laurel goes to atlanta!

Laurel, mom and I flew to Atlanta on the 8th. Everything went very well, and she was once again a perfect baby!
Our trip was a very nice one. Busy for me, but wonderful time for my mom and Laurel together. Copper Willow did fairly well. Not great though. Turns out the south isn't quite into the letterpress trend like the north east and california crowd. Soon, hopefully. We did make lots of contacts and lots of may show talk. (we'll be going to NYC in may for the big stationery show). Laurel loved the show. It was busy and noisy, but she was very amused and cheered everyone who saw her. Everyone loved her! She smiled and cooed at everyone and was just a joy to have around. Mom would keep her for the mornings at the condo. In the afternoons, they'd walk over to the show and hang out for the later part of the day. In the evenings, we cooked and chilled at the condo. A couple of nights, we played cards (see the photo:)). Laurel stayed on pacific coast time throughout our entire trip, so it was an easy transition when we got back home to CA. While in Atlanta, my Uncle Don, mom's brother, drove up to visit for an afternoon. It's really nice that my family is getting to see her as a baby. The time is going by so quickly, she's growing so fast!
We flew back to CA on the 17th. That was an interesting ordeal. We barely made it to the airport because it was snowing heavily in MD. Once we made it, I was on my own with Laurel! Getting through security with 2 bags, a laptop and a baby was also not the easiest. And no one offered to help, surprise. I finally had an offer to help when I was gathering everything to board the plane. And turns out, the guy who offered help had a baby too. So, only those who can relate offer to help. Oh well. The flight was long, but she did drift off to sleep for the night half way through. And Alex was thrilled to see her when we landed. So all is well and back in LA!
Copper Willow continues to push forward. We're prepping now for the show in May. We're releasing an album of wedding invitations and some new greeting cards. Plus all of the follow-up work from Atlanta and printing for the orders we took there. No rest for the small business owner! Alex is continuing to work hard at his studio and recently received superior reviews on some animations he completed for their game-in progress.
Oh I forgot to give my Laurel update! I mean, update on what she's doing. She's still giggling, which is such a thrill. She's starting to learn to roll, she'll roll from her stomach to her back. Mostly because she hates being on her stomach. She plays very well by herself now. She lays under her gym or holds a toy and plays with it for quite a long time. She still prefers attention, but it's nice that she can be with herself sometimes. Her naps aren't any better. Still short and unpredictable. That may just be how she is. Her hair is really growing, mostly on top, but getting much longer...and adorably, sticking straight up! The thumb is making it into her mouth reliably and she can also pull her pacifier out and put it back into her mouth. She still enjoys standing and loves to watch the tv. So, we're monitoring the amount of time we have it on around her.