Mimi on the move

Life is about to seriously change for Clint and me . . . Mimi is a crawler and climber! She is easily pulling up on everything and wakes us up by standing in her crib and squealing at us. She began CRAWLING on Saturday morning on our new favorite place, the front porch. She is so happy to be able to move around and get what she wants, but this has completely changed our lifestyle. Of course she never stays in her designated area (usually a rug or quilt if we are outside), and I have already caught her doing the following: trying to peel paint chips off the porch (probably lead paint), pulling up grass and eating it, digging in the bin in her room that contains scissors, and getting way too close to a very heavy, unstable fireplace cover. Yikes. I'll try to post a video of her signature crawl very soon. For now I just have this on of her on the porch swing being happy.

Mimi was so excited that her friend Hadley came over on Sunday afternoon. They had fun stealing each other's baby dolls and playing with Little People. Mimi tried her best to chase Hadley when she walked around but she's not a very fast crawler yet. Also, they loved holding hands and laughing at each other.

Every girl needs a pair of red shoes and Mimi is doing a fabulous job of showing hers off -- notice the popped toe!

Also, I noticed I never posted a photo of Mimi in her first Easter dress, so I thought this one would sum up some of the afternoon. Mimi had a sad, sad Easter trying to cut her teeth. Notice how concerned her sweet cousins JR and Olivia are :(. Of course I still took tons of photos because I think she's cute even when she cries.

Mimi's Eventful Week

This has been quite a busy week for Mimi -- in both good and bad ways. First of all, Mimi's first tooth has finally emerged! She has been doing some serious chewing and gnawing for about 5 months, but I'm glad to say it was not in vain. (If you can enlarge this photo you can see a little white speck on the bottom of her mouth). Thank goodness I found magical teething tablets that help with the pain!!

Last weekend we visited our friends Amery, Clay, and Olivia in their new, yet very old 1800's home. The yard was full of purple flox, so of course I had to take about 100 photos of Mimi.
Jordan, Amery, Me, Olivia, and Mimi in front of Big, Bad Breakfast in Oxford.

Mimi's friend Hadley has made it to the one-year-old mark and was rewarded with a fabulous red wagon! They had so much fun throwing their toys over the side!

Uh oh . . . Mimi discovered cartoons this week. She is sitting in the middle of fabulous toys but is mesmerized by Yo Gabba Gabba (Jack Black was actually on this episode. Strange, huh?). Our favorites so far are Max and Ruby, Charlie and Lola, and the Backyardigans. Lola is my personal fave. And now for the bad . . . a family stomach virus! It hit Mimi first on Tuesday night, me on Wednesday morning, and Clint later on Wednesday. Poor little Mimi was so miserable and we could do nothing but hold her and let her watch cartoons. So sad.

My sister's family visited us Easter weekend and we had a family egg hunt in my backyard. Mimi's cousins Courtney and Nick found all the eggs . . . and Mimi chewed on them. After the egg hunt, we went to the zoo and had a blast. Mimi completely skipped her morning nap because she was so excited about all the animals and other kids. Later in the day we went to the Overton Square Crawfish Party . . . and then she went to bed at 5:30!

Happy Mimi

We're finding out more about Mimi every day.

She LOVES playing on our bed while we get ready in the morning . . .

but when she gets bored or tired her fingers go straight to her mouth.

She is ticklish under her arms and on the bottoms of her feet.

Her favorite toys are plastic cups . . . interesting, I know.

She likes to hide her lips . . . while playing with her plastic cup.Being naked in her crib (while playing with those silly cups) is so much fun!

She also likes to sit in her chair with her baby doll and squeal.

New Milestones

Although Mimi is still bald and toothless, she's still impressing us with her new tricks. She's officially a great sitter-upper now and loves to sit on the floor and play with her toys. She pushes up on her knees and rocks back and forth, but she can't quite figure out how to crawl. She's also trying to pull up on everything and thinks it's hilarious to hold onto her crib. Mimi attended her first official birthday party for her friend Reed. This is Mimi with her friend Emerson and their dads.

Clint is proving to be a great multi-tasker by babysitting Mimi while closing deals on the phone!

I guess Spike has been feeling a little left out and thinks if he gets in the carseat we'll take him with us just like we take Mimi.

It's a bow!! Doesn't it look goofy?

New Photos

We went to Nashville over the weekend, and our friend Lauren (who is 38 weeks pregnant!) took pictures of Mimi. She took so many beautiful photos but here are just a few.

6 Months Old

Mimi is HALF a year old and time has flown! She only weighed 5lb 9oz when she was born, and now the little piggy weighs 15lb and 9oz -- she's tripled her weight over 6 months.

This time last year I was about 14 weeks pregnant and just beginning to try out my maternity clothes and studying over What to Expect When You're Expecting like my life depended on it. Although I was so grateful to be pregnant, I was scared to death that I would be an awful mother! There was so much that I didn't know and so much that could go wrong -- How do I feed her? How do I bathe her? What do I do if she gets sick? When do I sleep? With a lot of help and a lot of prayer, we've made it 6 months! Mimi has gone from being a fragile little bundle to being a full of life baby who loves jumping in her exersaucer, squealing at her puppies, and eating her toes! I've tried my best to soak up as much of every moment as possible because I realize how quickly this sweet baby is growing and learning.

Mimi's First Snow Day

She is such a happy baby!

Mimi is a fabulous sleeper (and so is her daddy)

The first time we tried to give Mimi a bath was horrible -- she screamed nonstop, and we were so afraid she was going to die of hypothermia. Now she doesn't want to get out and leave her rubber ducky.

This was Mimi trying her first cracker -- she picked it up by herself, chewed on it a few minutes, and got choked. What a big girl!

We're so glad Mimi loves puppies! This is sweet little Lucy (who I think I might steal and bring home with us).

Mimi's new friends

Mimi is about 5 1/2 months old now, and she is really interested in the dogs -- especially Spike . . . and the feeling seems mutual. As soon as we put her on her pallet on the floor to play, Spike cuddles up as close as he can to Mimi. When she finally notices him she rolls over, squeals, and reaches out her little hand to grab his fur. It's so sweet!

Mimi and Spike are spooning
Spike is a great footrest

Ruthie tries to act too cool for Mimi . . . she's still a little jealous

We are also trying to help Mimi sit up, and she can for a few seconds . . .
. . . and then this happens!

This is Mimi reading before church . . . she's already a nerd like her daddy!