Happy Birthday to Jim!

Today is Jim's birthday.  The last of his twenties.  We didn't do anything very special today; just took him to get his stitches out, ran some errands in Grand Rapids, and ordered his favorite pizza for dinner.  We got home last night and are still trying to get our things back in order after being gone for a week.  We had a blast with the Chrysts in Wisconsin.  They are such a fun family.  I have lots of pics; I'll post them later.

In case you are wondering about the rabbit, we are too!  Earlier this summer, someone placed a cement rabbit on our front step dressed in a baby dress and sun hat (the dress was too small for her, but Lena's been wearing the hat!)  Then on July 4th, it had a patriotic ribbon tied around its neck.  Well, when we got home last night, we discovered that the rabbit has been adorned with a clerical collar and a "Happy Birthday" balloon and noise-maker.  LOL!  Looks just like him!  We are still waiting for someone to confess to being the bunny caper, so if you have any hot tips, let me know!  We're thinking of installing surveillance cameras. :)

Check in later for vacation pics.

Do Not Try This at Home!

Jim got stitches today.  He was trying to pry apart some frozen salmon burgers with a steak knife.  Yeah.  The burgers came apart, and the knife sailed right between them into his hand.  Does the picture remind you of anyone?  He was really wishing the injury had coincided with the week when the scripture readings are about bearing the marks of Christ crucified.  That would have been a great sermon illustration!

But seriously, he had to get three stitches; his first.  He is okay though; we are thankful that he didn't sever any tendons or anything in his hand.  He is in some pain, but it is tolerable.  I think he did it just so he would get out of driving tomorrow.

Which brings me to my next topic.  We are on vacation starting tomorrow after church. Yippee!  We are driving to Wisconsin where we will visit some friends: a church member who just started at Concordia Mequon, Lena's God parents and their girls, and one of my high school friends and her husband.  We will be gone all week, coming home on Jim's birthday.

I'm sure I'll have lots of pics to show when we get back.  Hope everyone has a great week.

Lena's Six Month Portraits

Here are the digital copies of Lena's pictures. We'll send out prints when we get them.

http://picasaweb.google.com/aseleener/LenaSSixMonthPortraits#

Enjoy!

Mama's Little "Helper"

Today Lena was playing on the floor in her room while I gathered up the trash in the bathroom. When I came back into the room, this is what I saw:

She decided to help Mama "organize" her diapers.  She looks pretty proud of herself:

What a silly girl. It's hard to get used to her standing up all the time.  Time to baby-proof the house, I guess!

I should have known she'd be up to no good.  Last week when I was doing the trash, I came back into her room to find the laundry basket tipped over and her chewing on her dirty clothes.  When I said, "Lena, what are you doing?" she turned around and looked at me, with the clothes still in her mouth, and gave me the hugest grin I've ever seen.  What a goof!

Not Quite Right

Something's not quite right here. LOL The funny thing is she seemed to enjoy it just as much!

This was when she and I were cuddling on the couch watching the Cardinals game.

Lena's Six Month Check Up

Today Lena had her six month check up. It was a little late because we had to switch pediatricians. Ours moved her practice to Hudsonville, and that is way too far for us to drive. But it worked out well because I was thinking of transferring Lena to the pediatrician at the complex in Caledonia that Jim and I have been going to. So, finding out her other doctor is moving kind of sealed the deal!

Anyway, the appointment went really well. Here are her stats:

Height: 27.5 inches (95th percentile)
Weight: 17 lbs. 7 oz. (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 42.8 cm (50th percentile)

Can't say that I'm surprised to hear that she is longer than 95% of baby girls her age. It's pretty hard getting her clothes to fit right. If they are long enough, then they are baggy on the sides, and if they fit right on the sides, they are too short.

She got two more shots, and only cried for about 30 seconds. She's always such a trooper with the shots.

In other news, Happy Birthday to Grandpa Lee today! Sorry we can't be there to celebrate with you.

Heritage Day 2008

Today was Heritage Day in Middleville. It was a really great one. In the morning, Jim participated in the 5K along the Thornapple River. Although he came in second-to-last, he won a third place ribbon (there were only 3 in his age category!) His time was 59 minutes, so now he has a goal for next year (I think he said 50 :) After that, we headed over to church to get on the parade float. The float theme this year was farm animals. I had a cow outfit for Lena that I got on super clearance after Halloween last year. It was adorable! I'm glad this opportunity came up for her to wear it because I'm not sure it will fit her in two months anyway (even though it is sized 6-12 months.) After the parade, we went downtown where the church had a booth. We sold homemade cupcakes and cans of soda, and we had a make-and-take craft table for the kids. There were also food vendors, a classic car show, a tractor show (sponsored by Good Shepherd), and fun things for kids. It's a really nice thing that Middleville does. And the weather could not have been more perfect. Sunny and 70, which is great considering it rained the two days previous.

Here are some pics:

Jim "warming up" for the 5k.

Crossing the finish line. He grabbed Lena as he was coming up to it; he didn't walk with her the whole way. Don't you love the way he is carrying her?

The proud ribbon-winner.

Lena and Mama on the parade float.

Our float.

The line-up for the parade lasted so long that once we finally got moving and were actually on the parade route, Lena fell asleep. She had fought it for a long time, but finally fell asleep sitting up.

After the festivities were over, Grandpa Brian and Aunt Amy came up for a visit. We went out to dinner (Mexican, yum!) and ran some errands on Saturday. Then on Sunday we went to church and had a nice lunch at home before they had to go. It was a nice visit.

Next year, Middleville will be celebrating 175 years, so I hear they have an extra special Heritage Day planned. We can't wait!

Here's the Proof!

So, it turns out that this standing up thing wasn't a fluke; she's done it like five times this evening. She must like it because she is very insistent upon trying. She's been doing it so much I was able to snap a picture of her doing it. She is staying up for longer periods of time before falling over.

And here she is looking pretty proud of herself.

Lena Stood Up!

Yes, it's true! She was crawling around the living room floor while Jim and I were sitting reading our books. She had been kind of fussy because her teeth were hurting her. We have an ottoman and on top of it was another book that I am reading. Lena absolutely loves our books and tries to get at them every chance she gets. Well, she saw that book laying on the ottoman and decided she wanted it. I saw her going for it, and reached over to move it out of her reach. That's when I looked over and saw Lena standing up, holding on to the edge of the ottoman! I was so shocked! I said to Jim, "Oh my gosh! She's standing up!" And he saw her too. It's a good thing, because I'm not sure I would have believed my eyes otherwise. Then the next second she fell down. But I was so amazed. Just the day before someone asked me if she was pulling herself up on things yet, and I honestly thought it would be a while, because I hadn't seen her do anything even close to this yet. And she's only been crawling for a week or two. But, this girl is determined. When she decides she wants something, she's going to get it!

I'm awfully proud of my little girl, but also quite nervous about how mobile she is getting. Guess it's time to baby-proof the house!