One plus one more... equals 2 teeth!

Discovered tooth number 2 over the weekend. Tough to make out, but I promise it's there, right next to tooth number one...


This weekend was full of running around here and there, but the weather was simply perfect and we got a lot done. Working in the garden and yard is the best part of our weekend - Josie loves watching us make our laps back and forth with the lawn mower as she sits in the shade just chillin'!

Her exersaucer continues to be endless hours of entertainment... don't cha know it's a fort too?

More Puffs Please!

Gerber Puffs, the best invention ever, right? Those of you not "up" on the latest in baby treats, Gerber Puffs are like Cheerios, but designed to almost instantaneously dissolve in your mouth to prevent being a choking hazard. And they're pretty tasty!

This girl LOVES them, from the very first moment she laid eyes on them - it was love at first sight :) This is our first round of finger foods and it's going really well. She's perfected the pincer grasp (a developmental milestone apparently) and often is pretty successful in getting them in her mouth, lap, face, and stuck to her hands.

This is great entertainment for at least 30 minutes every morning :)

Sunny Day

Yay! 80 Degrees and Sunny today :) We even went for ice cream!

8 Months Today!

I hate to post without the official 8 month photo, but as hectic as things have been lately - I found this little pocket of time to sit and write out her last month... so I'm going with it.

First and foremost, FINALLY a tooth! Numero Uno! It's been highly anticipated for many many weeks, and we'd just about given up on seeing it any time soon. There had been plenty fussy nights and lots of drool, and then it all stopped out of the blue. No drool, sleeping through the night and tons of napping... and then suddenly the tooth appeared. We're happy to mark it's arrival just a few days prior to her 8 month birthday!

So many firsts this last month in addition to the tooth - new foods like blueberries, mangos, Gerber puffs and yogurt bites - and even a greenbean! We went to our very first wedding, first hiking trip to Turkey Run, first bike ride (last week did our first 12 mile ride!! WOO HOO!), first time pulling herself up to stand, first time holding the bottle all by herself too!

The house just feels different now that I have an active crawler around. It's funny to look around with a new set of "baby eyes". When she's given free range to crawl, there's a list of things to check... cat food/water needs to get picked up, basement door closed, shoes put away. Outlet covers went on this week too. By default the house stays pretty clean and picked up for that reason. Her favorite place to crawl is under the kitchen or dining room table - usually chasing after her furry buddy Ernie. Luckily she hasn't figured out opening of the kitchen cabinets yet... but I know that it's coming!

We've really enjoyed the warmer weather and hanging out outside on the back porch or under a shady tree. I finally got my wish of an porch swing for Mother's Day - and there's nothing better than swinging my sweetie pie to sleep in the afternoon breeze. Josie loves crawling around the grass and will sit content for quite a long time. I especially love being home more often to spend time in the garden and working in the yard and am so lucky J enjoys being out there by my side.

First Mother's Day

A few weeks back, Ed had a pretty great idea and planned a special Mother's Day for the three of us. Turkey Run State park is pretty amazing, a place I'd gone a few times when I was in high school and many times "back in the day" when Ed and I were dating. The hiking is amazing, unlike anything imaginable in Indiana of all places - much more like something you'd think to be found out west. The rock formations, waterfalls, cliffs, caves and riverbeds make for some pretty rugged hiking, especially with baby in tow, (Josie is just about maxing out the baby bjorn - we have a Kelty Kids carrier on order ;)) even so we fared pretty well! I'm so glad I had my wide angle lens in hand to capture the depth and breath of what I'm talking about. That little bitty person there is Ed...

That's Ed maneuvering up the waterfall...

Trail 4, we were prepared to get wet! It has been a fairly rainy Spring, making this typically dry riverbed quite a bit more challenging to hike - but so much fun! Ed was careful with Josie and I was careful with the camera :) All in all, I think we hiked a good 10 miles between our hikes on Sunday and Monday. Making for a tired mama and baby... We're glad to be home :)

A Wedding

Wow, we had an action packed weekend :) My beautiful cousin got married on Saturday! We knew a long day wasn't going to sit well with Josie so we arranged a babysitter for the reception, but she was a good girl during her first wedding ceremony! She even wore a special outfit from the bride :) How perfect! The hat was adorable... but darn it she wouldn't keep it on :)








HI Amanda and Lizzie :) Great to see you Saturday!!

7 years

We've been married 7 years today, hard to believe! It's absolutely our best year to date and all because of this little one. It will be hard to top the amazing 7th year, but we're looking forward to spending every single day of our 8th year with Josie!

Delightful Weekend

This is what a perfect weekend is like! Beautiful weather, no place to be but home and doing our own thing. Going for walks, cooking on the grill, bike rides, cutting grass and working in the garden with the windows wide open! Indeed - we were finally able to take the bike trailer out for a spin for the very first time. It was a bit of a struggle getting J in her helmet and strapped in, but once we got moving, she was asleep in just a matter of minutes. Photo is of our "pretrip" test run around the driveway...


We started out with dad in the lead and he did the first 3 miles - and was a little winded. I was hesitant to take the reins, but it wasn't nearly as tough as I thought it was going to be! I think dad was just a little out of shape for our first ride ;) We did our 4 mile loop again today, with me pulling the entire trip!

7 Months Old... only a *few* days late ;)

Heart.Melts. sigh... such a sweet baby doll!




It's not surprising, as little J gets bigger, her 7 month photo with fuzzy bear is getting significantly more difficult to capture. Nonetheless, she's adorable being her new, more mobile self! Poor poor fuzzy bear - his ears get pulled, his bow chewed on, drooled and snotted... but he loves her all the same!

At 7 months old, Josie is officially a crawler. It was a fun month watching as she learned to move one knee ahead of the other - and since the day she figured it out, she gets a little quicker and coordinated. For a while there, she could only get traction on the carpets. She would swim about when she's get to the hardwood or tile :) But now... she's got it! She's pretty darn quick these days.

At 7 months old, we guestimate her weight at about 19lbs. There were a few weeks there that J suffered through a cold and wasn't eating like her normal self, combined with the extra crawling activities in her days, I bet the weight gain is going to slow down. Diapers sizes have finally stabilized at size 3 and size 6 month clothes are still fitting pretty well, but size 9months are quickly approaching. We love the warmer weather, if only for the fact that we get to see her cute arms and legs in short sleeves and shorts! I feel like we've been cocooned all winter :)

Our first signs of words are "dahh dahh" almost all day long, I correct her with "ma ma" on a regular basis ;). And her hair, oh my gosh, the hair is growing SO FAST lately. The newborn hair from the top of her head hangs in her eyes if I don't put it in a pony or a barrett, it's so pretty no matter what way we put it. She still has an undying love for Mr. Mickey Mouse, her exersaucer, and many toys. No longer do we use the swing *sniff sniff*, and many other baby toys have recently been retired.

NAPS! NAPS - at least 3 hours in the morning, IN HER CRIB! She's a great napper lately and that's making for a very happy baby and mama. But admittedly, I get bored and can't wait for her to wake sometimes. Our day starts with a morning bottle, mid morning fruit and cereal, early afternoon bottles, dinner is homemade veggies and cereal and another bottle before bed. Favorites are bananas and carrots :)