8 month photos

So, where to begin after such a loooong lapse of no blogging is hard, but hope this makes up for some of it. While we were home we had some professional pics taken of MJ (last minute at JCPenney). Some of them were very good. Here are a few...

My apologies

Hello all! I just wanted to apologize for the long absence. Just when I was getting good at blogging more regularly, October was crazy. I had a big paper due 1st of November that made me feel like I should be working on if I ever had free computer time instead of the blog. We had a lot to blog about, though, in the past month and a half, and hopefully I will start updating you all on at least a few of those things very soon. Michaela is over a half a year already...crazy! My mom is here right now. She came for two weeks to keep me company while Michael was deployed, but he never deployed, so she is just enjoying time being a grandma, and I am enjoying time catching up on sleep and cleaning and more schoolwork while she is entertaining. More to come soon....promise!

Halloween Week

Just came in from handing out candy with Mom.

Earlier in the week, Michaela got to go the pumpkin wagon with one of her little boyfriends. Christopher is 3 days older than her. Their grandmas sent them the same exact froggy costumes, too, so we also got pics of them together as frogs, but I don't have those pics on this computer so you will have to ask (or see FB) for those.

(Thanks for the CUTE outfit Auntie Susie!)

Also earlier in the week (or month...I can't even remember now since I am blogging soooo much later than what the date of this blog says)...Michaela and Mommy in their pumpkin pajamas.

6 months!

Michaela is 6 months old already!! In this picture, she is all set in her new high chair to try baby cereal for the first time. We tried it this morning, but it didn't go so well. We'll see if she is more into it again tomorrow.



A few days ago, she sported her first ponytail!!

Walker

My parents are strong supporters of baby walkers, and although they are made differently nowadays and not always recommended, I decided to try one. Found this one at the thrift store for $8, which made that decision easier. Michaela's not so sure about it yet and gets frustrated quickly when she moves backwards instead of forward, but she likes playing with the toys and playing with the little steering wheel. I think she will like it sometime soon.

Check out that crazy face.

The walker definitely does not compare to her most favorite fun all day...the jumper.

This is one of my favorite faces...the crinkled nose, heavy breathing (excited) smile. She does it OFTEN.And just another cute one. :)

As promised

Finally got a good shot of those little teeth. :)

Drumroll please...

We have grass growing!!!

This has been long awaited (by me, at least). When we first arrived in Germany and signed the agreement for this 3rd floor apartment, I brainstormed this idea to make a pee box of grass for the dogs (while we were still in the hotel) to use on the balcony in case of emergency. After almost a year and a half of hearing how I still wanted this box so badly for times when the baby is sleeping or it's just too early and the dogs want to go out, my handy hubby went to work. He thought that stones would be easier to keep clean and care for (and that it was too late in the season for grass to grow), so we perused several hardware stores (on and off-post) for a hard plastic rectangular base. We figured it wouldn't be too hard for the dogs to figure out since they had a big yard of stones to do their business on in AZ. So, Michael drilled some holes in the side of the plastic for the urine/rain water to drain off and immediately poured a small cup of water over the stones to try out his handiwork. When the water splashed both balconies below, that plan came quickly to a halt. So, back to my grass plan...2 weeks later, Michael encloses the plastic with a wood frame and plants grass seed. The box says that the grass will grow within a week all the way until the middle of October, but after a week, no grass. However, when I awoke this morning...look at that beautiful grass growing on our balcony!!! :)