Standing!

I got these new tights and loved how great they looked on her chunky legs so I thought I'd get some pictures of her before I put on her dress.

Little did I know that Molly had a surprise for me and after she gained her balance she let go of my hand and stood on her own for the first time! Well, technically she was leaning against the couch, but it was exciting anyway.

She was pretty excited herself and enjoyed her newfound independence

for a while before needing a hand.

What a happy girl!

Balloon Fascination

At Ema's 11th birthday party Molly discovered balloons for the

first time and she was quite fascinated.

She loved holding onto the string and watching the balloon bob and weave in all directions.

I wrapped the string around her so the balloon wouldn't float too far away.

She also saw her buddy Ari who is already four months old!

Here is the birthday girl trying to mesmerize Molly

and convince her to sleep through the night.

Of course, eating the balloons was attempted.

Mostly though she just enjoyed checking them out and swatting at them.

My sweet little party girl.

7 Months Old

Check out that belly!

The happy girl.

Enjoying her spoons with Chris while waiting for lunch at Saul's.

Molly was having so much fun that Chris had to join in the fun.

We have tried to get Molly in a swing a few times but she always seemed to fall asleep in the car, but we finally made it last weekend. Here she is in action.

Molly really liked the slide this time. She loved playing with all the little indentations.

She would hold on for a minute or so and then let go and slide down to the bottom laughing it up along the way.

Visits!

We have been enjoying a bunch of visitors here lately. Not only did Aunt Kate and Aunt Maura come, but we even got to see our favorite Jersey Boy Mark Foldy.

We finally got a high chair for Molly now that she is eating solids. Here is Aunt Maura giving it a try.
Molly has taken to solids really well and seems to enjoy all of the food I am making for her.
It was great to see Mark. He stopped over for dinner and a game of cards and Sorry which he won believe it or not.
A quick pic outside of our favorite German restaurant in SF Suppenkuche while waiting for Mark's arrival. On the third try we finally got one where everyones eyes were open!
Foldy was a bad influence on Molly immediately but she, of course, loved him.

At the dog walk park with Molly and Maura on a beautiful day. Can't really see the Golden Gate Bridge in the background, man do I need a new camera.

Molly Turned Me Into a Zombie

It is hard to express how exhausted we are! Molly has decided not to sleep for more than two to three hours at a time and outlaw napping entirely for almost a month. At first it was manageable, but now it's really starting to get to us. John has even slept on the couch a few nights in the hopes of getting a bit of shut eye so he could function at work.

Poor Molly is in the throws of teething and being on the verge of crawling which apparently makes sleeping impossible. Overall she's pretty happy until about 5pm when the lack of sleep really catches up to her. I am doing the best I can to hold on and can't wait for Aunt Maura and Aunt Kate to show up tomorrow to give some much needed help.

Despite the lack of sleep, she still has a good time with her big sis Delaney.
She was having a lot of fun bouncing around.

Self Feeding

A few times a week I give Molly a bath right after breakfast so she can practice feeding herself. It's quite a messy affair, but she really seems to enjoy it.

It's strange how such a small bowl of food can make such a big mess! Here she is scraping the bottom of the bowl for more brown rice porridge with butternut squash puree.
"Oh, come on, there's got to be more here somewhere. I'm not nearly messy enough."
Even though she hasn't made much progress actually feeding herself, I think it's obvious how much fun she has and isn't that what it's really all about?
Molly is also getting some practice with her sippy cup. Here she is after a considerably neater meal.

Darby's 15th Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Darby's 15th. It started out with a birthday brunch consisting of french toast and homemade overnight cinnamon rolls. (I must say that it was quite a process, but the result was well worth it! Thank you Alton Brown.)

Then Darby opened up his presents, not a bad haul. He got a lot of clothes from Vans, some music magazines, a backpack, a track suit from Nana and Pops, cash from Luke and Barbara and Grandma and Grandpa Pitts and lots of birthday callers sending birthday wishes.

Molly was excited watching her big brother open up his presents.
Waiting for cake with Laurie.
After a dinner of Zachary's pizza, it was time for cake and then Darby and the boys watched District 9. All in all, a great day.