July 4th

My dad drove in last night for a quick visit. Short but sweet. We exercised this morning for over an hour and then stuffed ourselves with ribs and steak. Poor Don is post call, so no July 4th festivities for him. Dad made sure to adorn the front yard with some red, white, and blue. In the midst of our BBQing and fireworks I hope that everyone reflects on the wonderful liberties we have as Americans. Give thanks for our freedom and embrace the fundamental truths that have established this privilege!

Freedom has its life in the hearts, the actions, the spirit of men and so it must be daily earned and refreshed - else like a flower cut from its life-giving roots, it will wither and die. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower

It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you. ~Dick Cheney

9 months

Today Daphney is 9 months old! We are staying busy, busy trying to keep up with her. She is crawling ALL OVER the house. We have not attempted climbing stairs yet, but I am sure she would be up for the challenge. She stands all the time, but is not too interested in walking, she would rather do her light speed crawl. Her vocabulary consists of: bye, bye, hey, puppy, jackson, da,da, ma, ma, and baby. Bye bye and hey are accompanied with a wave. Too cute. She is growing and learning so fast. Next week we will be flying to Dallas, I am anxious to see how the first airplane ride goes. We will keep our posted! She has also discoverd all the fun that opening drawers can be. Below is a pic of her 'organizing' my tupperware.

Little Green Pool

Today Daphney and I went to Wal-Mart and got a little green inflatable pool. It wasn't too long ago that I would called this type of yard ornament tacky. Not the case anymore. Lime green pool=FUN. Jackson wasn't too sure about it at first, but as with most things he warms up to the idea quickly. I see us spending a lot of time this summer "at the pool".

8 months

Lots-a-fun happening at the Baker house. Daphney hit the 8 month mark this past week. Time is flying, soon we will be walking and talking. Donald's mom and brother came for a visit this weekend. With babysitters in town, Don and I were able to get dressed up and go out to the ortho department's end of the year dinner. Always fun to hang out with adults!

Below I have pics of Daphney modeling the dress that mom and I started back in February (very bottom yellow polkadot). Yes, it took three months to complete and the only reason we have a finished product is because I sent it home with my mother. My dreams of becoming a master in the art of sewing have dwindled as I realized I really don't have the time. We'll just put sewing on the back burner for now and just bask in the glory of our first handmade dress!

Grandmother, Grandaddy, and our new best friend

We were happy to have Donald's mom and dad here this weekend! They were very sweet to come and to endure all the construction going on at our house. As always so much fun spending time together.

Over the weekend Daphney discovered her new best friend. Donna showed her one of the baby dolls in her nursery and she LOVED it. She just talk to her like they were long lost friends. Hilarious. This morning I awoke to her babbling in her room. I didn't go up to get her out for about 20 minutes, but when I did I found her sitting up holding her baby just talking away. So cute.

Busybody

It has been over a week since I last posted and there is much to tell. Daphney has morphed into a totally different baby stage. She is sitting up on her own, doing a modified form of crawling (mostly scooting and rolling), and pulling up!!! She WILL NOT sit still! The later is a little scary, I turned away and came back to find her standing in her crib with a HUGE grin. I think that soon it will be hard work to keep up with her.

I had a wonderful first Mother's Day weekend. Daphney and I spent some time at my mom and dad's house. Here is a little picture overload of all the fun we had!