Happy Day(s)

So I have to say that things have been pritty cheerful in the Green household. Which is to say that _I've_ been cheerful, which (unfairly) makes everyone else more cheerful. (What is that- that inability of a Mom to have a bad day without EVERY OTHER FAMILY MEMBER following suit?)

Anyway, if you are at all familiar with my political leanings, then you know that the inauguration day was a exciting one. Friends came over. Kids made noise. Moms shushed them. But all in all, good day. Also: oddly refreshing to sit in front of the tv for the day. (Must try that more.) (Oddly different that sitting around on the internet all day.)

But watching Obama take oath (and trying not to lick the tv screen because his skin looks So! Soft!) is not the only happy news around here. My bff, known on this blog as East Coast Anne, have birth to a sweet baby girl on Monday. Anne is my sister in every sense of the word except for the fact that we each have our own set of (somewhat crazy) parents. So I essentially have a new niece!

Also noteworthy about this delivery: 1) Anne delivered her first daughter at around 32 weeks, but THIS baby wasn't born until 39 weeks (WOOT WOOT), 2) this baby was stubbornly breech so Anne (after trying to get the baby to turn) had a c-section, and 3) Anne lives in the DC area, so was a TINY BIT afraid about getting to the hospital with, you know, an extra 4 million people in the area, a breech baby, and a cervix that was already 4cm. I am so happy that things went smoothly for her.

This baby, whom we will call Mary, is THE most beautiful, smart, and advanced newborn you will ever see! The cheeks! The sticky-upy hair! Her amazing ability to poop and pee and nurse and sleep! She is so precocious! This girl is going places, is what I'm saying. I cannot wait to meet her in person, to say "I knew her when..."

So: things are good. It's above zero, and- I kid you not- feels warmish after enduring the wind chills of last week. There is magic happening in DC, and January suddenly feels do-able.

Also? My brother shot a mountian lion. Near his home. In South Dakota. It was 130 lbs and 7 feet from nose to tail. CAH-razy! (Yes, legal- he had a license.)