Proud to be an American!

I love Memorial Day.

I am not sure what is happening here but we think it is funny.  

And yes, Penny does wear other clothes.

Firsts

It seems like Penny is growing in leaps and bounds.  She always has several "firsts" at the same time.

She got her first tooth a week ago (if you look real close you can see it on the bottom right):

 

But, she is still just as happy as can be!

 

I was always scared of teething because of the stories from other parents about being up all night, etc.  But apparently no one told Penny teething hurts, because she doesn't seem to mind at all!  I wouldn't have known she was teething if it wasn't for all the drool and chewing on everything.  She is working on her bottom left tooth too.

Penny also got her big girl crib a few weeks ago, which she seems to like.  Not long after we got it she decided she needed to move as much as possible in bed.  I put her to bed something like this:

On her back, with her feet pointing to the wall.

But she usually ends up something like this:

Or this:

She now turns over onto her belly very easily, turns around and around in circles and gets stuck in all kinds of interesting places.  I am in so much trouble when she starts walking.

AND last week she also learned how to pull herself up.  I was taping her for Daddy and she happened to do it for the first time then, so I got it on camera:

She hasn't quite nailed down sitting herself up yet, so we're not in too much trouble yet.

Cousin Travis is her best friend.  When they sit in the back of the car together they always hold hands.  But sometimes Penny holds his hand too tight and then he yanks his hand away and scowls at her.

Yesterday Penny went to the beach for the first time, with Travis.  She thought it was very fun!

Ynnep

Penny LOVES kids.  She can't get enough of them. 

 Her favorite thing to do is go to the park (or any other place where kids might be) and just watch the other kids.  She just grins and laughs while watching them. 

 She loves all kids.  Regardless of age or anything else. 

But her favorite friend by far is "Ynnep". 

 She is such a girl, she could just look at herself all day long.

 Do you notice the shirt?  "Aunt" Rachel made it for her, it's definitely one of our favorites.

And of course, she loves to kiss herself.

 

First thing we do in the morning is go see how Ynnep is doing.

Gotta love the excited arms.

Easter

We had to take family photos yesterday, because everyone looked so nice in our new Easter clothes!

Penny's dress was a gift from Grandma Smith and I made my dress and Scott's tie. I thought about making a matching dress for Penny, but the dress her Grandma bought for her was so cute, and a perfect Easter dress.

I can't get enough of that sweet little lop-sided smile.

P.S. No, I'm not pregnant.

New Camera!

Sort of new. Anyone who follows this blog knows how badly I want a DSLR. But I haven't been able to justify buying one, since money is not exactly flowing, and I have a really awesome film SLR sitting in the closet (like I am ever going to use film again). And since I don't happen to have any wealthy admirers who would up and buy me one, I had resigned myself to crappy photos for at least a few years. But then I had a realization. My Grandpa passed away 2 years ago (we all miss him lots). He was a professional photographer. HELLO! So after talking to my mom, aunt and grandma, I confirmed his DSLR is sitting in his closet! And my grandma let me take it! (The reason it hadn't been claimed is because it is an older version and everyone in the family that would care for an SLR already had a better one- except me. True, it is not the BEST camera- but compared to my point-and-shoot it is!) So the last couple of weeks I have been playing around with it and these are a few of the shots that I like.

6 Months

Time has flown by! I can't believe our baby is already half a year! Penny is still holding steady in the 95th percentile at 18lbs, 4oz and 28 inches (and is still bigger than friends who are 10-12 months old).

She can sit up well on her own now. People ask if she can roll over- yes, she CAN. Will she? No. She did it twice but she hates to be lying down. She will scream her head off til you pick her up or help her sit up.

She thinks baby food is really fun- bananas are her favorite. But she needs to feed herself. She steals the spoon from me and then puts it right it her mouth!

I know she is more interested in the spoon than the food but I don't care. She thinks everything needs to go in her mouth.
Including her feet, which have become a favorite.

She has recently started trying to talk. She's always made those cute baby noises but just a couple of days ago she started actually moving her mouth like she is talking while she is making her noises.

She is now becoming interested in other kids- before she only had interest in adults. She loves playing with her cousin, Travis, and her friends Blake, Deacon and McClain.
Penny with cousin Travis

Penny with cousin Lilly

For some reason, she always does this when she is sleeping! She turns herself 90 degrees in bed.

She is Daddy's girl all the way.
She already knows our roles. She will only go to bed for Mommy, but Daddy is so much fun!

She went on the swings for the first time yesterday.
She liked it.

We like her!

There is Sunshine in My Soul Today

Today Penny had a mini photo shoot in our living room. She got this adorable stuffed whale that she loves and that I thought would be a great prop for some photos, and I decided it was time to take a few pictures, since she is growing up right before our eyes!

Again, sorry about my crappy camera. My dream is to own a nice DSLR, but that is just a dream right now.

This one cracks me up:

I know this one is super blurry but it was so funny I had to post it.The adorable stuffed whale was a gift from Aunt Sandy. She got it from one of the very talented vendors at the boutique last weekend. The flower hairclip is from Aunt Sarah and the bow is from Aunt Heidi.