rusty cage

mary adelyn has officially graduated from her crib at daycare. unbelievable. she is now taking her naps on a cot. yes, my eyes teared up just a little when they told me.

mark your calendar

more details to follow

hold steady

i mentioned to mary adelyn that it would be great if she could stop growing for just a little while. each day brings a new trick and even more independence. we've already found ourselves reminiscing about the baby she used to be.

mary adelyn was not too fond of the idea.

laid back

because sometimes sitting up to eat is just too much work. this girlie is funny. really funny.

she's a niner

9 months (+2 hrs) old!

stats:
28.75 length (75%)
17 lb 4 oz (25%)
=1 string bean
(confirmed by the doctor herself)

tricks:
crawling (yep, she's on the move)
climbing (did i mention that she's on the move?)
waving, high 5s, blowing kisses
dancing (thanks to daily dance parties w/ daddy)

vocab:
da-da
ma-ma
da (dog)

**interesting side note: the pediatrician told us today that based on statistics, babies that remain in the 75th % in length after 6 months of age are more likely to be tall as an adult. we're just hoping this growth spurt doesn't hit until after middle school. i'd like to think that i have a few more years of being taller than her.

america's game

mary adelyn made her first trip to our local minor league baseball stadium. it was a great day for baseball. she was definitely interested in what was happening on the field, but mostly she was fixated on her index finger (see above).

it was fun to watch her take in all of the sights and sounds. and clap when the crowd clapped.

and give high 5's

and enjoy her daddy's company

and wonder what the heck the umpire was thinking

and hang out with this cutie

and sit back, relax, kick her feet up, and enjoy what is known as america's game.

summer reading

mary adelyn's summer reading is going well. she has graduated from the board books and is now moving on to her daddy's library. she'll be a theologian before we know it.

new tricks and olympics

we have a little saying in our house anytime byron cooks, "looks like daddy's been cooking." this means: most likely every pot we own is on the counter and dirty, as well as most of the ingredients that were meant to make it into the meal. we have now adapted this saying to whenever he feeds mary adelyn.

i was trying to capture the amount of broccoli, sweet potatoes, and tofu left behind; however, mary adelyn did not much appreciate being photographed in that state.

i know we have said it many times, but our days are definitely numbered in regards to mary adelyn's mobilization debut. this is pretty much the only thing she wants to do now...

and if she is not standing by the ottoman, then she is using delia to stand up, walking with our assistance, rocking back and forth on her knees,

or telling me to stop taking pictures of her without any pants on. i think she gets her modesty from me :)

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we had another great weekend spending time with the partridges and cheering them on in the brucemont olympics (their neighborhood field day, so to speak). luckily there was no spelling/grammar competition (see sign above).

mary adelyn loved being a cheerleader and hanging out with a fellow little one.

although, she wasn't quite sure what to think of the balloon race.

see gators dawg food above. they were the winning team, as much as it pains me to type it. we try our best to ignore the gator socks. he really is a nice person. mary adelyn won cutest baby award. well, once big john went home :)

tree huggers

we've finally settled into having our weekends free with no plans to follow. it's nice to be able to enjoy the town we live in and remember why we moved here. this past weekend we spent some time with the partridges at the aboretum. i'm a little embarrassed to say that it was our first official visit to the arboretum since we've lived here. we were very pleasantly surprised...and hot. there's nothing like a little sweat to help with a hair style...

speaking of surprises. we happened upon a really cool bonsai garden while walking around the grounds.

evidently, byron is a BIG fan of bonsai. who knew? mary adelyn was not nearly as enamored by the mini trees. we've defnitely noticed that her personality is starting to really show through. and she's not afraid to tell anyone what she thinks. here are a few of her many faces.

can you tell she is starting to get tired of the camera just a little bit? we always know there is trouble when she brings out the cheeks (see middle picture above). she wasn't keen on being placed in the midst of the potato vine. and she was definitely letting her daddy know it.

meanwhile, john was really digging the boxwood basil.

i was too. it was a super cool plant. i wish our boxwoods were basil.

applique me

this a just little taste of what i've been working on in the sweat shop. a cute little birthday present for my niece, riley kate. thanks to my new blogging friend margaret, who provided me with an excellent tutorial for appliqueing letters on shirts. luckily, she was able to look past our SEC ties (she's an auburn fan...yikes :) and help a fellow southern sister out. and just because i'm crazy, i'll give you a close up.

the rounded sections are definitely a little bit more tricky. as you can obviously see. but i'm sure i'll get plenty of practice with all of the "m.a." items that i'll be working on.

the girlie is going to be sporting her initials for years on end.

dog tired

byron is currently training for a half-marathon in september and full marathon in november. thankfully, the weather has been cooperating enough (meaning not too hot) for him to take the old ladies with him. layla LOVES, LOVES, LOVES to run. delia goes because she forgets what is about to happen. before they left for a run on saturday morning i made sure to say, "good luck byron, good luck delia, have fun layla." oh, how true that is.

with all the running that has been taking place, we're able to witness first hand the real meaning of dog tired.

there's nothing like a good sun bath after a long run. unfortunately, they never remember that we don't have air conditioning.

on a side note: i mentioned to byron what i ate for lunch today. he said (and i quote), "maybe you should start running." hmm. how should one react to that suggestion? he claims he was inferring that the amount of carbs would help with my energy. i'm not so sure he wasn't talking about my cookie handles, as i call them.