When we came home on Sunday afternoon we were surprised to see a llama standing right next to the road. There was also a goat, a donkey, and a pony (that is just what I saw). I'm assuming the neighbors were having a b-day party of some sort- it was definitely a strange sight!





























Phil and Holly got Maleah this high chair- she loves it, and we got it just in time because we just started feeding her some baby food. She likes to sit in it and play while I cook.




On Saturday I went to Kassy's baby shower- I can't believe how many new babies there will be in just about a month!

Groundbreaking

The credit union I work for is building a new freestanding branch in St. Francis, so we had the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday. This is one of the pictures that the newspaper photographer took- don't I look great with my hair covering up half of my face? I refused to wear a hardhat, but apparantly I should have...

Corey has not had much work for the past couple of weeks, so he spent some time last week painting the kitchen and adding hardware to the cabinets. I think he did a really good job- now I have to find new decorations for our walls though, since the old ones don't really match anymore. He has also been spending a lot more time at home with Maleah while I am at work- he is becoming quite the "Mr. Mom"! :)

Rise and Shine!!

Maleah has some particularly funny faces right after she wakes up in the morning- I love getting her up in the morning because she is full of smiles, even if she isn't completely awake yet!

NC and some random pics...

A week and a half ago I took Maleah on her first trip to NC- that was probably the last time I will take a baby anywhere by myself, but despite some plane/airport issues, it was really nice to spend some time with my brother Phil and his family, and also some friends. We tried going to the beach one day, but I learned quickly that the beach is no place for an infant- she looked really cute in her swimsuit though! As you can see in one of the pictures, Holly and Meagan are very pregnant, and looking very cute! I was excited to get both of their profiles in one picture. :)

Maleah got a new exersaucer last weekend (she's got to keep up with cousin Ryan). You can see in this first picture how well it entertains her. :)








Maleah and daddy all ready for church on Sunday morning.


























This is the first picture of Maleah "sort of" sitting up...













...and down she goes! :)

My New Venture

A couple of weeks ago I came across a company called AtHome America. They sell home decorating products. What I like best about the company is that their products are very "trendy", but also very reasonably priced. So after looking through their website I decided to request some information on becoming a consultant. A couple days later I got their catalog in the mail and I really liked what I saw, so now I am officially a "Home Style Specialist". :) I really do not enjoy selling things, but I like their products enough that I feel they will kind of "sell themselves". My hope is that if I work hard enough, I will be able to stay home with Maleah, so that is very motivating to me! Anyhow, my grand opening party is on the 12th, so I am excited! My website is http://www.athome.com/Hollister , so feel free to check things out there, although I think the catalog is much better to look at! I'm determined to not become a pushy, annoying salesperson, but if anyone wants to do a party (catalog or in-home), let me know- you will get some great deals if you do! :)

Maleah's Pics!

On Sunday afternoon we took Maleah in for some pictures- she did pretty well, although we had a hard time getting any smiles out of her. If you go to http://www.FlashPortraits.com then go to My Portraits, you can see the pics there. Our password is Maleah. So Phil, you're gonna have to spell it right!! :)

Maleah loves to practice standing- and she is good at it too! The Dr. was very impressed with how strong she is!

Wisconsin Dells

Last weekend we went to Adam Stauffer's wedding, and since it was just a half hour from the Dells, we decided to stay there for a couple of nights with Corey's parents and Cody. We went mini-golfing the morning of the wedding, and spent some time in the indoor waterpark at our hotel too (it was a bit chilly for the outdoor ones).

A Showing!

Well, last Tuesday we finally had a showing at our townhouse, and we just found out yesterday that the buyer really liked it and wants to look again sometime soon. So hopefully something will come of it- I don't want to get my hopes up too much since this is the first showing we have had, but it is hard not to! Of course, I'm not really sure what we would do if it actually did sell- maybe go on an extended vacation to NC? :)

Well, the last nine weeks flew by, and I had to go back to work yesterday. It is hard to be away from Maleah all day, but so far the week has gone ok. I took these pictures tonight after her bath. We had some fun playin' with her hair and couldn't resist taking some pics! I can't believe how much she has grown in just 2 months, and she even has a tooth showing already!

Go Twins!!

Hey are you all impressed? This is my third post in three days! :) Today Corey and I went to a Twins game- Maleah stayed home, but she still got into the team spirit! I had to put the headband on, otherwise she looked too much like a boy! Anyhow, I was going to take a picture of us at the game, but my battery was dead, so instead we got this family picture taken after we got home. Do you like the spit-up that is all over dad's shirt? Oh, and the Twins won!

We finally caught some smiles!

Eric's "Send-off" Picnic

This Tuesday Eric is leaving for training and then Iraq (he will be gone for 14 months, I believe). So last Friday we had a picnic and then went to Megan and Eric's house to play some games.




































We had fun playing volleyball, but we all were pretty pathetic- I think Dad did better than all the rest of us!