Thankfulness Friday - Day Off!

After a very productive week, I'm taking a day off today.  With Memorial Day weekend, this means I get a whole four-day weekend!  Woo-hoo!  On Monday, I finished the first draft of the manuscript and sent it off for a first go-around of critiques.  Yesterday, after spending two whole days, I finished editing the annotations to 142 genes.  The spring phage students had worked on this for all of April.  I needed to double check their work before submitting it for further quality control.  After that, the genes of the phage (named Winky) will be officially submitted to GenBank (Link sends you to a previously submitted phage we had worked on 2 years ago).

So, on my day off today, I will spend lots of time cuddling and kissing Baby Bunny.  Maybe I will get her to giggle with me.  Maybe I'll have a video!  Keep your fingers crossed.

Thankfulness Friday - Books!

Baby Bunny and I love to read right before going to sleep.  We've been reading since she was barely a month old.  Her favorite has always been "Goodnight Moon."  She fidgets the least when we read that one together.  This book is about a bunny who is getting ready to go to bed.  Before he does, he says goodnight to everything and everyone in his room.  My favorites change every now and then.  My current favorites are "Barnyard Dance" and "Guess How Much I Love You".  "Barnyard" is fun to read; one must do so with a Southern twang.  "Guess How Much I Love You" is also about a bunny about to go to bed.  He tries tells his dad how much he loves him, but his dad always manages to do one better.  The art work in this one is my favorite; the little bunny is really, really cute.  Dr Seuss books are great, too.  But, they are typically longer.  We love them all!

Thankfulness Friday - Sitting

I wonder how many muscles are involved in the simple act of sitting.  Something most of us don't think twice about can actually be difficult for a baby.  This week, Bun Bun has been making a lot more gross motor skill progress.  She is now able to sit by herself with no support for at least 20-30 minutes.  She doesn't fall over, and she sometimes doesn't even need to prop herself up.  She is getting quite strong with her stomach, leg, and arm muscles.  We'll see when she figures out how to go from lying down to a sitting position.  It's been so much fun watching her work her little body and seeing how she suddenly realizes, "Oh... I can do this with my legs!"

Thankfulness Friday - $40 Hair Clippers

Before...

... after

Since I moved out of Mom's house, Doggie has been very much neglected.  When I lived with her, she at least got some grooming... mats brushed out and unruly facial hair snipped.  And, she would at least get a bath every couple of months.  With busyness at work and the baby, I haven't had much time.  Recently, Mom and Sister were desperate for her to be groomed.  Groomers in the area are always booked for months.  There was no waiting.  So, in two installments, Doggie got a bath one fine Saturday then hair clipped the following Saturday.  

Several years ago, I had bought a pet grooming kit for about $40 at Walmart; I have definitely gotten my money's worth since each visit to the groomers is at least 50 smackers.  I don't dare to claim that know what I'm doing here, and I'm glad the resolution of these pictures aren't the best.  At least for now, Doggie can feel lavender fresh, mat free, and a bit cooler.

News from home:
For two mornings in a row, when I go to wake up Bun Bun, I find her sleeping on her stomach.  I'm not sure at what point of the night she decided to roll over from her back, and I don't know if she then rolls to her back again, etc.  It's rather cute.

News from work:
This is the week of final exams.  I am glad for the semester to end.  I can focus on getting my manuscript finished and submitted.  On the other hand, I will be sorry to see a cohort of my students graduate next Saturday.  All in all, this has been one of the best semesters.  I had a fantastic group of students in one of my classes.  They asked lots of great questions during lecture and really showed that they were thinking about the material.  I will miss them all.  Come Monday, manuscript and play time in the lab!