A big day for our little buddy...

Yesterday was one of those days that, as a Mom, I believe I was dreading from the time I first saw the two pink lines on my first pregnancy test.  I had visions of the first day of kindergarten being a traumatic one for both Joshua and me, with tears and nerves and all sorts of things that may have been likely to  lead me to a stiff drink.

I can report with great pride that none of the above  happened.  Joshua was so ready for his first day of kindergarten that he nearly forgot to hug me before running to Daddy's truck to get on the road for school.  Apparently he marched into his classroom like a pro.  All reports point to a fabulous day.  He earned 8 sticks (3 is the benchmark for an OK day- you either gain or lose from there for good (or bad) behavior), made a new best friend, got to help Mrs. Case illustrate the correct way to hang up a backpack, and did some great papers that he brought home.  His teacher is amazing, and I think he is set for a really wonderful year.  My heart wanted to burst when I picked him up after school.  I don't think I could possibly have been prouder of him.

 Here was the whole crew before school.  Please take note of Lauren's bed head.  I swear, her curls are as wide as she is high most mornings when she wakes up.  She had just finished crying because I had taken Joshua outside for a picture.  As you can see from her flip flops, she insisted on one as well, and I now have an un-first day of school photo of her in her pajamas with red eyes after having thrown a fit.  Oh Lauren.  I love you, but bless your sweet heart, you're just a mess sometimes.

And here's an action shot of this little superstar who has, in the past few days, figured out a modified crawling technique that literally has her ALL OVER THE PLACE.  We were not ready for this.  But she is one determined little munchkin.  I secretly love watching her conquer her world, but goodness, she exhausts us with this showing off that she is doing.  Nothing is safe these days--- in 3 seconds of looking away to check on dinner the other night, I found her under one of our end tables attempting to chew on cords to the lamp.  Oh yeah...

Vacation pictures to come as soon as I finish the laundry.  Don't hold your breath.

Mara, you're 7 months old!

 Dear Mara,

Somehow, it has been 7 months since the day we met.  I can't believe it, honestly.  Someone once told me that, as a Mom, the days are very long, but the years are short. And that's just about exactly how I feel.  We spend our days jumping from thing to thing, crisis to crisis, to-do list item to to-do list item.  And somehow, in all of that, seven whole months of loving you have come and gone.

You have been quite busy this past month.  First of all, you have hit a major growth spurt in the past few weeks.  You weighed 12 lb 12 oz at your 6 month checkup on July 11th, and just last week when I snuck you on the scale at the doctor's office, you were 14 lb 2.5 oz.  It's as if I can almost see you growing right before my eyes.  You've gone from 3 month clothes into all 6 month things in the past week or so.  Although you're certainly not the biggest baby, it is such a relief for me to see you growing well.  You love to eat- and still nurse about every 3-3.5 hours (sometimes it's every 2, and every now and then you give me a 4 hour window to work with).  You are also now enjoying two solid meals every day, usually consisting of a bowl of oatmeal cereal, a vegetable and a fruit.  You love all of your veggies, and all of the fruits except for peaches. Usually, you finish the whole container of each.  You also love your mesh feeder and can be entertained with a piece of banana in there for about 15 minutes while we eat our supper.  For that reason, the mesh feeder is Mommy's MVP right now.

You have also mastered sitting up on your own.  I have even watched, on a few occasions, as you have sat yourself up from a laying down position.  You manage to get where you want to go right now by rolling yourself there.  You are pulling up on your elbows, but so far your knees have no coordination to get underneath you to try to crawl.  And let me tell you, that's 100% fine by me.

We got some toys out for you in the past week or so, and so far you love your ring stacker the best, with a few books you can chew on coming in a close second.  Anything that has a tag on it is your favorite thing to play with.  You like your exersaucer still, but only if you're close by to Mommy and know that I can get to you in a hurry if you get tired of it.

Speaking of which, I have termed you a velcro baby in the past few weeks.  For some reason, only Mommy will do right now.  It's a little frustrating for me (not to mention everyone else who wants to hold you), but I tell myself all the time that this phase will pass all too quickly and I'll miss it.  I love carrying you with me, but find it a little tricky to do the things that need to be done while you're in my arms sometimes.  But we manage.  You and I are quite a team these days.

Mara, your sweetness continues to melt my heart every single day.  How did I ever get so lucky to get to be your Mama?  You are such a blessing, and we can't even imagine life without you in it.  We love you so much!

This is a picture from this past weekend when Nana, Aunt Libby and all of the kids went to visit your Great Pappy Ray at his apartment in Belleville.  He was so happy to see all of you!  Although you were a bit noisy, I think he loved having you all there.

Happy 7 month birthday, Mara Kate.  You are so loved.

Mommy