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!