September: Come and Gone!

I know, I know. It's been a LOOOOOOOONG time since I've updated the blog. This school year has been seriously crazy so far. Every minute of my day from 5:30am to 7pm is filled with activity and once Molly goes to bed at 7, it's time for cooking, grading, planning, washing diapers, etc. I'm really looking forward to the 9 weeks of maternity leave I'll have from February to April! I know it will be filled with sleeplessness and all the ups and downs of life with a newborn, but at least I'll be home and un-scheduled.

As promised in my last post, I have LOTS of great pictures from the month of September. All the pictures taken over Labor Day weekend were taken by Eric's mom and dad with their fabulous camera. We were going to get professional 1-year-old pictures taken, but these all turned out so great that we never did. I have over 350 pictures from the last month, but these are just a few of my favorites:

SUCH a typical "Molly face"...a mix of pensive and worried.

LOVE those eyes!

Hanging out with GG after a bike ride.

We all went to see a Durham Bulls game.

I love this moment that Jeri captured between Molly and her Pop.

It looks like she trying really hard to figure out this crazy game of baseball.

Molly loves her Camelbak water bottle. We've tried every kind of sippy cup and straw-cup imaginable, but the only thing she'll drink out of is my Camelbak. So we got her a few of her own.

We also spent a day at Duke Gardens. It was a beautiful late summer day. Breezy, not too hot, and the gardens are just gorgeous!

Two lovely ladies: Molly and her GG.

We also tried out the newest and greatest addition to Alamance County, a little place called The Sneauxball Effect. They make authentic New Orleans snowballs. If you've never had one, you're missing out on a great treat! If you're ever in New Orleans (or Graham, NC), try one. You won't be disappointed.
Molly enjoyed a "Georgia Peach and Cream" with her GG.

Molly has been such a silly girl lately. She laughs hysterically at the funniest things. Here we were just trying to get a picture of her in front of these pretty purple flowers. I was playing peek-a-boo behind Eric to try and coax a smile out of her and here's the result. I'm in love with her laugh, especially the deep belly laugh she has when she's completely lost in silliness. It's one of the greatest sounds in the world!!!

With September comes FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!!!!! Can you tell that Molly and I are excited? The funny thing is that she wore this same exact outfit for the opening of Steeler's season LAST year! Granted it was quite huge on her then, but it fits her perfectly now since she's still in mostly 9-month clothes. Thanks for the outfit, GG and Pop!

And of course, we had to get a picture of the "newbie" in his/her Steeler's gear :) So here's our little 19-week old bean sporting a Bettis jersey. Since we aren't finding out the gender and we still haven't picked any names, Baby Frueh #2 has been officially dubbed as "Newbie". It's funny how different this pregnancy is. This is the first official belly shot we've taken! When you're chasing around a 1-year-old, you forget about the one in the oven :)

Another new development this month were Molly's first steps. She's still very tentative and has only taken a few steps at a time. The most she's taken has been 4 in a row. She finds crawling much safer and easier. If the distance is anything more than an arm's reach, she'll just resort to crawling. We didn't capture anything on video, but these pictures were as close as we could get.

And, now that's it's offically October and there's a fall chill in the air, I thought we'd end with a season-appropriate picture. We've already broken out the Halloween gear and tonight was Molly's first night in her new PJs. (Excuse the weird look on her face. It was bedtime and she wasn't in the mood to pose for pictures. She was ready for bed!)

Tuckered Out and Camera Shy

I know it's been ages since I've posted an update, but there are two good reasons why. The first reason is, we've all looked a little like this lately:TIRED!!! The school year officially started two weeks ago and it's been a rough adjustment all around. The start of school means a schedule change for all of us. I'm up at 5:30am and out the door by 6:45am. Eric is still working 3:30pm to midnight, but he's now up with Molly in the morning and home with her during the day until I get home at about 3:27pm! Molly has opportunely chosen this time to attempt to give up her second nap. We're fighting tooth and nail to keep that second nap alive, just as much for my sake as for hers. With some new demanding schedule changes at school and these lingering first-trimester symptoms, I'm in desperate need of a nap when I get home in the afternoon. Thankfully, after a week of being with students, the schedule is starting to settle down a bit. And, at 16 weeks, I have high hopes that the promised second-trimester energy boost is right around the corner.

The second reason that I haven't updated the blog recently is that we have one stubborn little girl when it comes to capturing pictures and videos. She has changed so much recently and she amazes me everyday with all the new little things she can do, but I guess Eric and I will just have to enjoy them ourselves because, apparently, Molly does not want her cuteness shared with the world. I've been waiting and waiting to capture some of her new skills, but everytime the camera comes out, she stops whatever she's doing and races toward the camera like it's the coolest new toy on the market. So, a few vivid word descriptions and a few rare photos will have to suffice.

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed an evening at the Saxapahaw Farmer's Market. Great live music. Yummy food. Perfect picnic conditions. It was a fantastic evening.

Molly is a huge lover of food. Despite being our little 3rd-percentile-peanut, she sure does know how to put away some food! You may have noticed that I haven't updated "Molly's Menu" on the sidebar recently. Well, that's because this child is eating pretty much everything under the sun! She's now had milk, peanut butter, honey, strawberries, chicken, turkey, and most-recently, snowballs (more on that next time). The only reactions have been to melon. Other than that, everything that was on our "wait 'til she's 1" list has been conquered and she's loving every minute of it. Here she is enjoying a plate of grapes, tortillas and hummus.

Some of her new favorite toys are her Little People castle and school bus. She likes to ever-so-carefully place the little people in her mouth and then crawl around the house with them. She reminds me of a mama cat carrying her kittens. Silly girl!

She also likes to transfer her Little People from one container to another. She'll sit for minutes on end (which is a long time for a 1-year-old) and transfer all her Little People from the bus to the Baby MumMums box, then back to the bus, then back to the box. Sometimes she'll switch it up by taking them out of the bus window or putting them back through the door. So funny to watch :)
Molly has also been practicing standing and stepping a lot more lately. She can stand on her own for several seconds and can walk across the room by holding on to two (sometimes just one) of Mommy or Daddy's hands. It's amazing how much more grown-up she looks when she's standing up "walking " around the room. She hardly looks like a baby anymore :(

Molly has also learned many new signs and is eager to communicate with people around her. If we say, "Molly, where's your belly?", she'll pat her belly with both hands (haven't captured that one on camera yet). She has also tried to use signs for "Mama" and "more", but we're not quite there yet and her signs are very indistinct. Her favorites are probably "hi" and "bye-bye". One night in the tub, I told her to wave bye-bye to the water when I opened the drain. She did and I thought it was cute, but I didn't really give it another thought. The next night, as soon as her bath began, she crawled over to the drain, started letting out the water, and was waving "bye-bye". I couldn't believe she remembered! It's now a nightly ritual to wave goodbye to the water as it drains. Again, VERY difficult to capture on video, but I did catch this little snippet. Enjoy!

***Good news!!!*** Over this Labor Day weekend, Eric's mom and dad captured some fantastic pictures on their super-duper awesome camera. If you're on facebook, you've already seen how great they are. Once I load and organize the pictures from my camera, I PROMISE I'll post a great Labor Day blog. But now I must go to bed because this glorious 3-day weekend is ending and it's back to the craziness that is our life tomorrow.

The World Through a Mother's Eyes

It's amazing how much your view of the world changes once you become a mother. I've always been a big news-watcher, even as a kid. I liked to analyze the different aspects of a news story and weigh the pros and cons of all the possible solutions to world problems. My dad would come home from work and sit down to watch Dan Rather or Tom Brokaw. I was usually somewhere nearby, taking it all in, although I usually drew the line at the MacNeil/Lehrer News Hour. Some things are even too boring for a 10-year-old news-geek. But ever since Molly was born, I've had the hardest time watching the news. I've stopped watching with my head and have started watching with my heart. Now, instead of seeing the politics or economics in a situation, I see the mothers and the babies. I couldn't read the reports of Red Cross workers trying to feed nursing babies orphaned by the earthquake in Haiti. I can't watch the footage of mothers waiting desperately for food and clean water after the floods in Pakistan. And tonight, I had to turn off a TV program highlighting the 5-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I remember watching the live reports 5 years ago from the Super Dome and the convention center. But tonight, I couldn't even bear to look at the faces of those desparate mothers holding their thirsty babies. I had to turn it off. And now I can't stop thinking about it.

I never imagined that motherhood would change me so much. But I suppose God does this to mothers for a reason. I find myself now with a greater capacity for compassion, love, patience, and selflessness. I'm now less likely to watch the news with the analytical mind that wants to weigh the various political ramifications of a situation. Instead, I'm more likely to watch with an attitude of prayer for the human suffering that is so much more evident to me now than ever before. Please remember to pray this week for the millions of people displaced by the floods in Pakistan, especially the children. Pray that aid would come quickly and that the victims would see Jesus in the hearts of the people who arrive to serve them.

The Best Birthday Present Ever

First birthdays are filled with all kinds of wonderful things.

There are super-cool cupcakes... LOTS of pretty presents to tear open...

New toys to play with and fun guests to share them with... Yummy things to eat...

And, of course, BALLOONS!

But the BEST birthday present of all, is a whole week to spend with Gramma!!!!!
Gramma Schillinger was here in North Carolina exactly one year ago, waiting (and waiting...and waiting...and waiting) for the arrival of Miss Molly Joy. We were blessed that she was able to fly down from New York again this year to celebrate a very special first birthday.

A week with Gramma at the house is so much fun! We got to do all kinds of neat things together. First, we spent the afternoon at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. But we were so busy looking at all the cool skeletons and butterflies and turtles and bugs that we completely forgot to take any pictures.

We spent lots of time swinging this week, since that's one of Molly's favorite activities. I think she would spend all day in the swing if we let her! Swinging is even more fun when Gramma's here to push :)

We went out for ice cream at the new Mebane Ice Cream Shoppe, which this pregnant mama was VERY happy about! Ice cream is not a normal part of Molly's food repertoire, but when it's your birthday and the ice cream is organic and locally produced, we can make exceptions.
Lunch time is even more fun when Gramma's here!

We got to visit Molly's cousins in Eden (and swing some more). Corbin and Isaiah were very excited to have Gramma here too.

They all had a lot of fun playing in the water table. Since all three of them are just hanging out in their undies/diapers, I think Molly just looks like "one of the guys". Such cute cousins :)

Gramma and Molly played a fun game of "catch the water". Apparently, the tongue sticking out is an important component to winning this game :-P

On her last day here, we spent part of the afternoon at Duke Gardens. It is SO beautiful there. We had a great time wandering around the trails, learning the names of all the trees and flowers, and taking in all the beauty. Unfortunately, we only had a short time to be there before we had to take Gramma to the airport and it was quite humid. We can't wait to go back when we have a little more time and the weather's a little more bearable.

Molly enjoyed watching the ducks with Gramma.

Thanks, Mom, for such a wonderful week. We enjoyed having you here SO much and we're glad Molly got to spend so much time with you. Love you!

To my Baby Girl on her Birthday

My Precious Molly-

It was bright and early, one year ago today, that we welcomed you into our lives. You have blessed our family so much and we have enjoyed getting to know you and your little personality over the last 12 months. The love that I feel for you is unlike any other love that I have experienced in my life; it is automatic, unconditional, deep, full, and ever-growing. It's a feeling I could never adequately describe, a feeling I knew nothing about before this year, but a feeling I know you will understand someday when you have a child of your own. I thank God everyday for the opportunity He has given to your Dad and me to love you, care for you, shape you and guide you.

On this special day, I thought I'd share with you some of the things I love so much about you, the ways in which you've grown, and some special memories.

• One of my favorite memories is of the moment the midwife laid your tiny, wriggling, screaming body on my chest and we "met" for the first time. She said, "Wow, what a lusty cry," but you quieted down pretty quickly, snuggled into my chest, and puckered up those adorable rosebud lips. I just couldn't stop smiling. I kept kissing your head and your tiny hands and simply saying, "Hi Molly. Hello. I love you!" You still are quite the screamer, but you also calm down pretty quickly when you're snuggled in your Mama's arms.

• In one year, you've grown from 7 lb. 12 oz. to over 16 lbs. and you've added 6 inches to your height. You're still our little peanut, but as you grow more and more independent, you're starting to act less like a baby and more like a little girl.
• You're a crawling speed-demon, but you also love to cruise around the room from one piece of furniture to the next. Just in the last few weeks, you've started to balance in a standing position on your own. You are very cautious and will go straight back to crawling at the first sign of unbalance, but I know you'll be walking (and then running) around the house in no time. If walking is anything like crawling and cruising, then one day you're just going to take off. You're not really into all this "trial-and-error" falling business. You're going to wait until you're good and ready and then impress us all with your baby swagger.
• You love to eat and are always willing to try new foods. Some of your favorites are asparagus, yogurt, bananas, cottage cheese, eggs, bread, and pretty much any kind of fruit. You also love your snacks (cheerios, mum mums, puffs, teething biscuits). You're not a big fan of sweet potatoes, broccoli, or green beans. You like finger foods a lot, but you always end up putting WAY more in your mouth than you should and turn yourself into a little "chipmunk cheeks."

• I love the way you sleep all curled up on your belly, your cheek snuggled into your lovie, your legs tucked up under you like a little frog, and your 10 tiny toes poking out from under your cute little tushie.
• I love that you view everything in your world with a wide-eyed wonderment. You would hate to blink and miss a single thing going on around you. Those big blue eyes of yours are always seeking, studying, and observing. I hope you never lose that sense of wonderment.

• I love the pure joy you get out of the simple things in life. If I just say, "This little piggie went to market," a smile begins to play on your little rosebud lips. By the time we get to "And THIS little piggie went...", that smile has spread clear across your face, your eyes are sparkling and your whole little body is wriggling in anticipation of the "wee, wee, wee, wee, all the way home."
• One of your favorite things to do is swing in your tree swing in the evening. You grab onto the ropes with your pudgy little hands, throw your head back, and smile so wide that I'm afraid you'll catch some bugs in your mouth.
• You like to "talk" to whomever or whatever will listen. Sometimes that's me and Daddy. Sometimes it's your books and toys. You just toddle and crawl your way about the house jabbering on, "Ya-ya-ya-ya, da-da-da-da, aye-aye-aye-aye." I'm still waiting for your "ma-ma-ma-ma" ;)
  
• I look forward to bathtime every night. Ever since you were a tiny brand-new baby, you've loved your bath. You splash and play and laugh and squeal until your fingers and toes get all wrinkled up. And then I wrap you up in a little towel cocoon and snuggle you into my chest so I can smell your sweet, clean baby smell.

• One of our favorite things to do together is read. We'll gather up a big pile of books, settle into our favorite chair and read some stories together. I read the words while you rub on the pictures and turn the pages. You love to hear the squeak your finger makes when you rub it hard on the page of a boardbook. You like to hear the stories too.

• I actually enjoy the nights that you wake me up in the wee hours for some "Mommy-cuddles" and nursies. We lay in bed together while I stroke your hair and rub your back. These few precious minutes in the pre-dawn darkness remind me of the many precious minutes we spent together in the middle of the night when you were tiny. At the time, I didn't realize how much I'd miss our mid-night rendevous when they were gone.
• Right now you are pretty wary of anyone who is not Mommy or Daddy. Sometimes this can be a real challenge, but it helps remind us that you love us. Even if you can't say it, you show us all the time. Just in the last few days, you've been a little less wary around strangers and even downright happy playing with Grandma and your cousins. I'm proud of how brave you are without me holding your hand.
• Your laughter is one of the sweetest sounds in the world. I remember the first time you laughed for me, I thought I was going to bust open with happiness. You love to laugh and you have many different kinds. I love every single one, from your squeals and giggles to your deep belly laughs. I hope we'll be laughing together for years and years to come.

So, dear Molly, those are just a few special tid-bits for you on your birthday. I love you "across the river and over the hills. I love you right up to the moon and back." And I can't wait to see what the next year (and the many years after) will bring.

Happy Birthday, Molly Joy.

Love, Mommy