Happy BIRTHday Molly!

2 months of age...sweet, sunburned girl!

Party like it's your birthday, little girl! (because it IS your birthday!!) You've come a long way, Baby!! The BIG one year old!! woohoo!

Just a few minutes after delivery. Such a bright-eyed beauty, right

off the bat (one of the benefits of going natural).

so funny to me how funkalicious babies are when they first "arrive"...big grey hands, splotchy skin, bloodshot eyes, sheer gorgeousness!

The girl had lungs right off the bat as well...she has made sure she is heard at every turn!

Happy First Birthday, Molly Christine

July 9, 2007

7 pounds, 7 ounces, 20 inches long

2:55 pm

Such a sweet girl! We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

cheeky!

is she really not this small anymore?

how I'd love to sniff her baby kitten head one more time...

whoa! how could someone so soft, sweet, and pink have such a temper?

familiar faces...darling daughters!

really?

Some stats about Molly on July 9, 2008...

She weighs 18.5 + pounds...that was as of early June. Not sure how tall BooBoo is...

She crawls like a wild woman...Gramma calls her the "Prancing Pony".

She DOES not walk..but I know of a baby boy in our church nursery who is 7 weeks younger than Mollsy...and HE WALKS. no pressure, baby.

She pops her pacifier out of her mouth as soon as she realizes that we are eating real food! She is a piglet!

She does this cute little jig with her hands when she hears music. Her little hips start to gyrate (haven't heard that word since Elvis was around, huh?)...and it's most adorable!

She is super duper smart...and super duper hands on! she has already figured out her birthday toys. I'm impressed!

She loves to be chased. There is really nothing sweeter than seeing her big brothers tell her they are gonna get her and she scoots off as fast as her little legs will crawl. The kids will crawl over her and she throws herself down on the floor, arms and legs sprawled out.

She is still such a good sleeper. Predictable, ready, lays down in her bed, gets her blankie up by her face and she will soothe herself to slumber. She sleeps right thru the night...yes, I'm bragging! :) edit: Hi. I typed this all out last night, before I went to bed. Guess who decided to get up in the middle of the night, talk, sing, drink a bottle, fuss in general? Birthday girl. I'm guessing she just wanted to celebrate her birthday a bit early with me...commemorate that it was just her and I early that July 9, 2007 morning and then again this year...it was kinda sweet but ironic that I had written about what a good little sleeper she is...

She jabbers just like Will did at this age. In fact, there are a lot of similarities between her & Willy Vanilli at this age...but that is for another day.

Molly was a BEAST compared to Pipsqueak Nora...lookit the size of her heed...it's like Sputnik. Yes, it did have it's own weather system...great noggin...heard it all. Funny how now the girls are more similarly sized!!

A meme from Heather!

I have been tagged by my friend & fellow blog buddy Heather to do this fun little meme!!

and just so ya know...I am tagging Tory and Melanie!!

Here we go!

Three things...

that scare me...being closed into tight spaces, something bad happening to my kids, spiders.

that I love...my kids, my friends/family & the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (three in one).

that I hate...war, selfishness, not being able to keep up with everything I want to keep up with!

that I'm doing right now...listening to Molly jabber on the monitor, blogging, cleaning up my desk area!

that I can do...curl my tongue up like a hot dog bun, scrapbook, blog.

that I can't do...manage my time very well, multi-task too well, run in a marathon.

that I like to eat...pizza, tacos, chocolate.

that I watched on tv as a child...Little House on the Prairie, Mister Rogers, Dallas. yes, my mom let us watch it occasionally. well, weekly. hee hee. bad momma! :)

so there ya go...Mel, Tory, are you ready for this? I'm passing the buck...

My nearly one year old, shag-haired daughter and serious MUSH

this is what we do for fun down here in the big D with the Big D. We ride around in our industrial mop bucket...yehaaaaaaaaaa!

Yes, Beck, that is one of Piper's beaded necklaces...not sure how we ended up with it but Molly loves it...and even put this on by herself for her joyride! Driving Miss Mollsy.

She can be such an imp. I love her blubbery thigh...squeezably adorable!

I'm comin' to getcha...but I can't really SEE you...such a pretty girl, in spite of bad hair day!

Yes, she appears to need a hair cut...but I am just going to grow it out...bangs and all.

She has that nice, curly-ish hair on the sides and in the back, that once you cut, it goes bye-bye. So I'm not cutting it. Her bangs are bing-bong straight though. She is starting to keep a barrette in a bit better but still likes to yank them out.

I was kinda hoping that she would have hair as beautiful as Velvet's sweet little cherub-faced son, Sharkey, over at Calamity Jane...check HIM out...he's perfection. (maybe we could arrange a marriage, Amy??)

So, what's on the agenda for this Tuesday, one day out from MY LAST BABY'S FIRST BIRTHDAY??

um, laundry, prep for Science club/Molly's party with the buds, piano lessons, swimming, schooling (which you will be so proud to know that my boys sat down together and worked on their new math with no fuss!), mowing, purging junk, cleaning...oooo the fun of it all! I'm so glad to be able to be home to do it though! Sitting here listening to Sara Groves on the IPOD speaker thingy (I figured out how to put CD's on the new Ipod)...whoa...so hi-tech, I am! That's what's going on here. I'm going wax eloquent and get all mushy, sentimental and walk down the "one year ago today" path...so beware!

One year ago this very day, we were figuring out how to vacuum out the pool, and I slipped on the block wall...went down hard and fast, scratched up my whole leg, smooshed my baby belly and cried hard (just like a baby, in fact) in the process...just sick of being pregnant, emotional, fighting and bickering with my housemates, wanting to see that the baby was OK and get the delivery over with...waaa waa. I think D. and I even "fought" that WHOLE day... and I left for a bit to meet up with Mom and Beck...ate a McDonald's meal, vented about pretty much everything to my Steel Magnolias...went home and went into labor (it was the Mickey D's) late that night...POP! thar she blows!

In some ways, I miss that. In other ways, I'm so glad that it's a memory, that I won't have to give birth and go thru those first days, weeks' fogginess again. So bittersweet. So worth it. yup, even with trying to keep everyone's schedules organized, schooling going, fighting at bay, clothing on them, food in their bellies...it's worth every stressful, beautiful moment. Go hug your loved one, k? for me? tell them you love them and thank God for putting them in your life. E. is so cute...I gave them questionnaires to fill out yesterday and I asked them how I could improve where they were concerned...he said I needed to hug more! Even the big 12-year olds need hugs!

Huggy poohs (as my dear pal Sherry always says)

LY

addendum: This is saying Monday July 7 because I uploaded the pix last night but today is really July 8, 2008!

Unexpected blessings!

The boys, with the explosion of mail goodness! We got a big box filled with all sorts of fun, and rather useful goodies!

I think the Kodak camera (that this pic was taken with) needs a date stamp re-do...this pic was taken on 7/6/08...Melanie in the tiara that she received from our loving and thoughtful cousins to the south!

O MY WORD! We got the biggest box of fun in the mail on Saturday. Can I just tell you that the mail lady had to bring it up to our door, it was so big?

Can I just tell you that when she knocked on the door, David was in the middle of his "work-out" with weights, loud music, no shirt. yes, a scary sight to some!

Can I just tell you that when I realized who said package was from, I shrieked and all the kids came a-runnin?

'Twas like Christmas morning at our place...paper flying, kids squealing, adults squealing as well!

I have some second cousins on my mommy's side that we've gotten back in touch with. Tory? remember her? new blogger? yeah, her and her parents sent this awesome package to us! Filled with cookies, candy, scrapbook stuff galore, stuffed animals, mini-flashlights, 10 in one tool for D., Larry Boy video, talking stuffed bull that seeps love, tiaras and make-up for Mel, pen games...o my word...I could keep going!

Thanks Tory, Linda, and David! You made our Day, month, year! That was great fun and we are grateful to you for thinking of us, taking the time out to send that to our doorstep! I know how much Tory loves the Post Office too! :) We love you!

Fireworks pix

o so patriotic! my cam doesn't take very good fireworks shots!




a good part of our group

Ethan's taking Molly down the path of Starbucks destruction...now we will all need our fix!

David is a good daddy and gets all of us a fireworks treat! Gracias, Dman!

My tasty half caff Americano...a rather fitting drink for the occasion.

Hello Folks! Just poppin' in to post a few pix from our July 4th evening fun!

They are pretty self-explanatory, these pix!

We've been going down to this Starbucks faithfully for the past 4-5 years...there never used to be much of a crowd...the parking lot is filled with folks, lighting their own 'works, among other things. There may even be some folks packing heat! I think it's safe to assume that!

We enjoy risking our lives...'tis always a good time!

Hope the last day of your 3-day weekend is a relaxing one...we just played some beach ball volley in the pool, all 6 of us, while Miss M slept...thanks Tory, Linda, and David for the awesome package you sent to us...that beach ball has been a blast and so has all the other fun stuff you sent! (I shall be blogging some of those pix today or tomorrow)!

God Bless You! LY

Memories from the Past

If I sit here long enough, I can remember this day!

This was taken on July 4th, 1976, when America celebrated it's 200th birthday! I'm the chicklet in the blue dress

I was just coming into consciousness, being the 3.5 year old gal that I was...Grandpa G. had this old Model A or T Ford car...can never remember which one...and we got to be in the big parade through Lake Orion MI...waving our little flags out the windows...whoa...I was big time in my li'l Holly Hobbie get-up! Jenna and Tom didn't have much patience for my young self...I was 2.5 years younger than them. I'm glad Jenna likes me now! I'm still not sure about Tom!

I wish I could remember more of what my Grampa was like...bits and pieces. He died when I was 9.5....I do remember thinking how handsome he was and that he would let us hang on his bicep like monkeys and also that he rolled his cigarettes and I can see him licking the paper to seal the tobacco in...darn those cigarettes...

Ok, well I need to get to cleaning, we have company coming over tonight...Mike and Pam, that lead our Patria group and the boys' Kaleo group...we are so excited to have them over...they are some amazing people, serving the Lord selflessly continuously! I'm sure I'll be blogging that! Hold me to it!

See ya kids!

Happy Belated Fourth of July to You!

And a happy FIRST birthday celebration to you, Miss Molly!!!








Grandpa made sure you got to partake in the lasagna/garlic bread/salad festivities of your party!! When you are able to choose your birthday party meal, we will let you...until then...lasagna it is!! You will find that no one makes better 'sagna than your Gramma G!! Thanks Mom and Pa...'twas a tasty treat!

Poor Mom, she always ends up with something on her head at these deals! I will hafta dig up years' past pix...we've got colanders, gift bags, other weird hats on this poor Gram's head! She is a good sport! This is Piper's new hat that her momma scored at Gymboree earlier in the day!

Nora Bean isn't sure what she thinks of all this first birthday nonsense! It's definitely overrated!

Levi and Piper...pure cheesecakers!

Mollsy was not sure what she thought of opening presents...but you'd think with her skills at shredding toilet paper and magazines/books, that she would've been all over this...maybe next year? I ended up opening them mostly-ish...she cried for a good part of this ordeal...

I be lovin' this dress....woo yeah....Beck found one for Pipes in Edinburgh that day and I had to have one for Miss M for this fall...it's a cute little Carter's corduroy number that will look divine with little brown Mary Jane's...it's a full little dress that will look divine on our little chicklets! Umm, what am I doing? yeah, that is what I do...sweat during gift opening...it's a lovely sight!

Ok, so here we go with the first birthday cake smash...we sang, off key as is our custom (even though we CAN kinda sing)...all the while, Miss M kept trying to burn her fingers OFF...'tis why the cakey is far from her...











Hmmm, not sure about THIS. umm, why IS mom letting me do this? This is EXACTLY the way Will responded on his first birthday 12.5 years ago...ewwww.












O yeah...and away we go! she picked it right up...neatnik didn't last for too long!








and it's only right that it's chocolate...white is far too "neat"...















at this point, E. had helped her to smear it around a bit...nice! she did do most of this on her own! She was a mess!




We spent a very soggy Fourth of July celebrating a lovely young lady! Mollsy wasn't born till July 9th, but I figured having my family all together for the holiday was as perfect a time to do the honors as ever!



...and also, my big bro Tom is heading out to California next weekend, when I would have probably done the party...so after the guilt trip of "How could you miss your niece's FIRST BIRTHDAY party"...this was our solution. I rather liked the combination...not that America doesn't deserve her own day...for she does...but Molly is a worthy co-celebrant. (that is not a word)




Mom, Beck, Melanie, Molly, Nora and I went down to Edinburgh, IN early yesterday morn to visit the Outlet shops, to gather b-day booty for the Divine Miss M. It rained all morning. but 'twas a good trip! Molly got lots of nice clothing!




David, the kids and I all went to our annual fireworks hot spot at Starbucks downtown after the party and a quick nap on his part...good pals Dale, Ramona and girls called to tell us they were meeting us down there...Yah!! It really is quite an interesting smattering of peeps that wind up down there...



Well, I have more pix to post but since I've been MIA on this blog for a few days, thought I'd better get something on here so my hounds don't get worried! (love you, hounds!!) Hope your 4th celebrations were rich...I need to post the pic from the 1976 4th when my bro, cousins and I were in the bi-centennial parade up in MI...with our little flags (flags that I have now, thanks to my Gram G, and I made sure ended up in at least one of your pix from yesterday) and Holly Hobbie clothing...in front of Gramp's Model A? car...(I'm talking to myself on my blog, k? sorry) See ya back here soon!

good times, ain't we lucky we got 'em

Seth, Holly, Austin, Alisha, Melanie, Sophie, E., Sam and Will...I think they are playing "Sergeant Says" at this point, hence the aye, aye cap'n.






Same pool, different day...

Here's the crew with Luke, Hannah and Drew Baby...'twas a teeth-chattering event due to the cooler evening before...but they had so much fun!

This pool, whodathunkit, really...how much fun, joy, relief it would EVER bring into our lives. Pool care is not easy, they are actually quite bears to get up and running...but it has been worth it! I love that our friends can come and hang out with us, swim, chill...Come back when it's really hot, it's a bit more refreshing!



Levi's sporting quite a nice Coppertone, ay?

She thinks she is so big, and tries to stand up in the tubby. she usually slips a little bit but it's kinda cute! No harm done!

just a little bit more and then I'm done

this little brick building is Ye old Waverly bank (it says so on the front)...it's actually a cute building but the junk around it is astounding. I tried to go back in time and imagine it as a cute little bustling main street...

not sure what all this rubble is but wow. part of an old trailer and other debris.

the locals came out to see us...what is that in their window? (upper left side of pic) yikes!

This is it...this is all I will post on the big D. I have some swimming pix of different swimming events we've had here lately...and cute bathing pix of Levi and Molly (totally decent of course)...so I will start that process right now! check back soon.

Hope your Wednesday is a super-de-dooper one thus far!