37 Weeks

37 Weeks Old

Mary Ella and her paci have been besties lately. I hope it's just a teething thing. I don't want her to run around with that thing in her mouth all the time. She usually only wants it before bed and naptime, but I have been giving it to her when she fusses because I think her gums are hurting.

What a week! Last Sunday Mary Ella got her first tooth, on Friday she started crawling, Saturday she could go from belly to sitting up, and by Sunday she was trying to pull up! Whew! Here's the week in review.

We enjoyed more beautiful weather this week, and ME and I got out and about. We walked down to the Brodie Creek pond, and Mary Ella really spotted the ducks for the first time. We went on walks with Daddy a few nights and found the hidden pond in our neighborhood. We could see lots of fish swimming at the top of the water, so Brad is all ready to take his poles back down there. On Wednesday Lindsay and Gunnar took us on a special walk- up and down all the hills in the neighborhood. Needless to say my butt was burning by the time I got home. Thanks alot Lindsay!

We did a little spring cleaning too! I have been putting off sorting through ME's baby stuff and deciding what to keep and what to donate. Well, I got in her closets and drawers one day this week and moved out all the 0-6 month stuff. That was a little sad. I kept most of it in case we have another girl, but I really didn't want to put any of it away.

This weekend Brad went turkey hunting (again), but before he did we ate out Thursday night at Casa Manana. I think it may be our new favorite place! So, ME and I decided to head down to Hope for the weekend. Friday morning we were in the bathroom getting ready, and Mary Ella was getting tired of being in her exersaucer, so I sat her down on our bedroom floor with some toys. Well she got on her tummy and proceeded to pull herself into the bathroom. And just like that, she started crawling. Not on her hands and knees, but not really just using her arms either. She pulls with her arms and pushes with her legs too. I was so proud of her! And she was proud of herself too! She started patting the tile with her little hands, and then she leaned her head down and licked it. Gross! It may be my bathroom floor, but it's still a bathroom floor. I picked her up, and put her back in the bedroom, and she did the exact same thing again. It totally clicked with her what she had done. So, we headed down to Mia's with new tricks in our bag. She spent most of the weekend down on the floor practicing her new skill.

Friday we got to my mom's in time for lunch, and after ME's afternoon nap we headed to Patmos to visit Nanny and Pa. She loves it down there, and they LOVE her. Pa actually got down in the floor and played with her, and when he got up she started fussing, so he got back down there! She loves being the center of attention, and all eyes were on her all weekend. Friday night Mama cooked for us and Cole and Jennifer.

Saturday after ME's morning nap we went back down to Nanny and Pa's for more play time. That's when she started going from laying to sitting all by herself. Just like that. She walks her hands in until she's sitting up. It was too windy to take her for a ride on the gator, but Cole, Jenn, Pa, and I took a ride around. We got to see Auntie, Sissy, and Leslie too. Saturday night we ate at Amigo Juan and watched a movie after Mary Ella went to bed.

Sunday morning ME and I went to church in Patmos and had lunch at Nanny and Pa's afterward. We got to see Jerry Don, Cathy, Caleb, Dana, Jared, and Rye. Sunday as ME was playing she was getting a little restless. She would crawl to me or Jenn and try to crawl up us. She would get on her knees and try to crawl up her plastic toy box. She was trying to pull up! She's got a ways to go on getting steady enough on her legs, but she is on her way to figuring it out. Sunday night we went to church in Hope with Cole and Jenn, and Monday we just hung around Mama's until we came home to Little Rock. It was a fun weekend! I had my camera with me, but I don't know why I didn't take any pictures! Oh well...here are a couple before we left.

She's now a girl on the go!

36 Weeks

36 Weeks Old

And we have our first tooth! I thought I felt it Saturday, and it was definetely in today! Last night Mary Ella woke up around 10:30 crying. Brad and I were watching a movie, and she hasn't cried during the night in a couple months, so we knew something had to be wrong. We went downstairs to check on her, and she wasn't happy until I picked her up. I gave her some Tylenol and held her for the rest of the movie (she really wanted to sleep). When it was over I put her back to bed, and she cried for a while but went back to sleep. Poor thing must have been hurting, but I was so glad to see it came through. Well, I can't SEE it because she won't move her tongue, but I can feel it's there. She may have been a little more fussy than usual, but I'm so thankful this wasn't a huge ordeal. Yay Mary Ella!

So what did we do this week? Monday night our bunko group skipped bunko and had dinner on the patio at Casa Manana. It was my first time there, and it was pretty yummy! Tuesday morning Mary Ella and I met Lindsay and Gunnar at the playground in our neighborhood. It is really close to our house, so we just load up the stroller and head down there. We slid down the slides and let the kids play on a blanket on the ground. We have that squishy turf on the playground, so it is perfect for little ones. Then we had lunch with Brad and ran a few errands. Wednesday I REALLY cleaned the house, got groceries, and made snacks for Bible study. We hosted it at our house for the first time Wednesday night. Brad led the discussion, and we wrapped up just in time for our company to arrive- Michael and Trey. Mike had a meeting in LR Thursday, so ME and I had Trey all to ourselves. We watched cartoons, had a picnic at the playground, read books, and just played all day. Trey is sooo sweet with her. She absolutely loves watching him. They ended up taking 2 baths together, and she cried both times when I got her out because she was having so much fun. Friday morning Anna joined us. Julie had some continuing education classes here too. We had another picnic at the playground, took a nature walk, Anna read books to ME, and we watched The Princess and the Frog. We had so much fun! Brad asked me if I thought I was ready for 3 kids. I told him I could totally handle it if the other 2 were as good as Anna and Trey. Friday night we got together with more of the Marvin family and had dinner on the patio at Casa Manana (my suggestion- I think everyone liked it). Renee and Hannah were in town too, so they met us there. We had 15 people I think. Mary Ella was out late, but she did so good. Saturday morning I cooked chocolate chip and blueberry pancakes and bacon for the kids before Anna and Mike headed back for Anna's last soccer game. ME and I enjoyed our last day with Trey. Brad and I took them to Chick-fil-A for lunch and ice cream, and we let Trey play on the playground. He went home with Julie that afternoon, and I'm pretty sure Mary Ella is going to be bored when it's just her and me next week. :)

At the playground

Day 1 with Trey: We had our picnic on the blanket.

This is a happy scream.

Riding the motorcycle

Sliding down the slide- he was a little scared of the curvy one, but he was going down it by the second day! He's a very cautious kid! Don't have to worry about him getting into any trouble!

Mary Ella and I raced him down the other one.

Day 2: Picnic at the table

Trey is wearing Brad's hat. I was so worried about sunburn, but thankfully our playground is very shady.

Anna wearing my hat. By the end of the day this girl was doing the monkey bars all by herself!

Waiting patiently during lunch

Watching the big kids

This is the only face she would make.

I love these days!

P.S. We have a baby chipmunk at our house! Well, I guess we have a whole chipmunk family. I saw the mama drinking out of the fountain and noticed a little head poking out of the rocks. The mom raced down the hill and out came the baby! They play in our landscaping in the back yard. The baby is probably 2 inches long! It is the cutest thing!

35 Weeks

35 Weeks Old

So, I'm finally up to date on a little technology. I got an iPhone this week, only a few years after it came out, right? I don't love it yet, but it's a pretty nifty little thing. Brad and I finally traded in our 3 year old razors (Mary Ella licked his a few two many times and mine had cracked glass). Ha! Two not so exciting events this week: a snake encounter and a fender bender. First of all, I am terrified of snakes. Like it's kind of a phobia. It's really the one thing I freak out about. So, seeing THREE snakes around our fountain since we moved here has me having nightmares. But one didn't get away Monday. Thankfully Brad was home and took care of it. I don't care that it wasn't poinsonous- I want them all dead. I love all the wildlife our fountain attracts, but NOT that kind. Secondly, Mary Ella and I had lunch with Brad on Thursday, and on our way home we were in an accident. We were stopped at a stop light, and I heard screeching tires. Apparently the kid that hit us was was coming up behind us and lost control of his car. He must of been swerving not to hit us, but he got the back bumper on Mary Ella's side. We were okay, but it was a little scary for a number of reasons. Thankfully Brad came to the rescue again and stayed until the police finished the accident report. Over the weekend Brad met Randy in Wickes to go turkey hunting and my mom came up to stay with ME and me. We had a fun girls' weekend! When Brad got home on Sunday Mary Ella acted so funny. She has started doing this bashful, put her head on my shoulder, kind of thing when someone talks to her. You know, acting teased. Well she did this when he came in, but I wasn't holding her so she just dropped her little head down. She looked up at him and did it again. Then, she stuck her lip out and almost started to cry. I guess she remembered she missed him and was upset at him for leaving her. It was a strange, but cute reaction.

Trying Mum Mums for the first time. Not so sure about it.

Belly shot

Trying to crawl

My mom, Mary Ella, and I had a picnic at the pond on Saturday. She sure loves being outside!

She was ready with her Cheetoh bag. :)

Her lunch was peas and peaches.

Hey! Don't touch that!

She's working on it!

Cutie pie

I heart these shoes and feet!

My sweet girl