Cheeseland

yes, there is more to this story than the 5lbs i put on in like 5 days by eating cheesecurds 24/7...oh how i miss my deep-fried friends.  but, before i tell my story, i need to apologize for my absence to the blogging world.  what can i say? life came at us full force :) in a good way...more like a great way! but i thas definitely been a whirlwind.  while we were in wisconsin (oh, back over the 4th of july), we closed on our new house (YES!, there will be a NEW house post), and sold the condo! woot!  which meant we couldn't take out time moving...oh yah, and then there was adam's almost month long trip to china...derp.  me, baby, new house...talk about a dose of grown-up comin' at yah like a flock full of rhinos.  lucky for me, MY mama came out and took good care of me...ok, really, she ignored me, BUT took great care of Immi...hahahahaha. i only jest. kind of...and no, i'm not jealous of all the attention immi gets...really!

OK! and now on to my story....wisconsin.  this was our big trip back to the northwoods with our little baby girl.  she met aunties and uncles and cousins and great-grandma ruth was there!!! talk about non-stop hug'n and kiss'n.  (we even ran out of time to get mani's and pedi's...wha???)

this story is probably best told in photos...so, here you go. 

this is just a small showing to whet your pallet...i have A LOT to catch you up on...so hopefully there will be more posts from this trip...if not, i'll eventually get them onto smugmug for y'all.

we started the trip in minnesota...she was just smitten with weird uncle ryan...

fires at night... the fireflies were even cooler!

 play twins with boppa...

some QT with GG Ruth..

meeting some of the wisconsin cousins...fffiiiiinally!

and just some more....

d-a-dd-y...

adam is A LOT better and finding the right words to say for most situations...and since we can't exactly ask HIM how to tell HIM how much he means to us, Imbot and I created this little video instead. We love you daddy!  The time we spend together is worth more than all the silver and gold...

remember, if you want to see if the video to be full screen, click on the icon in the bottom right corner!

and Immi and I secretly put on her Father's Day outfit a little early for a quick photo session... :)  i think the sweetness just oozes from those goobs.  Happy first father's dad daddy...

Evolving Love

Flora & Henri, one of our favorite baby brands, had a photo contest not too long ago...so of course, Cassidy (of Love Thy Nest) and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to dress the girls up and snap some photos...no, we didn't win, but if you go to the site now, the photo of the super hero picking his nose....thats the winner.  yah, i have to admit, kind of amazing.  i'm gonna need to keep that idea in my back pocket for down the road.   Anyways, they wanted a photo and a story behind the photo, so here's our story and photo!

When sweet Rylie met her adorable cousin Imogen for the first time, it may have not been lovee at first sight. In fact, a first born child and first grandchild, Rylie was very used to all of the attention being on her and was clearly not happy with sharing the spotlight. The story behind this photo shoot is one of evolving love.  More recently, Imogen’s baby coos and giggles have begun to win Rylie over, and we captured some of her affection when she graced Imogen with a few kisses.  Seeing how fashion forward Imogen was in her soft and adorable Flora and Henri outfit, Rylie was beginning to warm up to the idea of sharing the spotlight, that is…until Imogen began to nibble on Rylie’s Flora and Henri dress….. (story by Cassidy)

six months

as you can see...six months means much more Immi to handle!! hahahaha.  she was way more entertained this time by the fact that she could rip the letters down than by the goofy noises and dances mom was doing to grab her attention.  Can you see it in her face? "Look mama, these letters come off!"

so six months...wow.         wow.    wow.  wow.  it's crazy how you can go YEARS, and time flies by, and nothing really significant changes...then all of a sudden you have this amazing little person and SO MUCH happens in just 6 months...and you are continually grabbing at time to just cling onto whatever time allows you to keep for more than a millisecond!  when i think about it, i start to hyperventilate...not a good idea.  so the best thing to do is just be in every moment possible, and enjoy it.  

so...fun stuff about our 6 month old.

* sitting up...it's great, because we can stick her on the floor while getting dressed and she'll sit there and grab for her toys...keeping her entertained for the seven minutes it takes to slap on some mascara, and blush...brush my teeth.

* we've got a tooth! and more coming in...yay for mom! who needs sleep anyway, right?

STATS
height: 27" - 85%
head: 17.24" - 85%
weight: 14lbs 4oz - 13%

tall and skinny with a big 'ol melon....

the doc's are happy with her weight gain...it's more consistent now...and they're impressed with her development and how strong she is!! so all-in-all...everything is going great!  I can't even handle that face... comparison time!!!!  i sure do miss that 1 week squishy face, but i wouldn't trade this six month goober face for anything in the world.

and some of my favorite things to nibble on....

that scrumptious little neck...

 and those chubby little fingers...

and oh how i can't even TAKE how cute the airpit rolls are... softest skin ever!

and those itty bitty toesies...those are a perfect compliment to any nibblings.

Corvette Diner

this is one of our MUSTS when Oma & Opa are in town... i definitly see Immi and Opa sneaking off here to grab a milkshake in the future....

be sure to click the "full screen" icon in the bottom right of the video to see those big ol' goober better!

Oma, Opa & the Ocean

i don't think i've done an entire post in B&W yet...but i think these are wonderful in B&W.  if you really want to see them in color, along with MORE pictures, they'll be here, but as of right at this moment, there are no photos uploaded (gimme-a-break...i have an infant, a day job, a couple of furbabies who are seriously deprived of attention...blah blah blah)....but i will upload them soon.  promise.

oma & opa came out for a week of immi time.  it was great!  they got to babysit while i was at work and had a chance to really bond with her.  

i can't even begin to express how much we really, really, really appreciate the fact that we have so many loved ones who make an effort to be involved in her life.  it's because of you all that she will always feel loved and supported no matter where she goes in life (ha! like mama is gonna let her go further than 50 feet from her, like EVER).

^^^they shared secrets^^^

^^^and snuck in smooches^^^

^^^and held hands^^^

^^^immi already trying to make opa look cooler - "opa, lemme fix your hat"^^^

^^^gentle face touches...seriously the best feeling ever^^^

^^^day dreams^^^

^^^baby inhale...moms- you all know what i mean by that^^^

^^^more face grabs^^^

^^^had fingers for dessert^^^

^^^love^^^

First Taste: avocado

well, apparently Imogen doesn't share her mama's love for avocado.  this food choice DID NOT go as well as I was hoping.  even though avocado has so much goodness to it, fatty good fats, vitamin e, antioxidants, folate...the list goes on...immi didn't see the appeal.  i mean, there are reasons i am going to continue to gently "nudge" her towards avodcado...really, who doesn't love that buttery creamy goodness...nom nom nom!!  and she calls herself a california girl?!?!?!  pishaw!!!!! the one good thing that came out of feeding her avocado are the amazing faces she made.  finally, for those non-believers, some non-smiley immi action.

 ^^^uh- guys, this stuff is green!^^

^^^...and smooshy...^^^

^^^and if you make me eat this... i'm gonna hurl^^^

^^^oh? you're serious?...YAH.  EFF'ING. RIGHT...^^^ 

that last face is my favorite.  she definitely gets that face from yours truly.