So, that little ticker with the diploma over there --> has changed- it's now counting down to graduation! I survived my defense- wahoo! PhD defense is a 1hr public seminar to cover your research, followed by a closed-door committee meeting. My "grilling" lasted about 45 minutes- not too bad. The whole fam turned out to support me, which was really nice. And I didn't hear any snoring from the back row, so I take that as a complement. Sierra even got to tag along, thanks to Jan (aka Nana J) who offered to hang out with her in the lobby during my presentation. Now I just have to make a few revisions to my thesis and I'll officially be done with graduate school! :)

Just before my seminar- looks exciting doesn't it??

Our crowd afterwards- do I look slightly more relaxed in this picture?

Yesterday, Sierra was officially 5 months old! Wow what a big girl! She's over 15 pounds now- of course with the 3am feedings she's decided to reintroduce this month, she should be chunking up nicely!! We've played around with a couple solids (bananas & avocados), but haven't really started eating them regularly. Mama's not ready to give up these easy diapers...  :-P

Papa has been setting up his "studio" at home (aka the formal living room). Here are some of my favorite shots:

 

Of course, Mama manages to catch a good shot on occasion too:

A couple of other fun shots from this month:

OK, that's it for now. Easter is coming up soon- yay!! Time for some good crawfish, gumbo, libations- and family of course!! Stay tuned! :)

Punxsutawney Phil

I've always wondered what that poor little groundhog must feel like when they pull him out his cozy  hole. I imagine him squinting, baffled by the light and noise, hair kinda messy, thinking "What just happened?" This is how I feel today. After 3 weeks of exile to the land of dissertation writing, I've emerged! The dissertation is at Kinko's being printed, and I'm squinting at the sun, wondering "What day is it?" I did brush my hair though....

SO, I'm finally ready to update this little blog of ours! And boy it's been busy around here, despite my anti-social behavior. 

The first big news is Sierra's Baptism!! She was Baptised in grand-fashion at the United Methodist Church in Beeville with so many friends and family joining us on her special day! Also very special was her Christening gown- an heirloom that has been in my family for 105 years! We haven't kept a good count, but we think she's the 17th to be Baptised in the gown, which was made by my great-grandmother (Sierra's great, great, grandmother!!!) in Galveston in 1905. 

 

 

My mom, brother, me, & Sierra- all who have been baptised in the gown that were there that day.

And to be fair, of course, we even put on Travis' beautiful Christening gown that was made my his grandmother, Grandmore.

 

Saturday was Travis' 29th birthday and we celebrated by taking a little break and heading to Brazos Bend State Park- about 30 min SW of Houston. It was Sierra's first hike! She loved it! Well, at least the first 20 minutes- then she slept for the next 2 hours. :) I'm sure she'll appreciate the alligators in a few years.

 Beginning of hike....

20 minutes later...

 

Gator....one of only a few out this time.

  

There were gobs of these ducks migrating through... anyone know what they are?

 

Heres a closer look...

  

More pictures coming soon!! Stay tuned!! 

:)

 

4 month check-in

Mama is still dissertating away! Getting a little closer to being done everyday- and thanks to Mamaw, GrandPapa, and Great-Granny's baby-sitting the last 2 days, I've actually made some good progress this week! 23 days left!!!
So this is a quick update after Sierra's 4 month check-up this morning. Here are the stats:

Weight: 13 pounds, 12 ounces (50th percentile)
Length: 25 inches (75th percentile)
Head circumference: 16 inches (45th percentile)--- hmmm, now that sounds like my child. I reassured her in the doctors office that big brains still fit in little heads. :)
4 more vaccines- 2 shots and an oral (which she barfed completely up before we left the building- yay.)
Anyways, everything checked out- she's still a happy healthy baby! She's rolling over tummy to back (tummy-time escape move #1), rolls from her back on to her side (her new favorite sleeping position), smiles, and laughs out loud. We're still working on that sitting up thing...
Here are a few pics to keep her fans happy:

Hangin with Giardia while Mama was doing lab stuff:

Practicing this sitting thing (and a shout out to the G-Mas)  

 

 
















Played out in the walker:
 

















Bath-time with Papa! (She's finally starting to enjoy this!!)  :)

Awwwwww......... this makes Mama's heart SO happy! :)
 

















Sierra's first 5k!! Yay!!! She even has her little tech-onesie on! Hahaha! :)

Ladies & Gentlemen, We have a defense date!!

See that new little ticker to you right? That little diploma is inching ever closer to an endpoint. I officially have a defense date!! Holy *&#$.
So, forgive me if you experience a lull in blog postings for the next few weeks. It's not your computer, it's me. Just refer to my previous posting to see where I am. If you haven't heard from me in about 3 weeks, send in the nerd-sniffing dog.

The Glamorous Life....

Ok, not the fanciest pictures ever, but I downloaded my camera's pictures on the computer today and cracked up laughing when I saw this progression:













Anyone who's spent time holding Sierra knows this is a very, very common occurrence. Mama's just happy when it's less than 5 ozs. Oh yeah.
And in case you were wondering how I spend 90% of my waking hours, please, step into my office...




And for anyone keeping score: yes, those are pajama pants, and no, I didn't drink the beer in that St. Arnold's mug (sadly.)

Roll over Beethoven

There's a new roller in town! This daughter of ours may be a stubborn one afterall (like that's a surprise). I told my mom on the phone that Sierra hadn't made any attempts to roll over, then set her down on the mat 5 minutes later and viola! She flipped! She's been trying out her new found skill all weekend.
She's not happy about tummy time in general here, but she flips as if to say "Yeah, OK- I'll do your trick. Now can I eat?" That's my girl.... :)

Sierra Goes to Austin

We finally made our first trip back to Austin with Sierra! It had been awhile- our last trip to Austin was for the first football game when Chrissy was about 8 months pregnant! We really went up to visit with the family- Uncle Travis and Aunt Ashley were meeting Doug & Cindi to look for rehearsal dinner venues. We all got together with Ashley's family for drinks at their wedding location, Green Pastures, which was really beautiful! We can't wait for the big day! It's hard to imagine my litte bro is getting married- and that our little girl will be just 1 week shy of her first birthday at their wedding! This makes me feel old, so I had to share an old pic of us as kids...

The Fam in NYC in 1989



The weather was gorgeous on Sunday, so we opted for a walk around the capital building- something Chrissy has never managed to do in all her years in Austin.


Good exercise for Mama


We found the statue honoring the Texas Pioneer Women and I couldn't resist. Also, a good pic of that wrap I've been talking about.


And before we could leave Austin, we had to make a stop by the now famous Round Rock Donuts for their 2 lb special. In addition to being stupidly huge (Sierra could float the river with this thing), it was also very yummy. Sierra was excited too: