Now that you've had an update on Lillian, here's an update on all of us. There hasn't been anything too exciting, really...just regular life. My dishwasher did break, though, so that was a pain. It was down for about two weeks while the ordered the part. Apparently, the circuit board went out. But it got fixed today and all I can say is Hallelujah! No more hand washing!

We had our fireworks stand fall through. If you don't know, we were going to run a stand for Phantom Fireworks over the week of the 4th just to earn a little extra cash. But there was some problem about who they talked to about putting it up, so our location was canceled. Erik made a stink about having already taken off work and the time he'd already put in without compensation (the pay was partly based on how much product was sold), so they agreed to hire him on as the money-pick-up guy. He'll be driving around to the stands in northern Utah to collect their money and taking it to the bank. This will probably be better anyway since we won't have to find people to help staff the stand or sit in it in the heat.

Lillian forgot to mention that she attended her first demolition derby on Saturday. She's not really a fan...despite the adorable shirt Erik made that says Derby Chick. We bought her some baby ear muffs to protect her from all the noise. I tried them on and they block out almost everything, but I don't think she liked having them on. Plus, I think she was tired since we'd had a fairly full day walking around Summerfest (an art festival in Logan) earlier, and I think she may have been hungry. But even after I fed her, she just wasn't interested in staying for the whole thing. So she and I went outside the arena and walked around a bit while Erik watched the rest of the derby. We've decided we need to get her used to the ear muffs at home first, a little at a time, and then try again. We may have to wait until next year, though, and not make such a full day of it before the derby.

Erik recently applied for promotion at work. We haven't heard if he'll be interviewed, yet, but from something another manager let slip, it sounds like a good possibility. He probably won't stay with Wal-mart forever, but we figure that while he's there, he might as well move up and get some more management experience for his resume.

We had to speak in church on Sunday. Since it was Father's Day, that was the topic we were given. It went pretty well...except that we left about 10 minutes and a member of the bishopric had to fill the rest of it up. But I think three shorter talks is better than a couple really long ones that go no where, so it wasn't bad.

I think that's all I have. Until next time...

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5 months old

Today I am 5 months old. The time has flown by! I'm getting so big, and I'm really alert, now. I started eating cereal about a month ago, and it's going pretty well. Now mommy is talking about starting other foods. I think I'm trying peas tonight...wish me luck.

I like to grab for anything in arm's reach now, too. So mommy has to be careful if we're sitting by something I can grab. The other day, I pulled a candy flower out of a bouquet for Grandma Nancy. I think mommy was just showing me the colors, but I wanted to get an up close look. Everyone was amazed with my strength. And one day when I was riding on daddy's shoulders, I grabbed his hair. Mommy laughed while he tried to get me to let go.

I've been pretty fussy lately and went through a little phase of not sleeping well, but I'm getting better again. Mommy and daddy can't decide if I'm teething or not, but since I seem fine in every other way, they're just dealing with it as best they can.

We're enjoying our summer very much. We all go for walks or sit on the patio in the evening once it gets shady. I like to watch Laddie play and see all the people go by. On our walks, sometimes I'm in the stroller and sometimes I'm in the baby carrier that mommy wears. Most of the time I fall asleep, but I have a good time anyway.

Hope everyone is enjoying their summers also.

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So long May...

I apologize for the long delay between posts. I suddenly realized that the month of May is almost gone and I hadn't done a single update for the entire month.

Lillian went to the doctor for her 4-month check-up on May 18. She now weights 9lbs 11oz and is 23 inches long. She's slowly getting on the growth curve. She got her next round of shots and reacted about the same as last time. I don't think that will ever get any easier, for me at least. The doctor says she looks great and he gave us the go-ahead to start introducing some solids. We haven't started yet but probably will next week: just a little rice cereal at one feeding during the day. We'll see how she reacts before trying to do more.

She loves to sit up, so we got her a little chair specially made for infants that supports her. I felt better about that than propping her in the corner of the couch and having her tip over. She seems to like it and will sit in it for quite a while before getting fussy. She's also started to show some interest in her toys. She used to just look at them as we waved them in front of her, but now, if you put it in her lap, she'll pick it up and...of course...try to eat it. She almost put her binky back in her mouth a couple times, but we haven't decided if it was accidental or not. :)

As for the rest of the family, there's not really anything new to report. Laddie has started his next round of training classes and is learning lots. Erik is dealing with being short-staffed in the photolab, but other than that, things are going well. I finished my class at the beginning of the month (Conflict and Expressive Culture) and received an A. My final paper was on how sacrifice has been used in the Harry Potter series. I'm a nerd, I know. Right now, I'm busy getting ready for the summer conference season at work. Since we do a lot of trainings for educators, the busy time is over the summer when they aren't teaching.

That's about it I think. Until next time, which will hopefully come a lot quicker than this one did.

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