What Else is New?

I haven't posted in a long time. Bill has gotten reacquainted with his camera and interest in photography and, as such, has done most of the picture-taking and posting over the last month. My New Year's resolution is to play the piano for 15 minutes every day. I've actually been doing this, much to my surprise. I find that Hanon exercises are so mind-numbingly-dull that I can play them and talk with the kids, keep and eye on Lyra, or plan my day at the same time. They are, however, doing their job in bringing some strength and coordination back to my hands. So even though this whole endeavor is very frustrating, I can tell that I will regain my technique (or at least a chunk of it) if I persevere. And I will set a good example for Will and Eva too. Not that they are paying attention to that. I think everyone is sick of hearing Hanon at this point.

In the last two or three weeks, Lyra is growing by leaps and bounds in all ways. She had her 1 year check up last week. 19 lbs 14 oz and 29 inches long (which is something like 25% for weight and between 50% and 75% for height). She squawked once about her shots but no real tears. She is a toughie! She is FINALLY saying Mama (in addition to Dada, Bye-bye and possibly "yum yum"). She can follow simple instructions like "What do you have? Spit it out!" Her favorite food is still banana. Lyra's top two teeth are just starting to poke through so I hope that means more nighttime sleep for all of us. I will take a picture when they are all the way in. Lyra took four or five steps in a row today! She is getting closer to being a walker and that means I am going to have to figure out a real shoe solution. She pulls everything off her feet and I'm not sure I have matching sets of anything left anymore.

That's it for now. We will take more renovation pictures soon. The cabinets are in now and much of the trimwork is done. This week, they are sanding and refinishing the floors in the front of the house. This means we have to move everything in this area (i.e., our "kitchen" and "living room") into the back of the house! What a daunting task! I am sure the pressure of a deadline will work its magic and it will get done.