Progress!

Today, this little cutie-pie
finally decided to figure out how to eat her baby food. After almost two months (though I have to admit I have not been extremely consistent) she finally finished a bowl of oatmeal cereal at lunch. For weeks, she has loved tasting the food and then smiling while spitting it out. Ei-yi-yi.

I am SO excited. It was beginning to be painfully tedious.

Yesterday, she began to clap! It's soooo cute! And last week, she started waving and scooting forward on her tummy a bit...anything to get one of her big brother's toys.

She's growing and changing so much...we just adore her!

The view from my kitchen sink last week.

Full of yellow wildflowers and thistles. I love getting chubby handfuls of flowers from Nathanael (usually with very little stems...making it hard to put in a vase!) and Hadleigh loves to bring them too.

The neighborhood developers are in the process of putting in a road and getting more lots staked out behind us...so our view is/will be changing. But I am enjoying it day by day.

Soon, we will put a fence in the back and landscape a bit and--oh, the most important thing, to my little ones--the playground. We are excited about the yard...lots of room for the kiddos to play...to have some flowers (you know I'm going to try hydrangeas here!)...and enough room for an herb garden too, which has been my request for the past few years. Little by little. We are looking at buying some trees because you know we love our trees. The only thing missing will be mountains, but I'm getting used to that. (Not happy about it, but used to it.)

Coming up for air!

In the last month, we have:

--celebrated Katy's graduation from Baylor University, along with my family and much of our extended family! (Congrats again, little sis!)
--moved into our house! (Finally, right?) We love it. We're unpacked for the most part, with the exception of pictures that go on the walls, some decorative stuff, and the garage boxes. We've got lots of room, so come and visit! (More pictures to come of the interior...I promise, Shawna.)

--we are loving watching this pheasant enjoy our backyard...we've nicknamed him "The Reverend" (given his white collar) and we have a great view of him from the breakfast nook!

--Madeleine and I are enjoying our new sling (pink, of course!) She loves being connected to Mommy and I love being hands free and snuggling her too. What can I say? She's the baby.

--Hadleigh and Nathanael have been busy helping Brent outside with some landscaping...getting the flower beds lined with brick...and discovering little creatures, like this frog that Hadleigh is staring at below. Did you know my kids LOVE the outdoors? Yep. They must get that from their Daddy. They are thrilled with our yard and the vacant (for now) lots around us.

--and we just finished a great visit with Mimi! We had tons of fun...celebrating Mom's birthday, playing at the park and the children's museum, eating at yummy places, shopping, tea parties, even a date night for Brent and I. We had a fabulous time...thanks again for coming Mom!

So, forgive my absence...I'll try to be better! Still got lots of organizing to do, but we are really starting to feel settled!