Hi There

HiBye

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Bikes abd Trikes

Our neighbor gave Libby this bike...she loves it as evident by these pictures.

Look her, and her Dad make the same faces, even if it is, flash in my eyes face

oh, this is much better...same face still

She is so proud of her bike, or of the droll down her front

At last she can no longer contain herself and must shout from the roof tops how great her new bike is! Her Dad feels the same way but is controlling himself much better

Spit Fire

My friend referred to my Little as a spit fire this weekend. I fully agree, but here is a video of her practicing sweetness for all those who may have been worried that we were all prickles and stings.
Also, we bought her first set of wheels so she didn't have to push things without wheels around. She's a bit wobbly in the video, but that was Sunday, now she is basically running around the room with it! HA


*Edit, there was more to that second video, it did actually show her walking a bit more than that...not sure where the rest of it went! Enjoy me pushing her along though. You'll have to take my word that she can do it herself, b/c it basically takes all day to upload the video.

It's All A Blur

I know why I was better at taking pictures this winter, Libby really couldn't move that much. For me that meant a steady shot, and for her, well, it was probably quite boring.

Now life is full of cabinets to be emptied, and dressers drawers to explore, and books to be read, and toys to be strewn about.

So I have decide taking a steady picture will take two people, one to hold the camera and one to hold Libby still.

Please, please, please look at her foot, it is always kicked up

In Honor Of...

Dear Teri,

This is for you. She too finds this family admirable and stands in awe of your boldness!

Fresh

This family has been doing a lot of strolling down woodland paths lately and here is what we have found. Wild blackberries...mmmmm. They remind me of this place.I made a berry sauce for a crumbly type dessert Friday and the last batch we picked yesterday is still in the fridge waiting to be mixed into something sweet, unless of course we eat them all first. Any suggestions as to what we could make?

Just so you know, I ate this berry right after I took this picture, it never made it home.

You Can Take Your 10 Months And......Hmmm

My Little has been having some tough days. Those rolly-poly 3 month old days are gone and teeth are coming in with a vengeance.
There is so much that she can do now, yet so much she can't, and sometimes not being able to do the things we want is just hard to understand, especially when you are just barely 10 months old or even when you are nearly 30 something :).
Happy Day little girl, Ma-ma loves you even when you cry.

How do I?

Get this stupid bow,

Off?
I've been trying to figure this out for ten months!

My teeth hurt...

Really bad.

Mommy, I want to come in the laundry room and play with chemicals that will force you to call poison control. I don't want to sit in this stinkin' baby safe room.

And thus, is the way life is sometimes, it can't always be all smiles. A tear, I have learned, will help on occasion to work through things like scraped knees, broken toys and hearts, saying goodbye at airports, and in the case of my sad Little, teeth and being told "no".

Despite several hard days in a row now, I am still constantly entertained by this little person. I am thankful for her strong will and slightly stubborn personality, b/c with it comes a girl that is, by all accounts of this mama, full of wonder at the world around her. I see it when she sits and stares off at goodness knows what, or when she kicks her foot up onto whatever contraption she is sitting in and hums quietly a song only she knows.
Or, when I call her name and she looks up at me and thinks for a second, then gives me a big smile.
There is no question, I love this girl, grumpy, quirky, and all!
10 months down.
One year old is on the horizon, and the passport has been ordered. Look out Great Brittan, this little English Rose is making her debut, in less then 8 weeks!

Little Girs In Dirt

Here's a little ditty I was inspired to write today...I asked myself a question
Would it be okay?
If I let my Little,
Play in dirt today.The truth is all too often,
I dress her up just so,
And make sure she is squeaky clean,
With lots of pink and bows.So as she crawled away from me,
Into the garden dirt,
She squealed with delight,
And I realized that a little wouldn't hurt.I knew that when we came back in,
I could wash her hands and feet,
And she would be as good as new,
My little girl so sweet.And I was then reminded,
That I had smudges too,
But mine were clean and washed away,
Because of LOVE so true.As dirty as she got today,
I know it's not that bad,
For by GRACE she will be fresh and clean,
And by his LOVE made glad.

Crystal Clear

Is it weird that this picture makes me think of blueberries?

Meal Time

Dear Libby,

Please stop feeding Gus from your high chair. It grosses me out.

Love, Mommy

Mayberry or Something LIke It

Wow, I can't believe that we have lived here for a whole year. July 4th weekend was our first big weekend living in Ashland last year...remember this post. I was amazed at how small towny it all was and once again walking our streets surrounded by neighbors I was reminded of this again.

This is what the 4th of July looks like in our little town

1st we walk into town (on side note, our town really is quite quaint and not at all like a train yard as this picture would suggest)

Then we wave to the engineer driving the train

After 2 trains pass each other simultaneously,

we find our place to watch the parade in the sea of red, white, and blue We pick our favorite dressed up pet, his name is FelixWe wave to the people walking or ridding byand we enjoy being together

When we headed home, I found myself having a fantastic time, lounging on the screen porch with my family. Days like this are precious few, but needed more.

Here are Mom and Dad playing cards, I'm wondering if Dad is trying to cheat here,

here,

and most likely here.Cousin Jill must have got a good card

Libby is not playing the game, but is clearly enjoying sweet potatoes more then she used to.

and just b/c they had so much fun together, here is Gus and his friend Bronson, he stayed with us this weekend.

Bless you all and may your future 4th's be blessed with as much sweet freedom as ours was.