Let It (Not) Snow!

Oh how I love living in snow country. It's beautiful, it's scenic, it makes you want to cuddle up on the couch with a nice cup or hot chocolate. I especially love when the thruways are closed and there are white-out driving blizzard conditions. So fun. Thursday I was supposed to drive from Erie to Buffalo with Lyla, drop off Lyla to stay at my parents for the night, then head to Syracuse for an interview. My dad called at 7am to say the roads were supposedly bad and maybe I shouldn't come. It was fine in Erie so I was skeptical. I called the program in Syracuse and they said their weather was fine. I looked on the weather map and it didn't look too bad. So Lyla and I bundled up and headed off. The first 1.5 hours were a bit windy but not too bad. Then we hit Angola and I was clenching the wheel for the last 25 miles. The visibility was about 50 feet and we were driving at 15 mph, just hoping that the car in front of us knew where it was going. Luckily we made it to Buffalo safely, but by then severe weather warnings were in effect and I had to cancel my interview--there was still terrible weather up through Rochester so there was no way I was going to make it. Lyla and I hung out with my parents which was nice but I still felt bad about missing my interview--I will try to go in January. Then Mike was supposed to come to Buffalo today after school and join us, but school was cancelled because of the snow. He was going to try to come early today, but then the interstate was closed!!! And it's still closed now at 8:30pm. We're hoping it will re-open by early morning and the weather will be ok for traveling so he can come join us in the morning--we're planning on having our "Riessen Christmas" tomorrow since we'll be in England on the 25th. I keep telling myself I'm just glad Lyla and I made it here safely and that Mike is safe otherwise I'd just be annoyed. Poor Mike is home by himself with the dogs--I hope he makes it here ok in the morning. So that's our excitement...hopefully it will be more mundane soon!

Holiday & Interview Updates

Sorry for not posting in a while--things have been busy with us lately. Between interviews and Thanksgiving, and now Christmas fast approaching, the days all mush together and I can't keep straight what's happening when! I've had four interviews so far and four more to go. I will be relieved when they're all over as it has become a bit draining with all the traveling, smiling, and questions. Traveling with an infant is challenging too--although Lyla is usually pretty good, it's just more time consuming to pack, travel, and get organized. So far I've been to VCU in Richmond, VA, Geisinger in Danville, PA, Children's in Buffalo and Golisano Children's at University of Rochester. So far Rochester seems to be in the lead--it seemed like a great program and Rochester looked like a really nice city and still close to family. Monday I'm in Hershey, PA, Friday in Syracuse, and then in January I'm in Cleveland and Akron, OH--and then I'm done!

We're getting excited about the holidays too even amongst the chaos. We had a great Thanksgiving in Buffalo with my parents. Lyla had her first bite of turkey (puree) which did not go down well! She pulled a terrible face when she took a bite and then refused to eat anything else the rest of the meal! I wonder where she gets that stubborness from? She has seemed to enjoy eating more in general though. At daycare she gets lunch--rice cereal and a fruit or vegetable, and then dinner of vegetables and/ or fruit. She's also getting pretty good at feeding herself the gerber puffs cereal. Yesterday we tried little pieces of diced steamed carrots and yams which she seemed to like but had more difficulty picking them up than the cereal because it was a bit more slippery.

Next weekend we are celebrating an early Christmas in Buffalo, and then in less than two weeks we head to England for Lyla's first Christmas! I know there's a bunch of people in England who can't wait to meet her and are sooooooo excited for our visit! I wonder if I'll even see Lyla the entire week--I think her nana, grandad and aunts will steal her the whole time :) It should be a lot of fun and we're all excited about our trip. We fly Erie to Philadelphia, then to Manchester. I'm hoping she sleeps on the tranatlantic flight since it will be her routine bed time, and if she doesn't sleep then we'll have even more trouble with the time change. Lyla has been resisting napping which makes for a really cranky baby sometimes. Bedtime too has been a challenge lately. She used to sleep so well--in bed by 8 then sleep soundly all night...what happened? Lately she resists going to bed--she'll fall asleep but as soon as I put her in her crib she wakes up and cries--sometimes for a while. Some nights we just let her cry it out, which sometimes works ok, but not always. Lyla, when will you start sleeping well again??? Soon, please!

Lyla has mastered rolling in both directions and sitting too. She still loves her jumper and the exersaucer at daycare. Next is moving from sitting to lying, and then.....crawling.....???? eeek! We have to start thinking about babyproofing soon! I guess we'll have to get a gate for in front of the stairs? Lots to plan for!

Here's photos of Lyla's latest adventures: