A Girls Only Vacation

Hi little one,
We just got back from your first ever Girls Only Vacation!!!! I'm so excited to tell you all about it!

We went back down to Branson with Grannie and Grandma Joanne from Monday to today. As hard as it was leaving Daddy behind, we hit the road with nothing but the clothes on our back and some ice cold brewskies. (Okay, in reality I overpacked and the drinks might have been Dunkin Donuts coffee and bottled breast milk. Whatevs.)

Our first stop was at the Osceola Cheese Company. (For those readers who have never had the pleasure of visiting this small slice of heaven located off of Hwy 13, let me tell you it is exactly what it sounds like. Wall to wall CHEESE.) Your mommy used to stop here when I would go to Branson as a little kid. Of course, we got your picture in front of the Osceola cheese mouse. Have you ever seen a cuter mouse? I sure haven't!

Once this picture was out of the way, we hit the road in search of Branson's Nantucket resort. When we got there, my breath was literally taken away. So pretty! Who would have thought this was tucked away in the hills of the live country music capital of the world?

We spent our first night in, since we had a long day on the road. You opened a gift from Grandma Joanne (adorable clothes and shoes!) and we couldn't wait to put the shoes on you! They didn't last too long, but that didn't stop you from rocking them for awhile. And, of course, trying to eat them.

Wednesday afternoon we finally made it to the pool. Here you are, right before we put you in a floaty...

...and here you are, in my arms, about five seconds later. At first, you did.not.like.the.floaty. Nope. Weren't having it. No way.

But, we played around in the water for awhile and once you warmed up to it, you ended up having a blast. You even showed off your new standing up skills to Grandma Joanne! Here are a few of my favorite memories::

We also got to visit a winery during our trip. I couldn't resist sticking you in a big ass wine barrel and snapping this adorable picture, much to the chagrin of the winery workers.

We played hard and we had a ton of fun. It was really nice to get away for awhile and just relax with Grannie and Grandma. I hope we can take you again around Christmastime with the whole family! More vacations are definitely in order!!

With so much love,

Daddy's Weekend | Father's Day

Hi little one,
It's here! Daddy's first Father's Day with you!! We talked about grilling, but between the rain and the heat index over 95, we decided on beer and sandwiches at 54th St. You had their baked potato soup and just gobbled it right up!

For Daddy's first Father's Day, we got him the above picture frame for work. As you can see, he is proudly displaying it in his office!  (I'm secretly hoping for a M-O-M one for Mother's Day next year...but we'll see. Hint, hint Raleigh.) I'm also posting the adorable pictures that make up the D-A-D, so you can see them up close. Ahhh! Adorable baby girl alert!!

Yesterday, I was going through the millions of pictures on my phone and couldn't help but notice a common trend...how much your Daddy loves you. Here are some of my favorite pictures and reminders why Father's Day is so special this year.

I think what I love most about these pictures, is that you can actually see the love in your Daddy's eyes :) Happy first Father's Day!

With so much love,

Daddy's Weekend | Birthday

Hi little one,
This was a big weekend for Daddy:: his 31st birthday and Father's Day all rolled into one!

We celebrated his 31st birthday by going out to a delicious brunch at First Watch. I think we might make brunches like this one a birthday tradition. I meant what's a better way of celebrating than with pancakes and sandwiches, and some love for the birthday boy from his big girl??

After we ate, we came home for a quick cat nap before heading to IKEA! (This 95+ degree heat zaps energy out of us like whoa.) We didn't shop for anything in particular, but had fun walking around any way. We were also stopped several times by old ladies who couldn't help but gush on your cuteness :) that brought a big smile to Daddy's face every time!

Daddy made his special pizza for dinner (I have to take a second and tell you how DELICIOUS the crust is with ranch seasoning baked in. MMMMMM!) and then he opened all of your presents. Undies, socks, and man perfume!

All in all, it was a pretty good day! Daddy hit the jackpot because he gets to celebrate his birthday, his first Father's Day, AND our first anniversary all in the same month! I can't WAIT to see his face when he opens your Father's Day present tomorrow!

With so much love,

Pemberley | Eight Months

Hi little one,
Eight months? It's so unreal. Eight months ago you were this teeny tiny little newborn, and now you're almost crawling...excuse me while I shed some mommy tears!

So, at 8 months, you...

-wear size three diapers and 9 month clothes

-now have two more teeth (top incisors, or your "vampire teeth"), and are working on two more up there!

-love when we play peekaboo with you

-scoot around on your tummy, and can move backwards and in circles

-haven't quite mastered coordinating your arms and legs so you can crawl, but that doesn't keep you from trying

-can go from sitting to your tummy with no trouble

-have a blast in your exersaucer, now that your feet can touch the floor and you can bounce :)

-are getting really good at using your pincher grasp to pick up small pieces of food (yogurt melts make you squee when you see them)

-love eating purees at dinnertime, especially apples & chicken, bananas, and prunes

-have yet to successfully drink out of a sippy cup, even though we've tried three different kinds :(

-were sleeping so well in your nursery for awhile, but now fight naps and sleep for more than two hours at a time unless you're held (hellooooooo 8 month sleep regression!)

-are showing a strong preference for using your left hand when grabbing and waving

-are finally interested in standing assisted on those chubby legs

-love to read your board books (and by read, I mean eat)

We're only three weeks into our summer together, and I'm having so much fun! I can't wait for the next few months with you. I love you so much!!

Summertime Happenings

Hi little one,
Summertime is in full swing! I am so excited to be able to stay at home and do all sorts of fun things with you for the next few months, like draw on chalkboards and try to get you to smile!!

One activity we really enjoy so far is taking walks in the stroller. I've been going up to the track and trying to get in a few miles a day, just for the exercise and to get us out of the house for awhile. Sometimes we switch it up and walk on the trail behind our house, too.

After we walk about a fourth of a mile, you get pretty tuckered out and fall asleep the rest of the way. You're soooo cute when you nap! All of the joggers and other mommy walkers say you're just the most darling little girl - and they're right!

As you spend more time on the ground learning to crawl, you're also spending more time with the dogs. Dolce LOVES to lick your face, hands, and feet, so I have to keep a wet washcloth on hand pretty much all day. Rusty likes to nuzzle you with his nose, and you just giggle like crazy when he gets your underarm. I'm so happy that you aren't afraid of the dogs, and that they are so understanding when you pull on their whiskers and ears :)

You have also been busy learning how to eat solid foods. Even though you were doing just fine with the baby led weaning approach, I found myself with pretty severe anxiety every night at dinner. So purees it is! I think it's safe to say you are enjoying them...we've yet to find one that you don't like :) Sometimes you grab the spoon and start feeding yourself, and then this happens::

"Is there something on my face?"

Along with eating purees, you are also frequently enjoying another solid...your toes! Daddy captioned this picture, "I eatsa my feetsa." (He's such a dork!) I'm just amazed at how flexible you are! Also, watching your reaction when you forget you have teeth now and you bite down...priceless.

In bigger news, we finally made the jump to move you into your nursery. We figured that your sleep was so crappy in our room, it couldn't get much worse if you were down the hall. And guess what...you only wake up once a night now! Sometimes you even sleep all the way through the night!!! I think you sleep better because it's darker, you don't hear me tossing and turning, Disco's asthmatic wheezing, Rusty's snores or Daddy's toots. We also keep it dark in there with blackout curtains, and have it set at a cool 68 degrees. Daddy does a good job most nights of giving you your last bottle. It melts my mommy heart everyone I check on you guys as he's putting you down...

Well, that's all for now, miss girl. I love getting to know you and watch you grow. It's going to be an awesome summer with you!
Love love love,

Memorial Day Weekend Vacation

Hi little one,
Daddy and I took you on your first vacation last weekend to Branson, Missouri. It was a blast! We left mid afternoon on Friday and stayed at the Barrington Hotel through Monday morning. I was a nervous mommy about how you would travel and sleep, but surprise surprise, you did fine on both accounts! You're just the best little girl :)

We crashed pretty hard Friday night so we could get up early Saturday morning for Silver Dollar City. Your first amusement park! Not even the rain stopped us from having a good time!

As you can see, Daddy and I embraced the new Petunia Pickle Bottom Ergobaby that I recently purchased. It was especially handy since 1) your stroller was soaked by the time we finished breakfast, and 2) you could nap in it in peace. Daddy was a little hesitant to wear you at first, but he got the hang of it and enjoyed the attention from all of the old ladies at the park who wanted to love on you :)

Probably my favorite part of the whole trip was eating skillet food at SDC. Skillet food is my JAM. To. Die. For. These bowls were worth the price of admission alone! These would totally be worked into the home dinner rotation if your mommy owned a cast iron skillet...and knew how to cook.

Sunday we went shopping around Branson, and Monday we did some more shopping before heading home. I *might have* gone a little crazy at the Carter's outlet, but it's soooo hard to resist buying cute baby clothes for you! (Like, ridiculously hard. Ridiculously, ridiculously hard.) I also bought you a tiny taggie blanket that you adore chewing on because more teeth are on their way. In retrospect, I should have bought some of the fabric because that print is TOO CUTE!

As much fun as we had, it was nice to come home and start our summer together. Daddy and I are so excited to take you on vacations as you get older! In fact the next one might be sooner than you think...

That's all for now. I love you, baby girl!

Pemberley - Seven months

Hi little one,
First, my apologies this is so stinkin' late! Between you getting sick and the end of the school year, things have been a little crazy. But summer is FINALLY here and I'll have much more time to stay current on your blog (and maybe give it a facelift, too!).

Seven months was HUGE for you! Daddy and I have had so much fun getting to know you and seeing you grow and do new things. You're growing into such a smart, beautiful little girl! As always, your adorable monthly pictures...

 At seven months, you..

-weigh 16 pounds, 13.5 ounces (50th percentile)

-still wear size three diapers

-are in 9 month clothes

-have two bottom teeth, which are quite adorable

-can sit unassisted (sometimes you get so excited that you topple over, and then you glare at me like I pushed you)

-love to roll onto your tummy and rotate around in a circle

-can scoot backwards, but not forward

-have zero interest in standing up

-are regressing back to waking multiple times a night (if any blog readers have any tips, I'd love to read them! Your sleep schedule is slowly driving me insane again.)

-love watching the dogs play, but have little interest in watching the cats

It's hard to believe that you're seven months old. Like...really hard to believe! I still cradle you like you're my little newborn and want to cry when you squirm and wiggle your way out of my death grip. People always told me that "they grow up so fast", but I honestly never knew what they meant until now.

I love you SO much,