7 Months Old

Here is Gretchen's new hobby, sitting in her high chair at the front door. She is our official greeter/car watcher.

Here is Gretchen wearing a sweater Aunt Maureen made her.

We went to the zoo. Gretchen liked the monkey. She liked Daddy's impersonation of monkeys even more.

The zoo had a Fisher Price toy exhibit, so we scouted out some Christmas presents.

Here is her 7 Month Picture. As you can see she is sitting up but she is still pretty wobbly. Her new thing right after we came back from Florida was she started babbling really well. She is getting her baba, gaga, wawa and even a few mama sounds, although I will admit I work on mama everyday with her. I will try to post a video soon of her doing this. That is easier said than done. She will be babbling away but the moment you turn on a video camera she goes mute.

Boycott CD One Price Cleaners

I was heart broken when I took Gretchen’s Baptism Dress out of the dry cleaning bag today. CD One Price Cleaners ruined her dress. When I took her dress in it had no stains and was in perfect condition. The only reason I took it to the dry cleaners was so they could do a good job of ironing it. Whenever I iron I seem to create more wrinkles then I get out.

I did not inspect the dress at the cleaners. Gretchen is scared of the noise the machines make, so I just grab our stuff and go. Her dress is no longer white, but a dirty off white color. It looks like they cleaned it in very dirty water and did not rinse it well. The dress is very wrinkled, but worst of all is most of the ribbons on her dress are frayed.

I know this is not the end of the world but I was/am so upset. I spent forever looking for just the right Baptism dress for Gretchen and possible future daughters. I wanted this dress to be something I could pass on. A dress Gretchen could use for her daughter someday. I know I can buy another one, but it will not be the one that my daughter wore when she became a child of Christ. That means so much to me and I am furious. To add insult to injury is the fact that they just tried to sneak and not say anything to me and hope I would not notice. I do not know what they can do to correct this wrong, but I am going to go up there on Monday and raise hell.

Please if you have a CD One Price Cleaners in your area do not use them, you will be sorry. If you happen to walk by one stop in and tell them about this and how you will not use there services.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the local Pumpkin Patch today. I decided to dress Gretchen up in her Halloween Costume. It seems like such a waste to buy such a cute costume and only where it once. I like the hat so much, I am thinking about having her use it as a winter hat.

Gretchen had a great time and was in very high spirits. Her favorite part was the corn maze. I think that was because it was a bumpy rock trail and she likes off roading in her stroller. She did not mind the petting zoo, although she did not want to get to close to the animals. I can not wait until she is a little older and will want to feed them.

Nathan and I had a great time because everyone kept telling us what a beautiful baby we have and how cute she looked in her costume. I do not think I could ever tire of hearing that.

Florida Vacation

Here is a picture of our timeshare in Destin, Florida. Our actual timeshare is in Orlando, but you can use any of the resorts they own. We actually have not been to the one we own yet but, we have been to five others.

There were butterflies everywhere in Destin. There we over a dozen on this bush, I hope you can see them.

Here is Aunt Ali and Gretchen.

The three girls. The three of us had fun talking about Matthew and Ali's upcoming wedding.

Group shot out at lunch.

An action shot of Nathan at the driving range.

Matthew and Ali at the driving range.

Another group shot out at lunch.

Gretchen loved the bubbles from the hot tub going up her swim diaper. Do not worry the heat was turned off. The hot tub was actually colder than the pool.

Gretchen when we first brought her into the pool. She was still deciding how she felt about the water.

We had a great time in Florida. Although Nathan and I realized that vacations with a baby are not as relaxing as vacations without babies. Gretchen slept through her first airplane take off, so we thought we were free and clear. Well, we became the family with the baby having a meltdown the last twenty minutes of our connecting flight. Luckily, she was happy on both return flights.

It was wonderful to spend time with Sara, Mathew, and Ali. Gretchen loved the heated pool at our timeshare. We did not try the water at the beach with her, it was too cold. At the beach she preferred to watch the cars go by on the road rather than the water. We forgot to bring our camera to the beach. Aunt Sara got some great shots of Gretchen at the beach though. I will post them later.

While in Destin the three girls (Sara, Ali, and I) did some damage at the outlet mall. It was great getting the chance to get to know my future sister-in-law better. Nathan and Matthew went go cart racing. Our last full day in Florida we all tried our hand at the driving range. At the beginning I was not evening hitting the ball, but by the end I was hitting it on the first try. I will be signing up for the LPGA this week

Smiley Baby

This is her new thing to do with her socks.

Oskee Wow Wow

Gretchen is ready for U of I! We had a great time and Gretchen was happy as could be, even though she did not nap the whole 2 1/2 hour car ride down.

After Nathan gave a speech at the School of Business and Gretchen and I hung out with one of my favorite professors, Mr. Moore, we met on the Quad and took some pictures.

Can't you just see her with her cap and gown on as she graduates from U of I, just like Mommy and Daddy (no pressure).

Six Month Professional Pics

personal favorite