Molly 6 Months!

It sure is hard to believe that Molly's been around for half of a year! I still feel like I just had a baby. I'm sure glad we have this sweet little face around all the time!

Molly weighs 21 pounds (above 95%) and is 26 inches long (60%). She's no lightweight!

She is taking 2-4 naps a day and sleeping 12 hours or more at night. She loves to catnap (arg!), usually only one of her naps is very long.

She is nursing 5 times a day. We started solid food a couple of days before she turned 6 months. She loves it!

She is wearing 9 and 12 month clothing and size 4 diapers. She and Graham can wear each other's diapers when nessessary. Ha!

She is sitting up! Although there is the occasional topple.

This girl gets around. She rolls, pivots, and scoots to get all over. 

Every once in a while she really gets the giggles, usually when watching her brother! :)

She loves to smile, coo, and blow raspberries. 

She loves to hold on to a toy, especially Sofie the giraffe. She also loves to grab her toys. 

She has really started bouncing this month! She bounces big when she is happy. I've almost droppeed her a couple of times because she unexpectedly bounced!

She visited a new state this month: Georgia. We came to Atlanta to visit family. 

We feel so blessed to have this girl with us on our adventure. We are all crazy about her. Having a baby girl of our very own sure is a blast! We are so proud of how easy going she is in the midst of our craziness. She still always has a smile and puts a smile on your face. What a blessing, we are so thankful.

Baby Giggles

No one can make Molly laugh like her big brother!!!

Fun Things We Did in Colorado

While we were in Colorado, we had our weekends off to do whatever we pleased. There are a lot of fun things to do in Colorado Springs! 

We went to the Garden of the Gods.

We hiked in Cheyanne Canyon.

We went to the Seven Falls (although we did not make it up the 200+ stairs).

Chad and Graham drove to the top of Pike's Peak (I was not interested, scared of heights!).

It was just our kind of "vacation." Lots of time hiking and being outside.

Paradox (para-ducks)

In our very first day of SPLICE missionary training, our instructor Robin brought out two rubber ducks. He explained that doing missions overseas often involves paradoxical feelings. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." I immediately identified with what he was saying, and was so glad to have someone articulate it in a way I understood. I often feel filled with excitement and adventure, and almost in the same moment feel heartbroken and full of sadness. 

Here's the "para-ducks:" "yuck-duck" and "yay-duck." For example: yuck-duck - I'm taking my children away from their amazing grandparents; yay-duck - I'm giving my children an incredible experience. We at SPLICE all used these terms daily during our training. That was one of the things I appreciated most about SPLICE, the terminology they provided that just became part of our vocabulary, making it easier to talk about the things we are experiencing. 

So here's one from my heart today. Yuck-duck: I can't stand the thought of saying goodbye to my friends. Yay-duck: I'm excited to see what new friends The Lord brings into my life.

Molly 5 Months!

This post is almost a month late. I actually typed it a few weeks ago, and I'm just now getting around to adding the picture and posting it...enjoy it!

Molly is 5 months old! We are so proud of her. My post this month will not be including the usual plethora of photos because our computer is on a container somewhere en route to Africa. Plus we are in Colorado for missionary training and I am typing this on our ipad. :)

Molly is wearing size 9 mo/6-12 mo clothing and size 3 diapers.

She is nursing 6 times a day.

She sleeps 12 hours each night (with a quick feeding at 10:00 PM). She is taking 2-4 naps a day. Her naps have been very sporadic because we have been traveling so much. 

For the past week Molly has been going to the nursery (at our training facility) from 8:30-4:00. I am close by so I can step out of our trainging sessions to nurse her and take care of her at any time. This has still be hard, even though the nursery workers are amazing here! I miss having my baby girl in my arms all day, but its only for 3 weeks. Our lessons have been so intense that keeping her with me would be impossible, and she has done better in the nursery than I expected.

She is rolling both ways. 

She is pushing up on her hands. 

She is grabbing her toes every time I change her diaper.

She has traveled to a new state (Colorado).

She has moved twice (we moved in with my parents and then my parents moved).

My mind is so muddled, this is all I can think of right now! We sure do love our girl and we are so proud of her. All of our new friends at our training have just fallen in love with her and ask to hold her. We are excited to see what new things she'll be doing this month!