Loves her rice cereal....ok this was right before I fed it to her the 1st time. Not much probably even went down the tube but we had fun anyways!

Mom & Dad stopped in on their way home from Colorado va-ca to see us. We ate at Newks which was yummy! Rory was a-yellin' most of the time...until she got a bottle.

Hahahha....little monkey. I can just hear her now - ooooo---eeee-ahhhhhhh-ooooo! She 'so ' cutee! Chad & I sneak in her room each night with a flash light to look at her & once we're out of her room we always say - She 'so'cute! I guess you could say that we kinda like her....A LOT! :)

She scoots backwards when she's awake. She was on the playmat & scooted that far. When she's asleep in her bed she scoots forward. She usually ends up with her head in the corner of her crib. Now she's rocking on her hands & knees. Today she did a couple of belly flops to try to propel herself forward. Haaahha! Pooor baby...hopefully she'll get it all worked out soon in crawling-land!

Green beans....she actually did like them a lot but just captured this hilarious face!

In her new exersaucer. She likes it a bunch especially since the toys can go in her mouth. Thanks to Grammy for this entertainer!

We got to go out ON our anniversary! Numer-o 4! Mary was passing thru on her trip to Shreveport & kept Rory for us. Chad was suppose to be on-call that night but it turned out he wasn't. We ate at Jake's in "downtown" Tyler & it was yummmmy!!!!! I say "downtown" because it just doesn't compare to Fort Worth's dtwn. (We miss it...especially going to Billy Miner's & 8.0's with friends....good times, good times.) When we were parking near Jakes there was a parking meter & at first we thought it was an antique. Then we got out & read the signs & fed it $.50. Come to find out we didn't read the fine print & it was only during the daytime you had to feed it. Geesh! O'well. We got crab cakes for an appetizer (yum!). Chad had red snapper with crab/shrimp sauce. I had the filet mignon with the same sauce. VERY good food. I'm not much of a steak person but you just can't beat that cut of meat! Then we went to see Eclipse! It was great & I have a great hubby for taking me!

Grammy & Rory reading the book she got for her on her "half birthday". Plus Grammy found tons of clothes for her in Shreveport. I told you they spoil her. ;)

Yummm!!!! It's official....she loves to eat! It's so fun giving her new foods. Ok, so she's only had 2 new foods but still! I have a video of her eating & perhaps I can figure out how to post it on here.

Gimmie some rice cereal NOW! Heheh....love this pic!

She's figured out how to suck on her toes. It's so cute....and kinda disgusting too because her feet sweat....she gets that from her mommy. She only sucks her toes when she has no clothes on. Silly baby!

Hello shoes. In no time she untied them. She doesn't wear shoes much (except to church mostly) because her baby feet are just so stinking cute & it's summer time so why not!

Sweet baby!

You look'n at me? Yooooooouuuuuu loooookiiiiin' at meeeeeeeee????!!!!!!!!!

A few recipes:

Easy Cabbage "Rolls"

1/2 lb ground turkey

1/4tsp thyme

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 head cabbage, chopped (boiled)

1 bag quick cooking brown rice (cook according to directions)

1 can tomato soup

shredded cheese

Cook turkey with seasonings then mix with rice. Put a layer of cabbage in bottom of glass dish then add rice mixture on top. Add another layer of cabbage. Top with tomato soup & cheese. Bake 350 for 10minutes or until cheese is melted.

Tang-o-licous Kiwi Salsa

2 kiwi

1 cucumber

1 red chili or red bell pepper (for a mild salsa)

2 jalapeno or 2 habanero pepper (for a hot or hot hot hot salsa)

several twigs of cilantro

2 T lime juice (fresh or out of the bottle)

pinch salt

Put it all in a food processor or blender & blend away. Serve with chips

Phyllo Spinach Rolls from Kraft

http://www.kraftrecipies.com/recipes/make-ahead-spinach-phyllo-roll-ups-62581.aspx

This recipe is great! To make it easier, use spray butter on the phyllo sheets!

(Almost) 6months ago little itty bitty Rory arrived! We were so entirely blessed beyond means by God to have such a healthy pregnancy, delivery, & BABY! I'm greatly reminded of this as Chad's on his NICU rotation & has seen some miracles & also some sadness.

Anyways....TIME is flying with her! She has tooth #2 on the way also! Tomorrow (her half birthday) she starts SoLiDs!!! I'm betting she'll gobble it up & beg for more rice cereal (oooo....yuuummmm).

This week has been fun! Monday my parents swung by on their way home from their Colorado vacation & took us girls out to lunch at Newk's. Yummy sandwich shop! While we were there Rory got hungry & I've learned (from my cousin, Liz) to ask for a steaming hot bowl of water....which usually results in a strange look but then I explain it's to warm a bottle. Great trick! Then that evening we went to the Barstad's cHaRmInG home for pizza & lasagna. (Seriously, I don't know if I've ever seen such a cute house!) Chad even made it tho he was post call & I'm glad he did! The Dickersons & Casens were there too. So that means 8 adults & 9 kids!!!! We had a lot of fun...mostly laughing at our kids & their quirkiness.

Yesterday Mary stopped in on her way to Shreveport. It was fun staying up drinking (decaf) coffee & visiting. And of course Rory got some new clothes! Yea for Grammy! Plus Mary kept Rory while I went to Zumba....or so I thought I was going to Zumba. When I got there it ended up being cancelled. Boooo!!! So I jumped on the treadmill & ran 5 miles. Ok, so I actually walked (fast & on an incline) for 30minutes. Everyone else around me on a treadmill was running....yeeshhh!

Today us 3 are going to the library & pool. So glad Chad gets to spend the day with us! Now that I actually have (a lot) of time to read the library is great! It is WAY smaller than the 20,000sq' Fort Worth library but still has plenty of books.

Friday is our 4th AnniVerSarY! As it turns out Chad will get the evening off & Mary will be coming back thru to see us on her way home from Shreveport. So that means we can go out on our Anny!!!!! Yea!!!! Hellooooooooo Eclipse. I'm excited to finally get to see it!!!!!!! FiNaLLy! What a good hubby I have who will take me to see a teeney-bopper movie on our Anny! :)

Chad the poor working boy!!!!!!!! He was "on call" (24hr shift) at the ER yesterday. He came home & went to bed & I've yet to see him since. This coming week he has a ton of "on calls": Sunday, Tuesday, Friday (our anniversary....ahhhh man!!!). I hope he survives...well I hope we all survive....hehehe. So to let him have absolute peace & quiet Rory & I got outta the house some today. We took a nice stroll around the neighborhood. It was cloudy so not too too hot. Then met up with the Barstad GiRlS for a swim. So much fun & I finally got to visit with Kristen! Yea! Usually at Zumba we only have 5minutes to chat.

New recipes:

Zesty Chicken Salad Sandwich (for Chad because he loves CSS)
And the amounts on the ingredients are estimates because I'm really bad at measuring stuff.

large can chicken (drained)
1/4c Hellman's lite mayo (this brand is so tasty!)
1/4c chopped walnuts
3 TBS pickle relish (I use dill)
1/4c italian dressing
1/4 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp chili powder

Mix it all up & put it on sandwich bread or crackers. Vola!

More pics....

-Rory got her 1st toothie! (It only took me 6 tries to get a tooth shot. Try & get a 5 month old to say cheese...ya right!) Her tooth is super sharp & she bites! Hahah. Her teething has been ok thus far so we're fortunate. Otherwise, lately she's been scooting backwards which is so funny to watch. One minute she's on her playmat & the next she's 3' from it!
- More pool pics. She got another new swimmie suit (it's size 12 months! yoooowaaayyy!) because the other one is almost too small. She seems to enjoy swimming more & more....which is a good thing because we plan to be at the pool a lot!

- The oh-so-sweet Pembertons asked us to go see fireworks on the 4th of July. They held Rory the entire time & she loved it! The fireworks didn't bother her either.

- Ok, she isn't sitting on the edge of the couch alone. Chad's holding her, promise! This is her cute 4th outfit that Mimi gave her.

- New car toy. Her grandpa had so much fun playing with her when we visited!

I'm still figuring out the formatting on pictures so bear with me... Pictured here are:

- Grandmother with her great grandgirlies. So sweet. She had so much fun seeing the babies!

- My cute daddy working in the yard. I snapped this pic & he didn't know but I love it! ;)

- And... Rory meets Sophie the kitty. Sophie didn't mind her much but I think Miss Kitty was a tad jealous!

- Lastly, visiting with Ashley & her baby (who's a little over one), Mason. It was so good to see them! Ashley & I grew up together starting as itty-bitties! I can't believe we both have babies now!

Chad's 1st real-working-man-doctor day! :) So very proud of him! He looks quite handsome in his scrubs too!Aaaahh....McDreamy. ;)

Rory with her Great grandpa Bennefield & Mimi. Grandpa looks so good for almost 80! So glad we got to visit with him on our trip 'home'.

Abby & Rory showing each other how to "sit properly". :) Or prehaps Rory is giving Abby a lovingly shove. Ha I'm so excited for these two to grow up together! Rory is about 2 lbs heavier than Abby & they're only 18hrs apart in age!

Savannah & Rory. Savannah is a pro at baby holding. She got the pillow, got up in the chair, & said gimme "Raaawreeee". She's such a good big 'cuz!

Had a great get-away to ORANGE to see all the folks! Rory did pretty well during the car ride & slept mostly. (She probably feels like a baby prisoner in her car seat...poor thing!) While visiting Chad's 'rents I also got to see Kirk, Em, Savannah, Abby, Grandmother, & Uncle Glenn. Savannah is soooooooooo adorable. We played with a ball then made pretend coffee (with pretend sugar & all!) but it was too hot to drink so I taught her how to blow on it. Ha! And Abby & Rory had fun together showing off by (nearly) sitting up. Abby has the BIGGEST & prettiest blue eyes! I actually got to hold her some too! (Usually I'm chasing after Rory.)

Rory also got to see both of her great grandpas! How amazing is that! We went to Robert's Meat Market to eat with Grandpa B. (Ya strange name for a restaurant but pretty good 'home cookin' food.)Then got to see Grandpa S & he had her on his knee singing "Washed by the Blood of Jesus". She loved it! :)

Then mom, Rory, & I went to Beaumont to shop. Rory did pretty well but I bet she'da like to have stayed with Grammy more! There was a HUGE Babies'R'Us sale so she got tons of new clothes & a new driving toy - which has a steering wheel (thanks mom aka Mimi!). Rory kinda likes her new toy but mostly wants to yell at it...maybe I taught her that after yelling at many crazy drivers on the road... uhhh-oooo! Plus her Grammy gave her new "chew toys" which she really likes. (Oh dear, that sounds bad... teething toys.)

Anyways....had a fun trip! I'm so blessed with such an aWeSoMe family! (Pics to come)

Tonight went to my 1st Zumba class at the rec center. Sweet Kristen (fellow dr's wife) joined me. It was so much fun! I'm thinking I'll be sore tomorrow but sign me up for next week's class! It's a grrreeeaaaat workout!