Friday, July 28, 2006

My Uncle's a Dork

This one's for you, Uncle Mike! (She doesn't look like she's buying it...)

Kissing Torture

I realized I haven't put a good smile picture up for a while, so here you go. It's actually pictures of her laughing! Yay! Bethany just loves having her cheek kissed... it's pretty much a guaranteed laugh. What a sweet girl.

Thursday, July 27, 2006

I'm only sleeping

This is my daughter's new favorite sleeping position. She's turning into quite the finger sucker!

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Laugh it up, Fuzzball

I had Bethany "play" with one of my stuffed animals today. It went from her getting a kick out of the soft fur...

to wanting me to stop taking pictures and pick her up.

Understandable, I guess. On a completely unrelated topic, I am counting today as her first official laugh. We were dancing in the living room (don't make fun of me, it makes her smile) and she definitely was laughing. Continuous, meaningful laughter... it counts.

Monday, July 24, 2006

Goatee

I often turn around to find Bethany with spit-up all over her, but this particular arrangement just made me laugh.

Saturday, July 22, 2006

Geneva Revisited

We just got back from another spontaneous trip to Geneva to meet up with Mom and Dad L. Despite the rain, we had a great time. We explored Ashtabula, and stumbled upon a Merchant Marines memorial that reminded us of Grandpa Vernon. Ashtabula also has some fun beaches for future trips! It's amazing how much Bethany is developing in the few weeks between visits with her grandparents. She was very chatty with her grandma and grandpa, and enjoyed having them be so interested in her stories! Something tells me she's only going to get more and more vocal.

Cousins Heather & Sam

Sam and Heather were up from NJ for the weekend, so Bethany and I got to spend some quality time with them! Bethany had a lot of fun floating around the pool in her raft (which of course I failed to capture on film.) It was very relaxing after having to spend all afternoon in the courthouse for a 5 minute testimony. Good thing that's over with!

Thursday, July 20, 2006

Birthday present

Check this out. Last night I put Bethany down in her crib so her head would have been at the top of this picture. This morning, she had nearly pulled a 180. Maybe for her 3 month birthday I should give her full use of her crib!

Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Happy 3 Months!

Everyone have a piece of cake in honor of Beth's 3 month birthday today. We took her down to the mall to get her pictures taken professionally (for only $8! Thanks, Laura!). They turned out really good, despite the fact that the girl would not smile. Here's the picture we picked, somewhat fuzzy, but you get the idea.


And here's my happy girl earlier this morning. Why couldn't she do that for the camera man?

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

Zonked

After a full day of cleaning the storage room, in an attempt to find camping supplies that weren't there, this is about how we both feel.

Sunday, July 16, 2006

Baby Toes!

Bethany was getting a real kick out of her feet today. Get it, kick? I crack myself up.

Beth the Gymnast


Bethany is getting so strong! Matthew put her on her stomach in the boppy today, which is not unusual. Next thing we know, Beth's flipping over the top of it! When did she get strong enough to do that?!

Friday, July 14, 2006

Peek-a-Boo

I had Bethany lying with me on the couch yesterday. I looked up from my knitting, and this is how she looked. I could just eat her up.

Thursday, July 13, 2006

The Nursery




I'm mainly posting this so my roomie Kara can see how artsy I can be! I know she'll be proud! There are only a few additions since these were taken - including an awesome quilt Missy made her hanging on the back of the crib. (One of these days maybe we'll get her to meet the baby she made it for.) There's some fun things on the little colored shelves, too, but that's about it. Oh, and books on the bookshelves - imagine that! There you go, the first pics on this blog without Bethany in them!

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Daddy's Girl

Bethany has already become quite the Daddy's Girl!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Bethany and Piglet

I had some fun harassing my daughter with her stuffed animals this morning. So here's her slightly amused, and then with her classic pouty face. Man, I love that face. Is that bad?

Sunday, July 9, 2006

Taste of Buffalo

Today was Bethany's first time being surrounded and bumped by a million people at once. That's right, we dragged her to the Taste of Buffalo. And poor Bethany is too small to experience the one reason you even go - food. Her mom and dad had a good time though!

Afterwards, we invited ourselves over to Aunt Marie and Uncle Larry's for an amazing steak dinner. Yummy. (Apparently Taste of Buffalo just wasn't enough food.) What nice relatives we have.

And we tried out their pool. Surprisingly, Beth did not enjoy it as much as she did the lake. Go figure.

Saturday, July 8, 2006

G&G at Geneva

We just got back from a very fun 24 hours in Geneva, OH. Bethany spent her first night in a hotel with the 2 of us and Grandpa Jon and Grandma Miriam. She had fun hanging out under her daddy's shorts!

Then today she went swimming for the first time. And in Lake Erie, no less. None of this starting with baby pools. Even her dad wasn't brave enough to get in the water. Now we just need to get her a bathing suit!

We tired ourselves out in the water, then spent some quality time resting on the beach. (And trying not to spend too long on the burning hot sand.) This was definitely was too quick of a trip. I already can't wait until next time.

Thursday, July 6, 2006

Mall Adventures


Today I got the best workout of my life. Doing what, you ask? Physically carrying my daughter around the mall for two and a half hours. I think that was God's intended get in shape program for new mothers.

Of course, spending that much time alone at the mall with the baby, the inevitable happened. I had to pee. After doing the potty dance in front of the Sears restroom for 15 minutes, I finally got enough courage to go in. And I can now say I have successfully mastered the art of going to the bathroom one-handed. Now there is a talent I never thought I'd actually need.

Refreshed, Bethany and I took a rest at a nearby fountain, watching a constant rotation of impatient old men waiting for their wives to finally emerge from Kaufmann's. There must be some kind of old man repellent in that store.

Of course, before we were able to leave, my little baby girl got hungry. And I had a truly "eureka" moment and headed for the closest fitting room. What a great idea - so nice and private. I wonder if anyone's thought of that before. (Most likely, but let me bask in my brilliance just this once.)

Wednesday, July 5, 2006

Happy 4th of July!

Bethany's first 4th of July was spent visiting friends in Rochester. We spent the night Monday, and were able to spend the entire 4th hanging out with friends. Bethany spent some of the afternoon lazing around on the couch watching the world cup...

Then we headed outside for some foxtail. Bethany had a fun time watching her dad and Uncle Andrew act like complete doofuses trying to attack each other for the ball. I'm sure if she could talk the mocking would have been nonstop (her Aunt Day and I did the talking for her). And, surprise surprise... she won over Andrew's heart, and he actually held her.


Evening came, and Bethany experienced her first fireworks! Believe it or not, she actually enjoyed them! OK, maybe not enjoyed them, but she never cried. That's something.

So, after a late night out, and being able to sleep in this morning, my little girl woke up a happy camper. It's just too bad that mood didn't last too long...

And the picnic continues...

Here is the promised picture of the 4 cousins.. and a couple other cute ones my mom had. I tried to post about our 4th of July adventures this morning, but blogger wouldn't let me. I guess you're going to have to wait until I'm home again to do it. I know you're going to be dying in suspense, but there's just nothing I can do about it.


Mike is such a dork.


Look at Ben... so American!

Monday, July 3, 2006

The Next Generation

As usual, the weekend was full of activities. And once again, surprisingly few pictures to show for it. Saturday, one of Matt's best friends came over from Rochester to hang out for the afternoon. That was followed by a very sweet dinner and movie prepared by Matthew.

Sunday we had a graduation picnic for my cousin, Dan. Bethany got to meet her cousins, Eric and Leah! What fun! (Leah has been the one supplying Bethany's wardrobe.) My mom took a really cute picture of all four cousins (basically the picture above but with Ben, too.) When I get it, I'll put it up.

After the picnic, we raced back home to visit with Matthew's high school teacher, Marcy, and his friend Andrew's mother, Molly. Sounds strange, I know, but they're good friends and were passing through from out of town. We chatted all evening, and they stayed over and headed back to OH this morning. Now we're racing around running errands this afternoon in case we end up heading to Rochester for the 4th. The fun never stops.