Rolling along!

My little girl…

At fifteen weeks and one day…

Rolls….

And rolls….

And rolls….

She’s been trying for weeks, and now she is the master of rolling from her back to her front. She’s been rolling from her front to back since she was two weeks old, so now she can roll across the floor. And she does!

And when she is done rolling… she passes out.

There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

Except for maybe those toes!

But with all the firsts comes another first - her first cold... our first family sickness. We are all sick... so we have been a bit lazy.

And we are doing alot of sleeping.

I did manage to bake some blueberry muffins - complete with their own Halloween costumes!

And Evie found a new way of swinging - her own little way that shows off those sweet little piggies I love so much!

This makes me laugh every time!

This is love.

Campgrounds and Toes

Well, it has finally turned fall in Virginia. I say finally because we are in the last week of October and the mountains are just now speckled with warm oranges, reds, and yellows and the temperature has been abnormally warm, getting as high as the 80's.

I checked the forecast this morning and they are saying mid-60's for the rest of the week. Finally. I was beginning to think that the turtle neck I used to make Evie's Halloween costume would be a bit much for her but it looks like the weather will be perfect for cozy warm clothes.

I love fall. I love the colors, I love the clothes, I love the temperature, I love the smell of the leaves, I love that you can decorate for Halloween and Thanksgiving simultaneously, I love a chubby baby wearing blue jeans and a long sleeves...

I love that there are more sunny days than rainy days, and I love camping - which in my opinion is the ultimate fall destination.

So last weekend, well, we went camping.

My parents rented a cabin at the campground that I refer to as my "childhood campground." I spent more weekends there as a kid than I'll ever be able to remember and it was an incredible feeling to take my little girl there for her first camping trip.

Of course, we were always in a tent or a camper as kids - kudos to my parents for their patients - but I'm not about to spend 48 hours in a 4 person tent with a 3 month old and unfortunately our dream purchase of a travel trailer has been put on hold while we catch up on life.

But back to this past weekend...

Camping Breakfast

Bacon, scrambled eggs cooked in grease, toast, jelly, FATBACK! Oh my, I love fatback! And coffee... coffee always taste better when you are camping. Why is that?

After breakfast... a walk through the campground and board games.

Board Games

There is something about camping that brings out my love for board games. Not the games that require you to think about anything in particular or even care about winning (ie. Monopoly)… I'm talking about the mindless board games that you can play while having a conversation with your mom and nursing a baby. Where it's nearly impossible to cheat unless your name is Rhonda and you throw two dice after space 95 in Snakes and Ladders instead of one to see which one sticks.

Of course, Get-Together-Games surpass all board games. While they may require more thought, and the conversation sticks to what is happening in the game - (although as I found out, you can still nurse a baby but it does take more effort than normal…) - they are SO much fun! There is nothing that will get you laughing so hard your stomach hurts using dice and pawns… but combine 2 part parents who've never played before, one part tired bundled up baby, one part annoyed wife, and a know-it-all yankee on a front porch - at night - in the middle of the woods - playing Taboo… pure belly aching bliss.

New Experiences

Camping also obviously brings out the crazy in a mom who wants her infant daughter to experience all of the things she enjoyed as a child even though she won't remember one second of it, or frankly even care. Like...

A big purple tire.

As I sat Evie on the big purple tire that I remember climbing in, out, and over as a kid - she gave me this look as if to say… "you woke me up for this?"

Yes baby, I did… It's incredible. Just look at it!

Who thinks of this? A giant painted tire planted into the ground for kids to play on, search for spiders in, and fall off of and break their arms.

Brilliant!

Okay so I wasn't thinking of the broken arm thing as a kid… but I'm a mom now - everything is a hazard.

She did manage to crack a smile while sitting up there where her momma did so many times before. She gets it. I know she does.

But above the board games, the smell of campfires, the big purple tires, and the most delicious fatback breakfast I've had in a long time... I love camping because there is no where that you have to go, nothing that you have to do, and no one you need to impress.

No schedule. No running to the bank on Saturday morning before it closes so you have cash for the weekend. No dinner at 6:00, sharp. It's you and your family.

It's a time to slow down and catch up. Take naps.

Rough house with the dogs. And snuggle with grandma.

It's letting the chili cook in the can, just because you can.

And for my dad… it's to teach Evie new things - like blowing air between her lips to make a pubrrrr sounds. She has been practicing her new found noise constantly since Sunday.

Well, it was great while it lasted… but all good things must come to an end - and it's back to work and back to reality.

Halloween is on Sunday and I have not finished Evelyn's costume. I actually started on it a month ago - and while it's not fancy by any means - procrastination has gotten the best of me and that means that one night this week we will be making a mad rush to Micheal's for pipe cleaners, velcro, and styrofoam balls.

Whatever will she be?

You'll know soon enough.

And lastly, the latest and greatest discovery made by my little one -

she has TOES!

Imagine that!

She curls herself up into a tiny ball and her little fingers explore her little toes. So much fun!

I'm sure it won't be long until she finds out that they taste pretty good too.

The Dreaded First Post...

I'm making an attempt to re-enter the world of blog. I need something therapeutic and I figure since I'm not using my English degree for anything else, I may as well use it for myself… at least as long as I'm still paying for it. I have never been very good at the first post of a new blog. In my mind I feel that I should be standing up and giving my name and brief history of why I'm here, much like an AA meeting, but for fellow blog addicts. I admit, I'm a sucker for a good blog. Something about reading what other women have to say about life seems to make me feel better about my own. I say that not with the suggestion that my life is any better than anyone else’s, but rather reading what others have to say about their own lives… and children… and husbands… and parents, work, vacations, holidays… and laundry piled a mile high on the couch begging to be put away before the little dog digs a nest in the t-shirt stack… that makes me feel more normal. That life is fair, because there are others like me, going through the same things whatever that may be.

So, because I've already admitted my weakness for creative first blog posts, and because thinking of some other way to kick this off would result in me staring at a blank screen, typing and then backspacing umpteen times, and having small panic attacks over wasting two hours that could be spent holding my little, I'll stand up and introduce myself.

I'm Kelly and I'm a wife and a mommy. I work outside of my home but I desperately want to be a stay home mom. I love photography... and I love my family.

That's about it. So...

For now, I leave you with the picture that stretches my computer desktop screen right now.


Oh that little girl is just totally in love with her hands… I guess I kind of am too.