a busy, busy day!

Good Grief... I don't even know where to begin - it's been another big day for me.

First of all... mom's been trying to get a good picture of my chompers for a couple of days now. Today - I finally hammed it up enough & gave her a big smile. In the picture to the left, you can see that my daddy & my popi have a new patient... if you look closely, you'll notice my 2 brand new pearly whites poking through on the bottom! (you can also click on the picture to get a close up). I suppose it's time to start brushing & flossing, eh?

Ok - so now for the good stuff. Mom & dad took me for yet another walk this evening. We go on walks all of the time, however... this time, we walked near a park.... and did you know, they have these fantastic things called SWINGS! I don't think they had planned on letting me go for a ride, but thank goodness they did. I had a BLAST! They did have the regular camera, but unfortunately did not have the video camera... Bummer! However - they did try to take a GHETTO video with their regular camera. It's sideways & a little grainy, but you can still check it out. They did not get the part where I was laughing & kicking like crazy, but you can still tell that I was absolutely LOVING the swings. We need to go back there really soon!



When we got home from walking, I ate dinner & then my daddy decided I needed a bath (especially since I soaked up all of the germy wormies on the swing set at the park- ha!) So - he got me undressed & put me into my crib, so that he could run my bath water. I suppose he figured that I'd be safest in the crib, since I'm crawling around like a mad woman these days. Little did he know... I had another surprise in store for him! He came back into my room to get me, and I was STANDING UP in my crib. Ha! Although I was naked... of course, they could not resist taking pictures. So - you can see me standing up in my crib. Mom tried to get an angle where not all of my parts were visible. So - not only am I crawling now... I'm pulling myself up, too! Gosh things are getting crazy around here!

In addition to all of this madness, mom also thought it would be a good idea to do a photo shoot earlier today, so just for kicks... I included a few of the pictures she got. Enjoy!

scootin' along

Woo Hoo... the day is finally here... I'm crawling! I've been toying with the idea of crawling for a couple of weeks now, but as of the last day or two.... I'm off to the races! Ok, ok - so I could not really win any races with my speed, but the tortoise always beats the hare, right?!

I started out with a small crawl (if you can call it that) last night at Mia's house (see the 1st video). Then today, the parentals were trying to catch me on tape all day, but you know me - I'm so camera shy, and did not want to show off too much with the tape rolling - ha! It was quite humorous... you should have seen them... they were coaxing me with all kinds of things: food, toys, cell phones, remote controls, our 2 dogs. Honestly.. I just waited until they were least expecting it - and then took off across the floor. The 2nd video shows my skills nicely.

Finally... I was beyond pooped, so I crawled a little way, found my "socky," and tried to catch some zzz's on the living room floor. I believe they got that one on tape, too.

Well peeps... it's bedtime... I'm hitting the sack, so I can scare my parents some more tomorrow by playing the disappearing baby trick. They can't catch me now!

bikini beach babe

So - I took another short vacation from blogging to go to the beach last week...I know, I know - life is rough for this little 7 month old, eh? And yes... this meant another road trip - UGH! This time we drove to Destin, FL with Popi, Gingi, and Aunt Bebay.

The beach house we had was awesome... we could walk off of our balcony - right onto the beach. There were fun things to do all around our place in Seagrove... we ate at some great restaurants (where I sat in my first highchair at the table), did a little shopping (all for me, of course), ate some more snow cones, and went for walks to look for sea shells. But for the most part - I practically lived on the beach.... either playing

with toys in my baby pool or hitting the waves with mom & dad. I must say that my new tan is certainly top notch. The sound of the ocean was the best part of the whole deal - it mesmerized me & I slept "like a baby" listening to those waves.. ha!

Check out some of the pix & videos from our stay at the beach. Many thanks to Popi & Gingi for a very relaxing vacation.... and for spoiling me rotten, once again.

WARNING to the weak-stomachs out there:

videos were not shot by professional videographers... ocean movement could make you sick :o)

sittin' pretty

As most of you know... I have been practicin' my sitting skills for quite some time now. Mom still puts the boppy pillow around me when I'm sitting by myself, just in case I lose my balance & topple over, but I'm definitely getting better.

So today, I thought I'd throw mom & dad for a loop. We got home from running some errands & I was peacefully napping in my car seat. As usual, my nutty parents would not just let me finish my nap in peace, but instead... took me out of my car seat & put me into my crib. I tried telling them that it was too late & that I was done napping by crying a little, but mom wouldn't take the hint. After a couple of minutes - I decided she wasn't coming back to get me, so I just sat up & started playing with my friend (aka: my little stuffed mermaid). I hoisted myself up into a sitting position & proceeded to play. As I suspected.. within a few minutes, mom came in to check on me. Boy - I think I shocked her good, because she ran & grabbed the video camera - Ha! Later tonight, mom & dad had me in the floor practicing my skills.... check out the couple of videos & you can see me sit up all by myself.

Oh - I have also started to get excited when people clap for me. I don't quite have the clapping motion down yet, but I do get very excited & flap my arms up and down when mom & dad clap their hands. I don't think they believed that I knew what I was doing at first, but after several hundred times - they decided that it wasn't just a coincidence - geez, give me some credit here. You can see me knocking over some blocks & getting very excited about it in the last video.

Well... I think that's quite enough for one day. A girl's got to get her beauty rest, you know.

trip around tejas!

Well... apologies to my avid readers (if I have any left), but I had to take a break from writing for a little while, as my crazy parents drug me all the way to Texas for a couple of weeks. It was quite an exhausting trip - 11 hours to Big D & then another 5 hours to San Angelo, but I must say - - - they got out very easily. I rode most of the way without making so much as a peep! But let me just tell you - after that long in the same car seat... my li'l tooshy will never be the same!

Now - why mi padres felt the need to parade me around the entire state of Texas, I'll never know, but nonetheless - we did make a few stops along our journey. On the way to San Angelo, we stopped in Dallas to see mom & dad's friends - Robin & Tressie. We spent the night with Uncle Joel & Aunt Gena, and visited with Uncle Mike, too! On the road to San Angelo, we stopped in Abilene at my cousins' baseball game, where we got to visit with all of my fun aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins!

For my 6 month half-birthday, we celebrated with fireworks at Gingi & Popi's lake house! I mean come on - nothing but the best for this girl, eh? (I suppose I should confess that my half-birthday was on July 4th, and that the fireworks were perhaps maybe not just for me, but it's fun to pretend, anyhow - he he).

As if all of this were not enough, we made a trip to Austin. Aunt Sarah & Uncle Jon had us over for dinner, and there were a couple of other babies....just my size - Taylor (9 months) & Will (5 days younger than me). We also had lunch with the LEWRIGHT crew, too! They were so sweet, and gave me a cute t-shirt that said "Texas Princess". I swam in my diaper with Uncle Joe and loved playing with the fountains in his pool. It was so great to meet my big family in Austin!

On our way back to good ole' Tennessee, we stopped in Big D again to see daddy's buddy Jeff. We stayed with Aunt Bebay in her new apartment, and then headed out early the next morning for the last leg of the trip. Whew! I deserve a medal!

I did so many other things in Texas, too...... I can't name them all.

I swam with my friend, Sydney.

I met lots of new friends at Granna & Doodah's BBQ.

I got to pet the new baby horse at Gingi & Popi's ranch.

I met some of my future baby-sitters at mommy's old work - the gymnastics gym. (ha ha)

I took a ride on DooDah's boat.

I ate my first bite of a famous Tropical Snow snow cone. (courtesy of Sylvia & Alex)

And just for kicks -

I threw my first small temper tantrum when Popi took something away from me - ha - check out the video!

Well - sorry about being so long-winded this time, but we had a lot of catching up to do. Below is a hodgepodge of pictures & videos from my trip to Tejas. I hope you can make heads or tails out of it all :o)

splishy! splashy!

Oh boy.... mom finally convinced dad to blow-up my baby pool ... woo hoo! So, after my nap this afternoon, I got to put on my adorable paisley tankini (compliments of my Aunt Erica) and work on my tan for a little while. I had a ball splashing around in the water & you'll notice that I'm getting better at sitting up, too. Please ignore the crazy barking dog in the background , Keecha - she wanted to take a dip with me, but dad would not let her. Gosh - I love that dog! In the second video, you will see me give her a couple of big cheesy smiles... the kind my mom wishes I'd give to her :o)... but Keecha is funny looking - I can't help but smile at her!

I said - NO MORE PEAS, please!

Whoever it was that thought it would be a good idea for me to try all of these new green veggies ----was WRONG. As if the green beans weren't bad enough, tonight dad was trying to force some other kind of green goo down my throat (aka: green sweet peas). I passionately let him know exactly how I felt about eating peas for dinner. Take a look at the video & see for yourself just how much I did not like my green peas. Honestly, I was really putting on a show, because my silly parents could not stop laughing at me! ha!

oh, so talented!

Well, friends... my talents are ever developing and changing! I've been rolling over for about a month, and have now figured out that it is a way for me to get where I want to go. Just for kicks, I sometimes roll off of my blanket a few feet, so that when mom peers over the couch to check on me... she panics for a second, thinking I disappeared. (ha ha... little does she know - it'll only get worse when I really learn how to move!) Mom took this video tonight - just before bedtime.... you can catch a glimpse of me rolling over, but more importantly - you'll see that I can hold my own bottle, too. I have a hard time holding it high enough if I'm sitting up, but in this case - dad gave it to me while I was lying down - so I look like a pro! But don't worry grandmas - they didn't let me stay like this for long... dad held me for the rest of the bottle :o)

Oh speaking of moving around - I have also started to move around my crib like a freight train at night while I'm sleeping; I just can't get comfortable. Well geez... I bet you'd have a hard time getting comfortable too, if you were on a hard mattress, with no pillow or blanket, surrounded by wooden bars - now wouldn't you?? If you check out the attached pictures, you'll see that my mom & pops often find me with my arms and or legs hanging out of my crib. It seems to bother them a lot, but I'm not phased by it. I mean, they can't really complain, after all... I am letting them sleep for at least 10 hours a night - they ought to let me sleep HOWEVER THE HECK I WANT!!!!

a new contraption

So - mom & dad took me shopping this weekend. I was hoping they'd get me a fun toy or some new clothes, but no such luck - they decided that I needed a new high chair. Woopy. Actually - it didn't turn out too bad. I get a big kick out of banging on the tray and chewing on the straps. It's pretty nice to be able to sit at the table while mom & dad eat, especially now that I'm on a little more than a liquid diet! The contraption is still a bit big for my scrawny self (you'll see in the pictures that I can barely see over the tray), but I'm sure I'll grow into it! Oh - as an update, I've made some progress on increasing my food selections - - green beans were an acquired taste (by the 3rd day, they were ok) and sweet potatoes are fantabulous (they'd be even better with some marshmallows and cinnamon - the way Aunt Bebay likes them... perhaps she'll sneak me some at Thanksgiving this year)! Love you guys... now, I'm off to make some more trouble.

happy 1st daddy's day

Oh, how I love my daddy! Every day when he comes home from school, all he has to do is walk in the room and I light up like a christmas tree. He is so much fun... he takes me on walks and puts together all of my toys. We take great naps together on the couch. He teaches me about all kinds of sports like hockey, soccer, nascar, baseball, and tennis (just to name a few). Right now - we just watch them on tv, but I can't wait until he can teach me how to play them all, too! I love you so very much, Daddy, and hope you have a fantastic first father's day!!!!

PS - I'd also love to send a shout out to my popi & doodah today.... I wish I were there to give you both a big hug & kiss! I miss you very much & hope you have a happy father's day, grandpas!!!

was that a giggle?

As you can probably tell by now... I am a happy baby! I smile all of the time.. and I squeal a lot too, but it's not too often that I let out a giggle for my mom and dad :o) They've been trying to catch me on camera for a while, but I get camera shy (ha ha - me?.. camera shy?). Just last night - daddy was tickling me & I think they might have captured a "mini-giggle". They have attached a video & if you turn up your volume and listen really carefully - you just MIGHT hear a giggle or two. Mostly I'm just squealing, but nonetheless... I have to say the video is pretty cute! You'll see that daddy is goofy. You know - it's not fair that he can tickle & torture me like this - - I can't even get away from him yet. I'm sure I'll get him back - someday.

chow time... NOW!

I was so stinkin' hungry tonight - - I had to practically scream my head off to get mom & dad to give me some food. They wouldn't listen for a while, so I just kept getting louder! I've been trying to train my poor parents for the past 5 months, but sometimes I still have to scream to get them to listen. Boy, I was starving! Oh - and I didn't want a boring old bottle... NO, NO.... I wanted the real food that you big people eat - APPLES & PEARS - now that's what I'm talking about!!! So - back to the story .... after a minor fit, (thrown by yours truly) my mom finally took the hint and got out the chow. You'll see in this video that I was really excited about my dinner tonight. Too bad though, mom says I've gotta try veggies tomorrow... anything green could not taste good, right??? Stay tuned for an update!