Happy Birthday to Kevin!

Happy Birthday to my Kevin!!!!!!!  

Here are some old school pictures just for fun...

living uptown

Charleston

Maui

Rehearsal Dinner

Charleston

Mexico

Can't wait to celebrate, starting tonight!

Funny

Thanks Dad for sending me this gem!  Haha!!!

Weekend - Lilly and Panthers

Friday:

Playtime with my girl and Millsy. 

Kevin was home for a late lunch. 

MA and I went to happy hour at Reid's with friends of ours that were in town.  Bunch of our work people came.  It was fun but we left by 5 to get home in time for Molly Anne's routine!

I had thrown Allie's carnitas in the crockpot that morning and made the chimichurri sauce the night before. They were good and easy!

Saturday:

That morning we went to Ella's 2nd birthday party -- Lilly themed!

Thanks April for this picture!  I didn't take one there but Molly Anne had a blast at her first birthday party. She sat and watched all of the big children play. She loved it!

And she was asleep before we left her neighborhood. 

Kevin put together her cozy coupe while we were gone. She was so excited.  She sat in it for at least 30 minutes!

We went to a super early dinner at an Italian joint down the road. Molly Anne was interested in watching the waitresses go back and forth instead of eating her dinner. She did have noodles for the first time!

After dinner we drove around a neighborhood we like. These three teenage girls were dabbing (like cam newton) and it cracked us up. They went crazy when we did it back!

Lasagna roll up mass production!

Sunday:

Wings from hawthornes and apps as we got ready for the big game!

Possibly moving to this schedule?  We tried this weekend and were successful with eliminating a bottle to get to four but we are never strict on exact nap times on Saturdays and Sundays.  We'll see how this week goes. 

Ready for the SuperBowl thanks to Camille letting her borrow the cheerleading outfit and #thetipsybunny bow!  ;)  Molly Anne stayed up to watch Kick Off at 6:45pm then she was out!

Kevins parents are out there!

Sunset was gorgeous tonight!  

Still proud of the Panthers!  

Five on Friday

Hello friends!  Here for Five on Friday.  

1.  Molly Anne got a little Valentine's Day treat from her Nannie and Poppa.  How cute are these shorts?!  They're from Lolly Wolly Doodle. 

2.  I forgot to bring the entire kit to bunco on Wednesday night so Lauren and I ended up at cvs buying dice.  And wearing the same exact outfit unplanned.  We couldn't stop laughing!  

3.  Stopped in Old Navy yesterday to use the Super Cash I had received when I got my jeans. How cute is this stuff for Molly Anne?!  $50 total after sales and super cash.  Not terrible for decent looking play clothes.  

4.  I'm into bagels with smoked salmon and scallion cream cheese lately.  I decided i would use some leftover scallions and whipped cream cheese I had, to make my own. It turned out good and now I'm just storing it in the whipped container.  My thin bagels aren't nearly as good as getting this on a sesame at bagel bin but having a bagel is a treat for me anyway.  I've tried to watch eating them since gestational diabetes. 

5.  Girlfriend loves her Mills!

6.   Why not have a number six? Tess told me about this Manhattan Toy Company toy that Leo likes to teethe on so I ordered it for MA. She loves it too!

Go panthers!!!!!

Molly Anne is Seven Months

Oh my little Molly Anne!  We have had the best time the last month!  Your big little personality has just come alive and I love watching your mind work!  You want to know how everything works and you have become a problem solver.  

This is so silly but the other night you were in the bath tub and I threw the washcloth between your feet.  You were laying back in the tub and you wanted that washcloth in your mouth.  So you figured out that you could move your foot to get the washcloth hooked on your toes, then raise your leg up, then you picked it up with your hand and took it to your mouth.  I recorded it to show your engineer Poppa!  Then proceeded to take it right back out of your mouth! ;)

Here are some things you're up to!

1.  On your 7th month birthday you weighed 18 pounds, 12 ounces with clothes on. You are 27 1/4" long!

2.  You're wearing size 3 diapers, 9-12 month clothes and some 6 month leggings. 

3.  You finished wearing your band on January 28th and your head is round now!  I'm so relieved this was over though you didn't care about it the whole time you had it on (exactly 8 weeks!).

4.  You are rolly polly all over the place. I left you laying on your bumbo in your room for two minutes and when I came back, you had rolled over and over to your left so you were 5' from where you started.  You also rolled over in the mamaroo, on the changing table and in the bathtub this month.  We are keeping an eye on you big time now!

5.  You're all over your crib too and you definitely prefer sleeping on your stomach. 

6.  You've been "talking" so much and one Saturday we think you may have said Dada.  You were watching my lips and your daddy was videoing you!  I think you're still waiting to say Mama first! ;)

7.  Being outside is still your favorite.  You love your wagon and you sit in the stroller facing forward now and not in your infant seat, unless you were already asleep.  We also got your high chair out this month (after your band came off) and you've loved being in that.  And you flew on an airplane for the first time.  We went to see Nannie and Poppa in Maryland!

8.  You have such a personality now and I love seeing you grow and change.  You think mills is hilarious.  You also love trotting to Boston on Poppa's lap.  Your giggling cracks us up.  We think you're going to be a thrill seeker like your daddy because you love us turning you upside down and sorta (not really) throwing you in the air. 

9.  You've enjoyed all kinds of food so far.  You haven't met a good you don't like and you never miss an opportunity to eat! ;). Right now you get five 7 ounce bottles a day and breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You don't always finish every bottle but mostly you do. Your bottles are usually at 6/630a, 9:30a, 12:30p, 4p and 6:45p.  We are trying to eliminate that 4p bottle first.  You eat breakfast around 8/8:30, lunch around 12 and dinner around 5:15/5:30.  It's a lot of feeding but also just a phase so we are going with it for now.  Your naps are usually 10-11 and 1:30-3:30 but you're somewhat flexible on these...sometimes. 

10.  Your favorite toys this month are the jumperoo, the gears you got for Christmas, Lolly (my lil doll from growing up), Geoffy - you like to chew on his feet (I have no idea why we call Sophie the giraffe Geoffy but we do), your Little Giraffe soft blanket (this is becoming your lovey) and anything with music and lights!

We love you soooo much lil queenie!!!

Lunch and Mills/MA

Thankful for these ladies!!!  We had lunch at Cowfish yesterday!

We try to do something fun after I pick Molly Anne up in the afternoons.  Monday we played with neighbors and sweet 5 year old Grant pushed Molly Anne in her stroller then we went for a walk.  Yesterday we played with some of her toys.  Can't a girl play without her puppy licking her?!!  

She loved every bit of it!  And of course Mills did too...

I've been a little slack in the dinner department lately because I'd rather play with Molly Anne instead.  Monday we ate leftover soup from Saturday night.  Last night Kevin made us salads with rotisserie chicken on top.  Tonight we may be super slack and pick up Chick Fil A grilled chicken sandwiches with their side salads.  

Who is ready for the Superbowl on Sunday?  Charlotte has been buzzing because of the Panthers!  I really want a panthers toboggan for a cold weather trip we have coming up but I haven't had a chance to get to the store to get one.  Oh well.  I'll just wear blue and black on Sunday to sit at our house and watch the game, ha!

Ms. Becky is out of town this afternoon through the weekend so Molly Anne is having quality time with her Daddy this afternoon and her Mama for the next couple of days.  I'm excited!

Flexible

I realize this is crazy but from day one of having Molly Anne, I really wanted her to be flexible.  I didn't want to be married to certain things.  I know that a baby is going to do what a baby does and I would never want her restricted in any way. That's not what I'm saying.  

What I'm saying is, I wanted her to be able to sleep in a room without blackout blinds or with blackout blinds.  I wanted her to have a paci or not need a paci.  I wanted her to sleep in regular pajamas and not have to carry sleep sacks around (plus this child would have sweat to death).  I wanted her to sleep without a noise machine because I'm not toting a noise machine around (I love you Sarah!).  I wanted her to not think we were going to come running every time she made a peep but know that we would be there in an instant anytime she needed us.  I wanted her to be able to nap in her car seat or in her crib.  I wanted her to sleep with her bedroom door open or closed.  I wanted her to sleep with a party going on or in a silent house.

I wanted her to not care about Mills licking her feet so Mills has licked her feet since the instant she got out of the car at our home.  I wanted her to have different people put her to bed so I'm not the only one that can put her to bed (because I knew this wouldn't be realistic long term, even though I'd LOVE it).  I wanted her to have a babysitter and know that if she weren't with family it would be okay.  I wanted her to stay a couple nights without me (I have no choice because of work).  I want her to learn to eat anything and everything so HOPEFULLY she isn't a picky eater one day.  

I'm no professional (AT ALL, in fact, far from it!) but I have been very intentional about some of these things.  I would be perfectly fine being her sole caregiver and sheltering her from so many of life's struggles but is that really fair to her long term?  I think she'll be better because of it.  But who knows!  Knowing my luck, Molly Anne will be the pickiest eater everrrr, will hate staying with anyone but Kevin and I, will require the room to be black dark to sleep, will want a sound machine and will decide she wants a paci when she's 10 years old!  Haha!  

But we as mothers can only try!  We can only do what WE think is right.  Who cares about other people's opinions.  Who cares about what I wrote above...those are just things we want to do under our roof.  You may feel differently.  We can just do the best we all can do and support each other along the way!  Can I get an amen?!