Nine Months!!

I'm finding it really hard to believe that this little booger is 9 months old today. I tell ya, time sure is flying by these days! Arden goes in for her checkup on Tuesday...not looking forward to the shots!

These days, Arden's favorite things to do are sit, attempt to scoot around, attempt to pull herself up on things, smack her lips, play "Where's the baby?", and sip out of mommy's water glass. She isn't crawling yet, and I'm just fine with that! She's making moves, though, so I'm sure it'll happen any day now. Maybe I'll get this place baby-proofed before then.

Enjoy the pics! Of course, I took many more. You'll just have to check out the rest on facebook.

Bubbles!

I bought some bubbles at Walmart, because I thought Arden would get a kick out of them. She just stared and didn't know what to think. A bubble popped close to my eye, and it burned a bit. I think I got the wrong brand: Infinibubbles. Aren't bubbles supposed to be safe for kids?!

She was pretty tired, poor thing.

Lunch with Aunt Glenda

Thursday, we went over to my Aunt Glenda's for lunch: meatball subs, chips, blueberries, and banana pudding...yum! We had a lovely visit. I'm so glad Arden is out of her stranger danger phase!

Arden started to get a little fussy. I knew she was tired. Aunt Glenda succeeded in putting her to sleep. It only lasted 20 minutes, but it was better than nothing!

Aunt Glenda gave Arden some banana pudding. I sat Arden on the dining room floor while I ate. She kept staring at their cat Tom. He walked right by her a few times, but I couldn't take the pic fast enough.

We love our evening walks!

Cute outfit courtesy of my cousin Caroline!

Our neighbor's cat Teddy really made Arden's day. After this video was taken, the cat jumped on top of the car. I took Arden over to him. He sniffed her hand and her face. She was thrilled!!

Funny how she likes to play with thing that aren't toys!

We've Got Mats!

Since our floors aren't very soft for Arden to play on, I knew I had to get a play mat. Can I just say, these things are not cheap! I looked at Walmart...$20 for 16 square feet. I looked at Target.com...$25 for 16 square feet. I thought I found a deal on Amazon.com...$15 for 24 square feet or $30 for 48 square feet...then I added them to my cart. $18.50 for shipping?! Holy cow! So I looked on eBay and found Rung Flooring. They're pricing was pretty much the same. I realized I wasn't going to get a better deal on these mats, so I went for it. However, when I tried to log onto eBay, it froze up on me. I went to RungFlooring.com and ordered my mats there: $48 for 48 square feet (shipping included.) I really only needed 36 square feet, so I stuffed 3 tiles under Arden's crib. I changed up the borders so it's all mismatchy, and it's pretty cute. It isn't quite as soft as I was hoping for, but it's better than the wood floor. I feel comfortable leaving Arden on it if I have to leave the room.

The magic bib...

Random Wednesday Cuteness

Arden loves sucking on her crib railing! Don't worry, she can't sit herself up yet. I have to sit her up next to the railing, so no need to lower the mattress yet. She likes peering down at me through the bars. She's also learning how to pull herself up to a standing position, although that doesn't happen too often yet.

Does This Make Me a Bad Mother?

At least she landed on the carpet...

I learned my lesson and sat the camera on a chair.

Random Tuesday Cuteness

Mmm...mommy's leg tastes yummy!

Glenburnie Park

We took Arden to a park for the first time. Not sure why we waited so long! There are quite a few parks in New Bern...there's even a small one seconds down the street. Anywho, I was itching to get out of the house Monday, so I suggested we have a little picnic at a park. We chose to go to Glenburnie Park, a.k.a. The Sewer Park. It's right beside a sewer treatment plant...gross! But it is a pretty cool park. It has a frisbee golf course, and it's right beside the Neuse River. We stopped by Taco Bell (our idea of a picnic), and grabbed some grub to eat at the park. Arden fell asleep on the way there, so she got to take a little nap in the car (windows rolled down, of course) while we ate at a picnic table. Once she awoke, I fed her some cherry applesauce, and away we went to the playground. It had rained the night before, and it was overcast all day Monday. It made the park experience much more pleasant than if we had to dodge the sun..although it also meant there were puddles on the playground equipment. Ah well, can't win them all! We did have a great time, though. Enjoy!

So sweet with her dadoo!

Arden's first trip down a slide!

Just look at that grip!

My, she sure shimmied her way up that wall quickly!

Rock-climbing Pro!

Down the pole she goes!

Whoa, that's a long way down!

Not sure she was too thrilled about going down a slide on her own.

Simply Precious

Hanging out by the river bank.

Walking up from the river bank.

Time to go home!

Independence Day Weekend

My mom and Chris came for a visit this past weekend. Friday, we went to the aquarium. This was my third time going...the second time within a week. I don't plan on going again anytime soon! We ran into a little holiday beach traffic on the way in, but we're so lucky we got there early in the day. On our way out, there was a whole lot of traffic coming in. I hope they booked hotels, because there was no public parking left! We ate at Dairy Queen on the way home. For dinner, Chris, Adam, Arden, and I went to 37th Street Pizza. Mom was still full from Dairy Queen. I ordered a mushroom/pepperoni pizza, and it was so good! Sorry Pizza Hut, sorry Papa John's...you've been beat!

We really didn't make any plans for Friday. I was hoping to go to a parade, but there wasn't one in New Bern. That afternoon we took a quick trip downtown to the Cow Cafe and had ice cream. Chris wanted to stop by the Pepsi store, but it closed just as we got there. Bummer! I dropped him off by the waterfront for some pics, and then we headed home. I put the kiddie pool out earlier that morning, so the water was perfect that evening. Arden enjoyed time in the pool. I ended up nursing her in the pool, because I didn't want to deal with changing her clothes and mine. She ended up falling asleep. So sweet! Chris and I set out to find some dinner. Mom wanted Andy's, but they were closed. We ended up at Wendy's. It would've been nice to see the fireworks, but that just wasn't possible. Arden fell asleep at 9 p.m., and Adam had to be at work at 10 p.m. We stood outside and managed to hear some distant booms. I really should've bought some fireworks. Maybe we'll get to see some next year.

My mom and Chris left after sacrament meeting on Sunday. I hope they enjoyed their trip. I know I did!

Quality time with Uncle Chris!

Turtles!

Crunch, the alligator snapping turtle, and cutie pie Arden getting buckled in after a fun visit to the aquarium. She fell asleep soon after the car started.

Arden woke up halfway through our meal at Dairy Queen. She then proceeded to laugh at me hysterically...wish I could've gotten that on video. Here, she's attempting to push "it" out at Dairy Queen. Hilarious!

Independence Day Cutie!

Spending quality time with Nana!

Eating ice cream at the Cow Cafe.

Throw me higher, dadoo!

At a church in downtown New Bern

You don't need those glasses, do you, dad?

Arden's getting over her first cold. Poor runny nose... If you look closely at her eyes, you can see our house and me reflected in them.

I decided to nurse her in the pool, and she fell asleep.

Sawing Toothpicks