Waiting Waiting

We put an offer on a house yesterday. The seller's realtor has been out of town so we probably won't get a response until this evening. So, we are waiting and praying. The house was fresh on the market and is beautiful. Hopefully they'll accept our offer soon!

The best part about Ryan's new teaching job is a position as a head cross country coach. This has been a long time dream of his. He is especially excited because he is at a great school and has a talented team. They meet to run Monday through Thursday mornings throughout the summer. Molly and I hope to join them for these runs (we'll be lagging behind quite a bit, I'm sure). It will be fun for me to get to know the kids on the teams. I'm sure they'll enjoy getting to know Molly as well.

I also got a summer job at the GAP. I worked there in Ohio, so it should be pretty easy to learn the ropes again. The manager said that the shifts are maximum 4.5 hours, and most people work 10-15 hours per week. That sounds great to me! I'm excited to meet some people in the area, let Ryan and Molly have time together, and get some new clothes!

Father's Day

Ryan's first Father's Day
Molly had her first taste of steak with Grandpa K. We were celebrating Ryan's new job at one of Fort Worth's best high schools. We are eager to start looking for a house near the school. I'm especially excited to be able to stay in the city and not move to a rural town near the other jobs for which Ryan applied.
All you golf fans will appreciate this: Molly is wearing her officially licensed Pinehurst onesie. HMMMM... I wonder who gave this to her?!?!
My parents came over on Sunday and celebrated Father's Day with fajitas. That sounds like a good Texas Father's Day tradition. Tex Mex con Padre!
Smiley girl!

Molly and Friends

This is Molly's new second cousin Ella. She's about 12 days old in this picture. It was difficult to pose the two together. We didn't want Molly to hurt Ella, and it is hard to get Molly to sit still! It will be fun in a few months when Molly can entertain Ella and bring her toys.
I think these trees are called Crepe Myrtles. They are all over the place down here. They are beautiful and were one of my grandpa's favorites. This is right outside our apartment this morning. The mornings here are beautiful. It is usually breezy with temperatures in the 70s. I don't mind the afternoon heat, either. It is consistently 90s and sunny but rarely humid.

Molly knows how to take a bite out of an apple now. After she does it, I get nervous and just put an apple slice in her mesh feeder so she won't get a big chunk that she can choke on. She has sharp teeth! She's been a little fussy this week, and I think she's getting her last two bottom front teeth.
This is my friend Amanda and her baby Xander. He is a month older than Molly and is a very good walker. We went to the pool with them this morning.

Nine Months Old

Molly's nine month birthday was this weekend. We also celebrated my mom's birthday. I made my first souffles which looked great when I pulled them out of the oven. Five minutes later they had fallen sadly. We also went to watch my cousins at the Scottish games. We got to meet Molly's week-old second cousin Ella.

Molly had her nine month appointment yesterday. She still is not yet 18 pounds, but she's nearly 30 inches (2 and a half feet!). She's low on the spectrum for weight, but she's near the top for height. I also recently got tested for celiac disease (gluten allergy) to see if I could be a carrier. I was negative, so there's no way Molly can have it. So, unlike her daddy, she can eat bread and products containing flour. That's good news!

Ryan is done with school, and Molly is keeping both of us busy! We are busy keeping her safe and crawling around after her!

GRRRR!

Molly's Grandma B gave her a book with a stuffed bear affixed to it. Whenever we look at the book, Molly tries with great might to pull the bear off. I have marveled at how effectively the bear is attached to the book. Naively, I felt comfortable leaving this book with Molly in her crib when she took a nap. Later in the day, after Molly had awoken from a nap, something in her crib caught my eye. It was the bear's head! The bear had in fact stayed attached to the book, but she decapitated it! I'm learning not to assume anything is safe with a baby!

Monday Morning

Big smile for the camera!

I love this picture because they are both smiling, but I couldn't get Grandma or Molly to look at the camera!

I was feeling sorry for myself this weekend. It is Ryan's last busy weekend for school. He was writing a final exam and finishing some grading. I was bored and wanted to get out and do something. Our apartment complex had a party on Saturday at the new pool. Molly and I went to that and talked to some friends there and met a new friend. So that was fun, but I wanted to make sure that I had something fun to do on Sunday. I was bugging Ryan to go do something with us. I searched on the web for things to do. Then I realized that I really needed to go see Grandma. Instead of focusing on myself, I needed to do something for someone else. So, Molly and I went and spent a few minutes with Grandma. She always loves holding Molly, and the baby is usually content to stay in her arms.

Molly has been a mysterious napper lately. Most of the time when we put her down for a nap, we'll give her one of her bunny blankets to snuggle, and she'll pull her knees to her chest and roll to her side. Sometimes she won't close her eyes right away, but she'll study her bunny for awhile. Of course, there are times that she doesn't want to go to bed, so we'll let her cry a little. Other times we'll put her in her crib, and she'll sit up and start to play as we close the door. Yesterday morning, she did just that. Sometimes I'll check on her fifteen minutes later, and she'll still be playing silently. Yesterday, an hour after we left her playing in her crib, we opened her door to find her standing up looking at us. She had a poopy diaper. We have no idea what happened during the previous hour. Did she play for awhile, and then sleep also? Or, was she awake for the whole time? Why didn't she cry or even talk to herself if she was awake?

Molly has new experiences every day- especially food. Yesterday, I pureed some kiwis and strawberries. It was pretty sour, so I bought some bananas to add to them. It sounds like pretty fancy food for a baby, but I got the pound of strawberries for $1 and the kiwis for 10 cents each. Paired with a banana, I can probably make the equivalent of 8-10 jars of baby food for around $2. It is so fresh and yummy, too. This morning, I put some prunes in the blender with water and mixed it with cereal for Molly's breakfast. I think I've discovered a great non-medicinal baby laxative. She also had a few sips of Yoplait Kids drinkable yogurt which she loved. I also gave her a little bit of cherry. I was eating cherries in front of her (my first mistake). Then, because I'm a first-time mom, I didn't just distract her with something else. No, I took the effort of pitting a cherry, using a baby spoon to scoop the flesh away from the skin and cutting up the flesh. She enjoyed that also.

Since Molly is quiet in her crib, I'm going to assume she's asleep. So, I better take advantage of this chance to shower and get ready for the day!

Heat

My mom called to complain this morning that I hadn't updated the blog in awhile. So, I've preoccupied Molly by putting her in her feeding seat next to me with watermelon in her self-feeder.

The weather has been consistently in the 90s here in TX, and we love it. It is mostly a dry heat, with lots of afternoon sun. Mornings are sometimes overcast and cooler. Molly and I have visited the pool a few times. She likes the water and especially enjoys splashing and bending over to put her face in it!

Molly is really growing up. She now has four teeth on the top along with two on the bottom. She has been pulling herself up to standing, but now she'll lift up both of her hands and continue standing for a few seconds unassisted. We've also put a couple books in her crib and now sometimes we go in to find her looking at them after she's woke up. She has been eating lots of different foods and happily accepts different tastes. She's a little hesistant about unfamiliar textures.

We're looking forward to having Ryan home with us full-time in two weeks. It will be fun to get to know Fort Worth better and spend time with friends and family. Maybe after he's had a couple weeks to recover from the school year he'll be up for babysitting so I can work a little.

Grandma

CAUTION: CONTAINS GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF A POOPY DIAPER

On Monday Molly and I attempted to visit my Grandma who lives in a retirement village near us. Since the weatherman predicted a "cool" day (only 82 degrees) I dressed Molly in a warmer outfit that she hadn't had much of a chance to wear. It was a pretty floral onesie and a sage green jumper with a matching violet sweater from my cousin and family. As we approached the market where I planned to pick up some flowers for Grandma, I detected an unpleasant scent lingering in the car.
"Okay," I thought, "I'll change her diaper on the back seat, and then we can run into the store."

I wasn't anticipating a P.O.P.S. (Poop Of Perplexing Size). Molly hadn't blown out of a diaper in months. Sure enough, I saw messiness oozing out from her girly onesie. I used several wipes to attempt to clear away the excess so that I could unbuckle her from her seat. As I wiped, more appeared. It became apparent that I had insufficient equipment (I needed running water at the minimum.)to handle this mess. Taking a big risk, I stuffed some wipes down into the mess in an attempt to cover it. I then put a big toy on her lap. I hoped that the toy would distract her and the mess would be contained so we could drive home. About halfway home, I gasped when I looked over my shoulder and saw a poopy wipe in her hand. (Gratefully, she had a pacifier in her mouth so I'm fairly confident the wipe did not go into her mouth.) I grabbed it away before she got any on her hands or face. By a special measure of God's grace, we made it home without the mess spreading. After thirty minutes of scrubbing, dousing, and presoaking, we were all feeling quite a bit cleaner.

Needless to say, we did not make it to see Grandma. I then opened my Bible and searched for the verse that says, "The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps." (Proverbs 16:9) God reminded me that He directs us where He wants us to go. Our plans our futile unless He wills it.

This morning, we did have a successful trip to visit Grandma. She has dementia and can rarely make even a sentence or two of meaningful dialogue. However, with Molly, she seems very alert and engaged. She was having a good day today. When we arrived, she was in another woman's room watching a movie. One of the aides wheeled her down to her room so that she could visit with us. As Molly and I sat on her bed and conversed with her in her wheelchair, she asked how old Molly was. I replied that she was eight months.

She replied, "She's getting so big." (I thought this exchange was very promising because not only did Grandma make appropriate conversation, she knew that Molly was a girl. Most apparently mentally adept strangers refer to her as a he.)

As Molly made some high pitched exclamations, Grandma responded, "Hi! Is that what you're trying to say?" She added, "You'll say it soon enough."

Unfortunately, I must have been having a very off-day in many respects because when Molly was fussing on Grandma's lap, she said, "She wants to go to her dad." I picked Molly up, and she quieted down. Grandma noted, "She's happier with her dad." I know it has been awhile since I've tended to my eyebrows, but I didn't realize that things were this out of hand.

We continued to visit and laugh at the baby's silly noises. I replied, "She's a good girl."

Grandma responded, "Yes, she's good baby girl."

We said good-bye and headed down the hall. We watched as Grandma wheeled her way to a gentleman in a wheelchair and began conversing with him. I smiled as I thought about her contentment. How blessed am I in the circumstances of my life and how often am I discontent. Grandma doesn't have much and doesn't care about material things and yet God has blessed her with a peaceful spirit. Thank you, Grandma, for continuing to teach me how to live and love.

San Antonio

We went to San Antonio this past weekend to meet up with Ben and Tricia, some friends from Ohio. Friday we got in to town and hung out at the pool as the temp was in the mid nineties. We then went down to dinner at La Margarita which is in the Market Square. It was fun, but the food wasn't as good as our Fort Worth favorites. The next day Molly and I walked around the shops in the market square. We then went to the Japanese Tea Gardens with our friends. These gardens are definitely a must see. There were beautiful ponds and waterfalls and a very large pagoda. I wanted to go there after seeing my friend Kim's pictures from the gardens. It was very hot, so we headed home for the pool. That evening we went on a boat tour of the riverwalk area. We tried to squeeze in dinner before Molly's bedtime, but she became too impatient while we were waiting for a table. We left early the next morning. On the way home, we saw what appeared to be the President's helicopter. It was near Waco (not far from his Crawford ranch). We recognized the white bottom of the craft with navy blue above. It was accompanied by two army attack helicopters. I'm sure the big wedding kept the Waco airport pretty busy!

Look at My Smile

Our friend Heidi came to visit from Orlando this weekend. She was here only 36 hours, but we had a lot of fun. She took this pictures of Molly.

You can see Molly's two bottom teeth. She loves to stand by this chair while I crouch behind the back of it and play peek-a-boo with her. She giggles a lot when I pop my head out from hiding.

Molly loves to stand by these window ledges at the back of our apartment and look outside.

Splish Splash

Molly loved hanging out with her second cousins Tess and Tori in their hot tub!

March photos

Jorja and her parents have moved to Katy, TX. The day before they moved, Molly and Jorja were enjoying a snack side by side.


This is Molly being introduced to the pool in our hotel in Houston.

She and Grandpa Kelly look so good together!

My cousin(-in-law) Krisha is having a baby soon! It will be fun for Molly to have a little playmate!

Finally, she smiled for the camera! Molly loved playing with these palm leaves. This was a rest stop at McD's in Corsicana, TX on the way home from Houston.

13 days of April

It has been a busy April thus far. Ryan's mom came to visit from the 4th through the 8th, and our friend Kim came from Michigan to stay with us at the end of the week. Molly and I drove to Austin to pick up Kim and spend a night with her there.

We spent the weekend with Mary Lynn eating and looking at homes. She likes to see what home values are like in different parts of the country.

This is Kim at the water gardens in Fort Worth.

Kim and I ran a 5k yesterday. She set a personal record by several seconds. My goal was to break 30 minutes, and I missed it by 1.2 seconds! I think it was my first race in four years, so I'm not too disappointed. I'm just glad to be getting in shape again.

Molly is busy pulling herself up to standing. She loves to stand by our red armchair and the dresser in her room. She stands up in her crib when she awakes. When we are on the floor in her room she'll crawl to her crib, pull herself up, and play with the strings that tie her bumper to the crib.

She also is a good eater. She has been eating several kinds of baby food lately: mango, papaya, chicken and vegetables, and apple blueberry.

Road Trip

We are staying in Houston tonight. Ryan is with his dad at the Regional Semifinals of the men's NCAA tournament. I have gotten over my jealousy and am enjoying a quiet night in the hotel room while Molly is sleeping in her pack-n-play. (Part of my ability to get over my jealousy was my consumption of a medium mushroom pizza while my gluten intolerant husband was away.) I was nervous about the long car trip with the baby, but she did wonderfully. The trip took us 5 hours, just a half hour longer than the time predicted by mapquest. Last I checked, they don't take into account stopping along the way for diaper changes.

I guess we timed it well, because soon after we left home, Molly settled in for her first nap. While she was sleeping, we celebrated the odometer in my car reaching 100,000. The milestone occurred near Bubba's Bar B Q and Steakhouse. As their billboard advertises, "You never SAUSAGE a place!" Shortly after she roused from her nap we stopped for a fill-up (gasoline and breastmilk) at Woody's Smokehouse. Disappointed not to see any kolaches (sausage rolls- typical Texas breakfast fare... think Sausage McMuffin meet doughnut shop fried goodness), I quickly was distracted by the full-service jerky counter. Amazing! I had never seen such a thing. I was tempted to browse and begin my Christmas shopping way too early. I remembered that I had a baby on my hip and several hours of driving still looming. I grabbed a stick of jalapeno beef jerky to enjoy with my coffee and headed toward the cashier.

The rest of the trip proceeded relatively uneventfully for me, as I was the one behind the wheel, and Ryan had the task of entertaining the baby. I know that food should be reserved for being eaten at the table, but it does wonders to distract a child! Molly gummed at a piece of banana in her self-feeder while Ryan marvelled at the sweet and sticky mess. He then entertained her quite a while with her bottle filled with ice water. Another highlight for me was passing a motorist stopped by a police officer and learning that sheriff's deputies in Texas really do wear cowboy hats. A short nap later, and we were arriving at our hotel.

Toilet Sitting and Silly Molly

As a mom of an infant, I spend time sitting on toilets doing things that I never used to do. Every night as part of her bedtime routine, I give Molly a bath. Sometimes I help her sit up and play in the shallow water, but usually she lays on her back chewing on a toy. She likes to relax this way for quite awhile, and I sit on the toilet and talk to her, sing, or just watch. Last night I was feeling like I needed a little relaxation, so I brought some red wine and chocolate to enjoy while sitting on (but not using) the toilet.

Additionally, I believe that women should have the right to breastfeed in public. And, while it is legal to do so, I prefer to nurse Molly in women's restrooms. I hate covering up while nursing; it gets very hot. So, it is easier to find a private spot. I often wonder if people think it is odd for me to be in the stall for quite a while sometimes murmuring some encouragement to Molly. Today as she was finishing up, I felt a little uncomfortable asking, "All done?" The people in neighboring stalls cannot see or hear the baby. I hope they don't think I'm conversing with myself while sitting on the toilet.

At Buffalo Wild Wings today, Molly sucked on a celery stalk for the first time. She enjoyed it until she made a projectile out of it. She also got her very first balloon. We were quite nervous as she grasped it and dug her fingernails into the latex. Happily it did not pop, and she enjoyed watching it bounce on the end of its string.

When she awoke at 6 this morning, Ryan brought her into our bed to snuggle. She loves to climb on us and tackle the comforter. She was very funny this morning. Shortly after arriving, she looked directly at Ryan and emitted a belch. She's also been perfecting the skill of making a razzing sound by forcing air through her closed lips. She practiced this a couple times. Then, as she pulled herself up to my bare shoulder, she put her lips on my skin and did it to me. After moving on to a more interesting toy, she was sitting between us. The fireworks in her diaper then began. Pop! Pop! Po-o-o-o-o-p! Pop! She kept us quite entertained and wondering how soon we can teach her to say, "Excuse Me!"