Legally Natalie: February 2010

So, it's been a while. Yeah, I know. I've been sick, then Robert got sick. We both take the MPRE on Saturday and I've been finishing my substantial writing requirement. The rough draft is due tomorrow and then I have a week to fix it after receiving back the professor's comments. I've been trying to get everything done but it's been really hard. Graduation is approaching and most of our class, including us, do not have legal jobs upon graduation. Normally, you have an offer before Christmas, but with the economy the way it is, few of us do. Many have said it's the worst economy for law graduates ever. Lucky us! The school hasn't been much help either. I've been wondering why I went to law school. It's been difficult wondering how things are going to work out; wondering if they are going to work out. This just makes it that much harder to focus on my paper. I'll be glad when school is over, that stress will be gone.

John is doing well. He is so dang cute! He rolled over the other night on his own and giggled for the first time the other day. He is tolerating tummy time now (he hated it before) and continues to talk to "Fudgie the whale" in his gym. He loves his baby mobile and grins in awe when we turn it on and it moves. He also loves the tv. Yeah, not necessarily a good thing, but we found it funny when he kept looking at the tv and crying. Robert turned it on and he was fine. We don't watch that much tv but I guess he paid attention when we had it on. Thank goodness he usually sleeps well at night. He has grown so much. He is in 6-9 month clothes now. He won't eat unless he's hungry - he will spit the bottle out if he doesn't want to eat and will turn his head. He loves sucking on his fist but he won't take a pacifier anymore. He loves to stand or sit and only wants to lay down when he is tired or wants to play in his gym. His hair is starting to grow back from rubbing off in his crib. Socks don't stay on his feet for long. He also moves himself with his legs. We will put him down and come back and he's moved. If his arms were stronger he'd be crawling.

After the first paragraph I realized I needed to list the things that I am thankful for (in no particular order):

John sleeping through the night or only getting up once a night.
John giggling and smiling; it's great to come home to that at the end of a bad day (I've had several lately).
A husband who cleans the bathroom when he can tell I'm overwhelmed.
A husband who is a LexisNexis student rep. I know when all the trainings are.
A husband - more particularly my husband.
Family.
Having another nephew on the way - Congratulations Brian and Mindy; little boys are so much fun.
Baby formula on sale for $4 off - I bought every can at the store yesterday.
Contact lenses - I hate glasses unless it's night.
Law school study carrels - it makes you feel that your tuition was good for something (stay away undergrads, some are not so nice about kicking you out of their carrels).
Being non-diabetic - yeah, that was horrible I'm glad I can eat real food again and that I don't have to prick my finger anymore.
Good chopping knives.
Sleep - It eludes me far too often.
Friends - I love my friends.
Starting to feel human again - giving birth rocks you.

Due to popular demand, pictures of John follow:

After church.

Daddy taking his sweater off after church.

Playing with daddy.

More playtime.

Helping dad with homework.

John and dad having fun with the camera while mom is gone.

In his baseball outfit.

Sitting up.

So, last week and this week have just been crummy. Robert sprained his ankle last Thursday which meant that he had to sit around for two days. Thursday, John wanted to be entertained all day so I got no homework done and got behind in classes, especially when Robert hurt his ankle and could not do much. luckily, Robert's ankle seems to be fine now. We got John a "gym" so that he will be entertained more and, boy, did it sure work. He loves that thing and I am singing the hallelujah chorus! I am almost caught up in all my classes again. It's never a good idea to get behind but sometimes life happens and it's unavoidable. Luckily, I have one small assignment to finish this weekend and I will be set (except for that whole, huge substantial writing paper thing). Work is going well but my schedule is more difficult with John and making sure that he is taken care of and that I get enough time with him. Plus, I've just been in an overall bad mood that I think is starting to lift. I call it the February fog; it happens every year around this time in Utah. The thrill of the new semester has worn off, fatigue starts to set in, and the weather is usually dismal. So I suck it up for a week until it passes.

My dad was here last weekend for Aunt Gloria's funeral. He had a good time seeing us and had a blast with John. It was good to have some time with my dad; we get that a lot with my mom but not much with my dad. It was laid back Sunday at the cabin and Monday night we had sushi (the first for me since my pregnancy) and it was so good. John "talks" to everyone and everything now. My dad and John had so much fun "talking" to each other. John loves being able to "talk" to us; his smile is always huge during it. He is now grabbing the rings on his gym. He is also drooling a ton now. That was something new. He is also having a hard time falling asleep on his own. He now needs to be cuddled and rocked to sleep. I love this cuddle time with him. I know that there is only a small portion of his life where this will happen so I try to enjoy it instead of stressing about what needs to be done.

John in his gym.