7 months!

Ok, I know it can't have been more than a week and a half ago that I was talking about her turning 6 months old. Seriously, this growing up thing is out of control! Technically, she was 7 months old yesterday, but we were much too busy enjoying our day for me to have time to post. Before I get to the pics (you can just cheat and scroll down if you wish), let's recap what she's up to this month for my own personal records.

The days are over when you could sit her down in the floor with some toys and she'd entertain herself. That was a nice 3 weeks while it lasted. Now, she immediately goes from sitting up into the crawling position and gets ticked off when she can't get where she wants to go.

She can also pull up now, but no one can convince her that she must master crawling first. She would rather you hold her hands or just let her crawl up on you and use your body for leverage. She thinks she is such a big girl. She just wants to stand and walk instead of crawl. All the other babies her age we know have walkers so I guess it's time we get one for her. Am I the only one who thought walkers weren't accepted by the American Academy of Pediatrics anymore? Oh well, it seems to be working for our friends so I guess we will get one too. Let's see if she likes it or if it'll be another wasted purchase. (See also: swing, bouncer, jumper and exersaucer.)

She is constantly babbling these days. To her Daddy's delight, her favorite word is da-da. She says it all the time. She throws out the occasional ma-ma, but it's usually when she's whining. I'll take it though. Her little voice is almost as adorable as her giggle.

And now for the photos. We took her swimming at Papaw Bob's pool yesterday on my wonderful afternoon off, and she loved it!

Is there anything cuter than a baby in a bathing suit?

Having a little wardrobe malfunction with the bikini top, ha! Don't you just want to blow raspberries on that adorable tummy?


All that swimming just wore her out! This is her lamb, Lovie that I have mentioned before. She just loves snuggling with him while she sleeps.

Cliff will be working at basketball camp at Co-Lin for the next couple of weeks so Amelia will be spending some time with Aunt Katie. I have a feeling they are going to be enjoying a lot more pool time while Mommy is at work. Our little girl is going to be a fish by the end of the summer!

True Story

I was buying groceries at Wal-Mart yesterday and as my cashier was ringing up several jars of baby food and some formula, she looked at me with a confused look on her face and asked, "You have to buy baby milk?" I wish I could convey the way she asked this question, but just suffice it to say, she was intrigued that I was purchasing formula for my child.

I respond, "Uh, yeah, why do you ask that?" She says, "I just figured you were on some government assistance or something." Feeling a little irritated, but also amused and baffled all at once, I ask her why she thought that. (I mean, I was wearing my t-shirt and ponytail look, but did I really look like I should be on welfare?)

She went on to say, "I just thought everyone who had a baby got WIC." At this point, I'm blown away that we are still having this conversation while she's ringing up my groceries. I had to inform this 17-year-old Wal-Mart associate that no, in fact, everyone with children does not get free "baby milk." If only that were the case, I would have so much more money to buy dresses and headbands for Amelia. She must be new, because seriously, was I really the first person she's seen in her line purchasing formula?

I won't get into my gripe about people who abuse the system, but what I really wanted to tell this young girl (who later told me she has 2 kids) that some people are actually married when they choose to have a child, have jobs, and then use the money that they earn from their jobs to purchase food and supplies for caring for that child. What a concept!

And just because no post is complete without a Mimi pic, here's evidence that someone enjoys her expensive "baby milk."

Gallery is up already!

Not only is she a super talented photog and a cute little mama, but she's fast at the editing too. Props to Pailyn, aka "The Roo," for letting her Mama do some work! I'm so glad I didn't have to wait long, as patience is not one of my strong points. Check out our pics by going here. Click on the photography site, client viewing, and the password is 'mimi' (One of our many pet names for her in case you're wondering.) I do call her Amelia a lot, but she also answers to Mimi, Pumpkin, Poodle, Lovie, etc, ha.

I'd love to hear which ones you all like best. By the way, who are "you all?" I'd love to know who checks in on us from time to time. And you can help me choose!

Also, in the words of Beth Moore's daughter, Amanda, Lord, help me to be humble about Amelia in her tutu.

Tutu cute!

We had the second half of our session with Lindey yesterday on campus at the Arts School just around the corner from our house, and to my delight, she has been on the ball with her editing today and has given me a sneak peak on her blog and on facebook. All I can say is, Oh, Lindey, you have done it again! Fun, fun shots of Amelia in her raspberry limeade tutu. Have I mentioned how much I adore having a baby girl? Check out the sneak peak here!

Wedding Weekend

The wedding festivites are over, and I'm glad because I'm too pooped to imagine participating in another event. When you're a working mom, weekends are precious, and since I've been out of pocket for the past few weekends, I've gotten nothing done around the house, and I've been exhausted. Luckily I have a "house husband" these days, so without him, we'd really be living in filth!

I'll have to do a post later this week about Cliff and his little buddy who are lucky enough to get to hang out together while Mommy is at work this summer. But for now, here are a few pics from the wedding. I was lazy and didn't take a single photo! But luckily the other girls were there snapping, so I have a few to share.

Misti and I before the wedding.

And with our girls after the ceremony. Everything was so pretty out by the lake.

With my boo and our girl. I've missed her so much lately since I've had to leave her a good bit to do wedding stuff. We caught up on our snuggling by taking a nice long nap on the couch together yesterday after church.

I hate myself for not getting a pic with the beautiful bride. At least her photographer got one of us together before the wedding.

And now for a few from the bachelorette party. Nina loves a theme, so we couldn't just do a regular bachelorette party. Oh no, our theme was "Wigging out cuz Nina's getting married!" Here are a few of us silly girls in our wigs.

I felt so sassy with my short pink hair! Misti's ridiculous pig tails made me laugh so hard.

We all pretty much spent the whole night laughing at each other.

Not something I plan to do again any time soon. I am a mother, after all! But it was fun to be carefree and silly for a few hours.

My first Mothers Day

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I have the most thoughtful baby ever! Can you believe she picked out this outfit and had her photo taken in it, then had the photo framed in an adorable frame that says Greatest Mom on it? Not only that, but she also picked out the sweetest necklace for me for my first Mothers Day.

My Mother's Day weekend started off with a surprise from Cliff, who had my bathroom renovated, something we had been planning, but I had no idea he was having it done so quickly to surprise me. I thought that was my gift, but on Sunday morning he told me the bathroom was my surprise from him, and Amelia had some surprises of her own for me. She had even made me a card with her handprint on it at school.

Just getting to be a Mom is a gift in itself that I am so thankful for every day. I don't take it for granted for a second that I am blessed, because I know there are so many women who would love to be mothers who have not yet been blessed with that opportunity. I had such a great day being honored for being a mother, and I'm thankful to my sweet husband and sister-in-law for helping Amelia make me feel so special!

Here's a cute pic of Amelia and her Daddy during their secret photo shoot with Aunt Katie while I was out of town. I haven't always been able to see it, but there's no denying she looks like Daddy in this one.

Finally a smiling photo!

Our next "real" professional photo shoot is scheduled for the 18th, but we wanted to take advantage of the pretty wild flowers and weeds before they died, so Lindey suggested we do a little mini-shoot to take advantage of the scenery while it lasted. And I'm so glad she did. Amelia did great, and the result is absolutely beautiful. Lindey continues to amaze me with her talent! I love that she knows what I like and exactly how to capture a fabulous photo of my sweet baby. The real proofs won't be up until after our next shoot, but go here to see a sneak peak on her blog. Also check out the photography site where she features Amelia and her precious little Pailyn among other adorable babies in her slideshows.

Dr. visit re-cap

I forgot to post about Amelia's 6 month check-up last week, and I wanted to make sure I had a record of her stats. She is up to 17 pounds, one ounce and is 27 inches long. She's grown 2 whole inches since her 4 month check-up! I thought those dresses were getting shorter.

Her pediatrician says she's doing just perfect and she's "whooping" 95 percent of babies her age in height and about 75 percent in weight, just like her previous visits. She's still long and lean, so we're still hoping for this someday:

Well I am, but I'll be supportive of whatever her extra curricular interests are. Her daddy, of course, is hoping for something more like this:

Either way, we're so thankful that she's healthy and on the right track for her age. We've got plenty of years before choosing what hobbies to be involved in. Right now, they consist of blowing raspberries and giggling. And she is just so good at it! We're so proud!

A few randoms for your enjoyment

Before going on a stroll on her half-birthday last week. It was sunny, but no way will she keep those glasses on for me anymore. This pic made me laugh because I always do that with my sunglasses and reading glasses.

How many photos do I have like this? Yet, I can never resist a sleepy stoller shot. This is pretty much how every stroll ends. And no, she wouldn't keep the bow on for me either. We're working on it.
Mulit-tasking Daddy. Talking on the phone, grading papers and trying to keep his ice cream away from Amelia. I offered no help, just had to take a quick photo. He was occupying her while I got her bath ready. She really wanted that ice cream. I told her it was a weight watchers bar, but she wanted it anyway.
Proof that my hair appointment tomorrow can't come soon enough, but how cute does my girl look in her madras dress and flower headband?

More to come this week as Cliff enjoys his first night alone with Amelia without me. I'll be in New Orleans with the bachelorette, where it will become painfully obvious that I am an old soul at 27. I'd much rather eat Domino's on the couch with my hubby and baby, but it's Nina's night and I will be there for her, as she has been for me. It'll be fun to be with my girlfriends, however, I am not looking forward to leaving my baby! I have no doubt that Cliff and Amelia will be fine without me, but I just. don't. like. it. one. bit.