A Good Excuse

I've been busy in these final weeks of the semester. Pictures are waiting to be down/up/whateverloaded, stories need to be told. But first things first...I have papers to write and exams to study for! After December 16, I will be all-Christmas, all-family and friends, all-fun! Meaning lots of blogging!

So please, family and friends, pardon the hiatus. In the meantime, relax with your favorite Christmas stories, movies, carols, and memories, and maybe even do some blogging of your own about it (be sure to tell me if you do!).

Babies Love Babies

Paige and I recently met a few of the girls from work for lunch, and to meet Robin's new little boy, "SnuggleBug". We decided to meet at Founder's, a local brewery...now before you judge, this place has great food, and is smoke-free! We'd met here a year ago for them to meet Paige, and it had worked well. This time around, I learned that they don't have high chairs...so maybe the next Baby Meeting Lunch will have to relocate, since by then there will be 2 babies who need high chairs.

(Paige stealing Mom's lunch, sans high-chair)

But on to baby!

Robin and RJ's boy sure is cute! He gave Mom & Dad a scare by having to go back to the hospital due to jaundice, but now he is perfectly fine and growing gangbusters! At 6 weeks, they've already had to buy bigger socks...yowza!

Paige was fascinated by Mr. SnuggleBug...she talked to him, patted him on the head, and babbled to the girls about how great he was (I think). She does this at our Kindermusik class too...we are in with two other mom/baby duos, one is 4 months and the other 2 months. Paige tends to be a bull in a china shop...stampeding over to the babies and waving so close that she nearly swats their precious faces, throwing egg shakers, etc. But she LOVES those babies! She just looks back at me with fascination and giggles. Which makes me wonder...do even babies realize what miracles they are?

(Caitlin, Paige, & Regina admiring SnuggleBug)

(Paige telling Robin how much she loves the baby...or pickles)

Family Pictures

Good News! The pictures I was so afraid of being terrible...are not! Ashley is indeed a miracle worker. True, we did not get any big Paigey grins, but she captured some of her other trademark expressions. And I love the ones of our family! I don't have all the digital rights yet, but you can check a few of them out on Ashley's blog! Book her now before she's famous!

Other big news: PAIGE IS WALKING! Actually, she has been for almost a week, but I've failed to catch her on camera...the day she was really walking long distances, we were at my parents' house, so I used Mom's camera to get some video, but forgot to download and e-mail to myself. So Mom...hint hint...now is a great time to learn how to do that!

A New Species...

This diaper disaster story may not top Linnea's, but it's definitely one I won't be forgetting...this will go down in the record books as one of those we'll bring up to her boyfriends when she's dating. Which, by the way, is never.

So Paige had a poopy diaper tonight, no big deal. We've recently had difficulty with her wanting to spin like a torpedo and scream every time we try to change her, but this time she was just happy, chatty Paige, babbling on in some language native only to babies.

Just as I reached for the first wipe and lifted her bottom off of the "patty", Paige also reached for the left side of her diaper (I was on the right). I tried to stop her, but as she gave a good yank, I gave a good high-pitched "nonononononoOOOOO"and yank back. I thought the crisis was averted...until I noticed...the poo was gone!

I leaned over the changing table to see it wedged between the shelf just below the table and the wall. I hollered for Matt, but don't know why...mostly just to show him the yucky spectacle! By the time he reached Paige's bedroom door, I looked again--it was now on the floor...but not without leaving marks down the wall. Eew.

As Matt shook his head in disbelief, I knew I would be cleaning up this mess as well. I put Paige back together and traded Matt the baby for the economy-size tub of Clorox wipes and pulled the changing table away from the wall.

There were a number of other things that had happened to fall behind the table...one of which was a tub toy Paige had received on her birthday, a squirting sea turtle. The poo had landed right on top of him! He was a turtle no more...

He was a turdle.

A Happy Halloween Had By All

It seems to me that Halloween is already more fun as a parent...and exhausting, all at once! I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that Paige was a monkey...we actually saw the costume at The Children's Place when we stopped at the mall on her birthday, and knew it was THE costume! It's so plush and cute...definitely helped keep her warm on a cold day! It's still pretty big, and I had to do some quick safety pin work so it wouldn't drag...so maybe she'll be a monkey 2 years in a row...nothing like saving a little cash while she won't remember :)

On the 30th, there was a fantastic family/kids party at our church. Matt and the high school students put together a spook house with a zombie theme, so some of them headed down to the now-infamous Zombie Walk downtown. There were plenty of games, treats, and a jack-o-lantern contest...Matt won first place with his owl! Paige loved the cake walk, doing her little dance to the Monster Mash. Unfortunately, not too many pictures...my camera batteries died, of course.




Saturday was a frenzy of Halloween goodness...Paige and I went to a wonderful local bookstore, Literary Life, to their kids' party. Although it was a madhouse at first, we hung out in a less-crowded corner reading books until it emptied out a bit, when she was able to walk along the bookshelves...she made some new friends too!
The staff took pictures of everyone and printed out little "portraits"...there were free treats and goodie bags, coloring and games...I can't believe how much fun is packed in one little shop. The kids AND parents all got along, too! The owner is an infectious disease physician, which was obvious with the bowl of Purell handwipes stationed next to the cookies...

Then on to the Fulton Street Farmer's Market for squash and pears...the last time we went was on Paige's birthday, when she got a free zinnia...this time she scored not one, but two mini-pumpkins! Gotta love the farmer's market.


After all that activity, I had one tired monkey on my hands...she fell asleep in the car, and budged in the crib only to reach for her "sleeping" monkey....



The day ended with trick-or-treating to a few choice neighbors (including some who had lived there for a long time but we had not yet met, and were feeling guilty about). The cool thing about trick-or-treating with a little one is that even when you insist on no candy ("just stopping by to say hi!"), everyone insists on giving you a few candy bars...no arguments from me! Paige and Daddy were off to Holland to trick-or-treat to Grandma and Grandpa Parrott, while I studied...unfortunately, I'm finding that I have to say no to fun stuff sometimes in order to keep up.




How do you like our jack-o-lanterns? Matt's intricate wolves and prize-winning owl, along with his tribute to our crabby neighbor, and my tribute to Paige...with 2 little teeth, of course. I can't wait for her to join in on the gooey fun! Hope everyone is recovering well from the Halloween festivities!

Not An Ideal Day...

Mind if I whine...just a little? I've just had one of those days where something you've been anticipating just didn't go the way you'd hoped at all...Paige's face pretty much says it.

While peeking at various blogs one night (when I was supposed to be studying--much like tonight!) I came across a new photographer in Fremont. Her work was beautiful, the stories heartwarming...and she's affordable! Too good to be true! I e-mailed her and set up a session for the three of us as soon as possible, before it became any colder and the leaves fell from the trees.

That day was today...a day after a night when Paige woke up too early and didn't nap, I stayed up late studying because I was on call (forgetting that I had an early morning meeting at work), and Matt just didn't sleep well either. And a bad hair day. And still trying to figure out what to wear (all of us) 2 minutes before we have to leave. Paige didn't want to smile or look at the camera, or even play with us & do all the little "Paigey" things that she always does. I somehow cut my thumb early in the session, and bled on Paige's light blue sweater dress. It was super muddy, and I foolishly wore my beautiful new suede shoes. Ashley had offered to reschedule since it was still wet up in Grant, where we did the shoot, but I have to work the rest of the week...why didn't I take her up on the offer and try rescheduling to next week?? Because I'm not in my right mind anymore, people!

She assured us over and over that she was getting really great pics, and even showed them to us as she went. What a nice gal. I've already begun spreading the word about her...I hope she starts a referral plan soon! I've never seen a bad pic on Ashley's blog, so clearly she must be a miracle worker...we'll find out in a couple of weeks. And I'll be sure to post the link here if we end up on her blog!

Nicki and The Big Scary Birthday

Whether I wanted it to or not, it did. And I have. I have left my twenties (kicking and screaming) and am now 30. Really? It just doesn't seem to suit me...and I can't bring myself to say it...but really, what am I so hung up on it for??? As one of my co-workers informed me on the eve of the big 3-0, "Thirty is like the new 12...or something like that...it keeps getting younger & younger...um, yeah..." Thanks Chris.

My birthday was back on the 8th, and I had been working on a post to commemorate it...that had to be edited after the super-awesome happenings of the weekend AFTER my birthday! Get ready, this is long...

We had dinner at Mom & Dad Parrotts on Tuesday, then on my birthday just the three of us went to The Electric Cheetah, a really cool local restaurant in town. They use as many local ingredients as possible, and all the food is super-fresh and pretty original, not to mention y.u.m.m.y. (I had Thanksgiving salad!). And any parent love a restaurant that serves up sippy cups and oyster crackers for your little one (since we're constantly forgetting the cup), plus check out these high chairs:


Awesome. The table was covered in kraft paper, and the well-meaning hostess gave Paige an assortment of crayons...which, to Paige, are great for sticking in her mouth or dropping on the floor to watch Mom pick 'em up. Matt put the crayons to use by writing "I'M 30 TODAY" nice and big, with arrows pointing to me, but thankfully it was fairly dimly lit, and the server wasn't too observant (but still very nice, remember sippy cup AND crackers!).

Friday we went to Mom & Dad B's house, and had a lovely dinner out...but I had been getting quite sick by the end of last week (I still think it's allergies, but okay, maybe it's a cold), so Saturday I was stuck in bed. I had to miss Dad's 5th/6th grade football game, but that sleep was just what I needed. I slowly got better over the next week, and on Friday, we were off to Post Family Farm for a hayride and bonfire with church friends. (If anyone has pics, I'd love to see them!)

Now, while we were at the hayride, my friends were having dinner with my wonderful friend, Emi, who was visiting for the first time since she moved to Colorado Springs over a year ago. When Matt decided we should go to Mom & Dad P's for the weekend I have to admit, I was pretty peeved...this was my chance to spend time with someone I really missed! She kept sending me texts that they were in Grand Rapids and to come out after the hayride, and I kept getting more and more cranky. We got to Holland, Matt suggested that just the two of us go out, so I reluctantly got ready. We headed downtown to New Holland Brewery, walked upstairs...and there were our friends--including Emi--with balloons, cake and presents waiting! To top it all off, our favorite band, Sweet Japonic (whose website now features a link to Paige's dancing) was playing! What a fantastic surprise...I have the bestest hubby, family and friends!




So you know what, it happened, it's still happening, and you know what? It's not so bad.

The Big Party

Ya know what?!?!? I haven't told you about Paige's party!

Paige's 1st birthday party was SO much fun! We had it at John Ball Park, which is where the zoo is located here in town. Paige is our "Little Monkey" (one of several nicknames) and she is a regular there...we have a family membership so Matt and Paige go almost weekly while I am sleeping after my night shift. The plan of her monkey-themed party was to do cake & ice cream, presents, then a trip through the zoo. Unfortunately, the zoo was getting ready to close by the time we were finished opening presents! But it was a beautiful day, spent with wonderful family and friends.

Banana cakes, baked by Daddy, decorated by Mommy. The white one slid under the car seat en route...but do I get extra credit for finding the rainbow banana candies?

No messy 1st cake pictures here...the little lady picked up the entire hunk and nibbled away until it was nearly gone...then somehow tore the tray off the Bumbo (I can never get it off!).

She received presents from all corners of the earth...from Houghton to Sok Cho (South Korea)!

Paige Evelyn, you are such a beautiful, wonderful, miraculous blessing. We are so thankful that God chose us to be your Mommy & Daddy!

Happy Birthday!

It's just so hard to believe that this beautiful girl has been blessing our lives for an entire year! Every detail of September 15, 2008 is emblazoned in my memory forever, and we've been changed for the better...all thanks to God giving us our Little Monkey, Sweet Pea, Baby Muffin, PEPpy Paige Evelyn Parrott.

I've been trying to get a little something special posted all day, but having technical difficulties. We also spent lots of time doing fun stuff with Paige today, going to the Children's Museum, the farmer's market (where she got a free birthday flower), a little shopping and dinner. We opened a couple presents and let her have a try at some cake, but she was all tuckered out. We'll have another go on Saturday at her birthday party!

We cannot close this day without saying THANK YOU again to our wonderful friends and family, and the love and support you've shown to Paige as well as Matt and I! Also, please keep the wonderful staff of Helen DeVos Children's Hospital NICU in your prayers, as they continue to heal God's littlest ones.

Back to Skool

Well, I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks, yet I'm always on the computer. This can only mean one thing...I've started my graduate classes! It has been an adjustment, to say the least...lots of reading (unfortunately, no pictures to keep Paige engrossed), and I wrote my first paper in five years this past weekend. We had tickets to the MSU v. CMU game, but I was in such a panic that I sent Matt to the game with friends, Paige went to Grandma & Grandpa Parrott's, and I sat at my desk alllll day Saturday. After the outcome of the game, I wasn't too disappointed about missing it anymore. But enough about that, let's talk about something fun...like Labor Day weekend...

We went up to Mom & Dad Buning's for the weekend. It was nice to get away from the daily grind (me, I read research articles...that is now my new daily grind). Actual Labor Day was celebrated in our usual Miller family tradition of going to the Harvest Festival parade in Manton, then over to Aunt Kris & Uncle Dan's for lunch. When Paige is bigger, we'll go to the carnival after lunch. We used to always meet at Uncle Dewey and Auntie Max's farm, but the torch was passed on to Aunt Kris a few years ago...Mom has been celebrating Labor Day this way since she was a baby! Of course, my camera batteries died early in the day, but here are a few memories of the weekend...

Everyone loves a parade!

This guy has been doing his "Dynamite the Clown" bit since I was little...yet somehow has always looked the same age! What's in that makeup?

This "advertisement" is the comical highlight of the parade...it never gets old. Jack Johnson (who is our cousin somewhere along the line) was a hit this year with the "Cash for Clunkers--NO WAY!" sign.

I have no idea who this is...I just thought it was hilarious that there is a world horseshoe championship.

As you can see, Grandma has Paige hooked at the tender age of 11.75 months.

Paige got comfortable in Aunt Kris' childhood rocking chair.

Dancing Queen

I've talked this video up to my friends and family...it's high time I shared it!

We recently took Paige to a family-friendly outdoor concert performed by our favorite local band, Sweet Japonic. Pre-Paige, we went to every show they had in town! Now...well, we did see them back in January...the guys usually include a few covers in the their sets, including "The Wall" by Pink Floyd. How interesting (and hopefully not an omen) that this appeared to be Paige's favorite song...she unleashed a crazy montage of dance moves!

My favorite is the little John-Travolta-Saturday-Night-Fever-one-hand thing at the end.

A Week Full of Milestones

This past week has been pretty busy, so yes, I'm catching up again!

Last Sunday, August 9th, was our wedding anniversary...6 years! Every year is counted as another wonderful blessing, and this was no different. We had decided at the last minute to go to Mom & Dad Buning's for the weekend, and they watched Paige on Sunday afternoon. We went back to Manistee & Frankfort, where we spent the first couple of days after we married (we took our honeymoon to Mexico in December). We were sad to see that many shops and restaurants we'd liked in Manistee were no longer there...so we drove up M-22, through Onekema, Arcadia (stopping @ Arcadia Bluffs to admire the views...and the course), on to Frankfort for dinner and a walk along the pier.

(This was our best attempt at taking a picture of ourselves on the pier. We have a half dozen with various parts of our faces, so I'm thinking I'll piece them together for one funky artsy thing. You know, in my "spare time". )

But that's not all...Matt and I just got back from a surprise anniversary trip, in which he got tickets to a Jason Mraz/G. Love and Special Sauce concert in Sterling Heights! Those are two of my favorite artists, and to seem them both in one night was fantastic, at a cool outdoor theater similar to Pine Knob. SO fun to get out and away from all the worries, even just for 24 hours!

Speaking of marriage...Friday morning in Bangladesh--Thursday night here--Josh and Popy were wed! I'm still hoping for video, but some photos have been posted, and it looks like it was quite a celebration. It was special, as it was traditional Bangladeshi but Christian. They are now on their honeymoon in India, and moving back to South Korea after that. When I know more about the whats and whys of the ceremony and the other practices, I'll share more, but for now, here's my favorite picture:

Aren't candids the best?

This past week was also Kevin and Haylie's wedding anniversary...Congratulations! Forget June...August weddings sure are popular!

And finally, Paige is now 11 months old. I keep asking myself, "How did this happen so fast?" I lived 28 years without her, Matt and I were together 10 years (including dating) without her...but now we wonder, what did we do before there was Paige? It is truly exciting to see her grow and learn, but my oh my, that baby won't be a baby much longer.

In case you're wondering, most pictures of Paige are now like this...a chubby hand lunging for the camera!

Popy and Josh

My brother, Josh, is soon to be married to Popy Hembrom, whom he met while teaching at a mission school in Bangladesh 2 years ago. Popy is also a teacher at the same school. Just two days ago they had their formal engagement ceremony, where they announce their intent to be married to the community, then marry 2 weeks later. A number of things are keeping us from being there, and after seeing pictures, I'm even more upset. It just doesn't feel right that we are so far away...there have been lots of tears and anger at myself and at the circumstances for not being there. Josh and I are not good at keeping in touch, so I feel like we both miss out on a lot in each other's lives, even though we know we think of each other often...But, at the same time, I did not think we would get to see pictures so soon, so I am very thankful for Christian, the director of the LAMB school, for providing us the link to their blog and explaining the wedding rituals to us. Check out the link on the right!

After Popy and Josh are married, they will return to South Korea, where Josh has been teaching English at the public schools for the past year, and will continue to do so. In January, we will finally see the happy couple when they come to Michigan! A celebration is in the works! I cannot wait to meet Popy! We've e-mailed, and she is so nice. She is quite smart--fluent in four or five languages, I believe--and as you can see, she is beautiful! She loves children and is very popular at the LAMB school. Popy is excited to meet Paige...actually, so is Josh!

So, while I pout here at home about missing the wedding, I continue to keep them in prayer...for happiness, love, laughter, health, safety, and God's blessing on the beginning of their life together. We love you both!

This Is What 67 Pounds of Blueberries Looks Like.

Yes, blueberry season in West Michigan is upon us! We planned for a Saturday of blueberries and beach in Holland, but thanks to another cold/rainy/windy summer's day, no beach for us. Darby wanted plenty of blueberries to help fill his new deep freeze, and had lots of other people ask for berries when they heard he was coming out to pick. So we picked. And picked. And picked. Paige was definitely a trooper, hanging out in the Kelty. If we hadn't been in a blueberry patch where she could eat her way to happiness, we may have been in for a much shorter trip. At one point, I felt the bucket tied around my waist swinging...I looked down to find Paige yanking it back and forth, stopping to grab a handful of berries, then yanking again. Maybe that's why it took longer for my buckets to fill...or was it my own munching...don't tell! (actually, I have a belief that U-pick berries would be even cheaper if they didn't think that people are eating the goods while they're picking...not that I'm condoning stealing, people). Matt actually doesn't like blueberries (gasp!), so it's only me that's waiting for the "blueberry revenge" for Paige and myself, if you know what I mean...




We stopped in time for the rain to really start, so Paige and I sang rainy day songs (Singing in the Rain, If All the Raindrops...) all the way back to the car. We stopped by Grandma & Grandpa Parrott's, where Paige got to work on climbing stairs, since we recently tore the carpet from ours...and they're yucky. She made short work of those stairs, and in this clip, you'll see her new favorite trick...Peek-A-Boo. She doesn't always get her hands in the right spot...when Paige first started this, we thought she was having headaches!

Today, I Enjoyed The Little Things Most.

(This post is for Tuesday. It's early Wednesday now.)

As I read more blogs I realize two things. One, I will never have the time to do the fabulous things that some of these women do with their blogs. I mean, there are true blog celebrities out there, like my friend Jen. Others even make businesses out of them and make a nice living doing it. How fun and creative! The second thing I realize is that we've been using this blog to just post about "big" things...milestones and such. So, I'm trying to move away from that...I want to use this not only to share our family, with you, but also as a memento, a virtual keepsake, if you will, with all the little things that make me smile now, as well as the big things. You may even hear my 2 cents now and then. I was never much of a diary-keeper, but this is kinda fun!

Matt is away tonight for the Dave Matthews Band concert at Pine Knob (okay, DTE theatre or whatever they call it now...for the past 10 years or so). Paige an I gave him a ticket to go with our friend/Paige's godfather, Darby, for Father's Day. It's funny not going, as we've always gone together almost every year (we blogged about it about a year ago), but I don't mind missing. He's getting some well-deserved guy time. It was evident that guy time was in order when Matt had a fit in a store where there was an entire section of funny greeting cards dedicated to "The Motherhood".

Paige was uber-bubbly today. The neighbor lady came by, and she gabbed her ear off, making every noise she's learned so far. I had to try hard not to laugh while said neighbor lady was rattling off her health issues to me as Paige started spinning in circles by sitting on her bottom and planting her heels into the floor, babbling the whole time. I wish I could have got it on camera. Then there were diaper changes, where she not only played peekaboo (she covers one eye with one hand, and her cheek with the other, so she can keep an eye on you...we used to think she had a headache when she started this), but she nearly said it! I heard a singsong "ee-ah-rhoeh" or something like that.

Later we went to Meijer and she flashed smiles at every old lady we passed, charmed a Japanese man who didn't even speak English (he spoke to her, and she replied every time and clapped for him), and sent multiple raspberries to our cashier...right after eating a Goldfish cracker, so cheesy spit went a-flyin'. After eating dinner, we went for a walk to the elementary school, with Paige singing the entire way. One short trip on the swings, then we headed back...much quieter, as she finally dozed off.

And here I am, blogging when I should be sleeping...morning will come before I know it!

Trying To Be A Good...

Student. Mommy. Wife. Friend. Nurse. Christian. Person. So many things I'm trying to juggle right now, and trying to be better than just good. I have to say this really quick, because Matt has taken Paige out of the house for the entire day so I can both do my homework and sleep before I go to work tonight...There are SO many other enjoyable things (and some not-so-enjoyable) that I would rather be doing right now!

Which reminds me, I never posted on here about my going back to school. I'm going back to MSU part-time for my Master's in the Nurse Practioner program. Okay, back to the grindstone and away from the blogosphere.

Rock Band?

Paige loves music. No, Paige REALLY LOVES music. Many people noticed when she was as young as 3 or 4 months that she would stop and listen when music would start playing, which progressed to dancing (bouncing) when music played, and stopping when the music stopped. If this is normal for an infant, keep quiet and let me bask in my ignorance.

Paige's new favorite is Matt's guitar. If those chubby fingers get growing (right now they look like her Aunt Susie's fingers, which at age 21 are still too short to reach all of the buttons for Guitar Hero), I'm sure he will be teaching her in no time. But for now, there's Kindermusik toys, and hopefully Kindermusik classes, if we can get enough interest at church for some lower-cost sessions. Seems she's figured out what to do with the egg, and has a rockstar face in the works as well...

I know, I'm doing the silly laugh again in the background. I can't help it!

The Catch "U.P". Edition

I've made a mid-year's resolution: to blog more...at least once a week! I know I know, you've heard it all before, but I really do enjoy updating the blog, and sharing Paige's progress. And what progress she's made!

We'll start waaay back on June 14-16, when Paige and I (Nicki) went with Aunt Susie and Grandma Buning to the U.P. to visit our dear friend Mary Ellen, in Houghton! That's right, 10-hour road trip with baby! We drove straight through Sunday, made great time, and met up with Mary Ellen. Then she took us up to Copper Harbor, where we drove to the top of Brockway Mountain, then ate lunch in Eagle Harbor, and finally went to a most "heavenly" bakery...Jampot, a shop run by monks who live right up there on Lake Superior! If you're ever anywhere near it, it's worth the stop! The weather couldn't have been better, and having Paige and Mary Ellen meet was wonderful. We're already looking forward to the next meeting! On the way back, we caught Pictured Rocks, Horseshoe Falls (bit of tourist trap, but fun), some cool antique shops in Blaney Park, and of course, Mighty Mack and fudge! Yep, the she-trolls had a grand time in God's Country. Paige even cut her first two teeth during the trip, and was a great sport the whole time!


Matt's first Father's Day was a great day for all three of us, as Matt had been gone for the previous week on a mission trip with church to Red Bird, Kentucky! After church that morning, we checked out the Fulton Street Artist's Market (the Farmer's Market is all artists on Sundays...check it out!), had a delicious brunch at The Landing, and a nice family nap!

On to Independence Day! We celebrated Paige's 1st 4th at Sandy Pines, where Paige loved riding around on the golf cart (even fell asleep a few times!) and rounded out the day at the Whitecaps baseball game. The local ALS Association had a big turnout of families to recognize people living with ALS as well as those who had passed on. Grandpa Johnson's picture was up on the Jumbotron, too. It was really special to remember him in that way. And, of course, the game ended with fireworks! Paige didn't seem to mind them; I covered her ears, and she sort of stared and pointed, and clapped her hands a few times.

Paige also declared her own independence by starting to crawl on July 2nd! She's already walking along furniture and trying to stand up mid-crawl! We've finally had to baby-proof, and find new things to move/hide every day!

Well, that's the paraphrased edition of June/July. If I just stick to my resolution, it won't happen again!