father's day...

this one's for the father's in my life

       for my own... who taught me a love of gardening, a deep appreciation for cooking shows, and how to perfectly enjoy the act of doing nothing while enjoying a glass of wine. who pretends to be a tough cookie, but deep down is a big ol' softy. who gave me his thick dark hair and sky blue eyes, and who worked hard so that his family could enjoy a really good life. i love you dad!

for my father in law, evan's dad, taken from us far too soon... who gave the biggest longest hugs, who always had a somewhat questionable joke to share, who welcomed me into his family the first moment i met him, who supported a family of 8 children, who never let us be sad even when the cancer was really bad, and who helped create the most wonderful husband i could ever ask for. we love you and miss you!

and for evan, the father of our little girl... who has shown me an effortless love that i didn't believe could be possible, who understands my short tempered flustered moments and doesn't judge me for them, who despite having no rhythm has an enthusiasm for dancing that can't be matched, who is always the first to volunteer to help a friend or family member with a laborious project, and most importantly, who loves our daughter to the moon and back. seeing you step into the roll of "papa" has made the love i already have for you grow in leaps and bounds! i'm so happy that she has you to show her what a good man is, and watching the two of you together makes me the happiest mama on the planet. we love you today, tomorrow, and always!

i hope all the other father's out there had a wonderfully spoiled father's day

date night

last saturday, for the first time since penny was born, evan and i went out on a date. we dropped penny off at our friends house who live about 3 minutes from the restaurant we were going to, and we enjoyed ourselves a few hours minus baby. i was a tiny bit nervous before hand about leaving her, but once we left for the restaurant i felt surprisingly ok about it all. i knew she would be just fine, especially since our friends have a cat, and a three year old, two of penny's favorite things to watch in action! evan and i both got to take our time eating, with no worries about a fussy baby... it was glorious! we were only gone for about 2 hours, but when we got back to their house penny was over the moon to see us. it was the cutest thing ever! she had fun, we had fun, and i think we're all better for having done it!

22 weeks

it's amazing how much this lady has grown up just in the past week. she can now sit up all on her own, (well with some pillows behind her just in case) and like i mentioned in my last post, she's onto solids now too. the sweet potatoes still aren't a favorite, but she's since had a taste of brown rice cereal and she's kinda stoked on it! she really enjoys a good game of peek-a-boo these days, she can now sit in a high chair, and she even learned to roll from her back to her belly! she wants to explore everything, mainly with her mouth, and you can tell she's really trying to figure this world out... and i'm so ready to show it all to her.

oh miss penny... you make your papa and i so very happy!

baby led weaning

penny has been seeming hungrier then usual lately so we've begun introducing solids over here... and it's a messy endeavor to say the least! we decided to offer penn her first foods by doing baby led weaning, and though i'm not sure how much is actually making it into her belly, she's having one heck of a time exploring those sweet potatoes. she picks it up, mushes it between her fingers, smells it, and occasionally takes a lick. for a gal who puts EVERYTHING in her mouth, she's certainly timid about these taters! it's been a week now of just sweet potatoes, so next we're giving bananas a go!

a day at the park...

yesterday, much to mama's dismay, penny decided that she only needed an 18 minute afternoon nap. so after she woke, we packed ourselves into the car and headed to our favorite park. we ended up having the best afternoon together. she's getting to this great age where she's actually fun to be with. i know that may sound a little weird, like shouldn't she always be fun to be with, but it's different now. she's not just fun, she's really funny too! she got a kick out of sitting in the big kid swings, and watching the older kids play on the swings next to her, she loved looking at the ducks, and the highlight for both of us was definitely the surprise nap she took on our blanket. it was all i could do to not zonk out next to her. afternoons like this are what it's all about!