Happy Birthday Pardie!

Today was my Dad's birthday so we all headed over for his birthday dinner/party to my parent's house.

The girls playing before dinner.

The Cissells

The birthday boy/Engineer

61 candles cover the cake completely!

Sophia with the assist.

Sophia could not wait to lick the icing off the candles.

Our contribution was the cake. It was a white cake with chocolate icing - made from scratch!

Eva had her own bowl of cake. Soon she dumped the cake from the bowl and went to town.

YUM.

Eva ate her piece faster than anyone else. I guess she gets her love of chocolate and cake from me!

Cousin love.

Waiting for everyone else to finish their cake.

Closet Space

Gilbert and I LOVE our house and are so happy to be moved in and mostly settled. The one concern I had was the size of our new closet. In Austin we each had our own walk-in closet, and mine was full to the brim with clothes and my extensive shoe collection. I knew that I needed to go through my clothes as well as my shoes since I now have less closet space. I had to get creative when displaying my shoes. I used an old bookcase for my favorites and then some hanging closet organizers for sandals and flats.

I still have boxes and boxes of shoes to go through, but that will be another time....

And on a different note... I made a delicious breakfast this morning. Cinnamon Roll Pizza. It was so good that Gilbert told me I could make him this for his birthday cake:)

Little Helper

Eva likes to help prepare the bathtub for her bathtime. I used to line her toys up on the ledge and she would push them in. Then she discovered that she could grab them and put them in the tub herself. Now anytime she is in the bathroom, she drops her toys in the tub. She is a fast learner!

Road to Independence

Last night Eva decided that she wanted to help out with her feeding. The past few weeks she has been very insistent on picking up food and feeding herself. But last night was the first time that she actually grabbed for her spoon (and didn't just drop it on the floor). She made a huge mess, but I am just happy that she ate! We also tried milk last night in her sippy cup. She seemed to like it. Baby steps...

9 Month Dr. Visit at 10 Months

We were a little delayed in taking Eva to her 9 month visit. Everything went well - she is now 18 lbs (45th percentile) and 28.5 inches (80th percentile). So she is still tall and skinny:) Her development is right on track, so I can stop freaking out because she isn't talking yet! Eva really doesn't like strangers, but Dr. Wheeler is the exception!

Picnic in the Park

This afternoon Eva and I met the Cissells at Community Park for a picnic. Eva loved seeing all the kids and went down the slide a few times. She was still too timid to get down and play - maybe next time. She also liked throwing bread to the ducks.

Sophia going down the big slide.

Making a silly face.

"Drinking" from a cup.

Sophia feeding the ducks.

Quack!!

Spring has Arrived

We took a walk this afternoon and enjoyed the beautiful weather.

Our Little Walker

Eva has been walking more and more lately. Gilbert captured her on film this afternoon. She is not wearing pants because they get in her way. If she had a choice in the matter, she would be naked all day:)

Hanging Pictures

We have friends coming over tomorrow for lunch - which was a perfect excuse to get Gilbert to hang some pictures for me! I am really happy with how everything turned out - and Eva loved looking at pictures of herself!

A collage of baby and wedding pictures on the hall wall right by the front door.

Gilbert's 49ers corner of the room.

My impressive credentials:) Too bad they still can't land me a job....

On Wednesday afternoon Eva and I went over to the Cissells to play outside. As always, the girls had a great time together.

Having fun with the watering hose.

Such a cutie!

Job Fair

This morning I got dressed up for the job fair. Overall I was glad I went, although it was frustrating. Most of the banks I spoke with were not hiring and some were not even accepting resumes. Makes you wonder why they were even there?? I am still keeping the faith that the right job is out there for me.

It was fun putting on makeup and getting dressed up - as oftentimes I stay in my pjs all day. Here are a few pictures of me when I got home. I missed my little girl!

When we started to give Eva a pacifier, I already worried about how we would get her off of it once she became older. Turns out I shouldn't have worried because about a month or so ago she decided that she didn't want it anymore. Today she found one in my bedside drawer. It kept her entertained for a few minutes....

Last night when Gilbert got home from work I asked him to check on Eva. This is what he saw.

Awake or asleep - she is one silly baby!