New Website

Being a new stay at home mom (job entails: chef, journalist, budget officer, cleaner, home organizer and counselor) I am starting to get the itch to do something else. Not that loving on the sweet thang Ari isnt fun and all... I could use some extra money.

So, we pooled all my talents (which is about 3) and decided to launch a health blog. It will be a place of photos, videos, recipes, tips on health food and healing, and much more. I hope it will also generate some income through teaching classes, health coaching and consulting and a few other endeavors.

Here it is:

www.groundedgirl.com

If you know of anyone who is looking for something like this, please email me at groundedgirl@me.com. I am available for weight loss coaching, health consulting, recipe exchange and more found in my 'services' tab.

Thanks for your support and stay tuned on that blog for more! (and tell your friends and family please!)

And, to bribe you to tell others, here is a sweet picture of Ari... with earrings:

(No babies were harmed in the making of this picture.)

PhotoBooth

Mommy time with the Mac!

I am so blessed with a happy, loving baby!

Oh, Ari...

(by Dan, for once!)

Lately we've really been enjoying 2 things: Ari's adorable quirks, and our new camera. Ari has been doing some very funny things lately, and our new digital camera also shoots HD video (though the quality we posted in is way lower)...resulting in the two short videos below. Enjoy!

Sorry, Ari, no milk comes out of Daddy's nose!

(the weird noises are the camera trying to focus...we're still getting the hang of it!)

How does she have this much energy at the end of the day?

G.G.C.

Great Grammy Claire was here!! How do you know:

The famous (infamous to some, endearing to others!) headband!!

We loved having Grammy here because she loves good food, good movies and cuddling with Ari. All things we have in common! We visited the Billy Graham library, learned to peel tomatoes, and enjoyed each other.

Thanks for making it out here. I am blessed by your love for the family and I really enjoyed seeing you.

Dontcha wanna

Kiss these cheeks:

Seriously, is there anything cuter?

(I'm talking about the one in purple, dont be mistaken...)

(Dont lie, you want to kiss the one in black too.)

Michigan Part 2: Gooooood Times

I had good intentions of making this a 4 part post but, we had some other visitors and have been a little busy. Michigan was a blast and we made some good memories.

There was lots of loving...

Thanks to Baba for taking care of all of us and feeding the army!

There was sight-seeing and disciplining ;)

There was lots of lots of photographing... thanks Aunt Katie, We're glad we got a good one of you and Ari.

Uncle Dave has some sweet sunglasses!

This is how the photograph session went down: goofy, goofy, quality, goofy, silly, sad, closed eyes, and finally, a great pic!

Michigan water is not as warm as one might expect but Jill and I did it! We tubed and it was hilarious!

Dan and I both finished lots of reading.

There was of course, brotherly horseplay.... er, chicken playing on this upside-down kayak.

Lest you think it was all fun and games, we did have a few moments of this:

(hehehe)

Photos not listed: lots of ice-cream eating, fire having, scrabble playing, rock painting, disc golfing, lighthouse seeing, kayaking, laughing and napping. All in all, a great trip and wonderful time with the Haller clan. The cabin is a lovely place.

Michigan ventures Part 1: Meeting new peeps

This is the first of a few posts about our big road trip to Ohio and Michigan! We made it there and back, with 4 legs of driving but the cool breeze and smell of a campfire made it all worth it!

Being natives to 43015, the Hallers know a lot of people and Ari stayed calm and collective with all the new faces! She smiled and was very outgoing as they came to the house and cabin to meet her.

Ari got to meet Aunt Jill...
And Uncle Mark. They were gracious and patient enough to let us stay in their [adorable] new home and we really enjoyed it. They made Ari laugh and also reminded Dan and me of what it was like to be a newlywed!
Ari met baby Moriah. Who is, I think, a second cousin... but, we'll figure that out later. Moriah was born a few days after my baby shower in Ohio in October. That makes her about 2 months older. She was crawling and standing up which made Dan realize how quickly Ari's becoming a big girl!
And, in our opinion, the most important person Ari got to meet was Great Grandma Haller (GiGi)!! Boy did they love on each other! Their was giggles and squeals as Ari sat on Gigi's lap and made her smile.

More to come on our big trip!

6 months: Wait, WHAT??

whaat?

Seriously, it cant be true...

Ari is 6 months old today!

Current stats

Height: 26 inches

Weight: 15.4 pounds

Milestones: rolling over (from back to tummy), laughing, nursing and eating 1 solid meal per day (so far: bananas, rice cereal and avocado), holding herself up on her own (not for long periods of time yet), sleeping two long naps during the day, recognizing and reaching for Dan or Jenny, holding and passing things from one hand to another, watching tv or reading a book (short attention but great concentration), chewing on anything, holding herself up on elbows, scooting around on her tummy, pulling herself up while someone holds her hands.