9 Month Photo Shoot

Well, I wasn't planning on doing a 9month photo shoot buuut...this afternoon as we were playing in the grass waiting for daddy to get home, the lighting was great and she just looked so cute! I had to start snapping away. Then J got home and was sitting there playing with her and Hunter was in the background... how could I resist!? Then he turned the camera on us and he got some great shots! Thanks hon! There are so few shots of Ella and I together because I'm always on the other end of the camera...so these are beyond precious to me! There are also very few shots of us as family and none that are professional looking....but we're going to remedy that in October when our friend Renee does a session for us!!!

Ella's 9month Update

Took Ella to her 9 month check-up. Not sure about our new Doc down here. But that's another story, perhaps I'll post on that to get some feedback from you all later. She's 17 1/2 lbs and 27inches long. Right on target for everything...height, weight, head circumference, fine and gross motor skills, language etc. etc. Along the way are some recent pics of her first hiking trip and Hunter tolerating her :)

What She's Eating:
Well, everything. It's easier to say what she's not eating...cows milk, meat, berries and anything containing nut products....doc advises waiting 'till 12mos for all those.

What She's Saying:
Lots of babbling, yayaya, gagag, mamam, dadada, nanana, hihihi. On a few ocasions I have gotten her to obviously repeat sounds. The first one she did was "hi-ya!" yes, like the karate sound. It was adorable. The second one was "dada", melts my heart!Her Choice form of Mobility:
She wants to be on the floor where she can roll. Yup. She gets on her belly, pushes her self up with her hands and spinse herself 360 degrees until she is aimed at what she wants and then she rolls to it. It's pretty great. She also enjoys standing while being supported and is getting quite good at it.

What She Plays With:
She in increasingly becoming bored with the toys she has. We have one Baby Einstein cube that has different shapes on each side. it has doors to open, zippers to zip, things to pull, push and turn and it sings songs. She loves this. She really likes anything where she has to "discover things." She often rolls over to the baskets in our living room, tips them over and rifles through the contents, discovering treasures!
What She Likes:
She still loves water of any kind. She used to like to try to catch pouring water in her hands. Now she likes close her eyes, open her mouth and try to drink it. It's funny! She still likes to read but it doesn't keep her attention for quite as long these days. She loves to be outside and loves going for stroller rides. She likes music and often "dances" a.k.a. wiggles about in my arms when we're singing worship at church or listening to music at home. She loves her animals and loves to grab their fur and nuzzle in. We are constantly teaching her "gentle". But she hasn't gotten the hang of it yet and so the animals don't love her quite so much! She loves to eat! And she still likes sleeping. Two solid naps a day. Always asleep by 6:30 or 7pm and wakes anywhere between 7am and 8am.

Oh man, I forgot to mention two of her funniest likes. Ella likes to try to eat the floor...any floor...muckles right onto it. And she LOVES watching me flush the poop from her cloth diapers down the toilet. Get's a huge smile, giggle and flailing limb reaction every time!

What She Dislikes:
She doesn't love going in her car seat and fusses when you first put her in. But with a pacifier rides just find still. She's not content being contained for long in her jumper or exersaucer b/c she'd rather be rolling free! She doesn't like being changed and fusses until you give her a tube of lotion to play with and then she's happy as a clam. She's still not a big fan of being held by others...especially when mom or dad are in sight. But she's usually fine withing mintues if we disapear. She's getting better with it all the time.So that's our little girl these days. Such a joy!

My Sister, the Triathlete!!!

My sister would never brag about herself. So I'll do it for her!!! You see, today we had the pleasure of watching her compete in her first triathlon! She did the Pumpkinman Triathlon in South Berwick, just a short jaunt from where we live!

Jen and her friend stayed with us last night...a good thing becuse the venue is about 3 1/2 hours from where she lives and they wanted to get there at 6am!!! It was fun to have them with us and I got to feed them a nutritious, yummy meal for dinner (that my friend Amy recommended for pre-race eats). Jason and I got up early this morning as well and packed one adorable - still sleeping in her footy pajamas - miss Ella into the car and went to cheer them on/be their official race photographer!

So here's the bragging part....This was Jen's first triathlon. She has been sick all week, and is still sick. She couldn't breath very well on the run course and after the race was done was quoted as saying, "That wasn't bad at all. I really didn't push myself." And this is how she finished:

4th in her age group (only 2min. 25sec. off the 2nd place finishers time)
44th out of all the women
146th overall (out of 431 finishers)

Here's the photo montage for you!!!

The venue, Spring Hill Event Center in South Berwick, Maine:
The crowd gathered at the swim start:
The lovely hill that awaited the athletes as they exited the swim portion. Whoever sprinted up this hill the fasted won a special prize!Miss Ella showing Jen who's her #1 fan!Jen, pre-race, getting ready in the transition area:Auntie Jen with her #1 fan! (Ella appeared quite puzzled by Auntie Jen's funny outfit!)Exiting the swim (1/3 mile), running up the hill about the pass that lady in front of her that looks like she's fixin' to keel over! (By the way, Jen's swim time posted 95th overall out of 431 athletes!)Coming in on the bike (14.2 miles). (She said she passed a lot of people on the bike portion.)
Lookin' cool as a cucumber, waving and smiling for the camera, headed out for the run (5k). (She said she didn't even push it on the run. She soon passed that lady in front of her.)Coming down the homestretch, looking strong!And there she goes, sprinting past the lady in pink and crossing the finish line!
Congratulations Jen! YOU ROCK!!!

The Saga of the Little Hoodlums

'Twas a peaceful night last night as we lay in bed. A crisp breeze was blowing through the open windows and we had some good chats as we wound down and then drifted off into a dreamy sleep....

....then at about 11pm we were startled awake by loud yelling, whistling back and forth and some fabulously colorful language. It turned out to be a small group of little hoodlum teenagers trapsing down our street. (Oh if only they were as dedicated to homework as they are to figuring how many expletives they can string together in one phrase!)

This was annoying to say the least, but we figured they'd walk by and we'd be back to sleep soon. And then...out of no where...there was a LOUD BANG like the sound of someone striking a metal object. I thought they were vandalizing the mailbox on our house. I bolted up in bed and ran to the window and yelled, "HEY!!!". The girls screeched, the boys swore and they bolted off.

Satisfied that I had scared the snot out of them and made them pee in their pants a little, I was glad they were the kind of kids that ran off scared, instead of the kind that stayed there beneath out window and yelled back...or worse. I figured that was the end of that.

NOPE. They stuck around, wandering around further down the street and continued their highly intellectual conversations. I had had enough. I wanted to call the police, but Jason did instead. They said they would, "Send a car by in a while." Gee thanks.

The evening culminated like this...By now it was 11:30 and we heard them walking back up the street. We over heard their conversations daring each other to "hit the stop sign again!" (That was the loud banging noise.) That solidified in my mind that these kids are idiot punks who have absolutely no respect for anyone...including themselves. Jason waited by the window (and saw a car coming up the street)....some little thug banged the sign again....Jason HOLLARED at them...they freaked and ran....

...and that car coming up the street just happened to be the police (oh sweet satisfaction!). He saw everything, pulled over and wrangled the little hoodlums. While they hadn't really done anything illegal, he couldn't arrest them, but I think he scared 'em a little. He took their names and addresses and asked a lot of questions. They were being punks and at one point he hollared at them at the top of his lungs, "I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT AND IF YOU'RE GONNA GET MOUTHY WITH ME WE'LL HANDLE THIS ANOTHER WAY!" After that they were all, "Yes sir," and went on their way. I don't understand why he didn't load them in his car and deliver them home to their parents, but we didn't hear another peep out of them.

And now for my soap box. WHERE ARE THESE KIDS PARENTS!?!? WHY ARE THEY WANDERING THE STREETS AT 11:30 ON A SCHOOL NIGHT CAUSING TROUBLE!?!? It all starts with the parents. Poor parenting is why we have so many little hoodlums. C'mon people...do your job as a parent!!! It's not easy. It takes a lot of work. YOU signed up for it! And now I'm done.

Job Hunting With God

I have been job hunting for a while now. I'm looking for a position because, while we can make it on what Jason is bringing in it's SUPER DUPER tight. It would be nice to have a little extra cash to help pay down debt more aggressively, save, and perhaps buy some desperately needed new clothes and some gifts for people this Christmas.

However, I still struggle with wondering if I'm trying to control the situation and take matters in to my own hands by looking for a job. And while I do pray a lot about it, I still wonder if God wants me to just stay home and concentrate on Jason and Ella and increase my faith by trusting Him for finances. On the other hand I wonder if He has some great plans to continue to use me and teach me and grow me working with people. I've got no clear cut answers. I just keep putting one foot in front of the other, following His voice as best I can hear and Believing (capital B) that He will work it all out. So really, I can't go wrong.

The process has been interesting to say the least. I need to find something that is nights or weekends so we don't have to do childcare because that would just cancel out the extra money if we had to pay for that! I want something that is only a few nights a week. And I want something in the social services field, preferably working with adults with mental illnesses because that is where my heart is and I'd like to keep my foot in the field. Needless to say, there's not a lot out there and (shocker) they don't pay well.

I hadn't found opportunities to work with adults with mental illnesses. So I have taken two interviews for working with the elderly, gotten offered both jobs, and turned the first one down and have been agonizing over the second.

Just tonight as I prayed about whether or not to take the second offer, I pleaded that God give me a clear answer. Hearing nothing but silence, I went looking for more jobs. And low and behold...there were FIVE new listings for jobs working with adults with mental illnesses, all per-diem. PERFECT. Just finished applying for all five. God is good.

The Weekend

My nasty flu/cold lingered through the weekend so that was no fun. But I drugged myself up enough to go to our friend's Jeff&Noelle's house warming party Sunday afternoon. It was great to visit with quite a few familiar faces and Ella was wonderful! Here we are... Ella in her adorable outfit and standing, something she's getting quite adept at. Of course, with some adult support...not on her own yet.

Perfect Timing

Yesterday and today have been the nicest weather of the whole summer! There is a chill in the air when you wake, the sun is shining in the gorgeous blue sky dotted with white fluffy clouds and the thermometer just reaches 70 at the peak of the day.

It's the kind of weather that calls my name, that begs me to come outside and play all day. But alas...I am sick.

Seriously. Who gets sick at the end of summer!? I'll tell you who. Someone who helps with 40 preschoolers at church on Sunday, then runs her body ragged by hanging out eating junk food, talking and watching movies with the girls until 1am on Wednesday night. That is precisely who wakes up sick on a beautiful Thursday morning!!! Blah!