Wisconsin Cheese Hat

It's been quite a journey getting to Beloit and settling in.  Our internet was just hooked up today, and the blogosphere is overdue for a Hattie update.  Since her birthday almost 3 months ago, Hattie has been to Chicago, Los Altos, Brackney, back to Chicago, Iowa City and now Beloit, Wisconsin.  Along the way she's doubled in size.  She had her last Iowa City checkup a few days ago, and she was fit and healthy, at 13 and 1/2 pounds. She has some serious thigh-rolls that are cute until you have to flatten them out to clean the poop out of them.  We tend to put her under the kitchen sprayer after every BM.  It's the baby bidet.

She enjoyed being back at her birth-hospital, if only for a day.  She even makes sounds when she's content that sound like "Iiiioooowwaaa..."  She got all her shots, but she wasn't happy about it.  This is a typical Hattie "You're going to pay for this when I'm a teenager" look (note the band-aids.  Oh, yeah--and now that I see the picture, you can note the thigh-rolls, too!).

I mean, compare her to the skinny chuck that came out of Brynn not 3 months ago.  We were always afraid she would  break.  Slow hands through the arm holes so the fingers don't snap off.  But now, she's durable goods.  "Built like a thumb" as my dad would say.   Half her clothes don't fit her anymore.

Her Nana Vicky came from California and helped take care of Hattie as we got settled in our new place.  Hattie is laughing and smiling (and frowning and crying 2 seconds later).  She's sleeping longer at night, sometimes a 4 hour stretch before her first wake-up.  Brynn is doing well, although now that Vicky's gone and I've started teaching, it's hard for her to be in a new place where she doesn't know people.  I did meet a colleague that has a baby girl, with the exact same birthday, so we're going to get together with them.

I had my first day of teaching at Beloit College today, and it was quite a thrill.  Yesterday there was the 165th Year Convocation and all the faculty donned robes and walked across campus in a procession.  Students lined up along the route and applauded as we passed.  Some more enthusiastically than others, but it still felt good.

And now, some more pictures!

Loves being wrapped up with her mom

Taking charge of her bottle at Bushel and Peck in Beloit

Hanging on the couch with her old pal Rumpus, looking amazingly bald, for some reason.

I'm not sure "Li'l" is the right adjective for this burgeoning tyke.

But she's ready for kickoff!