January Highlights So Far

I feel like a loser for not blogging for most of January.  It's been a pretty laid back month, but we've had some exciting things happen as well.  Here are the highlights (and low-points) so far:

• Grandma Rhoads came to visit.  She came for Martin Luther King weekend and it was so much fun!  Caroline loved playing with Grandma, and her iPad.  We showed her around Louisville, had lunch with Eli at school, did a couple craft projects (pictures to come later), and just hung out.  Grandma even watched Caroline for us one night so we could go on a date!  I just realized that I haven't taken a picture this whole month, and that was really stupid of me!  Sorry Grandma.  We had a blast though.  I kind of forgot what it's like to have an adult around to talk to.  I don't think I've talked that much, all day long, for quite a while!  Please come again soon!
• I went successfully off dairy and sugar, for the first two weeks of the month.  Once grandma visited I went lax, and it's hard to get back on the train.  But I felt really good and I didn't crave things or feel like I was missing out.  I checked out a lot of vegan cookbooks at the library and I am making copies of the recipes that sound good and will create my own master cookbook.  I've also been exercising everyday and that feels really great too.  I feel like over the past few years I've made lots of little steps for our health, and now I feel like giving up dairy will make me feel so good.  When I've given up dairy before I've felt so good.  I just need to do it.  Starting tomorrow, I'm back on!
• This announcement makes me so excited and proud of Eli.  He has honored in his Medical Neuroscience class!  They pounded out a whole course in 3 weeks.  He worked really hard and ended up with a 96% percent in the class.  To honor you must be in the top 10%.  I'm really so very proud of him.  We went to a pizza place tonight to celebrate his accomplishment.  Way to go Eli!
• Low-point: Caroline is on a nursing strike!  All of the sudden, three days ago, she started freaking out when it was time to nurse.  She would scream, arch her back, and fling herself all over the place.  It's very frustrating.  I love nursing her and miss that time with her.  I've been pumping, but I can tell my milk supply is going down and I have never been able to pump much anyway.  I'm giving her a couple of days without trying to nurse, and I'm giving her extra love and attention and I hope that will help her go back to it.  She is a little monster though.  She likes to bite, and then growl and laugh at you after she bites!
• Caroline does have a lot more tricks up her sleeve, along with her biting.  She loves to stick out her tongue, growl, and will now free-stand, she will also take a step without holding onto anything.  Today she started to roll her hands when I sang "The Wheels on the Bus." She also eats a ton.  The other day we had baked potatoes and she ate 1 1/2!  She is also know to eat multiple bowls of spaghetti, lasagna, and rice.  She also now weighs 17 lbs. and has 6 teeth.
• Our lovely maintenance people installed a new fridge and a new dishwasher in our apartment!  The old ones looked like they were from the seventies.  I hated the fridge because it was tiny and you had to dig around to get anything.  The new fridge is 4 cubic feet bigger and the freezer is huge too!  I am so happy about it.  The dishwasher holds a lot more and actually dries the dishes most of the way.  I love it!

That's about all we've been up to so far this month.  We're really proud of Eli and all of his hard work.  Tonight we are going to bed early to try to catch up on sleep.  I plan on blogging more this week!  Here's some pictures, a few weeks old though: