Belated thanks

We've got eight unanswered messages on the machine, a ton more through e-mail and the blog, and only today did mom get to talk to the second of her four siblings. One friend wondered if we didn't want to talk to her; quite the contrary, but things've just been a bit busy! Please bear with us.

Today, a package full of gifts even arrived from Aunt Joan, who wrote one of the sweetest messages dad has ever read -- and she wrote it under the gun, just shortly after Lil' Genghis arrived. We still hadn't had a chance to reply to her, but want to let her know of course we'll consider her Aunt Joan, for she taught Grandpa John everything he knew some three and a half decades ago. Aunt Joan has always been there for us, and was even a friend of Grandma Kathryn, from whom baby Isabella gets her middle name.

So, please bear with us. Things are ... busy. =)

Lil' Genghis today got yet another visit from a healthcare professional -- she has had one every single day of her life, including over the weekend -- this time over fears of diarrhea and dehydration. Everything's just fine. We love how patient (pardon the pun) the doctors and nurses have been with us, and how they realize that educating us and helping us become better parents makes everything easier for all involved. =)

The jaundice has diminished significantly, and she's putting on weight. In other words, she's doing great.

In other business, we need to give a shout-out to Uncle Ben*, who has said that if dad's back doesn't fix itself tonight he can beg another day off work. This is of course a sign that Uncle Ben is realizing that having dad out of the office for significant amounts of time causes no detrimental effects in re: productivity, but with the back problem he'd have a hard time firing his minion. dad's running total is four kinds of pain medication, two antihistamines as sleep aids, a muscle relaxant, a couple beers, a heating pad and a back massaging thing. Weeee!

We forgot to mention that as soon as mom and Isabella started feeling better, dad hurt his back and mom's car got sick. It's odd, how some houses always seem to have a steady number of people or things sick. Aunt Ann down the street takes turns being sick with Uncle Eben, while a sweet family down the other street always seems to be two-fourths sick. Here's to hoping everyone gets better soon!

We've got just one picture from today, but it sure is a good one by mom:





* This Uncle Ben is sem arroz, and we appreciate you keeping that stupid joke to yourself. Only one person is allowed to be infantile on this baby blog, and that's dad, of course. :P