Molly Turns ONE

(It hasn't been 6 months...for those of you who are still reading...) Molly turned one on March 11. This is a big milestone and of course, we had a party to celebrate. In fact - two parties. One was the week before with my co-workers. We had brunch at one of our favorites, J. Christophers. Pancakes followed by a red velvet smashed cupcake. Yummmm! Thanks friends for helping celebrate Molly wish us. And a huge thanks for the presents that you gave to the Children's Hospital.

Waiting for guests to arrive at J. Christophers.

She spotted the cupcakes and couldn't wait to get her hands on them.

Birthday Girl

Friends that came to help celebrate Molly's first birthday!

Her actual birthday we had Andrew's parents in town from Waco. My friend Anna also came to the celebration. We had dinner at Folks - good southern food (can you say peach muffins and corn nuggets?!!?).

Waiting for dinner... Granddad, Grammy, Dad, Mom, and Molly

Then we came home and let Molly smaaaaaash her cake. It was so fun, but the poor girl didn't know what to do with a WHOLE cake at first. She needed some "coaching" from mom, but she caught on quickly.

After a bath that turned the water blue, she got to open presents. Molly was such a trooper as it was clearly after her bedtime. But hey, who can say no to presents?

Happy birthday, Molly Marguerite. What a year it's been....I can't wait to see how you'll grow and change in the coming year. I love you.

It's been awhile...

...and life with Molly has been very busy. I could kick myself for not doing better at keeping up with blogging. Since my last post we've been to New Orleans for Andrew's college reunion, Kansas City for my HS reunion and Thanksgiving, and of course Christmas. While I hope to get caught up eventually, I wanted to go ahead and share our trip to Athens, GA last weekend while it's fresh. I can't find the cord to upload pictures to the computer, so those will come later. We've lived in Atlanta for 6 years. Every year I've searched the Baylor athletic schedule in hopes they would come this way. FINALLY, baseball was coming to play UGA in Athens (a little over an hour from us). We've always wanted to head up there. We had heard good things and since it's where REM met, there's some musical interest as well. We headed up Saturday mid-morning. Got there in time to grab a quick lunch at Subway before getting to the game. If you know me, you know my love for all things baseball. There's something I've missed about the "ping" of the metal bats hitting the ball. I hadn't been to a college game since my time in Waco. It was a sunny day, but still a slight chill in the air. It was a fun game - Baylor ended up losing 4-3. I would've liked to see them win, but I'm ok with it since they won Friday and Sunday winning the overall series. After the game, Molly was ready for a nap so we checked into our hotel. We were all pretty tired so took a quick rest before going out to find dinner - ending up at Logan's. Molly's first steak...yum! Sunday was a beautiful day - mid 70's and sunny. We drove to downtown Athens and pulled out the stroller. Time for the "REM walking tour." Perfect day for it! We saw the steeple from the church of their first show, the train trestel bridge from the cover of their first album "Murmur", Weeber D's Soul Food - Automatic for the People, the old & new 40 Watt clubs, and of course - Wuxtry Records - where the band members met. Andrew has turned me on to REM so it was a fun walk for both of us. After all that walking we were ready for some lunch. One of our favorite places in Atlanta, Doc Chey's, has a location in Athens, so we went there. Delicious! It was while we were eating lunch that Molly and I had our first "gut laugh, you-had-to-be-there" moment. I had just put a bite of food in her mouth and she laughed or did something that made it fly back out of her mouth. It startled her and she started laughing, which made me laugh, which made her laugh. We were both belly laughing at each other for the silliest thing. Andrew calmly looked up from the newspaper and asked, "what's so funny?" We both looked at him and I said "You had to be there..." It was a fun mom/daughter moment. Even the little things that seem like nothing are special to share. We had discussed going to Sunday's baseball game, but decided to finish seeing campus, and then head back to Atlanta (with a stop at the outlets first, duh!). It was a wonderful weekend get-away that was much needed. It's amazing what a night away from home will do for the mental state of mind. I promise it will not be another 6 months before I post again. After all - we had Molly's first ONE YEAR OLD birthday celebration today!

Bookworms

The Decatur Book Festival is an event I'd always wanted to attend. For whatever reason, Andrew and I had never made it out there. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to go check it out while Andrew was out of town. It was something that would definitely get me out of the house. And it turned out to be a beautiful day. Molly and I were trying to get there by 12:30 to see the Charlotte's Web puppet show. I thought that would be something she would enjoy because of the visual. We arrived at 12:35, and found that they hadn't started yet (yes!). Well, sadly it's because they were behind schedule and just ended up cancelling it. (Or if it was changed to a different time, no one could tell me when it would be...) So, I was pretty bummed, but knew that if I stuck around I would probably find some good deals on some books. This is probably my favorite thing to spend money on. Especially children's books....and especially children's books for Molly.

We did find some great deals on books....$4 hard-cover books. It's really hard to beat that. Another tent had 50% off all children's books. So, I got some for Molly & some for my class. I wouldn't say it was all I expected it to be, but I really can't complain about getting such great deals on books. And it was a nice mother/daughter afternoon.

Waiting in the tent for the (non-existent) puppet show to begin

Molly calling...

Andrew was out of town recently, so Molly and I would call to say good morning. While she was "talking" to daddy, I decided to snap a picture. She's really interested in listening to that familiar voice on the other end, but still seems a little confused by it all. Her favorite thing to do is reach for the cord...and try to put it in her mouth. (surprise!)

Molly's Dedication

August 15, 2010 Andrew and I, along with our family & church family, dedicated Molly. Many people have asked what that is exactly. It's basically our promise that we will do our best to raise her in a Godly home, with the help of God himself, and our amazing support team - family, friends, and our church.

We were so blessed that both sets of grandparents and Andrew's sister, Courtney, were able to attend. It was a special day. Here's what we promised....so you all can help us and so we can always remember what we agreed to do in raising Molly Marguerite Kirkpatrick.

Susan & Andrew, we invite you to recall your own baptism and, seeking to fulfill it's promises, give yourself in convenant to lead Molly toward discipleship in Christ.

With gratitude to God:

Do you receive this child as a precious gift from God, and seek God's grace and this community's support in nurturing and caring for her...

Do you covenant to remain faithful in love to your child...whatever the future may bring...

Do you promise to teach her the joy of the Holy scripture, The importance of worship, The duty to serve God's people, The responsibility of faithful stewardship, and the Blessing of Christian Community...

Do you promise before God and this community to so fashion your lives that your child may come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior

I do, God helping me...

Andrew, myself & Molly with Rev. Erin during Molly's dedication

Grandpa, Nina, Mom, Erin & Molly, Dad, Aunt Courtney, Grammy & Granddad

Just us 3...Andrew, Susan, and Molly KP!

Sit & Spit

So I realize the name of this post sounds quite gross. But when you're talking about the sweetest 4 month old around, it's so cute, right? :o) Yesterday, while in Ottawa, Andrew needed to go to the library. Molly and I found a shady spot close to the library to hang out for a bit while he worked. I knew she was very close to being able to sit on her own, so we were "working" on strengthening her muscles to get her strong enough to do so. I was lightly holding my hands behind her back when I realized she didn't need my help. So I grabbed the camera & took some pictures. While she was sitting there, she was also participating in one of her other newer tricks....spitting. She has learned to do this and while it's not the most lady-like thing she's ever done, it really entertains her.

Molly's New Trick

Recently, Molly has discovered that she can suck on her hands at any point. Unlike the pacifier, she doesn't have to wait for mom & dad to put it in her mouth. You can always tell when she's sucking because of the "smack smack" that comes from her direction. Andrew and I realized it was just a matter of time before she would find her thumb. And this week she found it! She doesn't always suck it because she's still learning how to get it to her mouth before she gets frustrated. But when she does get it, it's like she's struck gold. I've heard negatives to thumb sucking, mostly with how hard it is to break the habit in years to come...but for now, it's pretty stinking cute! See for yourself. :o)