National Blog Posting Month

I discovered through a friend's blog this morning that it is National Blog Posting Month, in which you are supposed to blog every day. So will this motivation scheme work on someone like me, who allows a blog to sit, unchanged, for months? Probably not. But hey, it's worth a shot! I will probably be taking a leaf out of my friend's book and post recipes and such. Somehow, even though I'm staying home with Iris (or maybe because of that), I seem to lose the time to blog very easily. But let's see what happens!
First order of business, the birthday party! Yes, it's hard to believe, but my baby girl turned one two weeks ago. If she wasn't constantly asserting her toddlerhood, I probably wouldn't believe it myself. But she's walking and talking (at least in her own cute language), and definitely showing that she is as opinionated as her parents. My mom thinks it's all very funny, the way she keeps us on our toes; apparently she's just the way I was. But despite the growing independence, she's good-natured, constantly smiling, and extremely outgoing. I've never heard of a baby that gets as much attention as Iris does, and I think it's all because she's such a ham and will do anything for smiles. =)
So, anyway, back to the party. We had a pirate party (sorry, no cutesy stuff for us!), and it was lots of fun. Most of our family was there (which makes for a rather crowded house), and we barbequed to the sounds of the pirate music in the background. We had delicious cake while Iris opened her gifts (she really got into the unwrapping--loved to tear the paper the way she's not allowed to at home!), and even showed her first signs of true selfishness around other kids (uh oh!). When she unwrapped the ride-on car that my parents got her, my cousin's son, Bo, wanted to play with it too. Normally, Iris tends to stand aside if other kids want what she has. Not so here. Instead, she pushed Bo away and repositioned herself so that he couldn't get to her toy. Ah, the fun that is ahead!
Iris also got her first taste of cake. Now, many of you may know how strange I am about my food--I do as much organic and whole grain as I can afford to, and now I've even gone to making my own breads and (soon!) pastas so as to avoid store bought. Well, having Iris has only made this worse. I won't even use generic meat or any other animal products anymore for the hormones, a fact which I think drives my mom nuts. =) The entire day before the party, while I was making the cake, I was sick with stress about her eating so many things we had been told to avoid up until now, and all at once--milk, eggs, and sugar. So, paranoid that I am, I made an organic cake to put under that unbelievably sweet decorator's frosting. She barely even touched the cake. Once she discovered icing, that was it. For some reason, she was most attracted to the black flag in the middle of the cake, and rapidly gave herself what looked like pirate stubble. (Oh, and just a note, we didn't make her eat with a spoon the way it looks in the picture. We just gave her one because she likes them.) I was worrying about sugar headaches, sleepless nights, and bad reactions, but she was having a blast. And after all that, she slept through the night, no negative side effects.
After giving Iris a bath and cleaning up my parent's house, we left with more toys than we really will ever need, utterly exhausted. Iris won't remember it, but we'll have great pictures!
As it is election day, I do have to put in a plug to go vote. I am jaded, and don't believe my vote will really count except in local elections, but I still am a firm believer that if you don't vote, you can't complain. So if you're an Oregonian, drop off your ballot (if you haven't already done so--I finally got mine in yesterday--it took us over two hours to go through all the measures and politicians and everything!), and if you live elsewhere, go vote! Okay, so there's my duty done. =)

Work Day

I’m sitting in a coffee shop, listening to Ingrid Michaelson, and thoroughly enjoying a day off. Grandma Miller has decided to take Iris off of my hands one day each week, and this gives me the welcome opportunity to work (not, of course, for money, like normal people). So I’m spending my days off writing and reading, working on my website (which is now back up—thanks to those who let me know something was wrong!), and researching for my WIP. It’s rather fun. Makes me feel like a real writer!

Things at home have gotten more hectic lately. Iris is in the full swing of walking—complete with crashing into things and pulling down furniture that I had no idea she could reach. On with the baby proofing! She also has, absurdly, in the last two days, refused to respond to “stop”, which is our alternative to “no”. She has been great about obeying lately, but suddenly, our words have no effect. Perhaps it was a weekend during which she was thoroughly spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa. That’s right. We left her for a full weekend for the first time. We went one entire day without seeing her at all. That was tough. But the time was great. Josh’s birthday was on Sunday, and I’d been planning a photography trip for him for a month. We rented a cabin right on the McKenzie River, brought everything to make his favorite home-cooked meals, and loaded up our days with hiking, photography, and general exploring of an area that was new and beautiful. Josh was in raptures all weekend, and even into the week, so I think it was a success! =)

With the coming of fall—wonderful time that that is!—comes another big event for us to add to the holiday season: Iris’ birthday. That’s right, she’s almost a full year old. I can’t believe it. So, on October 17^th, we will be throwing her a big party. Though my mom is not enamored of the theme (girls can certainly have pirate parties, too!), Josh and I are excited and going all out. We have our costumes planned, as well as decorations, a gorgeous cake (she gets her own, of course, that I will make), and lots of family and friends. What can I say? It’s our first child’s first birthday. Can we have much more reason to celebrate?

So, I hope this fall day finds you all warm and cozy much like I am, and if it hasn’t reached you yet (those of you in CA), I’m wishing beautiful changing leaves on you! =)

Progress!

I usually don't have time to write a whole lot, but as our little family has come down with colds (Iris is the only one who doesn't seem to lose any steam!), I've determined that I have to take it easy today. I didn't feel great yesterday, but as a mom, how do you take a day off? So Josh worked from home to keep from spreading his cold, and I cleaned, and cooked, and did everything I normally do. So, inevitably, today I'm worse. But the house is cleaner (I don't know if I will ever achieve the elusive "clean"), and my energy level is almost nil. So, I'm taking it somewhat easy (its never a complete vacation with an almost-walking 10-month-old prowling around!). I've found that one of the biggest problems with being sick at the same time as the rest of the family is that I can't pass her off to the in-laws or parents, for fear that she will pass the creeping crud off to them. Oh, well!
So, Iris has made some huge progress in the last couple of weeks. After months of discouragement and frustration and trying to guess what we were doing wrong, Iris is now signing. Of course, as she had to know the name of the favorite family member first, she has been signing "doggy" for months. But nothing else. Certainly nothing helpful. But in just the last two weeks, her signing has ramped up. She now raises her hands when she's "all done", puts them together for "more", and sometimes slaps her forehead and chin, which we are hoping means "Daddy" and "Mommy". We would at least like equal standing with the dog. It is so nice to see the fruit of our labors. At least it will give us more encouragement to start more signs--I wasn't going to even try "please" and "thank you" until we got the basics down. Now we can teach her manners!

Summer Days

Summer is one of life's greatest paradoxes. It is a season when you have much more time at your disposal--no school (if your life is run by the school calendar), longer days, vacation time, etc. However, even with more "time" on our hands, we're always busy. Here in Corvallis we have flung ourselves whole-heartedly into summer and all of its joys. First we went on vacation--the biggest trip we've taken so far. Then, Josh bought me a new, gorgeous bike, which he surprised me with for our 6-year anniversary, along with a night at Eugene's nicest B&B, the Campbell House Inn. Ever since then, we've been biking all over Corvallis, enjoying events like Da Vinci Days, berry picking (Iris appreciates the fresh blueberries, as you can see above--and no, even though I don't like berries, I'm not depriving my child of them!), taking a waterbabies class, and working on our yard. So, it's been a busy summer, which is why you haven't heard from me that much. Also, keeping one step ahead of Iris is growing ever more difficult, as she is now crawling VERY quickly, and cruising around the furniture. She can even walk with her push walker--watch out world! If you would like to read my writing more often, please feel free to check out my Live Journal page, which is where I am concentrating on freewriting and getting back into writing fiction. Just have patience with me--it is primarily freewriting, which means it's unedited (other than spell check). But it feels good to stretch my wings again! I'm actually working on a long story idea, which feels very nice! Happy reading, and happy summer!

Vacation-Boston

I didn't mean for it to be quite so long between posts. I actually had a post all written up before we left on vacation, but somehow, it didn't quite make it onto the blog. So instead of the boring "we're leaving soon, I can't wait" post, you get the wonderful "this is what we did" post. Aren't you lucky?
I was very proud of our little family on this trip. Before we left, when we told people we were going to the East Coast for two weeks, they would ask if we were bringing Iris (like I'm going to leave my eight-month-old for two weeks!). However, even with her in tow, and all her paraphernalia, we were still able to pack as lightly as I wanted. If there's one thing I know how to do, it's to travel. Pack light, carry everything. We arrived at the airport on Wednesday night with two suitcases, two backpacks, a car seat, and a collapsible stroller. This arrangement was very nice for the ease with which it allowed us to switch between subways, trains, planes, and boats, which we did do quite a lot of. For the most part, the plane trip was quite good. The flight out wasn't full, and the lady at the gate gave us a whole row so that we could bring the car seat on the plane (without paying for the extra seat), and I wouldn't have to hold a sleeping Iris for five hours without moving. This worked out well, even when Iris turned to her preferred position of sleeping on her stomach in the car seat. And even though we were delayed on the tarmac for two hours out of Newark, Iris did remarkably well.
It was raining when we arrived in the Boston area. We were so exhausted from our trip that we walked downtown Concord (a very small area) and called it a day. With rain again the next day (and wondering if this was any better than being back in Oregon), we headed to Salem. Though most of the town has become very touristy with the whole witch-trial thing, we were able to glean some value. We even toured the House of Seven Gables, which got Josh interested in reading the book--a few well-spent dollars!
The following day we had the sun that we'd been hoping for, in abundance. Actually, we hit a heat wave. The temperatures soared into the high 90's, and with that New England humidity, we were drenched in sweat. Luckily, this was the day we decided to further explore Concord (my personal favorite on the entire trip). We visited the Concord branch of Minuteman National Park, which included the Old North Bridge, the site of the "shot heard around the world" and learned about the first skirmish of the Revolution. What interested me was to see the Old Manse--a house built by Emerson's grandfather, inhabited by Hawthorne, with a garden planted by Thoreau--and its proximity to the revolutionary site. Its fun to see the worlds of my imagination collide like that. We then headed out to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, where we visited the graves of Alcott, Hawthorne, Emerson, and Thoreau. A truly moving experience for me. The day was getting scorchingly hot, but we decided to tour the now air-conditioned house of Louisa May Alcott, where we found how all the writers of Concord were thoroughly interconnected. To finish off the day we cooled off with a swim in Walden Pond (and frightened Iris with the water), and stopped at a roadside stand for fried clams.
Here's the side note about frightening Iris--we wanted to take her swimming, and she was fine in the very shallow water. When we took her a little further, she wasn't too happy, and began to cling to me with everything she had. Then we thought it would be funny for her to watch Josh dunk (the water was a bit chilly), but when he did, she let out the most terrified scream I've ever heard. Since then, she has not been okay with any water other than what's in her ducky bath tub.
So on we went on our journey to Plimouth Plantation, a recreated Pilgrim and Native American village. Very interesting to see the costumed characters and to discuss ways of life with them. And then we came to our final day in the Boston area, in which we decided to travel into Boston itself (we didn't have nearly enough time in this area). So on Monday, we walked the Freedom trail, explored Quincy Market, and arrived too late (for the second time in my life) to tour Paul Revere's house. Oh, yes. And the clam chowder place that I'd been telling Josh about for months (the best clam chowder I've ever had), Jacob Wirth's, was closed the one day we tried it. So, I guess we'll have to go back.
I don't want to bore you with our entire trip in one post, and I'm getting a little tired of writing, so consider this "installment one". I will write more later about Newport and Washington. Now I'm off to enjoy the sun that has finally come to Oregon to stay, and read some professional books (maybe I can sneak The Host in there somewhere!). Oh, and I have all of our pictures up on flickr now, so feel free to view our vacation there.

Changes

It is amazing to me how Iris is developing and changing right before my eyes. Every day she makes leaps and bounds in her skills, and all I can do is follow her around like paparazzi, trying to catch everything on film (or, rather, digital images). Her newest development? She's almost crawling. On Friday she began to lift herself onto her hands and knees and rock back and forth in an effort to move toward whatever she had her heart set on. And it worked. She didn't actually crawl, but he is, slowly, mobile. She amazes me. I promise I will post a video soon.
Someone (who will remain nameless) told us the other day that it will be really fun when Iris reaches nine months and her personality would emerge. I had nothing to say. What do you say to someone who can't understand that she has been a little person from day one and had personality just as long? I know my daughter, I know what makes her tick, I know how she'll react to things, what things she'll like. She has more personality than is probably good for her, and here, this person is telling me that she has none yet. I'm not a baby person--this is perhaps why I have a difficult time making smalltalk with other moms; I don't really care that much and don't know the different stages. However, I can see just by spending a few minutes with other people's children that they have their own unique personalities, and Iris certainly has hers. Anyway, there's my venting.
Flickr is now accepting videos, so please check there for video of Iris' milestones. Oh, and the pictures are one which I caught of her pushing herself up on her hands and knees, and the other is of the new sweater my godmother made for her. Thank you, Aunt Linda!

It's a Dog-Eat-Dog World!

Or, at least, a dog-chase-dog-around-the-house-while-baby-is-sleeping, or dog-bark-at-every-little-sound world. This has been the life that Iris and I have lived for the past week. Oscar, my parents' little miniature dachshund, has been visiting, and just went home last night. While I like Oscar (I can tolerate him much more than any other little dog I've ever known), he consistently reminds me that I'm not ready for a puppy. Before Iris was born, Josh gave me permission to get a puppy. I have my heart set on a Weimaraner, or a German Shepherd. However, he though it advisable to wait until after Iris was born, to see how much work I wanted to take on. He was right (oh, crud, don't let him hear me say that! He'll never let it go!). Oscar is two or three, and I'm frazzled by the end of the day with him. Not only does he have little-dog-syndrome and barks at everything, but he has unlimited energy, and picks fights with those he shouldn't. And in the end, he cuddles up to you, completely innocent. Iris, of course, loved having Oscar around. She is a dog-lover from the start, and now she had two dogs to grab the ears of instead of just one. I just will never figure out why, when Oscar licks her face, she sticks out her tongue to meet him!
The illness is starting to pass from our house (as long as Josh doesn't come down with it now!). Thank goodness for the warm weather that is promised. It had better come, as Iris and I are dressed for weather warmer than even predicted. I'm ready to thaw out! Though I've hated Iris' cold, and it has scared me a few times (her first illness), there have been some upsides. She has become unusually cuddly, burying her nose into me and only me. Of course, this means that she accessorizes many of my outfits with a lovely snot trail, and when I have bare shoulders like today, they get covered in very painful hickeys. Someone needs to capture the suction power of babies and market it to vacuum cleaner companies!
I have used my new spare time (during naps and such) to do a few worthwhile activities, such as drowning hours into Facebook and Shelfari, measuring people's love for me by whether or not they had time to post messages. Wow, I never thought I'd be drawn into that crowd, but here I am, hopelessly stuck. So if you also happen to be on either of these websites and I haven't found you yet, please feed my addiction and look me up. =) Actually, the irony is that Shelfari is a book networking site, where you list all of your books and meet others with the same taste. But this same bibliophile site has pulled me away from several hours in which I could be reading. Hmm. . . I did join a 5o book challenge, so I'd better get on that. Iris is down for a nap--happy reading!!

Mommy Time!

I'm back. After a long absence in order to complete my schoolwork as well as everything else crazy in my life, I have returned for another post. And you might be happy to know that I received A's in both of my classes. I am actually posting right now because it is freezing cold and gloomy outside (it snowed overnight, believe it or not!), and I can't muster the energy to do the housework I know I should be doing. So, I'll get to it later. =)
Things are going well here. As you can see from the picture (and my flickr account), Iris is reaching some milestones. Yesterday, she sat up on her own! However, I still can't leave her alone for very long, as her balance is not terrific. She also started on solid food, which has been an adventure in and of itself. Iris, with all of her independence and strong will, is not the most patient baby. When she's hungry, she's hungry NOW. And you can't get the food in her mouth fast enough. Of course, being on the independent side, she is also trying to feed herself. Her grabs at the spoon typically result in food all over her hands, and she doesn't seem to understand yet that sucking on the spoon doesn't release more food. Oh yes, and then there are the raspberries, which always seem to come when her mouth is full of food. Hmmm. . .I wonder if this is deliberate.
I'm not feeling particularly poetic at the moment, so I'm afraid this post will be rather short. But for all of you who are on Facebook, I now have a profile, so look me up! Sorry, Christina, but I couldn't do myspace. Facebook is more my speed.
In other news, we are planning a trip to the East Coast this summer. Chip and April, welcome back to the States. We're glad you're closer now, for more reasons than simply that we can come and visit you more easily. =)
Happy, um, snow day, everyone!

Homework, oh homework, I hate you, you stink!

As you may have noticed, I've had very little time to post lately. This is because of the surprising amount of homework that two classes can create. During my days, I'm trying to scrape together every ounce of free time to clean the house or work on schoolwork. In fact, it has become so bad that I realized this last weekend how much I'm having to give up to continue on my current track. After much hemming and hawing, I decided to wait another two years to enter the Master's program, thus taking the time to enjoy Iris' early years. This decision has given me such a feeling of freedom, and I'm planning all sorts of fun things for next term: classes with Iris, Waterbabies in the summer, even training for a half-marathon in may, and a full marathon in October.
But more on all that later. I'm sure you are all missing pictures of Iris (and more than anyone, I know my parents, who are currently in New Zealand, are missing her!), so I thought I'd post some on what she does while I study. Notice her mouth in the second picture. This shark bite (her newest nickname is Sharky) is most typical when she's anywhere near what I'm eating. Otherwise, she spins around in her exersaucer putting her mouth on everything she can reach. The third picture is over attempt to devour the educational philosophies of E.D. Hirsch. At least she's enjoying my homework!

Family First

Wow. Talk about your big decisions. I woke up this morning to the phone ringing. Thinking it was probably family (this happens frequently), I picked it up and mumbled a sleepy "hello?". Well, it wasn't anyone in my family, but instead it was a teacher from Mountain View, a school that I frequently sub at. She was calling to offer me a job. How many times does someone wake you up with an ideal job offer at a place you love to work, with people you love to work with, when you haven't even applied? However, there is a reason I haven't been looking for work, so I told them no. But then, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't sleep for thinking about it. After all, it was the job I have wanted, at a great school, with great people, and it just dropped out of the blue. So, I called back for the details. Part-time, temporary, taking over for someone I had subbed for before. It sounded ideal. But what was best for my family? After two hours of going back and forth and trying to come up with various ways that I could make it work, I realized that I was striving. I looked at my sleeping baby and realized that this is time I won't have with her again. I want to decide on a day to day basis whether I want to work, rather than being scheduled into it every day. I haven't had to make a decision this difficult for awhile--I can't tell you how badly I wanted the job. Even after Josh and I made the decision, I put off calling the school until just now, maybe somehow hoping things would change. But I guess that's part of being a mom--being willing to make sacrifices for your kids. It's not a long-term sacrifices, only a short-term. I will get my chance, just not next week. I know I made the right decision, but now I'm going to go cry a little. I want to be a kid again--it's awfully hard being an adult.

Snow days

At long last, the snow that we have been promised arrived. Not that we haven't had any yet, but it didn't last for long. After waking up to white, the disappointment of green by the afternoon is strong. That's what it has been like all week. Last Thursday it began to snow in the afternoon, giving us nice drifts to walk around in and catch snowflakes. That lasted partway into Friday, when it melted off. Then again this week, we have woken up to snow every day--three in a row so far, and expecting it again tomorrow. But as I sit here writing, I'm watching the big drips fall from our roof and the trees, telling me that again it will not last. Oh well. I guess it's at least enough to feel like winter!
It feels like it's been forever since I last wrote anything. This is mostly because of our crazy schedule. Along with classes, I've had everything else that I've been trying to keep up with. On top of my workload, Josh has been working night and day--evenings, and all weekend--on a project at work that is extremely frustrating. On the upside, we found out yesterday that he is being rewarded with a bonus and a raise. Yay! But all this time trying to achieve our separate goals has been difficult. I'm looking forward to Spring Break!
Iris is constantly amazing us. I know they say that it doesn't matter in the long run how soon a baby reaches the milestones, but I can be proud of her advanced progress anyway! After all, we already know she's a genius (whoa, I almost spelled that wrong!) =). As Josh says, after a growth spurt, her motor skill seem to improve exponentially. Last Thursday she rolled from her back to her stomach! The average age for that is five months--I think we're in trouble! We also caught her playing with a spinny ball in her excersaucer. She often accidentally brushed it, but when I heard the balls rattling around repeatedly, I looked to find her looking directly at it and spinning it deliberately. It kept her entertained for about half and hour. Luckily we finally got tapes for our video camera, so we're having lots of fun recording all of her antics. When we figure out how to rewind without later taping over pieces, I'll try to post some video.
Well, trying to get some work done, so I'd better stop. But I just wanted to say to you, wherever you are (yes, even you, Grandma Miller, in southern California), happy snow days!!

A time of growth

Well, I haven't been too good the past couple of weeks about updating the blog, but it's been a couple of weeks of complete craziness. Someone needs to remind me how much work I put into school (even when it's not necessary). Add to that a three-month-old (who has been going through a major growth spurt and giving me very little sleep), a house always in need of cleaning, a job that doesn't pay, and trying to get time for at least a few little jobs that do, combined with all my old obligations, and I'm exhausted.
However, even in the midst of this chaos, there have been some bright spots. We had snow a couple of days in the past three weeks, we took our first family vacation together, and Josh and I got to go out with the intention of going skiing yesterday. We headed up to Hoodoo to go x-country skiing (I used to go a lot as a kid, but it's a new found sport for Josh; we both love it), Mom and Dad had Iris for the day. However, after driving on a sheet of ice for a long time (I love my car, by the way), we got up the mountain only to find that it was just as windy there as it was in the valley. However, add snow to the mix and it can be miserable. So instead, we stopped at Potato Hill, slid down a couple of hills (next time, I think we should bring a sled!), and then came back through Eugene. Even though we didn't get the skiing we wanted, we did get a day spent together!
Last weekend was our first family vacation. Josh and I have both been craving a trip to the coast, so we stayed in a little vacation rental on Cannon Beach. I have to say, vacations are a much different thing with a baby! We even had to come back to the house for a long nap one afternoon. =) While Josh's and my mentality when it comes to vacations is go see do be, and explore as much as possible, we found that we have to adjust our expectations a little with Iris along. But it was fun, and we're learning how to travel with a family, and how to raise travel-friendly kids. So, on that note, Chip and April, we need to talk to you about D.C. this summer. =)
Well, off to try to get some more of my crazy workload done! Oh, I finally put together a flickr account, so if you want to see lots of pictures of Iris, please visit flickr. Now you can see those Christmas pictures I've been so negligent about! Also, I will try to put the link in the sidebar, so you can visit and see updates whenever you like!

School again?

Yes, it's true. I'm going back to school on Monday. Funny, it's as though six years of trying to finish a four-year degree taught me nothing. After headaches from transferring credits, paying tons of money (though now I am appreciating California education prices), getting good grades, trying to convince the California education system that I really had taken a Writing Intensive class (hence, the name Writing Intensive on said class) and shouldn't have to take their writing assessment as this is rather lost on an English major, and all the other school-related issues, I am again setting foot in that rushing river we call college. Let's hope I don't drown.
I tried to get my student ID card for the third time today, and finally they were open. Hard as it is to go on campus with Iris, I've been rather bitter toward them. I tried to get my card during finals week, when they informed me that they were not issuing them until the 10th of December. Needless to day, I didn't have much of a chance to make it over there, but tried again on December 31st. But, just to make sure, I called to find out if they were indeed open. All I got was a busy signal, then an answering machine. However, there was nothing odd posted online, so I headed over. I walked into the administration building, and every department was open. Good sign, right? Well, every department except for the ID center. But, third time's a charm, and we got in today.
As I was getting my picture taken (today was, of course, the only one of the three days that I didn't have time to do my hair or makeup--this picture will haunt me for the next four years!), the lady working asked me how old my then-sleeping baby was. I replies, "two and a half months." She then said, "Wow! And you're going back to school? You're so. . .so. . .what's the word I'm looking for?" "Crazy?" I supplied. She then assured me that the word she was looking for was more along the lines of ambitious. I still think crazy is correct.
We then went down to the bookstore and purchased a notebook and textbook, and so now I feel rather studious. And crazy. Talking with some friends the other night, I realized just how much work this is going to be--two years of classes to get into the program, two years to a master's degree. And then, that's not all of it. If I want to go on to get my doctorate later as I am planning to, I have to get a separate master's degree (mine will be in Teaching, a special category, rather than Education, which I plan to get my doctorate in). It's really a good thing that I like school!
Here is a little bonus, if I did it right (I'm rather technologically challenged). This is a video clip of Iris dancing in the mirror. If you turn the sound up, you can hear her little squeaks, and when she gets really wiggly at the end, that's all her. Sorry for the graininess--we took it with my little camera's video setting.