What a beautiful baby!

I know every mom thinks their kid is the cutest in the world, but well, I have the pictures to prove that MY daughter is the most beautiful!!! We got to see the pictures that Uncle Bob took today and after two sessions and lots of screaming, you can see for yourself just how cute Pearl really is (and these are only a few of the highlights). Isn't she just gorgeous? And not only is she the most beautiful baby ever, but she is also has the most funny personality you've ever see in a pint size pip-squeak!

Oh and I guess now is a good time to answer some of your questions about how we picked Pearl's name. First off, we wanted to name her something that we would actually call her (you'll see later with my name why) and we wanted her name to have some sort of family significance. The reason for the family name is because Jeff's sister named him after a boy she liked and a neighbor. Anyway, back to Pearl Jenette's name. Jeff's great-great grandma's name was Juliet Pearl and when I first heard this name I thought wow, Pearl is really pretty. But I was thinking for a middle name. Jenette is actually my middle name (Kay Jenette - don't ask where Jenny came from). We called her Pearl from the moment we found out she was a girl, well Jeff preferred PJJ's until she was born. She is a true gem in our lives!

This last picture is a classic Pearl face. If anyone is in need of the BEST photographer in the world, give Robert Dyer Photography a call!

Pearl's latest trick

My sister told me today I was slacking on the blog. Apparently she checks it out everyday hoping to see something fun about Pearl, so here you go Kimmy! Pearl can hardly wait until she can walk. It's not enough to be a speed crawler when everyone else walks on two legs. I personally get tired of walking around the house with her holding onto my fingers, not that I don't love doing it but my back can only take so much of it. So Jeff helped Pearl learn a new trick with walking - pushing the foot stool. We thought it was pretty cute so we whipped out the video camera and whalla!

Before figuring out how much she would like pushing the stool around, we tried to keep her entertained in a box. Yup a box. She likes to pound on the diaper boxes so why not stand in them? If my mom is reading this, it may remind her of when I was a baby. Apparently the lady who watched my brother and I didn't have two cribs and well, Jesse is a pansy so he got the crib and I slept in a box. I don't think Pearl would cooperate that much and sleep in the box, she's way to wiggly for that!

Nothing new

Okay so I'm totally addicted to blogging and just wanted to post something, anything. I'm bored and cold and well, like I said addicted to this thing. So what's new you ask? Well, nothing! I have this great blog entry coming up of a friend's wedding (she's from Pakistan so it was very interesting to see a Muslim wedding) as soon as I get pictures from my friends so alas these random ramblings will have to do until I get them.


First, let's make the grandmas happy by posting a picture or two of Pearl. We went to a wedding luncheon on Saturday for one of "the girls" Jeff works with. Jeff bought a salad bowl and with the help of co-workers, filled it with "greens" ($$$$). He left it on the couch and Pearl found it. I walked into the living room to find Pearl playing with a wad of ones. It was pretty funny how much she liked all the cash, and if you can read her onesie, pretty ironic that it says "I love daddy" as she's throwing dollar bills around like they grow on trees. Speaking of trees, our flowering plum in the front yard is nearly ready to burst with beautiful pink buds!

I guess all that money counting is exhausting! I wouldn't know because I never have any!

What else is new? Well I had a job interview today with the Violence and Injury Prevention Program. It was for a part-time media coordinator. It would actually pay more than what I work right now, working more hours. I just don't know what to do. For any of you out there who work on grants, you know how funding goes. If you have a grant, you have a job, no grant no job. Pretty simple right? Wrong! I love my job with the Genomics Program but our funding has been so unstable the past few months and it's been stressing me out a lot more than I thought it would. I actually turned down a really nice job a few months ago because for some reason I just didn't feel like it was time to move on. But it's nearly killed me since! Our funding runs out as of June 30 but we've managed to squeeze enough money out of our budget to carry us to September. That's when our new grant would start, if we are awarded. It wouldn't be such a dilemma except our funders (do I dare say who on the World Wide Web?) have decided to completely change direction with our program. It's really thrown me for a loop and I'm not sure if it's a direction I'm excited to take. But then again, there's a few things that if I leave I'm afraid will never happen and that would be so hard on me personally and professionally. Alright I'll stop rambling about our funding now - Mindy Williams I'm really hoping you read this and send me an email since you understand how I feel and I could use your advice on what to do!

Hmmm...I guess that will have to do for now!