Look ma, no hands!

Baikal is eating a cookie without using her hands. She is the master of creative food eating. Her latest obsession is dipping her cookie in milk. Sometimes she dips it, and it disappears from her hand into the bottomless abyss of her milk cup. Tomorrow is her 18 month check-up and I can't wait to see how much she weighs. Last check up the nurse told me to "put more butter on that girl's bread." She had dropped in weight to the 5%. So operation fat baby began. And abruptly ended when Baikal figured out she did not like anything spread on her toast. She is your average toddler food consumer, but I can't help to feel like a bad provider when she fills up on blueberries at snack time and pushes her dinner to the side.

Summertime is callin' me

It is summer in Atlanta! There are several ways to beat the heat. Sprinkler chasing is just one of them. We also had a great time at the Decatur beach party. They blocked off the roads and loaded them with sand and fun. There were two live bands, BBQ, and lots of activities for the kids. We had a great time there with the Frilingos and York-Simmon families.

Pickles and Ice cream

They say each pregnancy is different, and so far that seems true for me. The first trimester was filled with extreme nausea and extreme hunger. Yes, you can feel both at the same time. I have been a sugar junkie! My current favorite snack food is gummy worms. I have been feeling much better lately and now am trying to cope with the reality that although I was back to my "normal" wardrobe for a while, I am now into baggy shirts and draw-string pants.
Yesterday in the grocery store I actually stopped at the pickle section and my mouth began to crave the crispy crunch of a dill spear-shaped pickle. That was quickly followed by a wave of nausea which sent the jar that I had just selected back on the shelf. Ice cream is not of much interest to me either, but I do like a nice tall glass of whole milk.
I try to sleep when Baikal does and I have been very thankful to Matt who lets me take long naps on the weekend while he keeps watch over baby and dogs.

Two lines and its official!

Hooray! I am now 13 weeks pregnant with baby #2. Matt is busy coming up with names. I am busy keeping up with baby #1. Yes, your math is correct. My current due date is around Dec. 15, just 3 days shy of Baikal's birthday. I use "current" because this date is usually adjusted after the 20 week ultrasound. We are planning on finding out the sex and that should be posted sometime in Aug. I have already bought a brand new pregnancy week-by-week book for the second baby, so I can tell you that today it is approx. 3 inches long and has started to develop its teeth sockets.

Nude Art

All great artists have to start with nudes. Here is Baikal's nude art. She is currently in a blue period.

New Garvin Cousin

My cousin, Jacob, and his wife, Isabel, had a beautiful baby boy this week! Corbin Thomas. We visited them at the hospital and it was a party! I did not bring my camera, due to an unfortunate milk spilling incident in the diaper bag, but thankfully others did.

On the go

Baikal loves to be on the go. Now that she has discovered running, it is her preferred method of transport. That is, unless she happens upon a hand trolley, like she did at Aunt Courtney's work.

More Beach Photos

Here are some more beach photos. Enjoy!