M Day

Like D day but M for Moving, get it? Today, as in right this very moment, we are moving homes and cities. We are closing a door or two, both literally and figuratively, and opening many, many new ones. But without getting all philosophical and mushy on you, you're probably wondering "What in the h e double hockey sticks are you doing blogging on moving day?" Well, I packed my car and brought Molly over to our new home with my mom and grandma so we were out of the way for the movers. Matt stayed behind to oversee the movers and is following them here.

Our last family photo in the house before we left.

So, we've unloaded our cars, fed and changed Molly, and have some time to kill before the movers and Matt get here. Grandma Marsh has been so anxious to sit with Molly on the porch (which is more like a sun room) and let her see all of the trees and birds. And it is safe to say that she loves it out there!

That little blur is her jumping up and down like a mad woman. Jumping is her new thing. No matter what she's doing, she's jerking her body up and down in an attempt to jump. It's even earned her the new nickname of Kangaruth. Pretty clever, right?

Well, I just got word that the movers are on the way here and I've got to make a Subway run to feed everyone, so, it's time to cut this post short. Wish us luck! Oh, did I mention it has been storming all day?? Ugh, typical. Here is one more picture of my sunshine:

-J

Ch ch ch changes

Good morning. It's 7:25 AM and we've been up for almost two hours. Why? Because that's when Molly Ruth said so. For the past several days she has woken up (That doesn't sound grammatically correct but it is) at odd hours, anywhere from 3 in the morning to 5. I can usually rock her back to sleep, but this morning all efforts to soothe her back to sleep were futile. This has left me scratching my head and googling things like "night awakenings" and "baby sleep patterns" because I thought my perfect sleeper would, well, always be perfect. REALITY CHECK! Naive first time parent alert.

My conclusion is that she is reaching several milestones right now and her little brain seems to be in overdrive most of the time. She is teething, sitting up, rocking on all fours, and starting to work on forming consonant sounds. She's so inquisitive and alert that I think she has a hard time settling her mind and sleeping well. There's just too much to see and discover.

And because my little pookie is getting so much more interactive, I find myself exceedingly busy and challenged in the time management department. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that we are in the midst of moving. And apparently I didn't get the memo that watching an 8 month old and packing a house aren't really something you can do simultaneously. So here we are, 4 days before the big moving day, and one story of our house is packed. Holy moly. But, we'll get there, just like any other thing you leave til the last minute and somehow manage to get done. Kinda like all those college essays you wrote in the middle of the night right before they were due, only to rediscover them in an old folder years later to think "Wow. I wrote that? I'm pretty good!"

Wait, y'all don't save all of your old papers? Surely someone out there does. I think I have everything I have ever written, from the short story "My Pet Kitten" that I wrote in 2nd grade to the book report I wrote on "Where the Red Fern Grows" in 5th grade to the multitude of papers from both high school and college. I really enjoy (maybe a bit too much) going back and reading all of them and I often am impressed with myself. I guess I'm a bit of a narcissistic nerd.

But I digress. To sum up, everything is changing in our lives right now. Not only am I a new full time mom, but we're moving, Matt is transferring locations with his job (to the city where we're moving), Molly is changing/growing every minute of the day, and the seasons are changing. I suppose that really is the only thing that stays the same...the fact that everything changes. And let me tell you, I am so ready to embrace these changes and soak up every moment of life.

Bring.

It.

On!

New Kicks

On Sunday we had a fun family day full of firsts for Miss Molly. Because she loves standing so much and has started trying to take steps (when we're holdng her arms and helping her balance), we decided it was time for her to have a pair of "real" shoes that were more substantial than the baby ones that are made just for looks. We took her to the Stride Rite store and got her properly fitted:

Then we narrowed our choices down to our two favorites: Abby Cadabby sneakers (for those of you who are not versed in children's programming, that's a Sesame Street character) and classic, white high tops.

I just love these. The little velcro straps are made to look like two arms that are hugging the foot. Plus they have a little sparkle, and what little girl doesn't want a little sparkle? (A little, mind you, not a lot. I am not into tacky, over the top, princessy sparkly pageanty stuff. And you may want to reconsider if you are because you're probably raising your daughter to want to dress like a Bratz doll.)

My Grandma Marsh was adamant about Molly having a pair of "proper shoes," and those classic, white high tops are the only ones that would do.

Molly: "Oh no she didn't just put those sneakers with that onesie..."

Our first shoe trip was a major success! And we're sure to have many, many more since they outgrow them every few months. Yikes!

-J

Big Changes and 6 Month Well Visit

I'm baaaack!I hate that I have been so unbelievably negligent with blogging but the reality is I simply couldn't find the time to do it. Between working full time, keeping up the housework (which only means keeping it liveable- my pristine home I once prided myself on is a thing of the past) and mothering my sweet baby, I barely have had time to sleep and shower, much less blog. But here I finally am, fingers on the keyboard, smiling lovingly at my glowing long lost friend. And I am so pumped to put the blood, sweat and tears into this blog that I have always wanted to, but couldn't. Hold on to your seats people, it's about to get a whooole lot more fun to visit the The Scott Box.

The Big Change that I was referring to is that, as of Friday Nov. 4, I am no longer a member of the work force. That's right. I resigned from a 7 year career in banking to become a bonafide stay-at-home mom (by the way, I'm not exactly happy with the generalizations of that "title"- but that'll be another blog altogether.) I will most definitely elaborate on the decision to stay at home and what it has entailed, but for now I'll leave it with that simple announcement.

On to Miss Thang. Molly will be 8 months old tomorrow (You mean I don't have a newborn?!) But I'm going to retro post a bit since I have skipped almost 2 months of blogging. Molly was such a little ham at her 6 month well visit. She laughed and squealed the whole time, even after her shots.

Molly weighed 18lb 13oz and was 25.25 inches long. As I've mentioned previously, Dr. Adams doesn't tell us percentiles, but she assured us that Molly is "just beautiful and perfectly healthy."

That picture just cracks me up. She looks like an itty bitty person just hanging out.

See how excited she was to be at the doctor?? It is so fun to watch her little personality come out. She most definitely is a happy baby and very even tempered. She laughs often and smiles at everything. I won the baby lotto for sure.

A funny family shot. Life sure is fun.

-J