Fever for Lena, Pt. 2

2/8/13 Note: This blog post is from last night.  A ton of additional pictures were added today!

Lena's first jam session

As Fever for Lena, Pt. 1 (link) assured everyone, our 16 ½ month old Lena is all better now!  Tonight is another Daddy-daughter night, and Lena is lying on my lap as I type this blog.  We’re thankful that she’s back to her normal, energetic self again.  How energetic is she, you ask?

Even after just waking up from a nap together with Daddy after work, we could barely keep the camera on her!

However, the rest of us are still burning with a fever for Lena photos from 2012.  Feed a cold and starve a fever, right?  Well, we’re flipping that old adage around tonight to make sure that fever gets fed.  Let’s pick up where we left off at the end of Tuesday's “Garth’s Blog” photo-fest:

In November, Brent and Cheryl invited us to their house in Bend for Thanksgiving dinner...


The next day...

...The grandparents watched Lena so we kids could have some grownup time —Hiking, skateboarding, a live music festival at 10 Barrel, and dancing!

As November came to a close…

….Lena relished Daddy’s final moments of scruff by nestling her face against his “No Shave November” beard.

In December, we made sure to set aside some time for Daddy and Mommy to hit the town…

… But the most exciting thing about the holidays was celebrating Lena’s second Christmas!

An early Christmas Eve with the Easons

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day at my parents’ house

...And Mommy and Lena drive to PDX Airport to visit Daddy at work on Christmas Day!

Christmastime with Lena was even better this year, with our baby girl becoming more aware of the season!  Still, we couldn’t help but wonder if emphasizing the birth of Christ while pushing Santa Claus on Lena is sending mixed messages…

Too soon?  Lena, nearly 15 months old, isn’t quite sure what to make of our AChoG Christmas Extravaganza’s Santa Claus.

Maybe Santa will get a warmer reception next year.

**********

Aside from some recent sleeping problems, Lena seems to be feeling much better these days.  Hallelujah!  In fact, I just took a break from blogging to finish rocking that precious little girl to sleep a few hours ago.

Daddy-baby nights like these are something to be treasured…in sickness and in health!

Coming next week on BlogSpot…

I twist Kathy’s arm for her to blog about Brent and Cheryl’s fabulous wedding in Sunriver!

And then… 

...an E.P.I.C. Student Ministry Update!

Fever for Lena, Pt. 1

Spoiler:  If talk about illness gets you down, feel free to skip ahead to the happy part below!

Daddy nurses a feverish, 15 month old Lena back to health.

The first 15 months of Lena’s life were so healthy and carefree!  That streak ran out during the end of December when Lena rocked her first 101 degree temperature.  So heartbreaking.

Lena was down again last week, this time with the flu.  Next, Kathy came down with a mild case of something else.  Finally, I got hit by a ferocious but puzzlingly brief bout of norovirus a week ago.  We’re all thankful to be back to our normal healthy selves, but there’s still something going around...

                                       ...It’s something in the air.  

It’s an affliction...

...An affliction that can only be cured by a collection of previously unseen Lena photos from the tail end of 2012!

It’s…
A fever for Lena!

We've begun sharing our grown-up food with Lena at restaurants.  Note: a previous BlogSpot entry included an even cuter Lena shot from that night!

Lena is conquering her fear of the loud, scary vacuum cleaner that Daddy pitched in one of his TV commercials.  Our weekly ritual of Daddy rushing Lena outside to preempt an Electrolux-induced baby screamfest is a thing of the past!  We have plenty of other excuses to get her outside… more on that during our upcoming hiking blog!

At Buffalo Wild Wings with my parents

Kathy, Lena (our little 13 1/2 month old ladybug), and Vice Presidential nominee Paul Ryan hold down the fort at our church's Halloween Trunk or Treat...

…And later, Lena shows off her ladybug costume at home.

Lena plays in Grandpa and Grandma Eason’s front yard leaves, and everywhere else!

This was supposed to be one long, mega blog post.  However, it's time that I got back to studying for this Sunday's Valentine's Day sermon on "The Five Love Languages."  I'll post more photos here tomorrow on Thursday!

Coming Thursday on BlogSpot...

The adorable conclusion to "Fever for Lena!"

And coming soon...

A Wild Wedding in Sunriver!!