wasn't it JUST thanksgiving like a second ago?  how is it possible that it's almost christmas?  i've been in a strange alternate reality because i'm so not prepared for it at all - how many gifts have i gotten so far?  ZERO.  this is SO not like me at all.  in my yester-years, all the presents would have been bought, wrapped, and tagged by now.  as it is, i finally got around to putting up the tree this past weekend.  i'm just not motivated.  maybe it'd be different if bella was a little older.

well, my little booger is 14 months old now, and she's just hilarious to be around.  definitely, this is the funnest stage, so far.  it's so creepy, in a cool way, how she's learning and retaining so much - and i SWEAR, she knows what i'm saying to her.  i think she's fascinated by conversation, because whenever dan and i get into a long dialogue, she just sits there, competely still, with a look of focused concentration, like she's trying to figure out what we're saying and why the heck we're talking so fast.  then when we realize she's been "listening in," we'll stop and look at her, and she'll crack the biggest smile in the world, because she's been caught eavesdropping. 

happy belated thanksgiving folks! i fought desperately to try and not get sick again, but alas, i am winding down the tail end of a respiratory infection. it started out as a sore throat and i lived in fear, for the first 24 hours, that i was getting tonsilllitis AGAIN. but it's your run-of-the-mill sinusitis, headache, hacking cough. the coughing was pretty bad for three days and my stomach muscles are seriously sore from the violent coughing spasms. this morning, i coughed up some phlegm.

yes.

i am that person that looks.

guess what color it was?

neon green. mmmmm... as my old coworker, leo, used to say, "shamrock shakes."

anyways, today was a rough day at work, thanks to a glitch in the server, coupled with problematic physicians, coupled with short staffing, coupled with TONS of orders. good times. i have to say, though, i'd actually much rather be working than venturing out for black friday. i am proud to say that i have NEVER participated in black friday shopping and i think that people that do are just insane.

seriously. no judgement. but you're all insane.

let's see... bella now has three words in her verbal repertoire: daddy, oh wow, and the latest addition: "hi." she actually knows to wave and say it at the same time. it's soooooooooo cute! what's even cuter is that randomly, if we say something that perks her ears, she'll babble it back to us, with shockingly good pronunciation. it's HILARIOUS - she doesn't always do it, but when she does, we crack up. of course, when we try to get her to repeat, she just shakes her head at us, as if to say, "my parents are so weird."

this week, she learned how to blink. she crinkles her whole forehead and squints her eyes... i'm suspecting because she doesn't want to completely close her eyes, just to see what funny expression I'M making as i'm trying to get her to blink.

my favorite part of the day is putting bella to bed. of course, it helps that she doesn't cry anymore when we put her to sleep. i love every part of the bedtime routine - giving her the bath, brushing her hair, brushing her teeth, nursing, singing songs, bedtime prayers... all the while giggling together. she giggles the most during her bedtime routine than at any other part of the day, and i love that all her attention is focused directly at me when she's cracking the biggest smile, from ear to ear.