Undressed Happiness

One of Macyn's favorite past times is not wearing any clothes. Whenever you change her or get her ready for a bath, she gets super excited and can't stop smiling (until I take out the camera, of course)! Since it was 82 degrees today I thought I would let her "be free" until I put on her jammies. Boy does she like that! I think summer and Macyn will get along just fine :)

7 Months!

Macyn turned 7 months this past Friday and we still have a growing girl on our hands! She is 16lbs 13oz and 27" long. So pretty much she's still tall, but finally starting to put a little meat on her bones. She has 2 teeth now too - they are so cute when she smiles! She is definitely starting to get a little personality on her! She likes to play the game of "throwing toys on the floor to watch Mommy & Daddy pick them up." Or she gets very upset if you take the computer mouse or remote control away from her and tell her "No, No." I have started to see a couple of tantrums here and there, but I just laugh. Its funny, really, seeing a 7 month old acting like she rules the world. :)
She sits up completely on her own and has only had one real falling over tragedy - a bump/bruise - at DAYCARE! not even at home! But I am sure since that is her first it will definitely not be her last. She likes to be on her tummy and roll. She can get up all the way on her arms and all the way on her knees, but cannot quite coordinate them together. She scoots herself backwards and sleeps on her tummy on her knees with her butt in the air.
She enjoys her food and is currently eating cereal, oatmeal, peaches, prunes, peas, squash, sweet potatoes, carrots, apples, and pears. She loves squash and pears. She doesn't really make faces anymore when we introduce foods so we are kinda disappointed in that :) .We have also introduced a sippy cup and she can bring it up to her mouth but can't quite figure out how to tip it up properly. For future reference, do not give a baby a non-spill-proof sippy cup - see the big brown spot on her shirt? Yeah, that's what happens.

She still continues to giggle a lot. She laughs at Buddy, blowing on her tummy, spinning her around, and playing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." She is a very happy baby and we feel pretty blessed for that.She is currently wearing most 6-9 clothes but can sometimes fit into 9-12 month onesies and pants. She is in between sizes, so we picked up a few necessities to get her through the summer. We got her 2 sets of jammies, 5 pack of onesies, a tank top with leggings, a dress, a onesie, and some flip flop jellies. Let's hope these last through the summer - I wonder how much she is going to grow this month?!

Tulip Festival Meh

Every year there is a Tulip festival and I have never been there as long as I have lived. People call me crazy since this is "the thing" to do. Its crazy - people dress up, walk around, take days off work, clean the streets, etc. Since it was a nice day out, and Macyn is about 9/16th's Dutch (Josh is 100%, I am 12.5%) we figured we would finally go. There was one of their bajillion parades going on, but we decided to pass by that. The first stop was finding the Van Aartsen province flag thingy, and take Macyn's picture by it:It says "Flag of the Province Overjssel" Contributed by the Hendrik Van Aartsen Family. I am not exactly sure what this all means, but according to Wiki (my co-worker is gonna kill me for using this as a source) it is a province of the Netherlands in the central eastern part of the country.

The next stop was finding some pretty tulips to take pictures by. This was probably my favorite part was seeing all the tulips! There were so many kinds and so pretty. Macyn was kinda tired and not too smiley, but gave us a little one to capture some photos:After that we found this bridge that said "Brugge tot Oranjestad". I do not have a clue what that means - even Wiki doesn't! Believe it or not, Wiki doesn't know something - WOW!!!We continued to walk around after that and saw a giant wooden shoe, but there were too many people around it to take a picture. We also stopped for a funnel cake and cotton candy. We found a little shop that had some Dutch memorabilia, but no wooden shoes small enough for Macyn, and no cute little Dutch bonnet for her either.

So my overall impression? (I might offend some, so I apologize in advance). I honestly don't know what the big deal is. There was no where to shop, and the only tulips I saw were in the little park thing. I was disappointed. I don't know if I was expecting something like the Renaissance festival or if I was let down because of all the hype. Either way, I think the only thing that would bring me back would be a nice night, and the fact that DH loves funnel cakes.

Sorry Tulip Festival, I had more fun with my DH's coworker & fiance than I did with you.

My First Mother's Day

My Mother's Day festivities actually started this past Wednesday when I came home from work. To my surprise, when I opened up the garage, I saw two hanging plants sitting there in plain sight! They are called "Fiesta Deep Orange Double Impatens." Little did I know that for some reason my DH didn't think I would be home yet, and I saw them before I was supposed to. I felt kinda bad, but seriously. Who hides plants in the garage where I park? It turned out to be okay since he planned on giving them to me Wednesday night anyways. And I am not complaining since I can enjoy them for a little longer too. They are a shade plant and only have to be watered every-other day. I have a "black" thumb when it comes to gardening, but these just might have a chance of surviving.

The Mother's Day festivities continued on Saturday when a photo studio in town was offering a free mini session with free sitting fees and a free 8x10 when you come in and take a picture with your kids. Heck yea! I took advantage and got some good pics. My 8x10 should be ready by tomorrow. Once again, Macyn was too interested in the lights to smile, but she did manage to smile AT the light. I think that is what makes them so good! Go ahead and click on the collage to see a larger version.

We spend Saturday night at my parents house celebrating Mother's Day. It included both my parents, both sisters, and their boyfriends. It was a great get together with some good food! Dad grilled 10 lbs (YES, 10 LBS!) of Ribs, I made cheesy potatoes and brought a Snickers cake. We also had potato salad, chips, beans, coleslaw, and banana split ice cream cake.

We had a good time chatting, going to the park, and playing with sister's boyfriend's new chocolate lab, Tug.Sunday morning my mom and sister's went to a Susan G. Komen walk (my g'ma died of breast cancer) and I thought that was a great way to spend Mother's Day. I stayed back because we already had some plans. I wish I could have gone though. We had a get together with DH's side of the family in the park. We grilled burgers, chatted, played on the swings, slides, and merry-go-round. I wish it was a little warmer, but I can't complain.

Macyn and DH both had gotten me cards and I had to hold back the tears reading Macyns:

There's no one like my mommy
for bringing happy smiles...
For stopping what she's doing
to rock me for a while.
There's no one like my mommy
for singing lullabies...
For hurrying to hold me
when she hears my little cries.
There's no one like my mommy
for taking me on walks...
And for being a good listener
in our "mommy baby talks"!
There's no one like my mommy
to hug and snuggle me!
And though I'm small,
my love for her is as big as it can be!
Happy Mother's Day, Mommy,
With Lots of Love
And Baby Kisses!
I Love you Mommy,
-Macyn

I never used to think Mother's Day was a big deal, but my feelings have changed since I've become a mom. Just knowing how much they need you, how you comfort them, and even tonight rocking her to sleep - her knowing how she feels safe. The love for a child is unconditional. As I rocked her to sleep I told her how much I loved her, prayed for her, which resulted in Mommy shedding tears. I never knew how much love a person can have for a child. Now, Mother's Day means so much more than what I used to think. I cannot ever imagine not being a mom. I wouldn't change it for the whole world.

If you Ain't Dutch, you Ain't Much

It was such a nice day out today so after church we decided to take some pictures. We were more grateful that she was still able to wear the same clothes she wore to church (the past 2 times we went we had some butt explosion problems during the sermon). So since we have this random tulip coming up in the front yard we took some pictures. (This tulip has never came up before in the 2 1/2 years we have lived in our house.) Since Macyn is Dutch - 9/16ths Dutch to be exact, we thought these tulip pictures would be fitting. We would have taken more but the camera battery died.

Maybe we will have to hit up the Tulip Festival this year. I have lived here my whole life and have never attended - I guess that means "I Ain't Much because I'm really not that Much Dutch."

A Walk to the Park

It was such a nice day out so DH, Buddy, Macyn, and myself decided to go for a family walk to the park. We weren't sure if the swing would be too big, but it fit Macyn perfectly. She enjoyed it and laughed almost the whole time! It was so much fun!Since swinging was such a success, we decided to try the slides. She wasn't so sure about those, but smiled here and there. I think we were more scared we were going to break the things since they aren't exactly made for 20-something parents.After the slides we decided it was time to walk back home. This is what she looked like when we left the park, and what she looked like when we got home. (I think she had fun)!

How to Get Work Done

Since DH spent all day Saturday mowing the lawn (since some spots were over 12" tall!) I was left to watch Macyn and attempt to get my work done. She took a whole 15 minute nap, played in her Jumperoo for about 20 minutes and then just wanted to be held or have attention. It was hard for me to keep an eye on her while I am trying to sort laundry, clean, and taking clothes out of the washer & into the dryer, and being able to hang them up, fold, and put away. So what was my solution? Grab the umbrella stroller, get peanut a Mum Mum cracker, and ta-da! Easy way to get work done. She likes being pushed around, I am near her, and I get my work done. Win/win for everyone! - I knew those hardwood floors would come in handy someday....never thought it would be for stroller rides!