Teegen's thoughts on American Idol

One minute she was chatting with her daddy...then American Idol came on and she immediately fell asleep. My thoughts as well!

Crazy Eights

Sorry for all of the wordless posts lately! We've been a bit busy and overwhelmed lately. More on that sooner, rather than later I hope.

Can you believe that Teegen is 8 months old already? It completely blows my mind. Eight months have gone by so quickly! Before you know it, she will be asking for the credit card.

Teegen has changed so much in the last month. And she is so funny. She has quite the sunny disposition. So what is she doing now?

• Says "mamamama," "dadadada," and "bababababa" a lot
• Mastered the art of crawling
• Shortly after mastering the art of crawling, realized that she can also pull herself up on her knees
• Is still working on those top front teeth
• Talks in her sleep, particularly when she is waking up or going to sleep
• Can pull herself into a sitting position from lying on her belly
• Loves to scream to simply hear herself
• Moved from the infant carseat to her "toddler" car seat. Seems to love it, but still facing backward.
• Is discovering how to make many of her toys make noise (now if only I could figure out how to turn them off)
• Loves puffs and tries to see how many she can fit into her mouth
  

Eight months with Harry

An early morning cuddle with Daddy

Giving Mom the "look"

I think the shirt says it all

Getting up close with Tobie

This girl is on the move now. Oh are we in trouble.

Finally a hairbow!

Because every little girl needs a hair bow!

Baby Laughs

Enjoy the laughter! Sorry that the video is sideways! I can't figure out how to flip it.

Dinner Time

For the last several week, I have been having some trouble getting Teegen to eat for me. As in baby food that I have slaved over on the weekends. Very tasty and organic baby food. She will eat for the teachers at daycare, but not at home. Until tonight...when i handed her the dish and let her hold it! She ate both peaches and peas until there was none left. Maybe I should start calling her Miss Independence.

These peaches are delish!

I can't say the same about the peas, but I will eat them

My feet taste pretty good too!

Seven Month Update

Last Friday, Teegen hit the seven month mark...what???? Where did all that time go? She continues to grow and thrive, never ceasing to amaze me! There are times when it seems like just yesterday, I was cuddling a scrawny 4 day old in the NICU. And there are times when it feels like Teegen has always been a part of our family.

So what's she doing now? More like what is she not doing now. This girl loves to move and is always busy! While not crawling just yet, she can get where she wants to go when on the floor, either by rolling or scooting. Sometimes she will do the worm to grab a toy just out of reach. When she is sitting in your lap, she is constantly grabbing things. Larry and I are seriously considering Lasik surgery given the number of times Teegen has yanked our glasses off. One of her favorite pasttimes is hairpulling, so I am thinking of shaving my head. Funny, she doesn't seem to bother Larry's hair.
We tried for a seven month picture with Harry, after Mom forgot.
You see that I didn't want to sit still.

Do you think that we need pictures in the bathtub?

Working on crawling

Mom, I think this is an inappropriate time for photos

Who's the cutest hippie?

Other recent developments include:

• Imitating sounds--a few of the little boys in day care with Teegen make this throaty "he-he-he" noise, which she was picked up as well. She has also started growling.
• Has tried lots of new foods, including apples, pears, mangos, peas and butternut squash. She is still not crazy about anything but her bottle.
• Very interested in the remote control. Thanks to YaYa, Teeg has one of her very own.
• While trying to crawl, she can pull herself onto all fours and get herself into the "downward dog" yoga position.
• Loves to fall asleep with her Daddy in the recliner.
  

How Cute!

Just a quick shot before school! There is supposed to be a matching hairbow, but alas, not enough hair!

Vacation Rewind

I've been meaning to write a bit about our vacation a few weeks ago, however between sleep deprivation of vacation and a recent health concern (which has turned out to be nothing so far) I've not had the chance to catch up.

Last spring, Larry and I were presented with the chance to head to Jackson Hole, Wyoming with family and friends for a snow filled vacation. Not ones to pass up a great vacation, we signed up as a couple, hoping that we would travel as three, which was obviously the case.

We were set to leave on January 3rd at 7 a.m., which was when our travel follies began. For starters, due to some staffing issues of a certain airline, we missed our first flight. So instead of arriving in Jackson Hole at 1 p.m., we left Richmond at 2 p.m. We finally got to our destination at 10 pm. The one plus of the situation was the bump to first class. Oh if I could only travel that way all the time. And Teegen was such a trooper. What a great little traveler we have!

Teegen and Mommy in Jackson Hole. Teegen spent a lot of time in
the Hotsling and loved it. So did I.

Trying on Daddy's boots

View from our car on the way out of Wyoming

Our Hotel from the outside

Our original plans while out west were to leave Jackson Hole for Las Vegas on Wednesday in order to make our court day to finalize Teegen's adoption. While our bad travel karma hit again when the weather forecast called for over 20 inches of snow in Wyoming the day we were to leave. Unable to reschedule our court date, we made the decision to DRIVE TO LAS VEGAS....in one day. What were we thinking?

It actually was not too awful...okay, it was pretty awful, but Teegen did great. I think that the worst part of it was the worry that we were not going to make our court date. And literally not seeing a car for about three hours.

So we left Wyoming at 8:30 am and arrived at our hotel in Las Vegas about 11:45 pm. Finally we were able to get to bed about 12:45 am, were up at 4 am and on the road to our court date by 5:30.

At last, we were at our final destination...the courthouse. What an awesome experience! Our hearing took under thirty minutes and was highlighted by Larry forgetting our anniversary. Actually the judge was just giving him a hard time. Our attorney asked us each a few questions and then the judge entered the order of adoption. A few pictures later and we were on our way back to Vegas.

Before we left town, we stopped in at the NICU where Teegen spent the first few days of her life. It was a bit surreal to be back in the hospital and remembering all the emotions that were present in June. The NICU staff was excited to see her and how healthy she is. We were also able to stop and meet our coordinator at the adoption agency. We've emailed and talked on the phone numerous times but this was the first time we were able to meet. That meeting really brought our journey full circle.

Teegen and Mommy right before our finalizatoin hearing

A picture with the attendees of the adoption hearing

The Virgin River Gorge. You have to drive through here to get to
Teegen's birthplace. It is breathtaking!

When we were finally back in Vegas, we were simply exhausted from the events of the last few days. We planned to sight-see on Friday, but Teegen woke up with a fever, so we simply hung out in the hotel/casino all day. We took turns in the casino, hitting it big on a Star Wars Slot Machine and just relaxed. Larry even let me sneak off to watch Twilight, which I loved. The next day we headed back home, with very smooth travels.

Even though we had multiple snags in travel, it was well worth it. What an exciting adventure to add to our list of memories.

Sorry for the lengthy post. Stay tuned for Teegen's 7-month update!

Back at Home!

We are finally back from a week of traveling. We had an eventful week that was not without it's drama. More posts to come, but here are a few teaser pictures of some things we did.

Teegen and Pop watched skiers and the snowfall

Teegen got to swim for the first time.

Channeled "The Man in Black" Johnny Cash

Posing for her picture after her adoption was finalized.