All I Need Is A Shower Cap

So I am a fish.
I have been since I was a very small baby. I love love love the swimming pool and that's probably where baby girl gets it. Open water - WHOLE other story. Something about creepy crawlies cruising around my toes just doesn't sit well. However, put me in a clean, man-made, chlorine-water filled tub and I am good to go!

This morning I went back to one of my hobbies, water aerobics. Let the snarky comments role. Bring it on. Yes, I'm probably one of the youngest there. Yes, I DID actually see this hat in class this morning. Yes, Gloria Estefan is on the rockin' aerobic music. I LOVE IT ALL!

I got up at 0h-dark-thirty and walked into the gym lookin' a' curly-haired, sleepy-eyed hot mess. But baby, I boogalooed my butt and legs to a good burn this morning, and didn't have to sweat like a pig in the process. I call that a great workout. Mock away my friends. All I have to say - is you are MISSING OUT!!

In light of my renewed love of ridiculous water fun, I found a ridiculous Mr. Bean video to commemorate the occasion. Seems appropriate.

6-7 Months

Can you believe it?! She's already 7 months old!

Penelope has officially mastered sitting up, rolling around, and she is completely into her toes right now. I love seeing how much she is changing right before our eyes. It hardly seems possible...I can't get over it! ECK!

Color me TERRIFIED!!

For my very first mother's day I received some incredibly sweet cards - including one with very special scribble from one very special little girl. In addition to cards and wonderful treats I was given a book called, "Bringing Up Girls". It's a powerful book from Dr. James Dobson. He spent three years studying and pouring over over three thousand pages of research to complete this tool. It is intense, insightful, thoughtful, heart-felt and I am completely petrified to read another page.
The mission of the book is to give parents a practical and encouraging approach for shaping the next generation of women. He and a great team of experts went through thousands of hours of preparation to give us insight into the world of raising girls.

In the four chapters I've gone through I've already learned so much about how society is so anxious, desperate even, to shape our little dolls into creatures who are self-conscious, self-worth lacking, media-manipulated and highly susceptible to the unacceptable. "Not only are toys becoming sexier, they are also undergoing something called 'age compression.' It used to be that girls from six to ten were the prime market for Barbie and other dress-up dolls. Nowadays, Barbie is targeted at three-five-year-olds. As Stacy Weiner wrote, 'it's goodbye to girlhood.' Writer Bruce Kluger commented, 'you've come along way Raggedy Ann.'"

Let me be clear - I plan on finishing this book cover to cover. But I think we're in the 'shock and awe' part of the book where he draws you in with intensely terrifying facts and statistics of raising girls in today's world/society. Yes I'm a parent now so I need to be aware, YES these things are important and I FULLY REALIZE I can't find the nearest pile of sand so I can bury my head. But COME ON MAN!! Where are the butterflies, bunnies and rainbows in this topic of conversation, I'm totally geared up to hear some warm and fuzzy at aaaany moment now!

Ok, ok...so about that 'shock and awe' - I will confess - I am learning a big lesson.
I'm learning what an hugely significant opportunity we have to shape the way Penelope sees this world, and the way this world sees her. We are blessed to be put in a position to protect her by being the first to show her she has worth, and how amazing and truly loved she is! We have the privilege of pointing her to the One who loves her more than life.
We have an opportunity to buck the norm and give her a chance to see the true joys of childhood and experience them fully without the pressures and weight of a grown-up reality.

By golly - come hell or high water I will protect that innocent advantage for her with everything I've got.

With one eye covered, a glass of wine and a cup of ice cream - on to Chapter 5...

I realize I have been horribly negligent with the 'couch' lately, but I have every intention of getting back in the game...soon.

In the mean time, a little snippet of sweet deliciousness...

Meet My Husband

For those of you that know Dana, you KNOW he loves him some Toyota or Honda automobiles. He takes exceptional care of his cars and its safe to say that when he is elbow deep in motor oil and engine goop he is in his version of man-heaven.
He has taken a special liking to the newest Sienna. Weirdo. I saw this commercial today and realized I was looking at the future interaction of my husband and our daughter. I seriously believe their bonding time will happen over 4 wheels someday.

5 Months and then some...

Beautiful, amazing baby girl. This little bundle of giggles and drool continues to keep us running a million miles a minute. We are just on the cusp of the dreadful teething phase - but that smile makes every rough moment worth it.

Chatty Kathy

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