17 Months

As usual, a busy and fun month for us. Jordan is growing (literally - she is getting so tall!) and changing everyday. This month, we saw a bit of her bossy side come out. She loves to push people around (again - literally). I think it's actually less about being bossy and more about wanting people to do things - and since she doesn't have the words - she moves you. This also comes from her set routine. After her bath, if she can't find Doug she will go down and get him for story time. This is a baby who loves her schedule. She even gets mad if we switch spots on the couch. Our little one has also become a milk hound. Unfortunately we are going to have to start limiting her intake so she will gain a little interest in food.


This month she showed a little interest in cartoons - especially ones that have music or dancing. We have one episode of Sesame Street on my iPhone that usually keeps her pretty happy in the car for longer drives.  Jordan became such a big girl this month and spent her first night away from mom and dad.  We went on a fun trip to Hermann on the train with friends while Jordan spent the weekend with Grandma Ceil.  We also enjoyed a fun visit from Jordan's grandparents when they traveled from St. Louis.

It was a beautiful Fall and we enjoyed every second possible outside  - pumpkin patch, zoo & lots of time on our swingset.  As you may have seen - Jordan is starting to love her new car baby swing.  Halloween also came during this month (I know, I'm painfully behind with this post) but I'll cover that separately.  

Holding Hands

This month, Jordan really became a big fan of holding hands. Her favorite is holding two people's hands while walking. Personally, I never get tired of it.

 Shoes

Jordan loves shoes. She loves to take them off in the car or anywhere we go. She then loves to play with them - put them on her hands or back on her feet. She also loves to walk around in grown-up shoes. She will say, "Shhhhhhhhh," point and expect you to give up the pair you are wearing.

Books

Jordan has always been interested in books, but at this stage she has really become such a book lover. She will sit for quite a long time looking through them by herself. One thing that is very interesting to me is how careful she is with them. She slowly turns the pages - always keeping them right side up. She also really loves to have people read to her, although, sometimes she gets really impatient to turn the page. Our nighttime reading has become such a special time for our whole family.

Groaning
For some reason, Jordan started grunting and groaning this month when she bends down.  It's so comical - she does it almost every time.  She must have heard one of us do it and she has picked it up.  It is so funny to hear these sounds coming out of such a tiny person.


Technically Jordan just turned 18 months - so I'm going to hurry and get that blog done, too.  It's been crazy around our house!!

  

5 Years

I can't believe that Doug and I celebrated our five year anniversary. To celebrate, we went out on a date night to dinner in Charleston then took Jordan and spent the weekend in Savannah. We really enjoyed getting away and exploring such a fun city. We were blessed with great weather and a happy baby - perfect weekend. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trip.

Fountain at Forsyth Park - one of the many parks we explored

Riverfront at night

Relaxing near one of the fountains

Jordan's standing was just getting really good at this point (April 9 and she had taken a few steps)

With dad

So much has happened in the past five years! I look back on the day of our wedding and I can honestly say that I would not have done one thing differently. It was a wonderful day, surrounded by our friends and family - and a great way to begin our lives together.

Two weeks before our wedding we found out that Doug matched for residency at Duke - so we were moving to North Carolina. A few weeks later we flew to North Carolina to purchase our first home. And now - five years later - we look to make some more big changes in our lives. But although I sometimes get nervous about the future - I know one thing is unequivocally true. I chose the absolute, perfect partner for this amazing journey.

Florida Fun

Doug had a conference in Boca Raton, Florida at the first of December and Lil' J and I tagged along for some sunshine. We were happy with our first long road trip - driving through the night so Jordan would sleep. Doug did great staying awake and Jordan did great sleeping. We enjoyed the sunshine, resort and our time away. The ocean was too cold for swimming but we had fun at the pools, beach and just walking around the beautiful resort. Not to mention Jordan started crawling while we were there - but more on that later.

We lucked out and avoided the cold snap that hit right after we left. We made a stop in St. Augustine, FL - for Jordan to stretch out and roll around since we didn't drive through the night on the way home. Now I can say I've been to all three walled cities in North America - Quebec City, Charleston & St. Augustine. Huge dork, I know.

Doug & Jordan chilling at St. Augestine

Family shot on our trip home - the fort

Beach baby. She loves sand but not the cold ocean.

Perfect photo of my babies. Jordan cracking up and Willie looking like "What is so funny?"

Chilling poolside with the cutest baby on the block

Sunrise over the orange groves in Florida. Possibly the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen.

Jordan -4 months

This month has flown by - it seems like yesterday I was writing Jordan's 3 month recap. Our baby is getting so big and doing so many fun things. We enjoyed our first vacation as a family this month - spending an amazing week back in Missouri seeing family and friends - but we'll cover that in a separate post.

What we are up to this month (all the pictures can be found here)

1. Rolling over! She was getting so close & finally it happened at Grandma Ceil's house on her 16 week birthday. Her first roll was from her back to her tummy, and then she went from her tummy to her back. Now that she knows how to do it, she turns over constantly. Usually once she gets to her tummy, she props herself up on her arms and starts to squeal.

2. Squealing (since I brought it up...) Jordan really found her lungs this month, starting to really project her voice. Makes us very glad that our townhouse neighbors don't live here full time (or maybe they are glad they don't live here full time!)



3. Grabbing at things. Overnight Jordan starting grabbing at things and she usually puts them straight into her mouth. We have noticed that she seems to prefer red or very bright items. So amazing to see her little arms that used to just sort of "float around" purposefully reach for toys, toes, dog fur, etc.

4. Big girl in her crib. Right around 14 weeks mom braved up and started putting Jordan to sleep in her crib. She rewarded mom by sleeping 9 hours that night (10 PM - 7 AM) and doing so for the next three weeks. Vacation really messed with our sleeping schedule, but we're getting back on track now. Jordan also likes to chill in her crib now - watching her mobile (usually while mom folds clothes!)

5. The name game. We have been calling out Jordan's name - trying to get her used to knowing her name and responding. This month, she really started to get the hang of it. Usually turning to whoever said her name and giving a great, big toothless smile. Here I am gazing at Daddy.

Other things that are fun this month:

Riding on Dad's shoulders (and gnawing on his head!)My eyes are getting so blue!Our first day trip to Myrtle BeachPreparation for my first Halloween!I am really starting to LOVE Willie. I like to grab his fur and I think it's really funny when he licks me. Dad, I'm way too big for this little basket bassinet. I'm 4 months old!Still loves to be naked!Chewing away in the Johnny Jump UpGo Chiefs! (I cheer for the Mizzou Tigers, KC Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals - just in case you were wondering)Did I mention I'm 4 months old? See you next month!

Overdue & What to do?

Being overdue was probably the hardest part of my pregnancy. Normally, I don't think it would have been a huge deal, except we were moving to South Carolina soon after her due date. And everyday that I went over was one day closer to the move. Oh, and did I mention it was brutally hot? After our first trip to Labor & Delivery. Early labor at 40 Weeks.

So when you are 41 weeks pregnant - what do you do?

We taught Willie to catch a Frisbee. Which may not sound that amazing, except this is a dog who exclusively caught tennis balls. Getting him into a new genre was quite a feat.

We walked. Everywhere. We tried to think of new places that were inside to stay out of the heat. I can now say that I have walked every single aisle at Lowe's. It took hours.

We took Mom to Wilmington - one of our favorite places and had dinner at our favorite restaurant. We watched a Durham Bulls game.

At Wrightsville Beach near Wilmington - a fun day trip.

After the Bulls Game

We waited with anticipation. We waited one extra week. She was totally worth it.

Showering Baby B - Take 1

I arrived Kansas City on Friday night for my "Shower Weekend"- just in time for the snow to start. My mom picked me up and we made it home through the blizzard-like storm. The next morning we started out early to make it to Columbia for my first shower. It's always so much fun to spend time in Columbia, where I went to school and this shower was at the sorority house where all my friends & I lived during college. So much fun to go back and see all the changes (and the things that are still the same!)

I feel so lucky to have so many girlfriends from college that I am still in touch with. Although I live far away - email, phone, text, emails, blogs and even Facebook- we have managed to stay close all these years. My friends are amazing mothers, wives, women and I continue to be so amazed by them. Best of all, whenever we get together - it's fun fun & chatting nonstop.

My best friends Sara & April hosted the most beautiful shower and it was so much fun to catch of with everyone in such a familiar place. Of course, there were gifts to be opened. Baby girl Burgess is going to be the best dressed little one in Charleston thanks to my friends. They picked out some of the cutest clothes and baby stuff.

Thanks to everyone who was able to make it & drove through the snow to come to the shower. I felt like such a lucky gal and inevitably hated to leave the fun & party to head back home through the snow.

The required bump picture at the shower (in front of all the delicious food!!)

With all the girls

The hostess with the mostess - with April & Sara :)

Memorial Day Weekend

We were so excited to welcome our friend Christen to Durham for Memorial Day weekend. Christen drove all the way from Louisville - and we were so happy to have her!

Friday night, we grilled and had dinner on the patio - catching up for hours was our first order of business. Saturday, Doug was working so Christen and I took in some local sites, shopped, sampled some local North Carolina BBQ and had such a great time just hanging out. We met Doug at our local favorite The Federal for some beers and great eats.

Sunday, we woke up early to head to the beach - along with our friend Chad. We got to Carolina Beach right at noon - just as the clouds cleared to reveal the PERFECT beach day. We paid dearly for the 5 hours we spent on the beach - all of us were burnt in one matter or another - but it was TOTALLY worth it.

Dinner and drinks in our favorite place - Wilmington and then a late night drive back home - what a day, what a visit - Christen come back soon!

My hubby playing football with the Pier in the background - I'm a lucky gal!

With Christen at our favorite Wilmington outdoor barDoug & Chad in WilmingtonBeautiful boardwalk in Wilmington

Cardinals and DC Weekend

In what has become a tradition, Doug & I traveled to Washington DC last weekend to visit the Moses family and see the Cardinals take on the Nationals. Two years ago the game was in August and the hottest day of my life, so a May trip to DC was very exciting. We could see the last of the Cherry Blossoms, see how much Parker has grown, visit with our good friends & see some beautiful DC sites.

We started out our Saturday with lunch downtown and then heading to the new Nationals Ballpark. Unfortunately the Cardinals could not pull out a victory for us - but Doug did come very close to catching a ball pitched into the stands from the left fielder. But somehow a five-year-old was too quick - leaving Doug with no baseball - but a bump on the head from the effort. (The ball didn't hit him, he hit the concrete.)

After the game, we stopped by the Capital for a quick photo and then spent a great deal of time exploring Arlington National Cemetery. Such a beautiful, moving place to visit. We also stopped by the National Cathedral on our way to Georgetown for dinner - evidently just missing the Obamas who were having a date night in the area.

On Sunday, Doug & I left early - meeting my cousin David for lunch on our way out of town and sneaking in our first trip to IKEA. Such a fun trip! We are so lucky to such a short trip away from our friends Justin & Holly - plus they are such great tour guides of the DC area!

PS Can you tell the photos that were taken with my iPhone & Holly's super fancy CLR camera? For a hint, look at the red color in our shirts. So jealous!

At Lunch

The whole group
In front of the Nationals Stadium

Doug shows off his injury

On top of the hill at Arlington

The CapitalThe National Cathedral