Mr. Jackson

Last Saturday, Leah, my mom and and I drove down to College Station to visit Brittany and her new bundle of joy, baby Jackson! Felicity was a wee bit crank on the way down until we stopped in Corsicana at Collin Street Bakery to meet my mom and dad (who dropped my mom off to ride the rest of the way with Leah and me.)

All better with Poppy

Then we were off to see the new mommy and baby...

He is too cute!

The grandmas with each other's babies...love Jackson's little foot hanging out.

Jackson and Felicity are almost exactly six months apart.

Beautiful mama and baby

Congrats Boates & Ryan!

Celebrating with Lyndsey and Chris

It had been quite a while since I had been to a wedding, and even longer since I had been in a wedding, so I was elated to celebrate with Lyndsey and Chris at their wedding this past weekend. To start with, I traveled down to Austin a few weeks ago for Lyndsey's bachelorette party, leaving Felicity for the first time overnight. So yes, since I'm still breastfeeding, I was the loser who was having to pump every four hours during the weekend, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. At least I was there! And I must brag on Justin, because he was super dad while I was gone. I assumed (and recommended) that he just stay close to home where he would have access to everything he needed...bottles, diapers, her crib, etc. but no - he planned a full weekend of activities for himself and Lici. During the day on Saturday he took Felicity to the pool party/diaper shower for the Baird's and then went to my family reunion at my aunt's that night! I probably called him more than he called me, but it was just because I missed them so much. Although, I have to say - I thoroughly enjoyed and needed a weekend full of some fun girl-time.

No pics of Daddy and Lici that weekend, but here's some from our festivities in Austin. During the day we ate lunch at one of Sandra Bullock's restaurants, enjoyed cupcakes at Sugar Mama's and swam at the hotel rooftop pool. Saturday night we threw Lynds' her lingerie shower in our hotel room followed by dinner and dancing out on the town. Sunday morning we had a yummy brunch together before we headed home.

Now to the wedding weekend...Lyndsey's aunts and grandmothers threw a wonderful bridesmaid luncheon at La Duni. It was delicious. I mean - really delicious. Check out my plate:

Then we headed to Salon Pompeo to get our hair done. It was so nice to be so pampered.

Then we went back to the hotel for a quick rest...

Then off to the church to get ready!

Lynd's let each of the bridesmaids choose their own short black dress.

Chris decorated the bottom of Lynd's shoes to walk down the aisle...how sweet.

Lynd's cute camo garter for Capt. Chris...

Lovely.

Reception time!

The happy bride and groom - CONGRATULATIONS!!

Captain and Mrs. Christopher Markos

(I just realized this is a very long post. I probably should have broken this up into more than one...if you're still reading, thank you.)

Feed the Fe!

Felicity is eating real food! Well, rice cereal that is. As I mentioned, on Justin's birthday (Aug. 14), we gave Felicity her first taste of the good stuff, and there's no turning back. She loved it.

"Why am I strapped in this weird chair with all these cameras on me?"

"This is delicious!"

"Give me that spoon."

"I can do it by myself!"

Miss Independent

(I have no idea where her stubbornness comes from...:-)

"This is the greatest!"

"See Mom? All done!"

Happy Birthday, Justin!

Yesterday Justin turned 28! We are now the same age...at least for the next four months. We started the day feeding Felicity her first official food - rice cereal. That deserves a separate post, but here's a quick shot of the morning activity. 

Next Felicity got some good snuggle time with her daddy...and her baseball, of course.

Then we loaded up and went to get Justin some new shoes.

Justin and I ended the day with dinner and a movie. Nothing over the top, but a great day spent together as a family. Happy Birthday, love!

5 months

We have made it to 5 months!

I cannot get over how much I love this little lady. She is such a gift.

Here's the scoop on Felicity at 5 months:

• 
  
   She's still nursing four times a day (7:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.) with two main naps (9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:30-3:30 p.m.)
• 
  
  Her interest with eating all hands has only increased, but now she is also very interested in anything that is in your hands too. It is getting more and more difficult to drink, eat or talk on the phone while holding her because she will try to take it all from you!
• In addition to her hands, she's also discovered her toes. Those piggy pies make a tasty treat!
• 
  
  We have not started any solids yet, but are going to do that at 5 1/2 months. So I'll be back to post the update on how her first encounter with rice cereal goes soon. I can tell she is very ready to start eating. In addition to trying to snag any food/drink in our hands, she is obsessed with watching us eat. It just mesmerizes her...according to the books, this means they are ready for food.
• 
  
  She's also more interested in her toys now - picking them up, putting them in her mouth, straining for them when they are just out of reach
• 
  
  Rolling is still another of her favorite pastimes. She can roll across the room in no time. I'm convinced she may not want to crawl since she's developed such a talent for getting where she wants by rolling.
• 
  
  She's laughing a lot more now, which is just amazing. I don't think there's anything sweeter or more uplifting than listening to a baby get the giggles. It is my favorite. She really gets going when I'm putting lotion on her after her bath and trying to get it up under her neck fat rolls.
• 
  
  She's still in 6-9 month range in clothes. I'm hoping we can stay in these until it gets cold, since thanks to all our sweet friends and family, we basically haven't had to buy her any summer clothes. I am really looking forward to finally having a reason to go shopping for the little lady once fall arrives.
• 
  
  Oh and lastly, we gave her a sippy cup of water on her 5 month birthday! I'm not sure she's figured out how to actually get liquid out of it and into her mouth yet, but we're working on it. It was exciting, but I have to say, seeing her sitting up holding a sippy cup makes me a little sad. I feel like she is just getting so big so fast.

Laughing at Daddy

"I've had enough!!"

The end

Apparently, she sits

Until this Thursday, I didn't know Felicity was sitting up. We were at playgroup and a few of the sweet mamas pointed it out. I had no idea! I guess I was thinking that if she couldn't sit there forever or if she put her hands down in front of her, it didn't count. Well, apparently, it does and here are the pics to prove it.

Here she is watching TV...the little couch tater tot

And I'm a bit behind on my 5 month post, but I will get to that soon...

Pack rat: blessing or curse?

If you know me at all or have noticed Felicity in some "vintage" (aka: dated) outfits, you know that my mom saves everything. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I have inherited this trait from her. Personally, I see it as a good thing -- we have had so many laughs over old, funny things and been reminded of many sweet memories. I've had such fun dressing Felicity up in all my old baby clothes... and as an added bonus, if you can perfect the art of preserving things, as my mom has done, it can save lots of $$.

HOWEVER... I think she may have gone too far. No, let me restate that - she definitely went too far. She has been cleaning out some things from her house, which in itself is very impressive. Part of the curse of saving everything, is that before you know it, you can be sitting in piles of junk. But back to the story -- two weekends ago Justin was in Milwaukee for Northwestern Mutual's annual meeting, so my parents decided to come and stay with Felicity and me for a few days. Before they left Longview, she called to see if I wanted a few of her vintage finds; otherwise, she was officially getting rid of them. Of course, I couldn't say no, so I ended up with this gem (among others):

I'm saving this so I can crimp Fe's hair for her first 80's party (if it doesn't start a fire when I plug it in...)

And this:

I foolishly assumed it was empty...until I opened it up and discovered these treasures inside:

If you can ignore the disgusting used toothbrushes...let's take a closer look at that Flex shampoo sample, shall we?

EXPIRES JUNE 1, 1988!! That is more than 22 years ago! I was too afraid to open it up and see what it looked like. It went straight in the trash. Do they even make Flex shampoo anymore?

The best part about this lovely piece of luggage (that I should note, my mom got for her high school graduation in 1974) was that it was part of a complete set - 2 full-size suitcases, this makeup case and a hanging bag. Apparently, my grandma wanted one of the suitcases for herself, but I got all the rest. Grandma says if she doesn't use it soon, she'll let me have it. You see, this blessing/curse is an inherited trait that is passed down from generation to generation. So, Felicity - it is inevitable, I guess. You will be a pack rat, like the rest of us.

So...with that said, here's a pic from the weekend of my lovely mom, the best pack rat I know!

I love you, Mom!

And in honor of Justin's business trip, Felicity sported her latest Northwestern Mutual fashion for her daddy: