yes, that's right, if you are a breastfeeding mother of a child under one year of age, you can file for exemption from jury duty. And you can bet I did just that when my notice for jury duty showed up in the mail last week. First time I've ever been summoned for jury duty, and I don't even have to worry about showing up. Awesome.

(For the record, yes, I realize that I am fortunate enough to live in a country where the justice system includes the right to a fair trial by an impartial jury. I also realize that as a citizen of this country it is my duty to serve on that jury when called to do so. And had I not had a legitimate reason to file for exemption, I would have gladly served. But I'm secretly grateful to have had a reason to be exempt because serving on a jury intimidates the heck out of me.)

"They" Don't Know Anything

"What great timing," they said of my pregnancy.

"Spring babies are the best," they said.

"Think of all the nice walks you'll get to go on," they said.

Ha. In the twenty-three days that William has been alive, there have been SIX days where the temperature has been over fifty-five degrees. SIX. For comparison, it has snowed on approximately TEN different days since William was born. Ridiculous? I think so.

And yes, I understand that I live in South Dakota and that my children will inevitably be exposed to freezing and sub-zero temperatures. But I was not prepared to battle weather like that with a newborn (at least not this time around). We certainly don't have the clothing or accessories for me to feel comfortable taking William out in this weather--and have subsequently been pretty much stuck at home. What I wouldn't give for weather that would allow me to take my fussy newborn out for a walk.

Gone Girl

At our book club meeting at the end of March, we were debating what book to read for our gathering in April. Thanks to my dear sister-in-law, I happened to have Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn sitting around my house, and pulled it out as a suggestion. After reading some reviews on it and a brief synopsis, we reluctantly agreed to give it a shot.

Why, you ask, do I say that we "reluctantly" agreed to read it? Well, as we were looking up information on the book, the things we were reading made us a little nervous about what we were going to be getting ourselves into. Here is just a sampling of some of the reviews/comments about this book:

"Marriage can be a real killer"
"[Flynn's] work draws you in and keeps you reading with the force of a pure but nasty addiction"
"Gone Girl's toxic mix of sharp-edged wit and deliciously chilling prose creates a nerve-fraying thriller that confounds you at every turn"
"Compulsively readable, creepily unforgettable, this is a must read for any fan of bad girls and good writing"
"An ingenious and viperish thriller"
"Burrowing deep into the murkiest corners of the human psyche, this delectable summer read will give you the creeps and keep you on edge until the last page"
"[Flynn's] most intricately twisted and deliciously sinister story"
"Gone Girl is a dark, satisfying, psychological thriller"

I could go on and on, but I think you get the point. Lots of references to "dark", "thrilling", "psychological", "creepy"--you can understand why we were a little unsure about picking this for our book club selection. Especially since not all of us were thrilled about the prospect of a book that would keep us up at night. The final verdict, though? We LOVED it. Yes, it's definitely dark, thrilling, psychological, and creepy, but not in a "there's a serial killer lurking outside your window" kind of way. Of course, it might still keep you awake at night, but only because your thoughts will be so consumed by how disturbing and dysfunctional this couple is that you won't be able to sleep. But at least that's not nearly as traumatizing.

I don't really want to say too much else about the book because it would be hard to go into any more detail without giving away some of the twists and surprises. So I'll just end by saying that you should definitely read this book. And be prepared to be blown away.

Happy May Day!

May Day greetings from South Dakota everyone!

Yes, that picture is for real. Gotta love South Dakota. I think this little meme sums it up best: