Babylegs =

cutest baby clothing item ever. I've always wanted some, and now I wish I had them all along.

Everything's Better With Cheese!

Today Marlee had mac 'n' cheese, garbanzo beans, and peas for lunch. The garbanzos were in their own bowl because I let her much on those first while the rest was cooking. When I brought her the mac 'n' cheese, she picked up her garbanzos and tossed them in the mac bowl. She rolled them around until they were covered with cheese, then picked them out one by one and returned them to their own bowl. This kid cracks me up.

Lost Comments and A Funny

Okay, so after a few of you said you posted comments that didn't show up, I went digging around. Sure enough, there they were in the "Comments to be Moderated." Very strange, because I usually get an email asking me to publish a comment. Apparently I'll just have to check on my own every day! Anyhoo, they're there now...I think!

A cute story for you:

Last week I was giving Marlee ravioli for dinner. I had her plate in front of me while waiting for them to cool. She was hungry and impatient, so I picked one up, blew on it, and gave it to her. She thought this was the best thing ever and has blown on EVERY BITE of EVERY MEAL since then.

Hello?

We want to know who's here! Click on the comments link at the bottom of each post (where it says 0 comments, 1 comment, etc), and you can leave us a message! Hearing from everyone keeps me motivated to keep writing. A challenge to each of you: if you visit today, leave a comment...No cheating, I can tell you've been here ;)

W Weekend

We had a pretty busy weekend. Saturday, we got up early and got some chocolate croissants at a French bakery, then we ordered me some new glasses. Can I just say how much I hate that insurance companies will cover regular old lenses but not the kind blind people like me need? It's discrimination ;). Once the expensive specs were chosen and ordered, we headed to REI for the annual scratch and dent sale. There was a huge line when we got there, and they were letting peole into the sale 50 at a time (gave out numbered tickets). As we walked in a girl said she was tired of waiting and gave us her ticket...number 559. There were a couple of guys who said they'd been there over two hours and were 599. Lucky us! We only waited about 15 minutes. We made out pretty well...got few things for our upcoming trip to Canada. After REI we had lunch and ran a few more errands, including picking up a teeny life vest for MJ...so cute!

Today Grandma Dell and Granddaddy Jim came over to play with Marlee and Michael and I went to see Get Smart. I loved watching the show on Nick and Nite as a kid, and I thought the movie was great. Just a few sentimental nods to the original without being cheesy.

Now I'm baking...cookies and bread...yummy!

All in all, a pretty fun weekend!

Does It Get Cuter Than This?

I'm pretty sure it doesn't. Some pictures from the weekend:

In Trouble.

Marlee is really good at knowing when she's doing something she's not supposed to. If I lower my voice and calmly say, "Uh-uh," she immediately stops, and I show her something appropriate. Or if something is in the mouth that shouldn't be (a daily occurrence at least), I say, "That's not for eating...Bring it to Mommy," and she puts it in my palm. She's even started to look at me when she's about to do something off-limits, just waiting for the ol' "Uh-uh." Today we were playing in the living room, and she crawled into the kitchen and got really quiet. I went after her and found her eating a price tag (no idea how that got there). She looked up at me, hung her head (busted!), took the tag out of her mouth, crawled over and gave it to me. I never said a word.

That's about the extent of "discipline" in our house. Until last night. Marlee took a late nap, so she was up later than usual, and we were having some family time--snuggling in bed watching a movie. She started getting fussy and scooted over to nurse. I tried to soothe her with her pacifier, but she wasn't having it and was frustrated with me for continuing to put it in her mouth. When I pulled her close to nurse her...She Bit Me! Now, I know better than to overreact. Babies think it's funny and that they've done something great. But I couldn't help it. Brand new razor sharp teeth to the nipple = pretty damn painful. So I shouted, "Ouch!!!" She cracked up. I looked right in her eyes and said, "No ma'am, Marlee June. That is NOT silly! You hurt Mommy! Not Okay!" She was silent. Then her eyes filled. Her lip came out. Her chin quivered. And she cried a cry I've never heard before. It was like a knife through my heart. I scooped her up and snuggled her, and we both calmed down together.

I doubt she'll ever bite me again, but Oh.My.God. I don't know that I can handle 18 years of that face.

Father's Day

We had fun today celebrating Michael's first Father's Day. Marlee decided to sleep in until 9:00! We gave Daddy his cards and presents in bed. Marlee made him a beautiful masterpiece to commemorate the day. We think she's quite talented. :) We went out to breakfast, and she had her first taste of Waffle House (Daddy's favorite)...she loves raisin toast. Then we went to the mall to get MJ her first "real" shoes! She's standing on her own now, and I suspect first steps aren't far behind. She has small, narrow feet, so we went to Stride Rite to get some shoes that fit properly. Kid shoes are expensive! I'm hoping that we're not forever cursed with having to shop at specialty shoe stores, but I fear that's the case. Enjoy some pictures of our cutie!

First Shoes

Please Cross Your Fingers

Say a prayer, do a dance, chant a chant...whatever it is you do! We have a family considering an offer on our house (deciding between ours and one other). We put some work into it recently and added some furniture and accessories for staging, so hopefully it did the trick. Come on! Sell...Sell...Sell...Sell.........

Yes, We're Still Here

I've been so terrible about blogging lately...my apologies to the regular readers. Marlee has been so demanding when she's awake, that I spend every napping moment trying to squeeze in everything I have to do- housework, studying, developing my doula business, and, oh yeah, showering.

Things are going pretty well in the W house. As you know, MJ has her first two teeth...it's pretty darn cute if I do say so myself. I'll try to get a picture tomorrow. This morning I took her to a cool little place called The Coffee Park. I found out about it when I went to a meeting of a local moms' group there, and I've been trying to find a time to go back since. It's such a neat concept. It's a coffee house with a play area for kids. The play area, or "treehouse," is staffed by great girls who play and interact with the children. So for $5, you can drop your child at the treehouse and enjoy a latte and wireless internet connection. I'm scheming up a new business idea, so it gave me a chance to work uninterrupted, and Marlee LOVED it. She really likes to play with other kids, even older kids like her friends Sophie and Julianna. She was by far the youngest one there (actually, 9 months is the youngest that can play), but she definitely held her own. She didn't bat an eye when I walked away...that stirred mixed emotions in me. I looked in on her every few minutes to find her playing and laughing and generally having a ball with the "big kids." The ladies said she did really well and called her mighty mouse :) Apparently her only problem was that she doesn't like to share and attempted to take the other kids' toys. I'm not surprised, as she doesn't usually have to share. I guess we'll be spending more time with our playgroups...and maybe a couple of hours a week at The Coffee Park.

Michael is enjoying working from home. It's really nice to have lunch each day, and he's able to spend more time with us in the evening now that his commute is about 15 seconds. Working from home has also given him some extra time in the morning for a workout. He has been driving to the gym every morning, but today he got a bike and plans to use that to make the short trip. I'm also trying to get myself in better shape and start a six week boot camp Monday morning. I lack Michael's motivation in this area and really need someone to make me work out.

So that's a bit of an update. I'll try a little harder to keep up with the blog!

Tooth #2...

has popped through!