Molly Lately

Our little Molly Ruth is such a joy. She is truly a really good baby. She started sleeping through the night (8+ hours) at 3 months old (without the help of cereal). She is strong-willed, sweet, and funny. Just last week, she gave us her first real laughs. Her sweet little giggles are quite possibly the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

I never could have prepared myself for the happiness and deep sense of contentment that having a child would bring me. I find myself often stopping to think "This is the happiest I've ever been in my life." And I am so grateful for that. It's funny to think that at one point, not too long ago, I wasn't even sure if I wanted children. Now I want oodles of Molly Ruths! (Don't take me too literally, we haven't decided if MR is going to be an only child. Time will tell.)

At her 4 month check up she weighed 15 lbs 1oz and was 23 inches long. Our pediatrician doesn't tell us percentiles because I think she thinks it's unhealthy to focus on that as long as the growth is good and steady. We probably had a little to do with that because at her 2 month check up we asked what percentile her brain growth was in (which is just the measurement of her head growth) and when she told us the 25th percentile, I fretfully proceeded to ask her if that meant we weren't stimulating/challenging her enough. She assured us that her growth was "beautiful" and to quit worrying. I have to admit we still bought no less than 10 children's books and learning toys on the way home from the doctor visit that day. Helicopter parents? What's that?

This weekend we took MR to Columbia to visit her Grandma Doe. It was a beautiful day and we had a lovely visit.

MR loves to play "Soooo big!" with daddy.

You might have noticed that there was a wardrobe change. A couple spit ups and a diaper changing foul tends to result in one of those.

You gotta love soft, dimply, chubby little baby thighs.

-J

A little wine in the summertime

OK...so maybe I was a little ambitious with how often I thought I could realistically blog once I returned to work. I do, however, still intend to increase my blogging gradually. I constantly think "Oh, I need to blog about this!" or "This would make a cool blog!" but my blogs, sadly, have remained in my head for now.

This weekend we went to Arrington Vineyard with Molly (Molly Ruth's namesake) and met her main squeeze, Brian, for the first time. It was our first true adult night out with friends since MR was born and it was a lovely evening! Arrington is only about 15 minutes down 840 from where we live and every weekend during the summer they have live music. It's beautiful, free (including the wine tasting!) and relaxing.

We packed a picnic and noshed on Havarti cheese, Pinenut hummus, turkey wraps, grapes, and salmon and asparagus spring rolls, just to name a few!

Even though it was nice to have an adult night out (thanks grandma Bebe for babysitting), it was hard to leave MR while we went out. It's hard leaving her, even for just a few hours, because I don't want to give up any time with her! I know it's important, though, to make time for ourselves so we are working on that. I do not, however, plan on leaving MR overnight for at least another 12 years. (You think I'm exaggerating)

Aaaaand how could I post without a pic of Miss Molly Ruth? Here she is in all her cuteness:

She loves to lay in her Pack N Play and kick, kick, kick. As you can see, she gets pretty excited too. She is getting bigger, stronger, and prettier every minute!

-J