Favorite Books of a 7 Month Old

Courtney's favorite books are picture books, especially ones of cats and dogs, which she has seen at our house but can very rarely touch. When I say they're her favorite, I mean she responds verbally to picture books with giggling or babbling. Her favorite book is 'Cats and Kittens' which has lots of cat photos. Mama Lyn made Courtney another favorite book, just a miniature photo album with photos of dogs and cats and babies cut out of magazines and she really loves looking at that one. Even this young she wants to turn the pages.

Courtney's Finger Food

Courtney liked the squash I gave her today. We ate outside tonight because we had a power outage and it was too dark inside. So I thought, why not make a mess? I put some squash on her tray for her to eat with her fingers........

Courtney Saying Dada!

Today she said it three times when prompted!

Courtney Pulling Up for a Toy

So Courtney's new favorite pastime is pulling up on something (someone, a piece of furniture) and letting go with her hands. She will do this dozens of times in a row just in the morning before I go to work - no telling how many times she does this per day at the nursery. This morning I baited her with a toy so I could video her pulling up on the touch in order to get at a stuffed animal.

Courtney Loves the Fountain

I have an improvised backyard fountain, and Courtney likes the sound of it, and likes to watch it. Even if she's several feet away, she will move her arms as if she is splashing in the fountain - cute.

Fathers Day

I did not get to see my father today, but Courtney got to spend some time with hers. Dad woke her up, picked out her outfit, and took her to a restaurant and shopping at Sam's Club (for formula and baby food in bulk)!

Visit From the Aunts

Aunt Jenny and Aunt Joyce visited today, bringing their friends Frankie and Jackie with them. Aunt Joyce lives in Decatur GA and Aunt Jenny lives in New Orleans. Jenny is my grandmother Vallie's youngest sister and only living sibling. Being around her reminds me of my grandmother so much. They were driving through Jackson and stopped by for a little while and we had a good
'girls day' - they were entertained by Courtney of course. This is a photo of Jenny with Courtney.

My Birthday

I spent my birthday hanging out with my little girl and my mom. I took the day off work and the three of us went shopping and ate lunch out. We had a great time and it was good to take a vacation day - I haven't had one since March. Here are some photos - Courtney 'surfing' on the walker and Mama Lyn and Courtney getting ready to get in the car.

4-Hour Work Week Book

Todd heard about this book and picked it up last week."The 4-Hour Workweek." I can't wait for him to finish it so I can read it, too. It's so interesting - I read only the first chapter - but Tim Ferriss is only 29 years old and is pretty wise for a young guy. He recommends so many ways to make your life less stressful and more rich (figuratively)... instead of staying so 'busy' all the time he emphasizes quality of life. One of his recommendations is to check your email only 3 times per day. Eventually he recommends progressing to 1 time per day. He says making yourself accessible to everyone in your life 24 hours a day (like you Blackberry folks; you know who you are) just makes them more dependent on you for every little thing. I'll do a follow up post when I have read more, but the ideas I've read so far are very interesting.

Walking Through History

The past 3 weeks, I have been taking power walks during my lunch break, and since I work in downtown Jackson, there's a lot to see that you miss by driving past at 30 miles per hour. I've lived in Jackson 15 years, and I've worked downtown for 12 years, and I've never seen these landmarks up close. From my office, I can easily walk to several Jackson landmarks and back, so to make my walks more interesting, I've been visiting these places of interest. One day I walked to/around Greenwood Cemetery where Eudora Welty, 7 Mississippi governors, 6 Confederate generals, and 400 unknown Confederate soldiers, are buried. Another day I walked down historic Jefferson Street, passing grand houses, including The Oaks House Museum (pictured here), which is one of the few buildings that survived when General Sherman burned Jackson to the ground. A third day I walked to the Mississippi War Memorial downtown by the Old Capitol, which is undergoing reconstruction right now after damage from Hurricane Katrina. Next up is the Winter Archives and History Building, and if the legislature will ever go home I will walk at the Capitol building.

Crocs For Girls Who Hate Crocs

I have never been a big enough fan of Crocs to buy a pair for myself to wear, but I got these a month ago and I love them. They're great for pool sandals and for bumming around. I didn't find them in a local store, though, and haven't seen them anywhere except online.

Jason Mraz - We Sing We Dance

The new album we've been listening to so much is Jason Mraz's 'We Sing We Dance,' which came out in mid-May. I can't get enough of it. Several songs on this album were on an EP that came out a year ago, so not all of the songs are new to us. But it's a great album. Check out the amazon page.

Indiana Jones Movie - Thumbs Up

Tonight we saw and really liked the new Indiana Jones movie, the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Courtney has gone home with her grandmother so we get to do some 'adult' things without worrying about what to do with her. The movie was very far-fetched but we still enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Pulling Up in the Crib

This week Courtney has decided to start pulling up in the crib. She is really proud of herself. With her hands, she wadded up the crib bumper so much I finally took it down because I thought it was doing more harm than good all bunched up; plus I thought she might step on it and catapult out of the crib. So Todd and I moved the mattress down two notches in the hopes that we can keep her from climbing out for a while. Click on the photo for a larger view of her doing her thing.