This week is all about some big things that happened for Irene and me.

We pick up where my last post left off- extolling the virtues of my wonderful parents who have taken Irene to Lake Tahoe for an extended visit!  Irene loves being with my mom and dad- and Peter and I were really enjoying it as well.  Getting in on the fun was Marge (my East Coast Mom to those in the know).  WIth her arrival on Monday, Sam and I made the trek up on Tuesday.

Why didn't we go on Monday you may ask... well, we had to be at the hospital for a photo shoot.  Sam, Laura and I will be featured in the June issue of the Alta Bates/Summit hospital magazine.  We had professional photos taken and everything.  Of course, I had to do my own make-up which is never a good thing.  As soon as I have a copy of the article, I promise to post it here.

Anyway- Sam and I headed up to the mountains on Tuesday for a quick stay.  It was great to see Marge and introduce her to Sam.  It was also really nice to see Irene!  She was just shot from guns excited to see us.  That excitement, however was nothing compared to the excitement when she lost her first tooth!  Irene has been working on two loose teeth for a few weeks now.  While in Tahoe, she became so fixated on playing with her loose tooth, my dad was going to offer her a pacifier or something as her fingers were always in her mouth.  Then, on Thursday, right after dad and I left to run an errand, Irene sat down to lunch and that is where the fun started.  Now, you would think a sandwhich or an apple or something like that was what finally got that tooth out.  You would be wrong.  It was a slice of avocado!  That's right, Irene's first tooth lost a battle with a slice of soft and ripe avocado.  How fitting.  Apparently from then until my dad and I got back, Irene was running around the house screaming and singing a song about avocados and teeth.  I guess you could say she was excited.

One down... many more to go

Coming in a close second to her excitement over loosing a tooth, was the joy she got from watching it snow.  That's right- late April snow storms in the Tahoe area.  It wasn't a ton of snow, but enough for her to go outside and try to catch snow with her tongue.

Snow!

Other fun at Tahoe was a trip to the Ritz Carlton in Northstar with my dad, a run for the Nevada border, fun with bunny ears, and an Easter egg hunt:

Posing at the lake

Posing in her Easter bonnet

Taking the gondola to the Ritz

Hanging out at the Ritz

Hot cocoa at the Ritz

Irene right before the Easter Egg Hunt (including face paint)

The spoils from the egg hunt

Sam: The Easter Bunny

Yayo in bunny ears

Sam and Irene cuddle

Irene on the beach

Too cool for school

All in all, the trip to Lake Tahoe was a huge success.

Now, the other big news this week has to do with me.  After thinking about it for 7 months, I have quit my job and taken that leap into the freelance world.  My company has been great about my sudden disappearance and 7 month leave.  They have given me 3 months more than they were required to give me, and I am so appreciative for that.  Its just... Sam is only 3.5 months old (corrected) and that is too young to be sent to day care all day.  Had my pregnancy gone normally, I would have taken 6 months off to be with him.  So, faced with the decision of returning to work or taking the leap into the freelance world... I lept!  If you know anyone looking for an off-site project manager, producer, user experience designer, digital strategist, etc... let me know!  I am back on the employment market (kind of).

Not to be left out, Sam did start to develop one new trait: laughing:

We finally were able to capture Sam rolling over on video:

Finally, a few quick images from our last weekend just Peter, Sam and I:

About to chomp on a toy

Chomping on a toy

Daddy and Sam

Overall, a great week at the Harris-Odum house!