Lost pictures

The camera I was using had some issues and I finally received my pictures off of it!

She rolls over finally. Catching up with her friends who are also 4.5 months old.

Cccrazy Cousins

Ari spent some time this week with Zach and Allie, her favorite (and only!) cousins. Her eyes just sparkle as they scurry and squeal with childhood glee.  They call her "baby Ari" and Zach says she's "socute, cUte" and tries to make her grasp his hand.  Allie kisses her head and makes Ari smile when she smiles.

Grammy was there to join in the mischief (called the Quail dance)!

A proud Grammy!

Multi-purpose doo rag

A doo-rag or durag has many purposes such as:

- protecting processed hair during sleep

-symbolizing gang affiliation

-keeping bugs out of biker's hair

-absorbing sweat

Ari wears hers simply to make her parents laugh.

And our cabbage wears her do-rag to keep the water in and the worms away (hopefully).

(note to DSS, our daughter is wearing her mommy's old panty-hose that she fashioned into a little hat for her cabbage plant. Ari only wore it for the photograph. It is now in the garden)

No Pink Necessary

If you've known me more than an hour, you will see that my passions include health, sports, books, food and nature. Nowhere in that mix you'll find purses, shoes, jewelry or makeup. Yes, I do like a nice pair of heels and a cute bag to go along side a pretty ring and some mascara but you wont find a lot of pink clothing. I don't hate pink, it just isn't my favorite. I never even wore purple until Dan told me he liked girls in purple (specifically, pastels...).

So alas, my daughter's room is brown, lavender and white. She has a few pink items in her closet but they are mostly the colors of the flowers on her dresses. I like her in green, which in baby world shouts 'gender neutral'. My carseat/stroller caboose is grey and red. It doesn't shout girl but also doesn't have to be boy.

Everyday, I get some comment from someone, somewhere. Comments like: How cute is your baby boy! How old is he? Look at that sweet boy.

"What's your baby's name?" To which I answer, Ari. "Ohhh, he's adorable and so alert."

Okay, so I don't go above and beyond to show her gender but, seriously people, look at this face, does she not look so beautiful and feminine?

It is really okay. I don't mind it. Dan and I wanted to give her a unique name and a unique style (while we can at least control her 'choices') so, she wears white, blue, brown, red, green, yellow, purple and even...pink.

All right, I'll admit, it was fuchsia.

Bottom line: she is gorgeous.

And here she is, enjoying (?) our first fruits from the garden!

For Mitch & Shelley

Since they don't have facebook, here is a small glimpse of what we did on Sunday. We traveled to Craggy Gardens in the Blue Ridge Moutains!

The fog rolled in right when we arrived but no rain clouds dampened our trip. We found shelter in the rain and then hiked a few miles.

Ari loved the view and the fresh air! Check out that smile!

Proud Papa

Lately I've been a proud papa. Seeing Ari develop, smile, laugh and recognize me has helped us bond. She is one cute little girl, and I'm sure already a "daddy's girl" (although I'll try not to spoil her). Here are some recent pictures of us:

Mother's Day (wearing that ADORABLE dress that matched mommy)

Mother's Day at church was also baby dedication day (more to come on that later). It was a proud moment for us.

Daddy needed help/company while grading papers, and Ari gladly volunteered!

It is crazy how glued Ari gets to the TV (we'll stamp that out before it becomes a habit) when we're watching our favorite shows. Ari is seen here learning the ways of 24 and Jack Bauer, her godfather. The more action and noise, the better! She just sits in my lap and enjoys it! Next step: eating popcorn! =)

And sometimes, we just like to play.

Daddy's random happenings

My attempts at growing my hair out were fruitless, and I realize that I'll probably forever have short hair (not a bad thing!). I thought we'd have some fun while buzzing it and make a mohawk. Not bad, but it's not my look.

Meanwhile, it was teacher appreciation week. My room mom went above-and-beyond, and it turned out great! When I got to school one day, below is the scene that greeted me. Each student's picture with a handwritten card is on the right, and on my door was a clever note involving 20-some types of candy! There is some overlap in the pictures, but hopefully you can read it. If not, I posted what it says below. I felt very appreciated, to say the least!

Thank you Mr. Haller! It is such an ALMOND JOY when you teach all about the WHATCHAMACALLITs and STARBURSTs! You are a SWEETTART for everything you do! We know we sometimes act like AIRHEADS and NERDS. Occasionally our parents act like they're from somewhere beyond the MILKY WAY! It must be hard to contain your SNICKERS when your SUGAR BABIES tell WHOPPERS of a tale and MOUNDS of stories. You deserve !)) GRAND every PAYDAY and a shopping SPREE on 5th AVENUE! Sometimes it must seem all you do is SKOR papers. Most days you probably want to run home like BABY RUTH! Thank you Mr. Haller! You are the RIESEN we are SMARTIES instead of DUM-DUMS. You are our LIFESAVERS! So TAKE 5 and enjoy! With HUGS and KISSES, your 2009-2010 4th grade class.

Sights from out back at 14009...

Meet Frank: the daddy cardinal that feasts on our porch

Four quadrants [reading] clockwise: A) Peas, beans, cucumbers, sugar snap peas, cabbage, carrots and swiss chard. B) 6 Tomato plants (featuring Fantastic Tom and Better Boy), a blueberry bush, some basil and green onions. C) Red, yellow, green, jalapeno, and red chile peppers. D) Yellow squash, watermelon, and zucchini

Basil Sprouts:

The beginnings of a zucchini:

Someday, this lady will be a pea:

4 Month Stats

Height: 25 inches (75% percentile)

Weight: 13 pounds (25-50% percentile)

Head circumference: 16 1/4 inches (50-75% percentile)

Milestones: Standing well when held up (see above picture), sucking fingers, able to grasp something in front of face, laughing, smiling often, sleeping through the night (at least one 6 hour stretch usually followed by a 2+ morning nap), rolled over twice, teething (evidence by grumpiness and thumb sucking), sitting up in a seat or on lap, following objects with eyes, coos and talks during music playing or talking to Dan or me.

Likes: holding ears, holding hands together (we call it praying), sitting in the bumbo chair, bath time, being cuddled, having bare feet played with, watching Bauer, playing in exersaucer thingy, riding in my moby wrap (which we need pictures of...) and certainly being talked to and played with!
Dislikes: tummy time, being sleepy, teething...

Here's a video of her laughing!

the texture of food...

This morning's conversation:

Dan: "Jenny, did we have flax seeds ground up in the freezer?"

Jenny: "No, I haven't had time to grind them up yet."

Dan: "Well, I definitely put bread crumbs in my smoothie."

(here is what Ari and I were doin while daddy was enjoying his crumby smoothie)

4 Months!!

Ari is 4 months!

Pics and stats to come!

Heres one to keep you interested...

(I'm not seeking compliments... she's way prettier than me)