From Donovan to Arden

A few weeks ago, I received this adorable little dress in the mail. It came from my cousin Maureen. Her little girl Donovan outgrew it before the weather was warm enough to wear it. It's so cute on Arden. Thanks so much for thinking us, Moe!

Evenflo Stroller

On Saturday, we got this stroller from Walmart. We love Jasmine's Graco stroller, but we needed something smaller and easier to travel with. We were going to get an umbrella stroller but thought this one would be better. We even took it to church today so Adam wouldn't have to lug around the carseat all morning. Arden seems pretty happy with it!

I Love Grandma!

Pam, a volunteer at my mom's work, made this bib thingy for Arden. I thought I'd lost it until last week. I found it in a random plastic bag in our bedroom. It's quite precious. Arden kept looking down at it and grabbing it. It's so soft, and she loves it!

Just Being Patriotic

I hope everyone enjoyed their Memorial Day! Thank you too all of those who serve our country and fight for our freedom.

Ok, that's enough of this nonsense!

We're So Happy When Nana Visits!

My mom, "Nana," came for a visit over Memorial Day weekend. This visit was 100% more pleasant than the one in February thanks to Arden and our new Aerobed. My mom didn't sleep too comfortably last time. Also, it seems Arden is getting over her "stranger danger" phase. She didn't get that upset with my mom's presence and even smiled at her a lot. Nana also became the baby feeder. She fed Arden all of her solid foods, and Arden ate every last drop! Adam and I even got to go see "Star Trek" on Friday evening after we put Arden to bed. You're welcome anytime, mom! Hehe

The evening of my mom's arrival, we went to Target. She bought Arden lots of great toys! Now all I need is a toy box.

Catie stopped by Sunday evening and got Arden overly excited after her bath.

Tryon Palace

During my mom's visit, we checked out Tryon Palace. It's located in downtown New Bern. If you want a history lesson, click here. It was a beautiful and hot day. Our tickets covered the palace, the gardens, and all the historical houses around the area. We saw the palace and gardens. We were going to see more after lunch, but we wimped out. We went home for a "break" and never returned. I'm a bit disappointed about that, but we were all very exhausted.

Bathing Beauty

This is one of the bathing suits I got for Arden at Old Navy. It's simply darling! Now all she needs is a pool...or maybe a trip to the beach!

Me Likey Some Squashy!

This week I discovered Arden's favorite vegetable: squash! It was the first solid food she's eaten a whole container of. I don't blame her...I love squash, too. I've learned I shouldn't feed her just squash, though. She'll turn orange. Fun!

Lip-smacking good!

Geesen!

Brian Regan, "I saw of flock of geesen ..in, in..in the woodsen!"

We have a pond right by our house. I know, not the safest thing, but Arden and I enjoy going there on a daily basis. There are several sets of geese with babies as well as one duck with nine babies. I always want to feed the ducks, but they won't let me get close enough. So, we end up feeding the geese instead. Let me just say, geese are nasty and mean creatures! They hiss and get way too close, but they still expect food. How rude!

Mama duck and her babies...the ones I wanted to feed!

Just chillin' in the Snugli

One day, all of the geese and ducks were hanging out next to each other. Suddenly, one goose made a gesture, and they all waddled to the pond. The ducks went the opposite direction. Interesting!

Multitasking

Adam loves playing the Wii and spending time with Arden. Hey, might as well kill two birds with one stone!

Mario

Punch-Out

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I hope you have a wonderful day today, dad! Thanks for being a great dad to me and a terrific grandfather to Arden. I love you!

Helping Out a Friend

A few days ago, I thought I heard a delivery truck outside. When I peeked out the front window, there wasn't a delivery truck, but I saw this fellow crawling across our cul-de-sac. There's a pond right next door, and it's filled with turtles. They don't usually wander this far off, though. He hid in his shell at first, but he started to crawl after I stood still for awhile. I went ahead and put him in the grass, just in case.

31 Weeks!

This has been a great week for Arden! First of all, we revisited the Snugli (the infant carrier that straps to my chest.) I hadn't tried it out for a few months, because it hurt my back. Well, now that she's able to support her head, all is well! My back doesn't hurt, and she loves to face the front. She can see everything and loves being in the Snugli when I take her to the pond to feed the geese. Second of all, she's been eating solid foods really well. I found that mixing other things with her rice cereal is the key. She also seems to eat better when Adam feeds her. Third of all, she's been sleeping really well in her crib. I generally put her to bed between 8 and 9 p.m. and don't have to go into her bedroom at all until the next morning around 6 a.m. or so. If she wakes up during the night, she's been good about soothing herself back to sleep. Then, after her morning feeding, she usually goes back to sleep for a couple of hours. It's been fantastic! Now if I could just go to bed before 11 p.m., I'd be getting lots of sleep, too.

Arden loves her Dadoo!

Just hanging out after bathtime.

I love that big smile!

Baby legs. I got these leg warmers at Target. They go all the way up her thigh. I thought they'd be good for when she starts to crawl.

Feed me more, dad!

Simply Hilarious

Monday evening, I mixed up some rice cereal and peaches for Arden to eat. Generally, she doesn't finish the rice cereal I mix, but this time she ate it all. It wasn't a huge amount, but I was impressed. Anywho, I had about an ounce of breastmilk left, so I gave it to her in a bottle...just to experiment. She hadn't taken a bottle in months. Well, the video below shows the outcome of my experiment. It's very similar to feeding a bottle to a baby goat or a baby cow...both of which I saw at the farm two weeks ago.

If this doesn't make you giggle, I don't think anything will!

Wow, 7 Months Already?!

This little lady is growing up way too fast! Arden is developing by leaps and bounds these days. She's been sleeping in her crib at night for the past two weeks, and I think we're both sleeping better because of it. She is really getting the hang of solid foods, although there is still a point when she gets tired of them and is ready to nurse. She also took a bottle yesterday...the first time in many months. She hasn't quite mastered sitting without using her hands. She even still falls over when she is using her hands. When I have her on my lap, she's always reaching out and manipulating her body in order to get something just out of reach. She definitely wants to be mobile and prefers the crawling position over laying flat on her tummy. Ugh, I really need to start baby-proofing this place!

Enjoy these pics and videos from today!

Arden was fussy about 3/4 through her mid-morning nursing session, so I pumped a little and gave her a bottle. Looks like she might be ok with bottle feeding again!

You can take a break, mom. I'll just feed myself!

She loves sucking on that big toe like a thumb.

"It's a baby girl thing." Thanks, Kyndal! This outfit is so cute!

More peas, please!

This'll drag daddy out of bed!