4 months: Big changes they are a'comin'

Hazel got her 4 month shots right on the nose and I tried to do pictures that same day. She wasn't having it.

Screaming Dalek baby.

She wasn't a fan of any positioning this time and too much fussing over moving her around was making her cranky.

Cranky.

So NOT having the full costume.  I wanted to do How to Train Your Dragon. My original idea was to dress her up as Astrid and get a Stormfly plush. But Astrid was movie only, not book, so I was torn on a purity level that I likely didn't even need to worry about. So instead I made Hazel into a dragon. I had a dragon costume after all!

Well... dragon costumes in August, even in air conditioned houses, are not appreciated by 4 month olds. In case you ever needed that information.

So the next day, after letting her aches fade a bit, and trying the dragon costume ONE LAST TIME just in case... I decided the wings alone would have to be sufficient.  Diaper decorated babes are adorable right? So that's what we went with.

She has a little Toothless to play with.

I'm pretty proud of those wings, by the way.

Made entirely with fabric and wire by hand.

Books are delicious. But eating out of a bottle is impossible. Obvi

Wing Creation

I picked up this pretty, spider webby teal fabric

And this shimmery tulle like stuff

At first I was going to go with one layer of each but realized it might not photograph well. So I sandwhiched the teal between two pieces of the tulle.

Then I cut them into wing shapes

And sewed together. I didn't do all the little wing details in sewing, just made a triangle. I was suprised I could sew this stuff.

Then I wove wire into the fabric, in and out. One piece did the main structure of the wing and then each point got a wire.

I got two different gauges of wire. I didn't realize this immediately. I added the thicker gauge to the outer structure for support so I had enough of the thinner for the inner wing

Assembled

I bent the wire into a harness to fit on Hazel's back and covered the wire ends with black duct tape. 

And in other news... I got the job offer!  The pay/schedule isn't ideal to start, i.e. I won't be making much profit after daycare and gas cost is taken out, but I'm looking forward to being back in the lab!

Job Stuff

I got an email today saying that the Texas astrobiology curator position was cancelled. Balls.

But!  Last week I found and applied for a microbiology job. I submitted the application in the morning and had an invitation to interview just after lunch.  The interview was yesterday and went pretty good, I think. Now I just need to wait for a response.  They had me perform some basic lab skills to show that I had aseptic technique and I rocked that.

I then shopped on Amazon for different bottles because Hazel once again refused to eat the whole time I was gone. Mom's boobs are her favorite, I guess. Silly stubborn baby.

Omnomonom boobs with bonus hickey from baby mis-latching

Why use a pacifier when fingers are so CONVENIENT?!

Me after rockin' the interview

Canada Trip for Kaylee's birthday

Again... very delayed...

There's a place not far over the nearest border crossing from us (Port Huron MI/Sarnia ON) where you can go fossil hunting and keep what you find. It's called Rock Glen Provincial Park. While my parents were here for Kaylee's birthday weekend, we decided to all take a trip there since my Dad is a big fossil bluff and Kaylee is becoming one too. My parents were headed home and were taking the Canada route so it worked out to be on their way home.

Kaylee pesters Eric in the car.

Nana (my mom) holding Hazel. She loves being Nana to my girls and I love having her.

My Dad had polio, so that he could manage this path up to the visitor's center was pretty impressive.

Sign explaining how the fossils got there.

Hazel is excited about fossils!

The paths through the park are all boardwalk and stairs, since you're basically climbing down a river gorge.

The creek bed where you pretty much trip over fossils.

Dragonfly!

Part of our haul.

Grandpa and Kaylee inspect the fossils.

Family shot! Thank goodness for timer functions on cameras.

Climbing the stairs back out.

There's a gorgeous waterfall that you can swim in too. Once Hazel's older, we'll go back and plan to swim. The water was chilly but refreshing!

Kaylee wanted so badly to swim. I did have her suit, but the water was too cold for her to do much more than wade.

Eric went exploring downriver.