finger painting

today we hung out in the pool for a little bit before it got too hot lol.  it was relaxing and fun. scarlett loves getting zoomed around in her little tube.

we went straight from the pool to the tub to paint! i had made some finger paint earlier, which was so easy and quick!

i mixed 1 cup of flour and 2 1/2 cups of water in the pot over low heat until it thickend a little. then mixed in a couple table spoons of salt. then let it cool before adding the food coloring. 

finished product! it was pretty gooey, i think i left it on the stove too long. but over all it was awesome! next time i will make more and keep the extra in squeezable bottles.

my favorite part is that i know exactly what's in it and it's edible! since scarlett puts everything in her mouth.

my sweet girl.

she was a little unsure at first until i showed her what she could do and then she was all about it. it was a blast until clean up time! she did not like when i turned the water on to clean up. i had to hold her while i washed her off...poor thing was not happy. i think the fact that it was nap time had something to do with that. so guess what we did next...NAP!

we had a good day :)

bubba bubba bubba

scarlett loves bath time. especially the bubbly part. we sing the bubble song a lot during bath time...which pretty much consists of me singing bubble bubble bubble a bunch and then POP! but scar loves it and she often sings with me...bubba bubba bubba... and of course lots of 'p' sounds for POP! seriously the sweetest thing ever. 

mmm strawberries!

a few days ago we went strawberry picking! ahhh it smelled of heaven. we picked about 5 or 6 weeks of them. they are so juicy and delicious. and organic and local and REAL! some of my favorite things :) scarlett loved it. she had so much strawberry juice running down her face. she also tried to eat everything else she could pick up....as always.

alex had the camera for once so lots more pics with momma than normal lol

love.

got to spend some time with gramma! (alex's mom)

i sat in some strawberries somehow and the soaked thru to my underwear yay! lol

love how desperate scar is for the strawberries.

9 months!

laura was hiding behind the sign and scarlett thought it was hilarious :)

scarlett scarlett scarlett...sweetest girl i know.

she is so stinkin beautiful. i can't stand it.

this last month scar has gotten 3 new teeth! making 6 total! 4 on top, 2 on bottom. she's got the cutest little crooked smile. a big thing this month is that she started crawling! she's been on the verge of it for a long time but it's official...she's cruisin'. shortly after starting to crawl she pulled herself up using the couch and can now cruise the furniture. she's been able to push herself up for a while but she's now pulling herself up. so fun to watch! loving all the new things she does :)

she's making so many new sounds all the time!she started saying "mama" and "mum" a lot. alex is convinced she knows what it means/who it means ;) i'm not as sure but it still melts my heart regardless.

here are some random things about our sweet girl:

• she LOVES sitting on daddy's shoulders...laughs everytime!
• water! all kinds of water. drinking it out of her little camelbak.. being in the pool.. just splashing her feet in the hot tub.. she loves water!
• FOOD! the girl loves to eat. almost anything. steak, salmon, broccoli, salsa, avocado, eggs, all berries and mommy's smoothies!
• she just started clicking her tongue and does it all the time...especially after she's done nursing. she loves watching other people do it too lol.
• she does not like getting dressed...she much prefers to be naked and just play with her clothes.
• harlando is her best friend :) she loves her puppy.
• she now weighs 26 lbs 12 oz and is 31 inches long!  

hmmmmm

wow. it has been almost two months since i have updated this thing.
the last month has been especially crazy with me having surgery, Alex graduating and then moving!

ALEX GRADUATED MAY 12!!!! SO PROUD OF HIM.
it was a very emotional day...i had lots of tears...and smiles! he has just worked so hard. and has so much perseverence. this last semester was his most time consuming one and he balanced it so much better than i could have hoped! and the patience that he had with me while i whined to him about him not being here more (after he clearly sacrificed too much study time already) still astounds me. he has continually made time for scarlett and i...and with how hard and time consuming and sucky law school can be that's pretty damn impressive. and then with me getting "sick" suddenly and needing surgery his last week of school -- i felt terrrrible. but being the man he is he made sure i knew and felt like there was no where he would rather be than sitting in a boring hospital room with me :) he has a heart like Jesus...always putting us before himself. he is a blessing. 

so proud of daddy!

love him.

it was a fun weekend. all our parents and claire and laura were here! lots of visiting, eating, and drinking!

after graduation we had a week to pack and get ready to move back up north. i knew moving with a 8 month old would be hard but it was much more challenging than i thought. but thanks to help from alex's cousin, margaux and a couple of his friends from school, we DID IT! lol. we left a few things there that we just couldn't fit. the truck we rented (that we had to drive 30 miles to get bc champaign didn't have any left!) was a little small. but thanks to alex's mad puzzle skills he fit most everything. so we finally were able to leave by seven which is close enough to the time scar goes to sleep so it worked out that she slept most of the way. 

in front of our (old) apartment

eric and luke helping us unload the truck!

i love him lol

she loves her pups

love this girl the most.


so we're living in crystal lake now in my parents walk out basement. it's been pretty fun (and helpful) so far! it's like a big studio with no kitchen. but we have our own bathroom! yess.
it's a blessing to be able to stay here...help us save some money! we will probably be here just for the summer.  alex is looking for a job and studying for the BAR. which is like law school all over again. he studies like 6-8 hours a day. woop woop. but i really love being back here :) i'm still not unpacked! getting there tho...

alright, update on scarlett in a couple days, when she turns 9 months!!!!!

7 months!

 my baby girl is seven whole months already. every month goes by so fast. this year is going so fast.

i just love her so much. she brings so much joy and so many smiles.

this is a less intense version of her scrunchy face that she makes ALL the time lol

i can never put into words how eternally grateful i am for her and that i get to stay home with her. i would
have it no other way. thank you Jesus for your provision!

scarlett weighs just under 24 lbs now. she rolled over for the first time this last month and is now rolling both ways consistently! she isn't crawling yet but she wants to...bad! she's close. definitely movin around a lot.

she is very determined!

miss scarlett is very passionate already :) she goes very strongly after what she wants and gets very excited about it.

this is a little better pic of her scrunchy face

these are happy screams :)

 she loves to play hide 'n seek and singing! and mirrors! put the girl in front of a mirror and she's happy lol.
eating has been going well! she is still mostly nursing but some of her favorite solids include: kiwi, venison, spaghetti, broccoli and green peppers.

all done!

this is something else she does a lot -- tilting her head at you. it's too cute!

and here are her two little teeth!

oh and another one of her favorite things...her puppy dog!

this is definitely my favorite age so far! although i say that every month ;)