Our unexpected trip to Roanoke

Although it was nice to see our extended family, I wish it had been under better circumstances. Grandma's visitation was on Thursday and the funeral was on Friday at noon.

We were all as prepared as we could be, but I think even knowing that it was imminent, nothing really "prepares" you for it. After the funeral, we had a TON of visitors over at Mom and Dad's house with plenty of food and stories of Grandma.

There were lots of things I didn't know about her life (and about my great grandparents) - like that she played basketball in high school AND college. And that she was named after her mom's college roommate at Radford University. She was an an awesome lady all around - I will miss her soo much!

I don't think I've seen most of our family since our last reunion back in...2003? We used to have those every couple of years, but for some reason or another we haven't planned another one. I think we should reinstate the Sykes Family Reunions!!

On Saturday we had more visitors come by before they headed back home, and Dana and I went out for a few hours to go shopping. We headed to the mall and Goodwill to try to find some of my grandparents things that had been donated by mistake!! Like a deep dish pie plate, and a cross stitched picture of apples that my mom made herself. But it turns out that it could be anywhere from Danville toCharlottesville! Ugh...

Anyway, here are MANY pictures from the past few days...

Noel & Great great Uncle Kenneth :o)

Susan, Rita & Debbie

Noel & Cheryl

Noel was crazy about some soda pop - Thanks Tim for
getting her hooked! Next it'll be ketchup...

Tried to capture her "lemon" face but it turned
out that she actually liked it!

Megan & Noel

The three of us - Dana has a better picture that I'll upload
at a later date

Uncle Jeff & Noel

Grandpa & Megan

I don't know what I was doing w/my arm...
Dana, Grandpa, and I

All of my grandma's brothers and sisters with my grandpa...
Rita, Carol, Gay, Clair, Grandpa, and Alton

MMMM...Cheerios!

Kenny & Megan

A picture of a picture...
But this is my grandma when she was about 11 years old -
Grandma (Anita), Bonsall, Alton, and Clair

A few pictures of Noel with a Pink Rose from her
Great Grandmother's flower arrangement
June 7, 2009

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Noel and her Grandpa, hangin out in the yard!

I was lucky enough to be able to bring home one
of the many flower arrangements - bringing some beauty
to our dining room table!

I love you, Grandma

I received word that my Grandma passed away last night after her long battle with Alzheimer's Disease.

She will be greatly missed!!

It is some consolation to me that she is no longer suffering, and she is finally at peace with the Lord. I have countless memories of her throughout my childhood - Dana and I felt that their house was our "home away from home". We spent practically every celebration, Thanksgiving and Christmas together.

She was a sweet and giving person, and always thought of others before herself. She would bend over backwards to get us anything we wanted or needed and was always concerned that we didn't have enough food on our bellies. :o) At dinner celebrations, she would hardly eat herself, for tending to everyone else that needed extra ice or another deviled egg.

I'm so blessed for having had such a wonderful grandmother. She will live on in my heart, and as Noel grows up, she'll in turn know her through my pictures and memories.

I'm grateful for the time that we DID spend together and the memories we shared. She lived a long and fulfilling life, and you can't ask for much more than that.

I love you, Grandma. I'll see you on the other side.

Quirky little noises

I love her face at the beginning of this clip :0)

Couple of Videos

Tonight at dinner, Noel was fussy again with her pureed foods, so I tried to give her some chunky applesauce (Not "baby food" but the real deal), but she really wasn't sure about it. I will usually give her some Gerber "cheetos" or some of those apple wheels if she won't eat anything else.

I'm still trying to get her to say "Mama" by Father's Day - since all she said on Mother's Day was "Dada".

I SWEAR she says "Daddy" sometimes - although it sounds more like "Dah-deh"

Here is Noel trying to feed Padme:

Fuss-pot, Noel

I think when I said "she's the most even-tempered baby" I jinxed myself! For the past few days Noel has done hardly anything except fuss fuss fuss fuss FUSS!!

Tummy ache? Teething?

I've been practically holding her non-stop, and she STILL fusses/cries. I'm starting to wonder if it has to do with being in this house, with just me, all the time. Maybe she needs to get out more. Maybe she needs more interaction with other children.

She's also been waking up at night - not multiple times every night, but waking up at all is unusual for her. I can see two teeth coming in on the top, but I'm really not sure that that's the cause of this. Her first two teeth came in without any trouble at all. And she's not drooling or chewing anymore than she usually does. I will give her a refrigerated teether and she likes it, but gets bored easily and will start fussing and crawl over to me, wanting to be held.

She fusses during meal times (with solid foods), she fusses while I hold her, she fusses basically all the time.

I'm hoping this will pass soon!! I need as much energy as possible for my interview on Friday!

I've been eating really well and getting back into an exercise regimen. I'm determined that I'll be able to continue it when I find a job. Gosh, it is so hard for working moms!! I have a hard time fitting it in and I'm at home all the time!! It seems almost impossible to fit in exercise time + meal preparation and meal prep time + household stuff + regular caretaking for her.

I'm bound and determined to lose 15 lbs by September 25th (Noel's birthday). If I do that, I'll be 5 lbs below my pre-pregnancy weight!

I've already noticed a difference in my body, but I think all I've lost so far is water weight. Can't wait to see more results! I want to be in a bikini again next summer - right now I don't even feel comfortable going out in a one piece!!

Okay, so here are some pictures from the past week or two:

Hi Padme!

Here, have some of my cheeto!

I ended up having to take it out of her hand and give it to Padme because Padme wouldn't take it from her. I think she was afraid to hurt her. She tried to gingerly lick it out of her hand, but that didn't really work. My dog is awesome!! She is so gentle!

Kisses from Daddy!