HER FIRST TOOTH! and teething.

Notice the excitement in the title! and then the not so exciting part that comes along with it! Molly Grace has her first tooth through (explaining her fussy pants attitude the past couple of days)! The little bear is a stinker though and would NOT let me get a picture of it, let alone more than a glimpse inside her mouth (she sticks her tongue out when she opens her mouth to hide the new tooth from me), so that we will have to wait until she cooperates with me! I have felt it several times and it's there, even if I don't have picture proof just yet!

What I do have though are a couple of the pictures Kim took of her last night! We managed to get a couple in before she got too fussy! It is so hard to take a picture of the bear these days. She insists that if she must have her picture taken that she get to play with the camera and that doesn't work well with Kim or me! We put her down and she just uses her newfound ability to crawl to get closer to the camera so she can get her hands on it. She's too fast people.

I feel like the past couple of weeks have been full of "firsts" for Molly Grace. Crawling, pulling up, tasting fruit (baby food fruit, i went with veggies first), and now her first tooth! Everyday and every "first" is so exciting...even teething. We'll get through it, just like we have with everything else. Hey, I went 4 months on about 4 hours (or less) sleep each night so I can handle teething, right? We shall see!

look at that face!!

sittin' pretty

"hey mom, you look silly dancing behind kim to try and make me smile, i'm only going to give you a half smile just because you look so silly." Love, Molly Grace
(at least that's what I think she would have said)

yum....leaf!

now, who wouldn't love looking at that face all day?

I don't mind it all.

LOVE!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

oh i love her...

Last night Kim had Molly Grace laughing SO hard and I managed to get in on video! She cracks me up. Last night, the bear also decided to go to sleep at 8:30!!!! I've been trying to get her in the bed earlier every night since I created a horrible routine of her going to bed at the same time as me, but I think she's finally getting the hang of going to bed early and without me! She even is sleeping later on the weekends, between 8:00 & 8:30 is when she is waking up, which may not sound "late" to many, but it beats 6:00 any day!

This week I am still working on drinking more water AND I'm going to try to make it outside for a walk/stroller ride with MG this week on a pretty day! (maybe today!) I'm setting reasonable goals for myself, so this week I'm just going to say one afternoon and then maybe next week I'll increase to two!

LOVE!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

Crawl Monster!!

January 16, 2010, Molly Grace decided that she needed her pacifier so bad that she would learn to crawl. Watch out world, MGT is on the move.

While I admit her crawling technique must be mastered, she definitely can do it!!

Please note::::: Please ignore my terrible baby talk and how awful I look, this video is about MG and her accomplishments, not her mother :)

LOVE!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

Finally!!

They're Here!!

The much awaited (humor me, people!) pictures are finally here!! These may not be the final editing of these pics but nonetheless, they are proof that these pictures do exist and that she is as adorable as I've been going on and on about.

Enjoy!!!

Probably my favorite...

see ya next time!

Love,

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

you are my sunshine, my only sunshine...

you are my sunshine

my only sunshine

you make me happy, when skies are grey

you'll never know dear, how much I love you

so please don't take my sunshine away!

(p.s. as lame as this may make me sound, i just discovered the "compose" tab of the blog, it definitely makes blogging a lot easier!!)

LOVE!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

She's growing everyday and me, I'm at a standstill

RIGHT after I blogged about Molly Grace almost crawling on Saturday night, she did just that!!!

She crawled all the way across the living room to me, or well to get her pacifier from me! I have a video of the bear crawling to me but of course I don't have my camera to upload it so that will have to come later.

She kept crawling Sunday and then Monday night while I was making her bottle, Kim called me into the living room and the little stinker had pulled herself up onto her exersaucer and was chewing on the toys attached to it! She stood there for several minutes, allowing me to capture a few pictures of her!!


standing! she pulled up on this all by herself!


loves chewing on the toys! i'm sure she'll be getting teeth anyday now!


She literally is taking off right in front of my eyes!! I can't believe she is crawling and pulling herself up already! She is definitely miss independent. She has also started babbling alot. She also likes to chew on my bracelets, well she likes to chew on EVERYTHING, but lately it seems that my bracelets have taken precedent over all the other things she shouldn't be putting in her mouth! Here are a few pictures of her with the bracelets and talking to her Mommy!


it must taste good....like, metal.


hi mom!


mmm...whatcha say? she says...ah.

As for me, I feel that I am at a standstill. As I watch MG grow everyday, I started thinking, how am I growing? I came to the conclusion that I don't think I am. I feel so stuck right now. Nothing new really going on. Day in and day out, same old, same old. wake up, get ready, get MG ready, take her to babysitter, go to work, pick her up, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed, and the cycle repeats everyday. The only thing I changing is about a million diapers a month! Don't get me wrong, I looooove being a mommy. I love it so much. I wouldn't trade her or taking care of her for anything, I'd just like to change more than just dirty diapers.
With that being said, I had an epiphony today. I am going to create one thing everyday to accomplish, and I'm going to try daily to blog about those things. If I want change, I'm going to have to make it.

Today's goal: drink lots of water! Dr. Pepper and Sweet tea are my downfalls. Goal progress today: just took a big sip of delicious water while I type.

She definitely is growing bigger everyday, but my favorite thing about her that hasn't changed is that when she is sleepy, she lays her head on my shoulder and drifts off to sleep. I cherish those moments knowing they will soon change too. But for now, she can have my shoulder anytime she wants.

And she sleeps.



LOVE!
Mary Beth and Molly Grace

and so it goes....

Today Kim volunteered to take Molly Grace out with her for a little while so I could catch up on my cleaning and my sleep. I got A LOT of cleaning done but didn't get caught up on my sleep. I guess sleep is so foreign to me that it's usually the last thing on my mind. I think I must have forgotten how to nap being that is has been a little over 6 months since I've really napped.

Molly Grace is growing into such a wonderful little baby girl. She is so delightful and is slowly but surely learning how to crawl and pull up on things. She is definitely a Momma's girl. I love my princess.

Just thought I would blog for a minute. I rarely get the chance on the weekends!! I promise I will have her 6 months pictures up soon!! I'm so thankful for my baby free day I enjoyed today and for my holiday on Monday!!

Have a fantabulous weekend!

LOVE!!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

double the birth weight, double the fun

Yesterday was Molly Grace's 6 month well check up visit was yesterday.

Here are the stats:

Weight: 16.8 pounds (65th percentile)
Height: 26 inches long (65th percentile)
(I have the head % written down, but it's in the car, she was in the 50% percentile for head circumference)

She's growing fast and normally! I'm so thankful the bear is so healthy.

Other random facts about the little one:

She loves flapping her arms up and down and throwing toys down.

She is rocking on her hands and knees and is set to take off crawling any day now.

She is always talking baby talk, (still working on getting her to say "mama"!!)
She loves blowing her lips and it so funny to watch.

She can hold her own bottle.

She HATES laying down and has made diaper changes almost impossible.

Her favorite things to chew on: mommy's iPhone, mommy's keys and mommy's remote. see the pattern? at least she is consistent.

She is eating veggies one to two meals a day...so far she has enjoyed (really): green beans, peas, and carrots! She is eating so good.

She has started pulling up on things and she reaches for me, which I have to say, is my very favorite thing she does.

She laughs a lot and especially enjoys peek-a-boo.

Whew. Writing about everything she is doing these days is wearing me out about as much as she does!!

Here are some of the pictures I took yesterday at the doctor...you'll notice my hand in the pictures holding her to make sure she doesn't try to jump off the table...it seems these days that she thinks it funny to try to roll off everything and give me heart attacks daily.






These pictures were, of course, before the shots. Those dreadful shots. Thank goodness she only has one more in Feb. and then she won't get anymore until July (when she is ONE YEAR OLD...where has the time gone?)

LOVE!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

I'm dreaming of a white.....3 weeks after Christmas

Snow in the south, well at least in GA( because that's the viewpoint I have), is a BIG deal. Personally, I'm not so much a fan of the white stuff. I HATE the cold. I always feel pale and disgusting in the winter (because I am!), and I'm just not a huge fan of the fashion that is available in the winter. Anyways, I digress, snow is a BIG deal in Georgia. Even if it is only going to flurry, masses of people rush to the grocery stores and stock up on the essentials, leaving people (like me, who really need milk and bread) with empty shelves. It is quite ridiculous. But, the one thing I do love about Georgia and snow is that if the roads even look like they might be icy, schools, churches and most importantly MY AGENCY closes for the day. This is what happened last Friday.

Last Friday was technically MG's third snow day. Last year at the end of Feb./beginning of March, Athens got 8-9ish inches of snow. My pregnant self was trapped in my apatment with no power for 48 hours with nothing to eat, but peanut butter sandwiches and expired milk (because I DON'T stock up!). It was AWFUL. Thankfully, Amy was with me or I would have been stuck and alone. That would have been even more terrible. This snow day was waaaaayy better. MG got to experience the less than inch accumulation of snow that we got at my house. I bundled her up (in non matching clothes, I never do that) and took her outside for some pictures with her first experience in a winter(ish) wonderland!
I think she may take after me with her dislike in cold weather because she hated wearing her jacket! Even though I think the jacket is just too cute. So is she might I add. She was pretty funny in the snow, she wouldn't move AT ALL. If you know anything about Molly Grace, she is a mover and always has been even when she was just a wee little babe growing in my tummy. I guess she was really cold? I managed to get a few cutesy faces from the bear and here are some pictures from MG's first snow adventure!





Somehow writing about how I didn't feel feel like writing has made me want to write again! Yay for getting things off my chest! MG goes today for her 6 month check up...tomorrow I should have some stats on the bear and even some of the AMAZING pictures Kim took of her on her 6 month birthday!

I'll leave you with a picture of my little princess sitting in her new favorite and strange way! Funny thing is, how she is sitting is how I sit in my computer chair at work! Like mother, like daughter. I don't chew on everything I see though, so she must get that from her...I'll be nice.

LOVE!

Mary Beth

Why do I do this?

Lately I've been avoiding updating this blog because I just can't seem to be as good of a writer as other blogger moms I read. Usually several times a day I think of something in my head that I think would be an amazing part of a new blog, but everytime I sit down to blog, blah just comes out. I'm not very creative on paper apparently. My thoughts are very creative but when it comes to verbalizing those thoughts, I lose it somewhere. In high school and college (and I would like to think now), the thing I had going for me was that I could write. My mother is an amazing writer and I'd like to think I inhereited that skill from her. I don't know what it is but I just can't seem to get it right these days. I also aspire to do tons of creative projects all the time but I never can actually get them done.

As I was reflecting about this, I started thinking about all the reasons why this could be. I'm not trying to make excuses for myself or make anyone feel sorry for me, but I honestly do think it has something to do with the fact that I am a single mom. I work everyday and when I am home, I want to spend (and have to for the sheer fact that no one else is around to take care of MG, wouldn't have it any other way though) every moment with my sweet little daughter. Another reason could be the fact that I find myself completely and utterly exhausted 98% of the time. (maybe I will look into some b-12 vitamins...i need some energy!) These reasons are definitely not excuses, but rather a decsion and a statement that I will stop thinking about the things I want to do and do them. One of the craftiest and creative people I know is a single mom (props to Lindsey Knott and her precious little girl Parker...wanna give me tips to how you manage to be a single mom and still be crafty??)

To sum it up, I may never become a well-known mommy blogger, and I may never have more than 4 readers, but thats not the reason I started this blog, I did it so MG could have something she could look back on. I did this so she can read about the things she won't be able to remember. I did this so they would be documented and not lost. I mean, how cool would it have been for me if my mom had blogged about the first couple years of my life to which I have no recollection to.

So...I may not be as creative and crafty as others, but I too have heart and a drive to make this blog the best it can be. I'm happy about it.

To answer my question from my blog title, I do this for MG. (yep, Luke, I'm cheesy, and I'm allowed, I'm a mom now)

Love!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace

and pictures will tell a thousand words....

zero....


one.....


two.....


three....


four.....


five.....



SIX.....


wow. half a year has already passed. BEST. SIX. MONTHS. OF. MY. LIFE.

happy half birthday to my little love.

LOVE!

Mary Beth and Molly Grace