Jump Around!!

http://qik.com/video/9643738

A new little video of Marley enjoying her jump-a-roo!  Tia borrowed it to us...and as you can see, Marley's having a blast with it!!

Days Like This...

It's one of those days...maybe I should say it's been one of those weeks.  Where every morning I am just so sad to leave Marley.  She's so happy and smiley and cute and cuddly.  I wish I could just stay home with her and bring her for walks and hug her...all that stuff.  But instead I go to work, where the days seem especially long.  I fly out of there at 5pm and just wait not so patiently for the 30 minute drive home to be over so I can see my baby again.  I miss her.  Every once in a while, it catches up to me.

How could you not miss this precious little girl?!?

Luckily the weekend is here!  One more day of work...tick tock!

Happy Friday!
Hugs,
Stevie

This and That...Photo Update!

Big girl tub...splish splash!

Sitting up so tall!

Marley and her Uncle Jesse...our manny!

All the girls at the Schultz wedding reception!

Me and Ang :)

My hubby...LOVE HIM!!!

Our Little Patriot!

Belated, I know...here are a few shots from the 4th of July!  We spent the long weekend up at the Severson home in Fifty Lakes!

Stars and Stripes!

She has the prettiest eyes!

And is a little jokester...just like her daddy!

Morning hangout time with Daddy!

She thinks he's the funniest person ever!

Swimming with Mommy!  And looking tired!

Happy Sunday!

It's 9am...I've already made a trip to the grocery store, started the laundry (which is going to be an all-day event), and gotten Marley down for her morning nap.  Now, all my babes are snoozing and I'm enjoying a cup or three of coffee!  Ahhhhh!  Love Sunday mornings!

Hanging out with Daddy!

We had an eventful weekend!  Marley spent Friday night hanging out with Daddy and I joined the Severson ladies at a baby shower for Heather Larson (Trav's cousin's wife)!  Another little girl will be joining the fam in early September!  Yay for girls!  On Saturday, I drove down to Faribault with Marley and we went to Renee's pool.  Renee is a high school friend and she had all of the girls over, plus our kiddos, to enjoy the sunny day at her pool!  It was so much fun!  Marley got to splash around in the water a bit, we had lunch with everyone, and then Auntie Heidi brought Marley to her house for an afternoon nap while I got to spend some extra time catching up with all the girls.  It's so fun that we still keep in touch...11 years after high school, gosh that makes me feel old to say that!  We've been doing a great job lately of getting together once every few months and it is awesome to see how much our lives have changed, but how much we have all stayed the same!  Love those girls!

On Saturday night, Grandpa Rooster came over to Heidi's house and brought Marley a new little pair of shoes...her first pair of Converse All-Stars and they are neon pink!  Too cute!  We stayed in Faribault until about 6:30pm and then drove home so we could hang out with Trav before Marley's bedtime!  I came home to a clean house, courtesy of my hubby!  Even the floors were mopped!  Such a nice little surprise!  He's always being considerate and thinking of ways to help me out!  And I LOVE not having to ask him to do things like that!  Thanks Trav!

What to do today......................we were going to bring Marley to the zoo, but it looks like rain, so we may just get our errands taken care of and squeeze in a walk, then make a yummy dinner and watch a movie tonight! 

After a walk with Uncle Jesse!

Looking forward to dinner on Wednesday night with Angie and Sokthea at Spill the Wine!  And dinner with Tia and Joe on Friday night!  Hopefully we'll have another productive weekend at home too!

Another funny shot...Uncle Jesse likes dressing her up!

Lots of pics to share...I'll share them in separate posts!
Enjoy!

XOXO-
Stevie

Happy 6 Month Birthday, Miss Marley!

Our baby girl turned 6 months old on Sunday, July 11th!  Does time really fly or what?  She is growing so fast...her stats from her doctor visit on Monday were:  Weight 18lb 1oz, Height 28in!  She's in the 90th percentile for weight and the 97th percentile for height!  Her pediatrician, Dr. Miller, said that she looks GREAT and that we have a very healthy little lady on our hands.  When he walked into the exam room, Marley was showing off her "sitting up" skills...she turned to the door when she heard it open and flashed him a HUGE smile when he said hello to her!  What a little ham!  Here she is at her 6 month appointment, before the shots!

The shots were worse than ever this time around.  She's getting much more aware of what's happening, and she cried harder this time than I have ever seen her cry.  She would lose her breath in between each of the 4 shots, and we'd have to stop to let her calm down.  The only problem with that...as soon as she calmed down, another shot came and she just repeated the cycle.  After the 4th shot, I scooped her up and she just wimpered in my arms for about 5 minutes.  I put her in her car seat and gave her her lovey...which she quickly brought to her face, and then she passed out!  Poor baby!  I just hate those shots!

Now that we've reached the 6 month mark, things around our house have become considerably easier...or maybe we've just fell into more of a routine, or maybe Marley has just settled into a good schedule.  In any case, things are not so bad and I'm so happy we survived the first few months!  Looking back, I can't believe how hard it was...the sleepless nights, the colic, the bottle-training, the attempts to juggle marriage and a baby and a house and a dog and...the list goes on and on!  WE DID IT....YEAH!!!!  We found out recently that one of our friends is expecting and the husband asked Trav for advice...not the best idea, but Travis told him, "Buddy, the first 4 months are just a gong-show!"  Leave it to my hubby to explain things that way, but in all honesty, they are!  It's a mess and it's so fun...and it's super overwhelming!  It takes a lot of patience and communication to make it through!  And naps help too!!!

Marley is just ever-changing and learning things so quickly that we can't keep up!  She's mastered sitting up and is so excited by the fact that she can hold her hands up in the air while she sits on the floor!  Sometimes a little too excited...which results in a tumble!  She is sooooo close to crawling!  She'll let herself fall forward a bit and gets up on all fours, but then drops to the ground.  My little yoga partner!  Hehe!  She has perfected the downward dog pose!  No teeth yet, but I'm sure that is one more development that is just right around the corner!  Some days I wish I could just make time stand still, like this morning.  Marley was kind of under the weather from her shots, and she just cuddled up to me, head on my chest, and just cuddled.  No squirming, no babbling, just layed there and cuddled!  I love little moments like that with her!

And speak of freezing time...summer is just flying by.  We have a busy couple weeks ahead, but I'm hoping we'll have time for a few family trips to the pool and also really anxious to get Marley to the zoo for the first time!  I'm really looking forward to seeing her reaction to all the animals and especially the aquarium!  I took her to Pet Smart with me the other day when I was getting Sasha's nails trimmed and she was in awe of the fish tanks and bird cages!  

Happy Summer!  Can't believe that July is already 1/2 way over...


Love,
Stevie

 

Cabin Fever...........!!!!!

Is it Friday yet????????????????????  Major case of cabin fever!  I'm just dying to be outside, at the lake, beverage in hand, soaking up the rays!  We're going to make the trek up north tomorrow afternoon and please God, don't let traffic be too bad!!  I'd like to get there before midnight!  Ha!  That being said, we have a lot on the agenda for the long holiday weekend.  Besides the obvious...sun, boating, relaxing, etc, we plan on getting Marley out in the lake for her first mini swimming lesson!  We have an adorable little floaty for her, complete with a canopy to protect her from the sun!  I'm going to get my butt up on ski's again...I made it up a few times over Memorial Day weekend, but it was a very weak attempt, to say the least!  We have several friends that will be at cabins in the area, so we may pay a visit to them!  Hopefully we get over to the Thomas cabin in Outing and we're hoping to meet up with some friends for drinks on Saturday night!  Ahhhhh....I just love the cabin!  We're so lucky that Marley will grow up having such a wonderful retreat...Grandma and Grandpa's!  A place to swim, snow-shoe, explore, and RELAX!!!  I hope she loves it as much as we do!

I'm a picture freak, so there will be lots to post once we return!  Wishing you and your families a very happy and safe 4th of July Holiday!!!!!  Happy Independence Day!

With love from our family-
Travis, Stevie, Marley, and Sasha!!