Look who found her feet!

She's probably been playing with them for a little while, but I just really noticed it within the past couple of days. I couldn't pass up this photo op before her bath this morning. What a sweetie!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

We put up our tree this weekend and got out all of our Christmas decor! Natalie had lots of fun putting up the tree and decorating it. We're still trying to get things sorted out so that our tree and decorations fit in the living room (aka playpen *sigh*) without looking too terribly crowded.

Here are some photos I managed to snap during the decorating process. I actually got a few of Natalie. LOOKING AT ME. How cool!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOOOOOOVE this photo (above)!!!!

LOVE this one of Mollie (above)!

I just LOVE our new stockings from Pottery Barn!! Kind of hard to read them, but they say Dad, Mom, Natalie, & Mollie.

Thankful

We have so many blessings to be thankful for, we can't even begin to count them! Here are some photos from our Thanksgiving gathering at Gram & Opa's. I didn't get all of the photos I wanted because there was too much to do, but I got some sweet ones. Don't think I didn't attempt to get pictures of Natalie; I did. She has decided to completely ignore me, turn her head, or run away if I hold the camera up to her. *Sigh* It's really a shame. I don't know how to get around it. Hopefully this will be a short phase. :-/

Also, I didn't even have one moment to get my camera out, not to mention take a picture, at the gathering at Aunt Sherry's house. By the time we got there for dinner, we were dealing with two very tired babies. Naps are just almost impossible on holidays, so both girls were pretty much spent by 6:30 pm. It was great to see everyone there though!

Big News!!

Big news on my side of the family this weekend!! Josh and Carolyn just found out that they are going to have a baby! We are so thrilled! Carolyn is due almost exactly the same time I was with Mollie - around July 21st. Maybe the new little one and Mollie will share a birthday! They'll be just about 1 year apart no matter when he or she is born. Can't wait until sometime in March to find out if they are having a girl or a boy!

Here are some fun photos I captured during their announcement. The one of Gram almost looks like she was not happy, but that's certainly NOT the case. Carolyn said she didn't know Gram could move that fast - she jumped right up out of her chair to give them huge hugs. :)

Congrats guys!!! :)

Cake Balls

So Kim and I saw the recipe for these Cake Balls on Bakerella's blog, and we had to try them out for Thanksgiving. I'm sorry to say that ours did not turn out nearly as pretty as hers, but they did taste good. They are quite a bit of work, and we still haven't totally perfected the chocolate-dipping part. Our advice is to make sure the balls are VERY cold/almost frozen when you dip them, and make sure your chocolate bark is very hot and thin. It would probably be easiest if you could keep it warm in a fondue pot or small crockpot or something. And, if you are going to attempt them, definitely read through the comments and answers from Bakerella. There are lots of helpful hints there! :)

And here's a photo I love of Mollie. Looks like she's getting excited about having some cake balls. We're still working on cereal though. ;) Maybe next year!

Cereal!

Well, we did it. Mollie had cereal for the first time last night! I really thought we'd wait until 6 months like we did with Natalie, but ever since her pediatrician said that it's fine to start any time she seems interested, I've been thinking about it. She sits at the table with us when we eat dinner, and last night, and she seemed to be especially interested last night. She was sucking her fingers like crazy, so we decided to give it a try. She definitely liked it, but she's not quite sure what to do with it yet. She did eat an entire teaspoon mixed with 1/2 oz of formula, and although that sounds like about one bite, it's quite a bit for an infant just starting out learning to eat! We'll just be taking it really slowly for now. Here are a few pictures of her little adventure. We still need to get her highchair cleaned up, so she's in her carseat! ;)

4 Months!

I'm a little late in posting this, but Mollie Grace is now 4 months old! She's just the sweetest baby and is growing every day! Her 4-month appointment went really well earlier this week, and we found out that she weighs 13.8 pounds and is 24.5 inches! That's right smack in the middle of average for her weight and a bit taller than average for her height!

This isn't the greatest photo of her, but it was the best I could get after trying several days, so we're going with it. :) :) The numerous attempts had more to do with big sister than with Mollie, but that's another story. ;)

Updates

Here are a bunch of random pictures taken over the past few weeks. I've been terrible at keeping up lately!