23 MAY 2005

Hmmm! I guess I didn't make it clear that I updated Mike's Iraq page. There is a new album of pictures for May. I've also added a video page that are full of small video clips taken from Mike's digital camera.

Not much is going on here. The girls and I are just hanging out and taking it one day at a time. We did manage to go to the pool one day with one of the playgroups. Annie had fun and no longer wanted to ride around in her floatie. Mimi didn't get a chance for a dip in the water since I was too busy with Annie. The O'Club pool opens on Memorial Day weekend. I plan to take the girls there regularly. They have a baby pool which will allow Annie to play on her own without me having to hold her and for Mimi to get a chance in the water and floatie. I'm hoping to get a nice tan, too. I wonder if Mimi will tan as easily as Annie and me. I put 50 SPF on Annie, and she still manages to get brown. I was always like that, too, but as I've gotten older my skin has become more sensitive and doesn't tan as easily. I can even get sunburns now. OUCH!

Mimi is now sleeping in the playpen crib at night and during naps. She has slept from 8:30 p.m. until around 5:00 a.m. for several nights. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this is the real deal. I bought a gate for Annie's bed and will start to have her make the transition into her bed. Oh, Annie and Mimi can now wear the same size diaper (size 3)!

I am experimenting with a new photo album format. I converted the girls' May album and the Indy zoo album into this format. The ablums require a Flash Player to view (most people should have it installed). Some people have already taken notice of the changes and have made postive comments about it. Let me know what you think.

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17 MAY 2005

We are home at last. The last few weeks at my parent's house have been a great break for me with the girls. My mom really helped out with changing the diapers, giving baths, and feeding Annie. I really took advantage of my mom's diaper-changing skills. My mom was mostly excited for me to see her new house (new to my parents, anyway). They just moved in to it in February. Actually, my mom was here visiting with the new baby while my dad moved their stuff into the new house. I wish it could have been that way for me the last couple of moves, but it was the other way around with Mike being gone during both of the moves. The time spent in Indiana went by too fast. My mom spent a few days in North Carolina with us. Now it's just the Hawley girls again. I've updated the girls pictures' with a May 2005 album.

We did have some fun days out and about while in Indiana. We ventured over to Indy to spend a day at the Indianapolis Zoo. The weather was perfect for it. Every school in town knew it, too, since there were about a thousand kids there on field trips. Julie met us there with her son and the two kids that she babysits. Annie had a lot of fun just being able to walk around and play with Julie's kids. She showed little interest in the animals. It was still definitely worth it to go. The day was just too nice to pass on spending it at the zoo. Check out the pictures we took on the Memories page under "Indy Zoo - May 2005".

Annie also got to spend a day in the kiddie pool that my mom got for her. There was a slide attached to it which Annie loved to use the slide once she overcame her fear. Even Tiger, my parent's Yorkie puppy, had a few goes down the slide. I was worried that the weather wouldn't warm up enough before we left. Boy, I worried for nothing because the last week and a half there the weather was sweltering. I even have a little bit of a tan from that day.

Tiger and Annie had a blast playing with each other. They would chase each other around the house and yard daily. Tiger didn't even mind being held in a headlock by Annie. My mom kept joking that she was going to have to send Tiger home with us since Annie and Tiger were such good buddies. Maybe when Annie is older she will be able to handle Lucy, our dog. Right now Lucy is much too rough for Annie to withstand.

Mimi has been such a sweetheart. She loves to have people sing to her. Many times she tries to "sing" along. Mimi still hasn't rolled over, but she is practicing each day on it. She's sleeping 6-8 hour stretches at night which means I have a lot more energy these days. Now I just need to transfer her into the crib to sleep at night, but that means I have to get Annie out of it first. There is still uncertainty as to what color eyes and hair Mimi is going to have. My mom is convinced that she will have blue/hazel eyes and the same color hair as me. I'm not convinced yet.

Upon our return home, I noticed that many of Mike's surprise flowers are blooming. There are some irises, peonies, and other unknown (to me) species of flowers. Mike will be glad to know that I think of him everytime I see the beautiful flowers.

Note: You may notice that the guestbook no longer has all the messages that used to be on it. Unfortunately, our guestbook was hacked again by those jerks from Iran. This time they erased everything from the guestbook. I feel just awful about it. Apparently, the guestbook software I was using was outdated and vulnerable to hackers. My hosting company has assured me that the newest version now installed is secure from hackers.

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