Cinemagic

Molly is starting to get into movies these days. She particularly likes Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, season 1 of The Office, and my personal favorite, Laguna Beach. She has some really good taste.

Rock On

Molly sprouted some hair recently... too bad it was on loan.

I'm pretty sure she will hate us when she is a teenager and sees these pictures. I'm going to have to point the finger in John's direction on these. I wasn't the one who attended the Poison concert a few weeks ago...

Search and Destroy

I was reminded this morning of the Peanuts character Pigpen. There seems to be a swirl of destruction following our young friend these days as she explores her world from up high and down low.

This is my favorite one. John was home with Molly that night and she had been practicing her search and destroy techniques during the day and was moving quickly that evening.

I'm glad that I rearranged the cabinets awhile ago because the basket of toys on her right isn't touched but everything that had previously lived a quiet existence in the kitchen cabinet is never safe again.

Up, Up and Away

Molly has decided that prefers the view perched on her feet rather than her rump. She knocks into things on a regular basis but has been willing to get back up and try again, for the most part. Yesterday, however, she wasn't excited when she pulled herself up on the dishwasher but wacked her chin on the way down.

She did better the other night when she went for the coffee table. Things like Tylenol bottles are apparently good motivation to muscle yourself up high. It's a good thing that the Olympic gymnasts have to be sixteen in order to compete because otherwise she might have given some of those ladies a run for their money in London in 2012. Or, she could move to China and compete for them because I'm pretty sure some of their gymnasts were, oh, about six.

I bet people are going to be excited when the Olympics are over so that I can stop referencing them in my posts. I'm going to be excited when they're over so that I can go to bed before midnight. Even the taped showings of the teeny weeny bikini contest (aka beach volleyball) keep me interested these days (and thanks to Greg for renaming the event). Anyway, here's the determined sequence from the other night and another picture of a girl hard at work banging squeaky buttons and rolling ball things on her table.

Target aquired...

sizing up the obstacle...

and we're up and reaching...

so close, just a little further...

victory! And then the big meanies took it away and didn't bother to capture that on film.

Her table is a slightly better height for the under three feet set to pull up on. Plus, Molly's a little lopsided these days because she went and got herself another tooth up top so her three teeth make her list to the right. Hopefully the fourth top one will come in so that she can stand straight again.

Summer Days Drifting Away

Oh boy, we had quite a summer weekend -- one of those perfect ones that you wish could just keep going. Since Liz and Ben haven't updated their blog this month (ahem... hint hint), we had to travel all the way to Maine to figure out just what they've been up to (watch out Eric and Mary, we're gunning for you next). Actually, prior to our investigative trip we dismantled more of our deck and, paradoxically, made it usable again (although if anyone is itching to wield a hammer, we have plenty more work to be done). Then, we headed to Ben's family compound and enjoyed some gorgeous weather with the bright blue skies that always seem a little bluer in Maine.

Molly got to swim, eat lots of food (actually, this happens anywhere. Lance Armstrong may have had an abnormally large heart but Molly has an abnormally large gullet), and relax on the dock. Perhaps more amazingly, John braved the water and there are pictures to prove it. It helped that the water was above the sub-zero temperatures of the Atlantic, nonetheless, he was right in there.

A late afternoon splash felt good on the piggies.

Molly thought being at the lake was a lot more fun than working on the deck...

and she told John the same thing.

Family swim time -- I'm not sure I ever thought it would happen (and thanks for the float Grammy). Michael Phelps did more than win a bazillion gold medals, he inspired a new generation of swimmers. John got the bronze for time of water entry but he wasn't expected to medal at all so we were really proud.

All that swimming makes for a tired girl.

Ethan helped Molly answer a phone call (I had no idea that the monitors took incoming calls)...

and runs a tight ship -- everyone has to wear sunscreen and the dock gets wiped down at the end of the day. I'm thinking of hiring him to help at my house.

At the end of the day, the paparazzi can be too much.

If Only Scooching Were an Olympic Event...

I think my obsession with the Olympics is bordering on addiction because I've been neglecting other parts of my life to watch the events (I'm still waiting for the trampoline competition broadcast) and I apologize for the lack of updates. We did sneak in a visit to Ethan's last week and got to see how he's settling into his new house.

Can't go over it, can't go around it, got to go under it... She actually can crawl the traditional way but still prefers to commando crawl using one leg and an arm or two.

Mr. Ethan is a big cutie pie and tolerated Molly's screeching well. She's breaking him in for his new little brother coming in a couple of months.

Molly's music education is progressing -- and the quality of the instruction is much higher when John's involved. Actually, I think it's educational for both Molly and me. It's not as easy as it looks to remember the tunes to lots of children's songs so sometimes it's easier to make them up (which I think drives some people in this house a little batty).

The dedicated student.

A more popular activity with the drum sticks.

All Quiet on the Deck Front

(Photo courtesy of Meg's swanky phone)

We started dismantling our deck this weekend and the newlyweds came down to help us. Molly even got in on the action and implored John and Greg not to cut their legs off with the saw (which they didn't -- not one drop of blood spilled). We've got some plans for the back yard that hopefully will include new usable space for Molly to run around in. We'll keep you posted.

Tunnel Vision

We've had to find fun things to do over the past few rainy days.
It seems that she likes her little tunnel.

What Time is It? Tooth Hurty

I may not have previously mentioned that Molly has her two bottom teeth and she is currently working on her top ones. They've both broken through and despite more pain this time around, she's soldiering on pretty well. When her top two chompers fully emerge I'll try and get a picture of the matched set.

Going to the Chapel

We had Meg and Greg's wedding this weekend and it proved to be very fun. It was great to see so many friends and family, especially those we don't get to see very often.

Molly had lots of fun with her cousins, as usual. She watched in awe as those little girls danced their pants off. She held her own and stayed awake long past her bedtime and is looking forward to when she'll be running around fields and dance floors.

Congrats to Greg and Meg!

Trying out the Cozy Coup -- princess style

Little kitchen helper

The ladies (in a rare quiet moment)

The newly (and not so newly) marrieds

Waving to people was fun -- She liked to say hi to lots of people and her dad took good care of making the rounds with her.

Getting her groove on -- bouncing was fun.