Five things.

1. There's a new Brandi Carlile album! B, Julie and I are all huge Brandi fans (randomly, we discovered her when her songs were featured in Grey's Anatomy back in its heyday) and The Firewatcher's Daughter is the usual wonderful folksy-rock that Brandi and her crew serve up. Yay! And Brandi will be at Ravinia this summer!
   
2. I finally convinced B to leave the house and go to work when I was off this week! Working from home is, apparently, particularly addictive when it means you avoid cold weather, commuting on slushy trains and get to spend the day peeking in on an awesome baby like D. Daily and I got two mama-and-D days! Both were a bit cool, but we had a blast! Lots of snuggles (breastfeeding for the win!), a shopping trip by car, a shopping trip by stroller, a stop at the park to swing (!), trying some yummy food, video chats with Aunt Julie, delightful baths, regular old baby fun.
   
3. Spring! It's magical! Over the very warm weekend we took two heavenly strolls (both included open houses -- we are dedicated to house-finding! but both were duds!). We spent a good chunk of Saturday afternoon camped out at a bar patio in our neighborhood watching St. Patrick's Day celebrators march by, drinking Guinness, eating Irish-y appetizers, and letting D doze in the stroller until she woke up to stare at everyone.
   
4. Marvel! We are still catching up on Agent Carter episodes and we're back on Agents of SHIELD. And I found a sweet Captain America shirt at Target so I can finally wear Marvel gear too! (Superhero Day at work is coming up in May!) I finally watched the delightful Guardians of the Galaxy over a month ago -- wonderful.
   
5. Back to night shifts in a few days! ICU training is going well so far. I'm seeing the sickest of the sick kids at the hospital and thankfully I kinda like it. There's a lot of teamwork, which is the most important thing at a hospital, and much more doctor-nurse conversation much of the time. It's fantastic to talk things out with doctors (a lot them are residents who are learning too) and be an active part of the care team. I don't think I want to be an every-single-day ICU nurse, but I do love a lot of what I'm learning. Hooray! Hopefully night shifts (with baths, linen changes and fewer people around) go well too. Fingers crossed. 

It's a baby. In a beer garden. She is almost as happy as her mama that outdoor seating is back.