Yay baby!

Repromise and West Lafayette

After talking with a good friend with two young kids, and my mom, my former declaration of 1 lb per week isn't realistic for most women for losing baby weight. And it is definitely an extra challenge to find time to work out now that I'm back to work since April 17. I'm repromising, as my mom suggested, to keep the slope of the weight negative until 144, then stable. And today the scale read 146.8!

We have decided to definitely head to West Lafayette and the Purdue job for me. I'm excited, so many ways to expand as a researcher there. Eric is stepping out into space, no job lined up. My hero.

2 minute update

Hana is ready nursing and sleep, but I must record today's milestones. She really played with Buddy for the first time, reaching out for him from far away, petting him (mostly his eyes and nose, poor Bud), and squealing with delight. AND she put her foot in her mouth--her right foot, the one Doc Albright thinks might have hip dysplasia. Go baby! We meet Monday with the ped ortho doc for the evaluation.

K55 f1.8

I chose Pentax on account of the weather sealing and in-body stabilization. I'm loving the choice I made, but less for the initial reasons and more for the wealth of high-quality glass that's out there, both new and vintage. My latest is a manual lens that's at least thirty-three years old, the K55 f1.8.

Unless my subject is beyond the infinity point, manual focus means frenetic action shots are challenging to capture. No, this is a slow-food lens, one that invites me to savor the moment. Shooting with it is meditative and comforting, and the process feels like a return to film. Me likey.

From May 30

Thoughts from Papa

So much of the future is uncertain. When I realize that I don't need to know how it's all going to go, I feel calm. Remembering my commitment to Aimee and Hana tends to restore balance when I've stumbled. I stumble a lot.

Hana May today

Post from 16 weeks (forgot to post):
Pookie (sorry kid) is truly amazing, and gaining ground in many areas, not the least of which, mass. She is just shy of 20 lbs now, 16 weeks into life. Eric and I keep handing her off as arms tire and regain strength. She is incredibly smiley, a huge smile to start every morning, and has an absolute need to roll over regularly throughout the day. First roll-over inklings started with Grandma Eggler's visit 3-4 weeks ago. Now she whips herself over like a hot potato pancake. My favorite thing, just in time for mother's day, is her voice. She talks to us about all kinds of things, explaining them patiently to us. See the video for some footage. OK, its my second favorite, the first being that she's now giggling, and ticklish!

And now a note to you directly, my new love. Had a driveway moment during an NPR interview with Brad Meltzer, about his new book "Heroes for my son". From one of the stories of heroes, Lucille Ball had a rough childhood, chickens for friends, but found humor everywhere. What she learned is "Love yourself first and everything falls into line."

"If I could pick one lesson to teach my son, that's it. I want him to have perseverance, I want him to have kindness, but it's the battle we all fight with ourselves every day to accept ourselves for who we are," he says.

Nough said. Love you kid.

Declaration

Hmm. I may regret this at some point. But in the spirit of me now sharing intimate bits of my life with whomever decides to read about them, here is a link to a new experiment for me, losing weight. By May 31, 8 weeks from 4/5, I'll weigh 144 lbs. It's 6 lbs above my pre-pregnancy weight, so a generous 3 lbs each for the new additions. Wish me luck!