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ben is #1!

another day, another birthday! happy first birthday to my nephew benjamin!

little ben after his first haircut

my brother couldn't wait for his turn on the airplane :)

a breath before the next plunge

things have been busy these last few weeks. thanksgiving was shared at our house again this year, giving me a reason to clean the house from top to bottom. sometimes i really need good motivation like that to get some things cleaned and organized. i never could have done it without my mother-in-love though, best babysitter ever :)

audrey's been busy as well and is now the proud owner of a perfect pair of teeth. they came out at the same time and i'm so thankful they weren't too tough for her. mostly she was extra clingy & fussy, but nothing like the horror stories i've heard. its hard to believe she'll be eight months in less than two weeks!

i'm looking forward to lots of family visiting for christmas, especially my dad who i haven't seen in awhile. gosh, it's almost time to start cleaning again ;)

of life and loves in bakerville

while i may have been neglecting the blog lately, things have been pleasantly busy in bakerville. audrey and i went to see aunt brandi and cousin ben visiting from baton rouge last week. little ben isn't so little anymore at 10 months and has a nice head of hair now. it was so great to hear his squeaks and giggles again and he's so sweet with his younger cousin. can't wait to see that little family again at christmas!

audrey celebrated her 6th month on friday and is surprising everyone with her talents. she will pull herself up on anything taller than herself, including other babies and joey if he would let her. she's really helped tone my ninja reflexes since her determination is still ahead of her balancing abilities. i live for that triumphant grin she gives me when she pulls up all by herself though, that makes all the close calls and head bumps worth it. she's also discovered that she loves LOVES drinking water and would rather eat what we're eating instead of her socially approved allergenic-free baby food. she loves pasta pieces, ketchup and mild salsa.

today is cool and cloudy. i love having a reason to bundle my favorite girl up in sweaters! we're heading out to shop for aunt valerie's birthday and to the grocery store for cookies to bake for daddy. :)

sweet sweetness

baby benjamin's big browns!

cousins!

pop ups

pop ups with grandma!

three months

life is fun and interesting when you're three months old, but also frustrating. our little lady has always been strong, (she began to stand on her own while i was burping her while in recovery in the hospital) and her inability to sit, stand and move on her own is obviously frustrating to her. she hates to be cradled and would rather observe everything and everyone. she's now begun to reach for daddy's bearded face and likes to reach out and hold mama's finger when she falls asleep. while its hard at times to try to communicate with my increasingly strong willed child, i love my curious little cuddle bug and her individualism.

audrey started teething shortly after her two month mark and the whole family has been feeling the pain. breastfeeding is uncomfortable for her at times, especially in the mornings and evenings when she's most hungry. she's still sleeping through the night though and is usually quite content to chew on her fingers while she sits in her bumbo. she's a happy baby who smiles often and is learning to laugh more frequently.

audrey attempting to sit on her own :)

baby coos

baby dreams

oh yeah, baby

audrey lynn baker

born on april 15, 2010 at 11:35 at night. 7 lbs 2 oz & 21 inches.

i'll post our birth story soon, hopefully. we're completely devoted on learning how to breast feed right now. :)

oh, my cervix & i are still not on speaking terms, yet.

cuteness

baby benjamin at one month old :)

freedumb

as i was driving to work today, i was listening to the diane rehm show on npr. her guest was elizabeth gilbert, author of 'eat, pray, love', and they were discussing independence and divorce.

why is it when most modern women think of independence, their next thought is divorce? do most women really feel held back by their husbands/families? can they really not see their own individuality within a partnership?

i ask to merely understand. i'm incredibly blessed to be married to a man that has always supported my interests and loves the person i am. since we've been married, i've grown more as a person than i ever did when i was single. his encouragement inspires me to accept each situation as another chance to learn something. unfortunately, this isn't always the case in all marriages. sadly, there are some circumstances that call for divorce and the breaking of a family.

however, as far as the shallow discussion on the diane rehm show this morning, i've never thought of marriage as 'an end to my individuality' or having a family as a 'hindrance to my creativity' or any sort of crap or excuses women can think of these days. honestly! this 'me' generation we live in has people blind to the fact that a search for independence outside of marriage often includes hurting people close to us and an unhealthy amount self-centered thoughts. men are often the center of mid-life crisis jokes, but i'm starting believe that it's indeed a problem for both sexes. how wonderful that our society allows the separation for such people without judgement, (even though it's literally a breaking of a lifelong legally recognized contract between two people, but whatever.) personally that doesn't sound like freedom to me, it just sounds selfish.

new nephew :)

benjamin elliot eubank

what? no picture???

okay, so i survived michael's absence. my in-loves let me have my bil's bedroom for a few nights, or i should say my bil let me use his room. :) i had a good visit and it was nice to have breakfast again with mil and fil. their house faces the san gorgonio mountains and they're so beautiful on sunny mornings.

on saturday i stayed home and thomas and maria spent the night/few hours of sleep after the midnight pascha service. (i think thomas stumbled in sometime around 6am, the paschal animal.) chris and bradley came by later in the morning and we made a lot of coffee and omelets with bacon and sausage. it was great, i hope we can do that again next year.

i had planned on everyone eating breakfast outside on the patio, but was already too hot. we've had a crazy heat wave the past five days and i wasn't prepared for one so soon. i'm sorry, i'm sure everyone's tired of my complaints about the heat that comes every summer, but that's just it! it's not summer! and i actually have a reason to complain, my poor veggies! most of them have put up brave faces for me, but i can tell it's getting to them. i might have to bury the strawberries here pretty soon... the zucchini's are flourishing though and the cherry tomatoes have already shown me a few green baby tomatoes. i guess the heat is good for some things.

tea for two (hundred)

on saturday i took my mother-in-love to our parish's 11th annual annunciation tea. the flowers were beautiful and the food was amazing. so many of the ladies worked hard to make it such a wonderful time to visit with one another.

my mil and i before the tea.

chamomile and jasmin blossoms.

dear maria and her mom.

yum!!!

merry christmas!

here are some new house pictures for you to enjoy on your vacation. :D there is still a lot to do (especially in the kitchen) but at least it's starting to look cozy.

james and brandi's wedding.

here's a few pictures from from my brother's wedding on saturday. sorry to make this post so short but right now i'm waiting for my grandparents to stop by and am packing in the meantime. :)












(james looks very TONY SOPRANO in this picture. valerie is also a bit mobsterish.)

shirt

this is my favorite shirt. i probably wear it about 2-3 times a week. if you've seen me recently, then you've probably seen me wearing this shirt. it's comfortable, soft and does a good job of hiding my "food baby" after lunch. :)

in actual news: wonderful things are happening! we finished signing the papers with our realtor and our loan documents are being drawn up. we hope to sign our loan, do our final walk-thru (either tomorrow or monday) and be ready to move in next week. sweeeeet!

also, my brother's wedding is this saturday and the rehearsal dinner is tomorrow. a hearty (and early) congratulations to them!

oak glen.

my sister had her 30th birthday this past weekend so my brother, his fiance brandi, michael and i took valerie to oak glen on sunday. the trees were turning color, the air smelled sweet and crisp and the company was good. apple pies, caramel apples and pumpkin butter were for sale. fallen leaves were to be crunched, fresh BBQ to be smelled, parking spaces to be fought for, and pigmy-goats to be laughed at. i hope you had a happy birthday vallie!

here's a few pictures i took as well as a few that i snagged from my sister and brother. ;)








24 more days until their big day! awwwwwwwww...

bridal shower photo op.

on saturday my brother's fiance had a bridal shower and we were able to take a few pictures together. here's one with me, my sister valerie, brother james, and future sister-in-law brandi. (look for wedding photos in november!!!)