Stephie & Brie's new double stroller

OK, so the double stroller isn't really for Brie (but try telling her that!), and no, Mommy is not pregnant again. The stroller is for our new nanny, Liz, and her 4-month old daughter, Julia, so that Liz, Julia, and Stephie can all take walks together. Julia and Stephie were actually born one day apart. The stroller is a Peg Perego Duette where the seats can both face forward, both face backward, or face each other. Another great Craig's List find!

Big girl and her bottle

Check out Stephie's new skill...big progress today! Now if she could only open up the fridge to refill her own bottles too...

Welcome to Derby Glen!

Grandma Julie and Grandpa John closed on their new house today, and we drove over after dinner to check out their new digs. Stephie celebrated by sleeping in her car seat on the kitchen counter. Tired baby!

So long, Cary, IL!

Grandpa John and Grandma Julie officially moved out of their house in Cary today. While the official closing on the new house is tomorrow, they are staying with us until their hardwood floors are done being installed, so stay tuned for lots more Grandma and Grandpa pictures later this week! We celebrated the move by having dinner out at Shannon's Irish Pub.

Pack 'N Play

You wouldn't guess it from her shocked expression in the photos, but Stephie is really enjoying having her Pack 'N Play permanently set up in the family room. Or, at least we're enjoying having a safe place to put her down for a few minutes if need be!

Thumbs up for daddy!

Mommy was away at a conference in Cincinnati for the day (and delayed at the airport on both ends, unfortunately), so Stephie and Daddy got to spend lots of quality time together today. Stephie says, "Two thumbs up!"

Brunch with Hilary, Jenny, and Myles

We had a great time catching up with the girls and Myles today at Egg Harbor for brunch. Stephie's activities including drooling on Myles's hair, Aunt Hilary's sleeve, and Aunt Jenny's arm. Yum!

Serious slobbering alert!

Stephie traded in her thumb today for an icy cold teething ring from Grandma Michelle. Thanks, Grandma, that cold gel feels great on drooly gums!

Brie-O-Meter...take 4

Stephie is now almost exactly 1 whole Brie! Big progress from the first Brie-O-Meter where she was less than half of a Brie!

One busy four-month old!

Stephie sure has been keeping busy lately! Her activities today included hanging out with Mary...

...and Bernie, her giant doggy friend...

...lunch with Ron...

...and finally out to dinner to celebrate Aunt Marian's 92nd birthday!

What a beautiful day!

We are making the most of the beautiful 80 degree, low humidity days with lots of time spent outside. Stephie took a walk today with Grandma Julie and Mary, then another long walk with Mommy and Daddy this evening. We have been exploring various areas of our neighborhood and are really starting to know our way around.

Bouncy Baby

Stephie's new favorite game is bouncing on people's laps. It is a sure way to get a huge smile!

Weight gain update

Stephie went to her four-month pediatrician appointment today. She is now 16 pounds 4 ounces and in the 93% for weight, 75% for height, and 91% for head circumference. Big girl!

GrrrrrrAllen is Grrrreat!

Stephie had a great time with Grandpa Allen today! I think she's thinking, "hmmm...is my hair going to look like that too?!?"

Mmmm...cookies!

Today Stephie helped us bake some yummy oatmeal-raisin cookies.

"When do I get to have some of those?!?"


(And yes, we know that we shouldn't put the Bumbo up on the counter; it was just there for the pictures, I promise!)

Liana & Wei-Wei Visit

Erica's derm buddies Liana and Wei-Wei were in town for our derm review conference, so we had them over for dinner and to see the house tonight. It beat the heck out of sitting in lecture all day, and Ed got to use the BGE again to perfect his pizza recipe. They couldn't believe how big Stephie has gotten!

Fun at Grandma's house!

While Mommy toiled away at yet another derm conference, Stephie had a great day with Grandma Julie. Games included "guess who has the biggest cheeks" ...
"Count the rolls on Stephie's arms" (I see six!) ...
"Whoa, those bears are scary!" ...
And finally dinner out with Aunt Berta and Uncle Ken. What a great day!

Four months old!

Happy 4 months old today, Stephie!!! 1/3 of the way to 1 year! These pictures were taken tonight by the beautiful Lake Ellyn Park.

What a BIG girl!

The pictures from today illustrate two BIG things:

1. At 4 months old tomorrow, Stephie wore the first of her 9 month sized clothes today; the sleeper actually fits her pretty well! BIG baby!

2. Stephie now prefers to roll onto her side to sleep at night. What a BIG girl!

Little "Slimer"

Stephie's newest nickname (added to the list of Froggy, Baby Bear, Stephie Bear, Super Chunk, Chunky Monkey, etc) is Slimer due to the combination of her hands always being in her mouth and a definite increase in drooling over the past week. Grandma Julie thinks she might be teething; time will tell! In the mean time, Mommy has gotten used to a nice sheen of drool all over her forearms and t-shirts the majority of the time.

Stephie's new garden

Grandma Julie has done an absolutely amazing job rehabbing our yard over the past few weeks! Here are some pictures taken today in the beautiful new garden in the backyard.

Chunky monkey, part 2

I like posting pictures of how much Stephie has grown, so on that note, here is one from Stephie at 2 months old and a similar one taken today. Note the significant expansion of the Buddha and a few more rolls on each arm. Not much more in the hair department, though!

Stephie's new bibs

Stephie enjoyed hosting another BBQ today. Daddy put the BGE to the test by cooking an 8 pound BBQ pulled pork for 20 hours on the smoker! Stephie even got to wear new Osh Kosh b'Gosh overalls courtesy of Grandpa Roger. A great time was had by all!

Mmmmm...pizza!

Grandma Michelle and Grandpa Roger came up to visit for the weekend, and we took them out to Lou Malnati's for dinner tonight. Stephie was very interested in the fork; perhaps next time we'll bring her a more baby-friendly utensil! She fell asleep for the rest of dinner so she didn't get to try any of Lou's deluxe pizza like the rest of us. Yummy!