Latest Stats...

She's in the 75th percentile all around!
Eileen had her 9month checkup on Wednesday...
height = 28.25 inches
weight = 19lbs 14.5oz (just shy of the big two-oh!)

She's good n' healthy! We can go ahead and start letting her eat solids.. cheerios, well-cooked (soft) veggies like carrots and beans, cheese, small tender chunks of meat.. all sorts of goodies! We also can give her yogurt, and also ice cream! (tho I've given her ice cream before).

She ate yogurt last night and loved it.. I bought some of that "Yo Baby" yogurt in the banana flavor. She hasn't been getting as much calcium as she should since she isn't always a fan of her bottle.. at least now with cheese and yogurt she can get more (3more months until she can have real milk). And we've given her some cheerios.. she is not so sure what to think of them! She'll stare at it for a while, pick it up.. stare some more.. and eventually it makes it to her mouth. Then she nibbles on it like a little mouse. I have no doubt that once she's used to it she'll scarf them down.

Other than that.. not much to report. No shots at this appt, just mainly chatting with the doctor! We know she's going to crawl at any moment (note the third picture.. see her stretching... close!). I can't believe her next appt will be her TWELVE MONTH! Unreal.





Oh, quick update on the iguana. Josh ran into the neighbor last night and mentioned it to him.. he was cool about it.. said he'd already heard from Doreen! He's already bought and installed a new lock for it. Whew. Hopefully no more Reptile Encounters in our little world.









Loving the last picture posted here... Eileen and Gracie were watching Daddy in the garage...



Gracie was all pumped and ready to go to Daycamp! Oh.. speaking of Gracie.. isn't she looking svelte? She's lost about 6 pounds! Still want her to lose at least 4-6 more, but I am glad we're making progress.

Grandpa and Beanie are on their way here. Looking forward to a fun weekend!

Happy Friday all!

Couldn't Make This Stuff Up if I Tried...

Before I tell my bizarre story... I want to thank whoever it is that did their rain dance. We got two straight hours of rain at our house last night. Nice steady rain. I could practically hear the grass and flowers cheering (not to mention all the farmers around here who have no corn b.c of the drought!).

Now if you have looked at the pictures on this post before reading, you are probably wondering why there is a shot of a random cage here. That would be our next door neighbors pen for their PET IGUANA. Yes, our new neighbors have an iguana. I know very little about these animals. I have yet to see it, and don't exactly spend a lot of time looking for it.

So yesterday, my neighbor Kristin, who also happens to work here, stopped by my desk. She asks if I have talked to Doreen, another one of our neighbors. Nooo.. I haven't talked to her in the last couple of days... so Kristin tells me this story:

She was driving past our house on Saturday afternoon (Eileen and I were shopping, and Josh was at Uncle Bobbys). She drove by and said to herself.. "I think there's an Iguana in Erin's driveway!" So she turned back around to doublecheck, and yes, there was a 4ft reptile there in our yard! Kristin, like me (and most normal suburbanites), knows nothing about these animals. So Doreen was outside, and Kristin got her to come over. The thing was at our front window, and they could see and hear Gracie going beserk inside the house. So then Doreen's husband and son come over. By now, the thing has climbed our wall, and then leapt onto our Japanese Maple (who knew it could climb walls)! They're all standing in our yard somewhat scared of it but also trying to coax it away. Doreen had brought over some lettuce (who knows what these things eat) and was trying to bribe it. Then Kristin's husband Jim came home. He joined the party! He managed to get the thing's house out of it's pen (one of those 'igloo' dog houses). Somehow, Jim and Doreen's husband and son all got the animal into it's house and back into it's pen. Thank Heaven we have such cool neighbors!


Eileen and I got home shortly after all the activity, and until yesterday we were clueless about it all!

The new neighbors are certainly nice enough. We see them outside a lot, so Josh is going to mention it to them. Perhpas they can invest in a sturdier lock. All the neigbors on our street have kids or dogs or both- I don't think any of us want a reptile wandering around!

Anyway.. that's my random story for the day.

We're off to the doctor this afternoon!

New Look..

what do you think? I am trying to figure out how to make a cool new header like Nicole and Tiffany.. in the meantime, at least I managed to change up the template!

Ahhh... Summer

There really is no better time of year. Sure, Fall is fun bc it's crisp and there's football and yummy smells. And the Holidays are fun, b.c well, they're the Holidays! And spring is nice b.c it's invigorating and warmer. But SUMMER. It just takes the cake.

We had a great weekend. Very relaxed and chill. We're working on some new 'routines' in how and when we do things. First new change is that we went to the grocery store on Friday after work - tired - yes, but we wanted to get it done so it didn't hang over our heads all weekend. This week we'll be working on a slightly later bedtime (8pm instead of 7:30.. b.c lately, she's just not tired at 7:30 so I spend 45 minutes trying to get her to sleep!). We usually eat after she's in bed. But with the later time, if we continued that pattern, it would be 9pm before we ate! So we'll start eating before she has a bath and goes to bed. Hopefully we'll be able to eat by 7:15 or so. Added bonus is that now she can get used to sitting at the table and eating as a family.

Eileen is becoming quite mobile. Not yet crawling, but twisting and turning and reaching! Used to be I could leave her sitting in a shopping cart and she'd just hang out. Now if I leave her too close to the aisle or turn my head, she's either grabbing things off a shelf or twisting around so much I fear she'll just work her way right out of the buggy!

Then on Saturday we hit the gym, and then went and got our new garbage can. (yes, I really am still quite excited about it). Then Josh went to Uncle Bobby's for the afternoon and Eileen and I went shopping!

She's just SO GOOD. We went to the "Lifestyle Center" near our house (translation= outdoor mall with pretty fountains and walkways and streaming music). We wandered around for 3 hours. She was in her stroller the whole time, and it was pretty hot out. Not once did she fuss. She loved sticking her (clean!) hands out of the stroller and feeling all the clothes. She loved staring at all the people and cars (I swear she's judging their fashion, or lack there of, statements in her little head). At one point in NY&Co, I was going through a rack of clothes. I turned around and she had found a shirt she liked and had it in her lap in her stroller! She's just hilarious. Then we went to Belk. She loved loved loved the Clinique Counter. Her little finger prints are all over their display case (for which I profusely apologized to the clerk!)

And then we went for Ice Cream. :) She still doesn't really like it.. I think the cold shocks her. I put a little bit on a spoon and let her go to town. Once it was more liquidy she liked it better. We sat outside and I had to eat at mach speed b.c it was melting all over me and the stroller! There was a woman there with her teenage girls and their friend and they were all hanging out. It seems crazy that in a few short years that will be us. I can't make my brain get past Eileen as a baby. Nevermind a teenager having a conversation and using big words!



Sunday was Josh's first Father's Day. It was a fun one! We went to church- where all the kids performed songs they'd learned earlier in the week at Vacation Bible School. Adorable. Little girls with bows in their hair, tan little arms and feet, and the cutest dresses in the world. The little boys with their little button-down shirts and shorts and hair sticking up all over the place. My boss' son -he's 6-was one of the kiddos up there, and he was just concentrating so hard on the words and corresponding hand movements. Again, it's crazy to think that in just a couple of years Eileen will be up there doing that little show!

Then we came home and did some chores, and then hit the POOL! My most favorite place in the world. Aunt Sissy came and met us. As you can see from the pictures, Eileen had a blast using Aunt Sissy as her personal jungle gym. Check her out on her knees. Aunt Sissy didn't put her like that, Eileen got herself up like that all by herself. She actually was doing that all day. Trying SO HARD to get up. She gets so mad b.c most of our floors are hardwood so she just scoots all around when she's really trying to get some traction! But really, I will not be suprised if she's crawling by this weekend (Beanie and Grandpa will be here, so perhaps she'll give them a show!). And as you can see by this last pic, after some time in the pool and the sun, she was ready for a big ol' nap! She passed out the second Josh gave her the pacifier. That's how she sleeps, with her hands behind her head. Hilarious, is it not?

And then Sunday night Josh made his Rendevous ribs. D I V I N E. Oh my. They were just soo good. I could have eaten the whole rack! Can't wait to do that again!

We'll go to the doctor on Wednesday for her 9month check up. Nine Months. How'd that happen? I think this is the visit with no shots, just weight/height and general check-up. The doctor told us to wait until she's crawling before we start solids, but I'm betting she's close enough he'll tell us to start giving her pasta and cheese and easy stuff like that. I'll check back in later this week with her newest stats!

:)