Savage Gulf

Ben and some of his buddies from work got to spend a weekend hiking in Savage Gulf, near Chattanooga, TN. They had a great weekend - John Eldridge would be proud.

This is Ben at the Stone Door. . . Quite a view!

Born to be Wild. . .

Maggie and I decided to play a little dress up today. She makes a cute little biker, doesn't she?

Turn, Turn, Turn. . . .

Maggie had another monumental first - when I got her out of the crib this morning she was on her tummy! She had rolled over during the early morning hours. This is significant because she generally does not like being on her tummy and I was beginning to wonder if she was just going to skip this milestone. :-)

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben turned 37 on Friday and we had a good time celebrating. His folks and Aunt Peggy came down for the weekend (although we suspect it was REALLY to see Maggie) and spoiled us all with some homegrown tomatoes, chocolate cake, helpful yardwork and lots of cuddles for Maggie. Our little girl especially got a kick out of playing with all the tissue paper in Ben's presents. Here's a pic of the birthday boy and his #1 little girl.

Solids, Take 2

After 2 unsuccessful weeks trying cereals, we took a break for a few days. Maggie was starting to get to the point where she would get fussy when we just put her in her feeding seat. So this time around we decided to try vegetables. So today we had carrots!



She did better this time. . . still doesn't quite have the whole idea but I think she ate a little bit. We probably tried half a dozen spoonfuls before she decided she had enough. After the first one or two, she would grab the spoon while I had it in her mouth and just suck or chew on it.



Of course it got all over her - much messier than the cereals were! But we had a lot of fun. I think this is going to work better this time - yea!

Six Months Old!

Maggie celebrated turning 6 months by taking her first trip to the beach . . . sort of. Our friends from Woodmont were making their annual trek to the sunny Gulf of Mexico and we (finally!) were able to meet them for a few brief hours on Saturday. Last year when we tried this (twice!) we were forced to change plans because of hurricanes! But we had a GREAT time seeing our friends and eating some fabulous seafood. Maggie was her usual joyful self - for most of the time. :-)



Here's our little Shrimp outside the Original Oyster House




















We didn't actually make it to the beach - it was too hot for it to be enjoyable in my opinion and traffic delayed our arrival so there wasn't time anyway. But this fall we'll take Maggie back so she can stick her toes in the sand and surf.

Maggie turned 6 months on Sunday and Monday she had her check up - all went well. She's now 15 lbs 4 oz, and 27 inches long - the doctor called her tall and skinny. He was pleased with her progress - sitting up, babbling, 2 teeth, etc. We talked about getting Maggie going on Solids - the cereal never caught on so after two weeks of trying we were taking a break so she wouldn't get frustrated. And discussed getting her started on using a cup (that was a surprise for me!). She had 3 shots and one oral vaccination.

Of course we can't believe how fast she is growing up! But she's still our little princess. :-)

Big Creek

While visiting family last week we took time to do a little hiking. Dad took us to a wonderful, little known spot in the Smokey Mountain National Park. We hiked on an easy trail which followed Big Creek, a small river with class 4 rapids (not that I know anything about that). Here and there along the trail you could climb down to river. Then there was a spot called Midnight Hole where it was safe to swim, and then Mouse Creek Falls! This is a picture of us at the Falls. It was a beautiful day and a really fun hike!