Wordy Wednesday

There is so much going on over here! I had something cute I wanted to share with you tonight, but it's getting put on the back burner due to a new development this afternoon. I am kind of excited/sad to announce that Mary is mobile.

She's not crawling, thank goodness, or I wouldn't be able to write this post through my waterfall of tears. She has learned to scoot herself backwards across the floor when she's on her belly. I put her down for tummy time this afternoon and was playing with her on the floor. After a little while I realized I had to keep moving her stuffed animal towards her because she kept moving away from me. Rusty put it best when he called her a glacier. When you stare at her you can't tell she's moving; however, when you look away for a minute and look back at her, you can clearly tell she's moved.

Watching her scoot is pretty funny. She pushes herself up on her hands as high as she can and scoots backwards until her arms are flat on the ground. Then, she brings her arms back to her body, pushes herself up again, and repeats very, very slowly. She moved about three feet this afternoon before getting fussy. I don't blame her - it looked like a pretty rough full body workout.

"Man, this moving thing is tough work!"

I guess it's time for the National Big Brother Frank Service to issue it's second Special Baby Statement. We're on the lookout for a crawler! No pressure, Mary. Mommy will be very happy if scooting satisfies you for a while.

Now, there are three...

... at the dinner table! We FINALLY bought Mary's high chair, set it up, and had our first family dinner at the table tonight. At the beginning of May, we went to Babies R Us to buy a high chair. They were having a sale on a Chicco high chair, which I was very excited about. I love our car seat made by Chicco, and the sample high chair looked awesome. The best part was that is was $30 off AND we had enough gift cards to cover the whole purchase - plus, it's really pretty and matches our decor! Sounds too good to be true, right? Right. They were sold out. Fortunately they were nice enough to place an order for us at the sale price. We were told it should take 7-14 days to come in and that we would get a call when it arrived. Well, day 15 rolled around, and we still hadn't received a call. I called the store to get an EDD, and the associate I spoke to said, "Oh, it's already in." So Mommy and Mary went on an adventure to Babies R Us yesterday to pick up the high chair - more on that tomorrow. Sorry, it won't be a Wordless Wednesday.

Since tonight was our very first night as a whole family at the table, I wanted to have a nice, sit down meal for the occasion. Rusty and I had meatloaf (this recipe is the only meatloaf I like... it's seriously amazing!), au gratin potatoes, green beans, and crescent rolls. Mary lucked out and had carrots. I even broke out our finest place mats, courtesy of Aunt Katie. They were a Christmas gift from her a couple of years back to subtlety let us know that she was ready to be an aunt.

Yes, she gave us three Mickey Mouse place mats - or, plac** mates as I used to call them... and maybe still do on occasion.

Mary's new high chair! How is my baby big enough for a high chair?!

"Wow! I get to use this awesome plac mate!"

The days of Rusty's and my dinner tradition of eating on the couch while watching Wheel and Jeopardy have come to an end. We agreed every night would become dinner at the table night, sans TV, when our first child was old enough to sit at the table with us. I loved our single life tradition, but I am so excited that tonight was the kickoff of the Richards' Family Dinners.

The first bite is always the best.

"Hehe, I don't think I want carrots anymore. Hehe, isn't that funny, Daddy?"

Today was a rough one with Mary - she screamed for over two hours because she didn't want to nap. She got so upset that she threw up everywhere. She only napped for about 45 minutes TOTAL, and was all around in a bad mood. This picture pretty much sums up my day, but I'm so glad we made our first official family dinner happen tonight. My day may have been one for the record books, but I'm ending it with a warm, happy heart.

If I had to capture my day with a picture, this would be it.

**pronunciation is like glass but with a p - plass.

Harriet Potter

Some say J.K. Rowling is a literary genius. She created a whole other universe that captivated millions. Her characters were enchanting. And honestly, who doesn't love a story about magic? I don't think Rowling is a genius. In fact, I'd go as far to say she's a soothsayer. She didn't create Harry Potter with her imagination. She used magic and divination.

Did you know that J.K. Rowling predicted the future and passed it off as a child's fantasy story? She was wrong about a few things, though. First of all, the main character is female - Harriet Potter. Also, the story begins in America, not Britain. And lastly, Harriet Potter saves her family when she's a baby; He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named does not kill them.

Last night, our little girl battled Voldemort and won. She even has the battle scar to prove it.

Mary, you are now allowed to grow up to twelve years old. But know that your parents will need to accompany you on school tours to help you decide if Hogwarts really is the best choice. Don't fret, blog readers. Y'all will be the first to know the moment she starts talking to snakes.

Where did her abilities come from? I like to think I had a little something to do with it. I can inconsistently predict the future. For example, right now I am seeing a nail clipping in Mary's immediate future.

Wordless Wednesday #10

Seven Months!

Dear Mary,

This month has been quite the adventure. You're sitting all by yourself like such a big girl. You're starting to pull yourself up from a lying down position to a sitting position. And, you're becoming so ticklish, just like Mommy and Daddy. The little baby days are definitely over - you're looking so much like a toddler.

Frank, your collar is pretty!

So, what are you like as a seven month old?

You like LOVE to grab things. One of your favorite ways of exploring new things is through touch. Everything around you has to be touched (and likely, put into your mouth). You're really getting into different textures and fabrics. The Winnie the Pooh bumpers and blanket are perfect for you because they have all sorts of different textures. You're favorite game is Pull Mommy's Hair as Hard and as Often as I can. It really hurts. You probably pull a fist full of hair out of my head every day. I'm going to be bald by your first birthday!

The flowers on the corduroy are your favorite.

You LOVE your activity center. The piano plays four different songs. Mommy does a silly dance to the "William Tell Overture," and you dance along. You play that song the most out of all the others. Daddy's theory is that you like me to be your puppet and make me dance. :) The activity center allows you to stand up, jump, and dance, which you love doing. Speaking of your dancing, girl you have a great point! You always point your toes when you're dancing in your activity center. When music comes on the TV or radio, you do your baby dance and sway back and forth. For fast pace songs, you bounce up and down. The entire time you're giggling and having a ball.

Frank is still your favorite. You squeal at him whenever you see him. Tonight you had your first giggle attack at something you thought was funny. We've made you laugh by tickling you, but this was the first thing you really laughed at where someone wasn't making you do it. It was adorable. We were playing in your room before bedtime, and Frank was scared of one of your toys. He was doing his scared bark along with his leaping back and forth. We originally thought you were laughing at the toy, but you only thought it was funny when Frank was scared. Daddy got a good video of it.

Best Buddies.

Eating solids is coming slowly. You seem to prefer the sweeter foods, which means we've had more failures than successes. We tried carrots tonight for the first time, and you did. not. like. them. at. all. Cantaloupe is a new favorite, although you prefer to suck it in solid form rather than eat it in a pureed form. We ordered your high chair about a week ago, so hopefully that will be here soon so we can get serious about solids!


What are some things I want to remember about you at this age? I want to remember the goofy smile you give me when I'm nursing you. You roll your lips under your gums and try to give the biggest smile you can. I want to remember how my heart flutters a little when you reach for me. Just recently you started reaching up for me when you want to be picked up. I want to remember how tiny your hands and feet are compared to mine. I want to remember how you kiss me all the time. I want to remember how snuggling the baby you feels. I want to remember how you try to hold my finger with your toes. I want to remember how you feel when you fall asleep on my shoulder. I want to remember how relaxed and still you get when I massage lotion on your legs before you go to sleep at night. Or, how you can be calmed down and put to sleep by lightly rubbing your cheeks, chin, and neck. I'm trying to soak up every minute of you being a baby, but I feel like I can't get enough.

I love your profile. :)

You are the sweetest girl ever. You're a little shy around new people, but your warm up to them pretty quickly. You love feeling like a big girl. Other little kids fascinate you. I think you're looking forward to when you can join in the fun. I'm ok waiting a little longer, though, and keeping you all to myself. I promise I'll let you grow up eventually, but stay a little baby for now. :)

LA&AW,

Mommy & Daddy