Happy 4th of July

We had a relaxing 4th of July - we did a little shopping all together. Then we watched a movie and hung out at the house. Here's pictures of Casen in his two outfits - one from Mamaw and one from Ms. Traci. He liked waving the American flag.

Our Little Laidback Mimic

I haven't been able to capture it on the camcorder yet, but I'm trying. Casen has started mimicing us - for real! When Josh blows raspberries, Casen does it too. This morning, Josh said, "Yay, Casen" and Casen talked too using the same inflection and number of syllables (no, he didn't actually say Yay, Casen too - he's not that much of a genius!). I'm reminded of that song, "Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear."
Case has also continued to prove that he is VERY laidback. If we put him on his tummy, he always flips over on his back almost automatically. If he's sitting up, he scoots down so he can lay down. Apparently, he just likes to lay around...hmmm, maybe he learned that from his mommy and daddy too. Ha!

Rock'in in My EJ Shirt

Here's Casen rocking in his Eskimo Joe's shirt. It was a long morning, but once he got into his Eskimo Joe's shirt, I needed to capture it on film! ha!
Then that's him at the end of the day taking a nap on the couch. He's a cutie, ain't he?
p.s. I just watched the video...I wanted to clarify that I'm talking FOR Casen (I didn't pee on the rug!)

Casen is 5 Months Old!

Casen turned 5 months old on Monday - it's flown by!
As you can see, his latest tricks are holding himself up on his tummy. He's not on his tummy for long though. He likes to roll over and lay on his back.

Casen Likes the Bottle Now!

Case has decided he can take a bottle now, even at home. He got hungry enough I guess! He's taking a couple of bottles at home in the evening on top of the breastfeeding. He's a growing boy! And he's a big boy - he can hold the bottle by himself (with a little help from Daddy and Mom). (Sorry the pictures are a little dark)

Father's Day

I'm a little behind putting up pictures of my own. Here's pictures from Father's Day. We took Josh up to camp Saturday and stayed the night. These are pictures of Casen waking up on Sunday morning. Then Josh opening up his gifts. I'm glad we got to spend Josh's first Father's Day together even though he would be at camp that whole week.

Chicago Visitors

I haven't gotten the pictures from my mom-in-law nor my parents so I don't have pics up of their visit YET. But here's some from when my cousins visited. They were on their way home from their stay in Ft. Worth. They brought Sonic for lunch on the Friday that Case and I drove down to see Josh at camp. It was good to see Jacqueline and Jordan, and I'm so glad they got to see Case. He of course loved it. He got to play and be held while I finished getting ready and packed!

Case and Jacilayne

These pics are from Jessi's blog. It looks like Case and Jaci are having a conversation.

Things I Will Miss From Grad School

1. Being able to wear jeans and a tshirt to work.
2. Being able to make my own schedule. Literally.
3. Seeing the Frenchman-Scientist who wears a fanny pack and an Indiana Jones hat.
4. My Bursar. Charging things to it.
5. Having a couch in my building where I can go take a nap when I need one. And it's acceptable and expected.

Coming Down From the Whirlwind

I handed my dissertation to my committee today. It was a long process (I finished writing Tuesday night) to get it into shape. The formatting took awhile along with writing up the Table of Contents and List of Figures. I also had 2 chapter corrections from my advisor to do. Wednesday night I started getting sick and went home sick Thursday morning. I think the lack of sleep finally caught up with me, and I caught a bug. It was my dissertation sickness! Well I felt a lot better today. After I finished everything, I had to get it printed and copied for all my committee members. I remember my Comm III prof from OC always telling us, "Don't leave your printing until the day your paper is due...you never know what could happen, and nothing is excused!" That kept going through my head this afternoon as I went from place to place. First, I went to the computer lab to try to print the dissertation. The printer in my lab is down so I had to go somewhere. I got one dissertation printed, but then after that this one page kept jamming in the printers. Not sure why nor did the lab tech. So after 4 printings of only pages 1-25, I decided to go somewhere else. I had one complete copy so I could make copies...if there was a place open on campus! There was no longer a copy center in the Union anymore, and then the library's copy center was closed (apparently, they close at noon during the summer! What about people who wait till the last minute like me?!). Finally, I was able to make copies in my department...good thing the secretary didn't mind. I felt like a load had been lifted after I turned it in to all the members. My defense will be in about 2 weeks. I can't wait! (I never thought I would be looking forward to such a scary event!)

Still in the Whirlwind

The last couple weeks have whirled by me. Josh went out of town to camp for a week. Thank goodness his mom, sister, and nieces came for a few days to help me out. I barely got to visit with them - I mainly just worked on my dissertation coming home to eat and see my son here and there. Then this past Friday, my cousins Jacqueline and Jordan came for lunch on their way home to Chicago. I'm glad they got to meet Case (and I know they are too!). Because I was on 3 hours of sleep and still hadn't gotten ready for my trip later that afternoon to pick Josh up, they watched Case while I finished packing and got ready. Friday night, Case and I stayed with our friends Trey and Lauren before we left the next day, picking up Josh on our way home. On our way home, Mom, Dad, and Gram arrived and met us in OKC. Their time here has been short, and I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with them, but they've been a big help. I feel like all I've done lately is write, eat, feed and play with Casen a little, and sleep when I can. I feel so blessed to have family and friends that help out so much. You know how they say that it takes a village to raise a child? And I've heard that when a person writes her dissertation, her spouse goes through the experience, too. Well, I think it takes a village to write a dissertation, especially if there's a new baby involved! I finished up my writing tonight. All I have left to do are corrections. Oh, and that big thing they call a defense. Then I will be free of graduate school forever!!!

A quick update with pics...

I'm trying to finish up my dissertation this week. I'm so tired of writing and am at the point that I hate it. I've heard that happens in the writing process. Josh is at camp working as a counselor (the one we usually go to in the summers) so his mom, sister, and 3 nieces are here helping me out. It's been super having them help with Case and dinner and everything else. These pictures are from a few weeks ago when Kellie and Jordan watched Casen while I worked (yes, writing) and Josh was working on stuff. They enjoyed him. I heard Case watched the horse race with Jordan, and Kellie got Casen to start taking his bottle (which he does now regularly - yay!) I think Case recognizes Kellie for sure now. Last Wednesday, he started talking to Kellie while we ate dinner. I think he was telling her, "Pick me up!" Anyway, I better get back to work. Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers I've gotten so far - keep them coming! Did I mention I hate writing???!!!

Adventures in Dissertation Land

This week has been crazy! I have deadlines coming up so I was putting in extra hours to submit my draft to the grad college and get another chapter to my boss (I did yesterday...I still have more to write and corrections but two things crossed off the list!). I find myself wandering around in Dissertation Land hoping that I get out soon. The latest adventure? Tuesday night, I needed to work until after midnight at school. Since Casen is finicky with taking a bottle, especially at home, Josh opted to bring Casen up to school with me. So while I worked in my office, Josh and Case hung out/slept on the 4th floor in the lounge. I got a call around midnight to come nurse him and then it was back to work. I was actually glad I had company in the building because in Josh's words, "Your building is freaky at night!" We left about 2 AM and stopped off at Whataburger for a snack where the people behind us I think had the munchies due to some illegal drug and the Whataburger guy got my order wrong. Of course, what do you expect at 2 AM? I finally crashed last night. Currently, I'm looking for some more steam to start another long round of writing. Anyone want to babysit Case at the Chemistry Building through the night?