Monday, August 30, 2010

Bye Bye Bottle

No more cleaning these






Or buying this




Mary Ella is officially weaned! Right after her 12 month appointment we dropped down from 3 bottles a day to 1 at night only. And I hung on to that one because we were out of town for 2 weeks, and I didn't want to totally freak her out because she was already out of her element. While we were in Jackson I had to buy one last can of formula, and I told Mary Ella when it was gone her night time bottle would be gone too. So we ran out this weekend. She had her last bottle Saturday night, and she's been fine! I offered warm milk in a sippy cup, but she didn't want it (she is not liking whole milk at all yet). We replaced the bottle with books before bedtime. She still gets in our lap, brushes her teeth, gets her paci, we rock and sing, and down she goes. Bottle free! Just one more reason why my baby girl is not a baby anymore!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Weekend in Hope

Enjoying some of Nanny's chocolate pie
This weekend we visited my family in Hope. Brad wanted to go down and get his stands ready for hunting season...yes, it's almost that time of year. But he had to work late Friday, so Mary Ella and I went down Friday morning, and he came Saturday with some of his hunting buddies. Friday we made it in time to eat lunch at Nanny and Pa's, and ME got in some quality play time. She goes wild at their house! Nanny took us for a ride around the farm in the Gator. I think it's the first time she's been out of the house all summer! It's been so hot...but we finally had some cooler temperatures this weekend.
Friday night we ordered pizza and visited at Mia's with Cole and Jenn. When we got there, Mia had a surprise for Mary Ella...a new shopping cart!

Going shopping


Maybe this will encourage the girl to get off her booty and walk!

Excuse me, Molly

She won't move!

Dancing for Mia

Who me?

Doggie bag

Saturday morning I got to sleep in while ME and Mia played. After she took her morning nap we went down to the farm again. Nanny got in the floor with Mary Ella and barely got up! Then Pa got down there, and they built towers with ME's blocks.

Daddy's here, and he's feeding me chocolate pudding!

Mary Ella cut her third tooth this weekend...on the bottom right

Saturday night we all went over to Super Uncle Cole's house for dinner. Mary Ella went on one-a-day naps all weekend, so she was wild and crazy by bedtime! Atleast she didn't get too cranky until Sunday afternoon.

How do you like my hair???
Sunday morning we went to church with Nanny and Pa in Patmos and had lunch at Amigo Juan with Cathy and Caleb. Mary Ella and I went back to Mia's for a nap while Brad and Cole had target practice. Brad pulled a Robin Hood and shot through Cole's arrow- pretty cool!

Mia also put up a swing for Mary Ella!

After naptime Super Uncle Cole arrived just in time for a swing!

Whee!

Just a-swangin'

And these are just some pictures I took last week before we went to Lifegroup.




She practically walks on her own while holding our hands- she is very steady. But as soon as you let go she plops down. She's not even interested in taking steps on her own yet. Oh well!

Spaghetti Supper

One night this week I made chicken parmesan and thought I would let Mary Ella give the spaghetti a go. Pretty much if I think she can feed it to herself I let her try minus the utensils of course.

I thought it might be super messy, but she did really well! I think it's because the girl is so determined to get every last bit into her mouth. She'll give it a back hand or even use her forearm to push food in! Good job Mary Ella!

Jackson

Hangin' at the cabana by the pool
We planned our Florida vacation around Brad's work schedule. He had a meeting in Jackson, so instead of coming home we stayed there for a week. We got there Sunday, parted with the Marvins, and had Sunday lunch at Soulshine. We picked up some snacks for the week, some medicine (we both came back with colds), and settled into our hotel for a little downtime. Sunday night we walked next door to Logan's for supper. Mary Ella really enjoyed the yummy rolls! Like I said, after 2 weeks of eating out every meal, we are pros at plopping her down in a high chair, rolling out the plastic table cover, and giving her bite size portions. She ate things like grilled cheese, chicken strips, and mac and cheese off kid menus. Every morning we had breakfast at the hotel, and we ate out for lunch and dinner every day. Yeah, I'm sure I've put on a few pounds. Anyway, Brad's meeting didn't start until Tuesday, but he did some work out of the Jackson office Monday anyway. Since it wasn't an "official" workday for him I dropped Mary Ella off at the office while I went to the dentist in Madison. I haven't actually gone to the dentist in LR since ME has been here (oops), so I was glad Dr. Dillon would see me. I have heard horror stories about moms having tons of cavities after their pregnancies. So I was a little worried, especially since I hadn't had a checkup in over a year, but my hygienist said she never would have known. And Dr. Dillon said I looked great, so yay! After my appointment I went back to pick up ME and checked out the VA's new regional office in Ridgeland. It is really nice! We had lunch at Beagle Bagel and went back to the hotel for naptime. Our friend, Birch, from Fayetteville was in town, so we had dinner with him Monday night at Amerigo's. Tuesday we spent the morning at the pool, napped, and had leftovers for lunch (yummy chicken and artichoke pizza). Then we went to Madison Station for a visit. Everyone was so glad to see Mary Ella! That night we had dinner with my friend Rachel at Cozumel's. She is expecting, and I am so excited for her! We had a good time talking about baby stuff and just catching up. Wednesday we went to the Renaissance to walk around and do a little shopping. They have quite a few new shops (I really miss the shopping in Jackson!) I found Mary Ella a pair of red and white gingham overalls that I envision with some sort of Hog applique or monogram for football season at Lemon Meringue. I tried on a few red dresses at Material Girls, but decided they were either too short or I was too old to be wearing them. Ha! Can you tell I'm gearing up for football season? We had lunch at Sweet Peppers and went back to the hotel for what else? Naptime! As you know, Mary Ella is not a fan of the pack and play, but she slept every night in it in Florida. She got up every day at 6:30, but I was so happy she stayed out of our bed. Before we left I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a big piece of 2 inch foam and cut it the size of the pack and play. I was hoping it would feel more like her mattress (thanks Ashley for the idea!) And it worked while we were in Seagrove, but not in the hotel room. She ended up in bed with us every night in Jackson, and she never really napped well in it. So the poor girl was worn out by the end of our travels. Anyway, Wednesday night we had dinner at Chili's with our friends, Brad and Brandi. It was great to see them! Thursday Mary Ella and I decided to see what was going on in Flowood. We went to The Watermelon Patch and found a new kids' store, Hopscotch. We had lunch at The Corner Bakery. So yum! Then we tried to visit Joy McAllister, a pottery store, in Canton Mart Square, but she had moved to Fondren. I didn't get around to finding her new shop, but I still want to get ME one of her birthday cupcake platters. Doesn't she need a special plate to always have on her birthday? :) While we were at Canton Mart I found the Shoe Choo Train, a kids' shoe store and got Mary Ella a cute new pair of shoes. If you're local to Jackson, I reccommend checking it out. They give you a card to punch, and for every six pair of shoes you buy, you get the seventh 1/2 off. I would definetely strategically use that for a pair of baby UGGs if I lived there, but I hear there is a Shoe Choo in Conway too. Thursday night we teamed back up with Birch for dinner at Stix, my fav! Friday morning we were basically up and packing because Brad's meeting ended at 10. We went back to the Renaissance for lunch at Five Guys- such good burgers! Then we headed back home through the delta. We stopped in Lake Village at Paul Michael for a stretch break, and Brad bought 2 pies out of the back of some ladies van! Ha! I was a little reluctant, but that was one good chocolate and one good coconut pie!
ME after a nap- I think this was the morning after Brad had given me some sort of Tylenol the night before, and I could barely open my eyes. We went down for breakfast, played for a while, and both went back to bed. We took a 3 hour nap together!

Mary Ella helping Mommy pack-aka pulling EVERYTHING out of the suitcase!

Thanks, but no thanks!

Mary Ella at Five Guys- her grilled cheese was so good I might have ordered it myself had it not been for the yumminess of the burgers
And now we're home...so.glad.to.be.home!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Seagrove Beach Pics

Gotta love the white beach pics!




Mr. G.Q.


It was super windy!







This is her "wind in the face" look.




So blessed to have a little one to share it with this year!


Just don't put me in the sand!



Sweet cheeks

Tried to get a good one of the kids, but ME was about done by this time.




Two cuties!

The Marvin Family





Weee!

Me and my honey