Thanks to a crazier-than-usual (some family stuff, more family stuff, and then being sick) trip to Omaha I managed to only blog one day of 7 Days last month. Let’s see if we can fix that, shall we? I’ll alternate between my 7 Days photos and Annalie’s.

Day 2 – looking down at an old sidewalk

After church on Sunday, we walked with some friends to the Godfather’s Pizza a few blocks away and had lunch. The sidewalk along the way is very old. It was old when I was a kid and I used to walk from my house to the Safeway, so I’m sure it’s at least 50 years old.

Day 2 – upside-down world!

I told my mom to point the camera down at me and my friend Kailyn, and I pushed the timer and the button to take the picture. But I had to look down from the camera because the sun was too bright! I thought it was funny that I covered my eyes right when the camera took the picture.

Day 3 – Omaha has a Trader Joe’s now!

Which increases the odds that we might move back there someday when Troy retires from the Navy.

This was my alternate shot. I kinda liked it because you can see Elliora’s little hand grabbing my shirt down in the corner. Oh yeah, that’s right. I was nursing my kid and taking self-portraits in a public place at the same time. I was pretty proud of myself for that. Normally I can barely walk and chew gum at the same time.

Day 3 – I’m a blur!

Day 4 – definitely a family resemblance

It’s been noted by more than one person since she was born that Elliora looks more like me than Annalie does. It wasn’t till my mom got out some old photo albums when we were in Omaha that I realized just HOW much she looks like me. In some of my old baby photos the resemblance is rather amazing. (Not this one, but in all the ones where the resemblance is clearest either the photo is dark or my face is a tiny portion of the photo. My mom says she didn’t really learn how to take pictures till she got a good camera, when I was about five years old.)

The title of this photo, by the way, comes from Annalie. When I showed her the photo in this picture and asked her who she thought it was, she said uncertainly, “Is it me?” I told her it was me as a baby. She said, “Oh! Yeah, it looks like me and Elliora! There is definitely a family resemblance.”

Day 4 – pop a hop

[Full disclosure from Bethany for the 7 Dayers: Annalie didn't like any of the self-portraits she took that day, and she really wanted to use this photo I took of her jumping off a rock at her Grandma Val's house. And she did say, "Hey mom, watch this! You might want to take a picture!" right before she jumped.]

Day 5 – ready to go UP in an airplane

It’s rare that I take a self-portrait with my phone’s camera that I really like. But I do really like this one. We were waiting at gate A10 at OMA to board our flight home. Annalie was sitting on the floor between two rows of seats, coloring; Elliora was conked out in the carrier. And I was catching my breath.

This was going to be my 7 Days shot (cheering someone UP), of me with a mug I painted as a RAoK gift to a blog friend (the line on the mug is from one of her blog posts), but I liked the one I took of me and Elliora at the airport too much not to use it.

Day 5 – up, UP, and away!

Me and my sister up in the air on an airplane from Omaha to Washington D.C.!

Day 6 – gimme some drugs

This is a large part of the reason I fell off the blogging wagon while I was in Omaha. The minor sore throat I had developed turned out to be the first sign of a full-blown sinus infection, complete with headache, pressure in my ears, and pain like a knife in my throat each time I swallowed. Man that sucked. It took me a good week to get over it, even with the meds. The silver lining is that I was forced to find a new doctor, and I found a good one just a few minutes from my house.

Day 6 – just me

My mom said it was blurry, but I kinda like it.

Day 7 – family minus one

Our framily Donna and James and their kids lived in Keflavik, Iceland, for a couple of years a while back. We went to visit them there right after Christmas the year I was pregnant with Annalie. (Yes, we visited Iceland on purpose in the middle of winter.) In the basket full of cool Icelandic stuff they gave us for Christmas, there was a little wood-and-clay sculpture/wall-hanging done by a local artist of a couple with their arms around each other above a gold heart.

The following Christmas, Donna sent us this one of a family of three, by the same artist. I wish I knew the artist’s whole name (only her initials are on these), I’d try to find one with another child!

This 7 Days, even though I got sick at the end, was SO much more enjoyable for me than the previous run. Here’s hoping next 7 Days everyone stays completely healthy.

Whew! Caught up. And here’s a nice way to end, with Annalie’s Day 7 video of herself hula-hooping. I stopped the recording too soon, and cut off Annalie saying “Miss you, Bug!” at the end.)