8 months old

Molly is 8 months old today.  I just can't believe how time is flying by!  Here is what she has been up to the last month.

She doesn't crawl on her hands and knees still, but the girl really does get wherever she wants to go, and she gets there FAST!  So we find her in all kinds of places now. 

She loves to crawl to the back sliding glass door and look outside.

Generally, I turn around for a split second and she's already down the hall, usually in search of Sadie.

We have to make sure all things are picked up off the floor now. It is always surprising, and quite humorous really, how a baby can find the one tiny speck of anything laying on the floor (of course, who am I kidding, we have more than one tiny speck laying on our floors pretty much all the time, even when I vacuum multiple times per week!). The gate at the top of the stairs now remains closed when we are upstairs. Cords, oh my goodness, have to be out of reach of little baby hands, or mouths I should say...the girl LOVES to chew on some electrical cords! Yikes!

She pretty much gets to whatever she wants now.

No obstacle too large...

Now that the weather has been warmer and she sits really well, Molly got to have her first encounter with the grass last month.

There were a few moments that she wasn't so sure of it...

 

but overall, she was quite content and just happy to be outside...

I love this picture because it shows her little excited arms cranking...

She loves her big sister and will do pretty much anything Sadie makes her do.

This could prove to be a dangerous combination one day!

She has really loved playing with baby dolls lately.  I love it!  Sadie never was a baby doll kind of girl.  She really loves them now, but when she was a baby/toddler, she would have much rather had a truck or something with wheels to push around.  So what I love most about Molly loving dolls is seeing the similarities and differences between the two girls.  Glad they love each other so much, but glad to celebrate them as individuals too.

Of course we have to worry about cannibalism with this one, because this is pretty much what Molly likes to do with the baby dolls...

I can't blame her!  Sometimes I want to just eat her right up too...she's so cute!  :)

Playing with some of Sadie's other toys...

She has figured out how to eat finger foods now.  I think she would stuff a handful in her mouth if I gave her that many.  She's also tried a few other things....green beans, cheerios, and baked beans so far.

And her most exciting news is that she got a tooth two weeks ago!  The second tooth shouldn't be too far behind because it is really bulging.  The first tooth is still not prominent in her smile yet.  Which I'm happy with....I don't want these girls to grow up too fast.  :)

Since originally starting solids, Molly has really been a messy eater.  Over the last month, she has slowly gotten a little less messy, BUT watch out!  This is what happens when Daddy feeds her...

Hmmmm, that's why Mommy usually does the feeding!  Dads are better for playing!

We all love our baby Molly!  She really makes our family feel full!

Soccer Sadie

Sadie did Lil' Kickers this Spring.  She had fun, but we've decided not as much fun as dance.  Her class started out with 6 little kids, Sadie as the youngest, and ended with 2 kids.  One kid didn't show up on the first day?  One kid quit after the first day because he didn't want to participate (it's a hard age!).  One kid went for several weeks and always seemed to be enjoying it when out of the blue the mom got a refund because she said she had to drag him there every week because he never wanted to go.  The last kid always seemed like a fluke when he did or didn't show up, and at the end, he didn't show up.  So I can't help but think that had the class had more kids, Sadie might have enjoyed it more.  She did look forward to going every Friday morning and seemed to enjoy the full 50 minutes she was there, but just didn't obsess over it like dance.  Perhaps this is what being a little girl is? 

Cute, huh?!!

Taking a water break...

This is what Miss Molly got to do...

The final two standing, Brody and Sadie...



She was also the only girl, and seriously the youngest by almost a year.  She kept up with those big boys though!  That's our girl!  :)  Daniel bought her the soccer "uniform", and that's what she wore every week to soccer.  It's so much fun to watch little kids playing sports!  I can't wait until both girls can play t-ball....talk about fun!

Every heart beats true 'neath the RED, WHITE, and BLUE!

We had a great "America Day", as Sadie called it, and hope you did too!

God Bless America!

Lil Aggies

The Aggies made it to the College World Series for the first time since 1999!  Whoop!  Unfortunately it was a short run, and they lost their first 2 games, but it was exciting none the less!  A&M sports have just had a tremendous year, finishing 8th in the Director's Cup this year!  It has really helped with brainwashing our children up here in Big X country!  How can you not get excited about Aggie sports when they're on OUR t.v. all the time?!  Sadie honestly thinks ALL sports teams are Aggies (as in even the little league teams we see on Saturdays), and we honestly don't do much to correct her.  :)

Proof of the brainwashing...so excited to be in Aggie Maroon....

We'll see ya'll in the fall Aggies!

Looking forward to a great football season!



Dance camp

Well, we signed Sadie up for dance camp this summer.  I really didn't think we would do it.  I mean September through May is really enough dance isn't it?  But she just loves it so much and really seemed to be more and more interested in it at the end of the year, and she really works hard at it.  So we signed her up, and I'm so glad we did!  It was the best little camp for her.  She loved it!  They learned a different kind of dance each day....interpretive dance (not sure what that is?), ballet, jazz, and the highlight of the week...TAP!  Each day they also did a craft.  Then the girls performed a little recital on the last day with a dance from each day, including a corresponding prop made as their craft each day.  It was great!

Tuesday, ballet day:

Sadie has really had tap envy all year.  When she plays "dance class" at home, she tap dances instead of doing anything that she's learned in her own class.  There was a combination ballet/tap class for older girls that was right before her class each week during the year.  Her little friend Makaley was in it.  Sadie won't be old enough for tap until she is 4, but she's learned all kinds of moves by watching this other class each week.  So this camp gave her an opportunity to dabble a little, and I was so glad she got to have her little taste of tap.

On Thursday of camp, which was TAP day!  She was SO excited to put those tap shoes on!

Here are some pictures from the last day when the girls performed for their parents.

Molly excitedly waiting for her big sister's performance...

Interpretive dance...

Doing 1st position (ballet)...

Marching in jazz...

And the highlight of the week, TAP!

Gotta love that Koolaid mustache (and the fact that the dance studio gave them Koolaid! :))...

 

Sleepover

Sadie and Molly having a sleepover (according to Sadie):

Of course it didn't last long!





(Almost) Always Helping

I was trying to give Molly a bottle the other day, but she was uninterested.  So I left the bottle in the living room (unattended) on a side table for a moment while I went to take care of some laundry.  When I checked back in the living room, this is what I found.....

A little helper?

This also reminds me of the following picture I took over the winter.  I'm sure all moms that have breastfed a second, third, fourth child have a picture like this of an older child, but we still think it's funny.  Quite the little mommy.

She actually tried to convince me recently that when she (Sadie) grows up, she is going to nurse Molly.  Hmmm....I'm not sure that's how that works honey.  :\

Recipe Round-up

Here's a quick little round-up of some new recipes we've been cooking around here lately.  I've really been in the new recipe trying mood and have finally been going through the recipes that I've tagged or bookmarked over the last several months.  So I thought I would share because who doesn't love perusing new recipes?!

This recipe for Crockpot Chicken Posole Soup was so easy and seemingly healthy.  You can add all kinds of toppings like avocado, shredded radishes, cheese, green onions, sour cream, etc.  You get the picture.

I think this is Daniel's favorite new meal:  Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls.  It is a bit spicy (so kids MAY not like it), but very, very good!  I actually thought they would be harder than they were to make, but they were pretty simple and fairly quick to assemble.  We have these with carrot and celery sticks and ranch dressing.

BBQ Meatballs are my current favorite go-to comfort food.  I LOVE these!  I think I originally got hooked up to these from Joanne?  They are really, really good!  Serve them on top or alongside mashed potatoes.  The sauce would probably be really good with meatloaf too.  One day I'll try that since the meatballs are a little time consuming to prepare.

Italian Sausage Soup is another easy recipe. It will be great for a nice cool fall day. I probably shouldn't admit this since Daniel is in the pork industry, but I used turkey Italian sausage for this to lighten it up.

These Drunken Pork Chops are good.  I think they'd work pretty well in a crockpot too.

I just made this Key Lime Cake over Memorial Day weekend and it was a yummy, fresh tasting cake that's good for summer.  It's pretty tart...much like key lime pie would be.  FYI, I also really love that blog.

This next recipe is our new absolute favorite dessert recipe (for the time being).  It is fresh, yet really indulgent tasting.  I could seriously eat this every single day (and night)!  It's another really easy one.  Are you starting to catch a theme with my cooking...E.A.S.Y!  :)  Eton Mess (from Barefoot Contessa).  We omit the liqueur though because I'm way too cheap to buy something that I would probably only use for this recipe.

Well that's what's cookin' around here!  We've been looking into doing the 17-Day Diet soon.  Anybody have any experience with that?  Neither Daniel or I have ever done an organized diet.  So I'm not sure how well we'll do, but I need some kind of jump start to get the rest of this baby fat off, and working out other than walking is just not happening right now.  I'd love to know if anyone else has tried the 17-Day Diet and how it went!

Top Banana!



Sadie's dance recital was last Friday, June 3rd.  Her class danced to "Broadway Banana", and I think our whole family has that silly song memorized.  It's even one of the songs that will calm Molly down when she's fussy!  It was a cute song for 3 year olds to dance to though.  Sadie's class did really well at the recital, and Sadie was a bit upset when it was all over with and we were trying to leave the auditorium, whining, "I want to dance AGAIN!!!!".  We had to coax her with the promise of ice cream like any good parent would do!  ;) 

Here are a few pictures of her in her recital outfit and dancing her number.  Most were taken at the rehearsal last Wednesday (b/c cameras weren't allowed beyond check-in on the recital night), but the last one was from after the recital.  She got to wear makeup (though we tried to apply it sparingly...what 3-year-old really needs makeup anyway?!), and she was feeling quite pretty!  That girl has got some lashes though!  Oh my!  I hope she can hang on to those as she gets older.  It was a fun, fun experience for all of us, and Sadie is certainly looking forward to another year of dance next year!

As soon as I got the camera out, this is the pose she struck!



You can tell she was feeling pretty, because she never smiles this well for me when I'm trying to take a picture of her.

Sweet friends...Sadie and Makenzy

"So Mr. Producer, don't squash me!  Even banans have priiiiiide!"





Spinning



"Top Banana"  Striking her pose at the end of the song.



One last picture after the actual recital was all over with.

Molly's growing!

Molly started army crawling this past Saturday!  She is just growing up TOO fast and getting around TOO easily!  There is no keeping her out of her sister's toys any longer!



Trying to play with Sadie's toys.




So intent!



She's also sitting up on her own really well now, though I don't have a picture of that, and had her 6 month check-up last Thursday.  She weighed 17 lbs 6 oz (70th percentile), measured 27 inches (90th percentile), with a 43.5 cm head circumference (70th percentile).  Dr. Miller asked if she was pulling herself up yet, which was met with a blank stare and a "huh?".  He said that as active as she is, he wouldn't doubt for her to be pulling herself up before she is crawling.  Oh goodness!  This second  baby is a mover!  He also said that she had quite the big personality for such a young age.  Um yeah.... we don't have calm, quiet children in this home.  She was laughing and talking the whole time we were in his office.  Every time he would touch the stethoscope to her chest or back she would let out a loud giggle.  She is always quite a delight to be around, but last week she also started really teething and has been pretty fussy from that and not wanting to nurse.  She seems to be having alot harder time with teething than Sadie did.  Poor girl.  Hopefully she'll get those first teeth REAL soon.