Teeth

So I think the time has finally come.

She's teething for reals. 

At least, I assume so. She's been miserable all day with a really sad, semi-whiny cry. She was feverish after her last nap, so I gave her some tylenol and after a couple minutes she fell asleep in my arms.

Cute, and heart-wrenching all at the same time.

She has been taking lots of short naps--not waking up happy, which usually means she didn't sleep well. She hasn't been crawling around giggling to herself the way she usually does.

I took a look at her gums, and I think they look a little bit swollen around where the bottom two middle teeth will be breaking through. Almost as though there is something pushing up on them from the inside. Huh. Like maybe some teeth?

Is that normal?

I guess realistically I could research via the internet to get info on the signs of teething, so I guess my real question is this:

What are some ways you moms out there soothe(d) your babies when they were cutting teeth?

Gator Wrestlin!

Yup. CraZazy.

Gator. Land.

Creepiest. Picture. Ever.

But awesome. :)

Did you know there are ALBINO alligators? I, for one, did not! Crazy. Most of the biggest alligators looked dead. They were just lying there with their eyes rolled back. But hey. Florida's hot. I'd probably do the same!

Couldn't resist... You can sort of see "Cuddles'" head poking out from underneath Emily...

So they had this aviary where you could buy little popsicle sticks covered in bird food, and the birds would come and land on you and eat eat eat! I thought to myself, "SUWEEEET!" So we got in right before it closed down.

Emily wanted to catch the birds!

Aww... look how happy I look to have birdies all over my hands!

...in all my greasy glory...

I'M FAKING.

This is a little bit closer to how I was feeling...

Okay, fine. I didn't do so good at first. There was only a couple parrots, and I happened to be standing by one when I got my stick, and he (or she--let's be politically correct here...) didn't waste any time getting to me! All that went through my mind was "DUCK." :) So embarrassing.

Oh yeah. This is fabulous, too. Pretty sure I did this every. single. time. a new bird landed on my arm/stick. Whooooeeee!

Anyhoo. On to less embarrassing stuff! :) These are the lil' gators, sunning themselves.

It's GATOR WRESTLIN'!

This guy was fabulous... So funny. He did some cra-zazy stuff!

Just 'cause she's darling!

Love pictures of Emily with her daddy!

Emily was done with the parental pictures by the time she got to me... She wouldn't look at the camera and smile at the same time... But oh well. I still like 'em!

p.s. Check out my necklace!

I. Love. It.

It's my mother's day gift. It's from a site called mommynecklaces.com, and the jewelry is designed to be yanked on and played with by kids! On the style I got, that donut in front is free moving on about 4 inches of the necklace, so babies love to play with it while nursing. No more pinching and less distractions! So nice. Plus it is beautiful. And they have tons and tons of color schemes and different styles for each color scheme. 

LOVE.

Up she goes!

So, I've had it on my "list of things to blog" to post a video of Emily's super cute butterfly crawl for a while now. 

But alas. That news is now old news, as she can now do this:

Yup. Two videos. The first one leads into the second. 

We realized during the first that she hasn't done this with pants on yet, so the second movie is more scandalous (due, of course, to the lack of pants...), 

but much more successful! ;)

hie these iz Kirby's 1st Blug {POST

Look at me! I'm posting a blog! Yee-hee!

The Drive-In

It was fun! We thought we'd try it out to see how we liked it. After all, it meant we could get out on a date WITH Emily! She was asleep on the floor for a good chunk of the movie. 

My favorite part? The pictures. :)

Emily still doesn't quite get the concept of self-portraits...

We figure the earlier we teach her how to drive the easier it will be when she's a teenager, right?

Not sure how that tiny little body contains all that joy... :)

Reason she's flying out of the frame? Oh... because she was bouncing around like a crazy baby. She was so excited about all this...

Obviously...

Aw... That's my cutie pie!

Darling. Simply Darling.

It was nap time. Put the Emster down, came back to check on her later and I couldn't quite figure out where she was, or rather how she was oriented. 

She had disappeared!

Pretty sure I wouldn't have ever found her if her arm hadn't been stickin' out... :)

Emily wore her swimsuit for the first time today! :) 

So. Stinkin. Cute.

Seriously.

And just because she can balance by herself...

Look at those LEGS!!

The Tour

So, this is mostly for me, and for my sister, who shares my love of all things interior. :) But for anyone else who's interested in seeing what it looks like to move across the country with only what fits in your car and then rely solely on the ward members to supply any furniture, read on! :)

This is our main room. LOVE the windows. There is so much natural light in this place. Yes, Emily sleeps in the living room. We only have one bedroom...

View from the other side of the living room... Please note that I am squished up in the corners in order to get the widest angle as possible... One of my favorite parts of the apartment--outlets GALORE! No extension cords needed. Ever.

Here's the story of the furniture. The only piece of "furniture" we had when we got to Florida was Emily's pack 'n' play. We were literally sitting on a bare hardwood floor for two days--not so great on the back, by the way. Our landlord (who is fabulous, by the way) loaned us their queen air mattress until we could get a mattress... We got our place Friday afternoon. On Sunday at church when we introduced ourselves in Relief Society and Priesthood, we just let everyone know we had no furniture. Just kind of threw it out there, hoping someone would have a spare mattress we could borrow while we were here, and maybe a couch. Or camp chairs. Or ANYTHING better than the bare floor... 

Within an hour of church ending, we had a couch, lazy boy, king sized mattress, and a baby gate. The following day we got a card table and folding chairs, towels, and various kitchenwares. 

Here is our fabulous watercolor couch.

We were in need of a desk, but don't really have the space, so I had the idea to adjust the shelving by the fireplace so I could use it as a desk! :)

Here's our teensy weensy cute-as-a-button kitchen.

This stove is darling. And tiny. But perfect for us. Plus--it's a gas stove! I've never used a gas stove before... Love it. It probably has more to do with the fact that I'm a pyro, and I get to light fire whenever I use one, but you know... And how cute is that little window! I know you are all wondering--yes, it works. I opened it up today. Got hit with a wall of muggy heat when I did, and invited a little eight-legged friend in, too, but it opens! So cute.

The bedroom is right off the living room. Obviously. Where else would it be? It's a one bedroom apartment! :) Look spacious? Don't be fooled... The king mattress literally touches three walls!

See? We have to stand on the bed to get to half of our closet... And we have to walk over it to get to the bathroom. But it sure beats sleeping on the floor! :)

Moving right along into the bathroom...

Small, but functional. Zero counterspace, but I make it work. 

Cause let's be real--I'm the only one who actually "needs" it...

Hey! Who's that crazy wearing long sleeves in Florida!?

It's my pajama shirt (aka go-to covered in baby puke and snot shirt.) Glamorous, I know.

So, our apartment is a "carriage house" of sorts. Basically means it's above a garage. So the living room, kitchen, and bedroom are all upstairs. This is our front door and laundry room/mud room. Right behind the camera is the staircase to the rest of the house. I love all the counterspace and shelving in here! I don't use half of it since we have zero stuff here, but I just love HAVING it!

So there you have it! That's our small, but oh so comfy and fabulous apartment in Lakeland's historic district. We love it. Absolutely love it. The central air isn't bad, either. So much better than a window unit. Phew! If anyone comes to visit we can put you up in the laundry room (or should I say put you down... ?? Oh man, I am so hilarious.) :)

Lake Hollingsworth

Lakeland, Florida.

Our new home!

We live half a block from Lake Hollingsworth, right by Florida Southern College. The lake is fabulous. Exactly three miles around (there is a convenient two-way path around it, too). Kirby and I were originally planning to take a walk around it every evening, but Emily and I have been stricken with a nasty virus the last couple days, so we've stayed in. 

The first time we walked the lake, though, I took my camera along. It's a good thing I had it, too, because it helped distract me from the muggy heat. Kirby and I were both full on sweating (not nasty, wet-spots-all-over-the-clothes sweaty) by the time we got back to our apartment. We will never do that at 1 in the afternoon again! :)

Here's a glimpse at the lake through my lens...

(Yes... there's something like 20 pictures, so brace yourselves!)

There was a little boardwalk thingy that juts out into the lake. Looks peaceful, yeah? Don't be deceived. That's exactly what the mosquitoes want you to think!

When I first took this shot it was because I thought the lines were cool, jutting up into the sky like that. When I got it home and opened it in photoshop I realized the leaves are covered in bugs! Welcome to Florida. :)

I could spend all day taking pictures of palm trees. 

Seriously.

Texture. Yum.

For some reason, some of the fire hydrant heads are blue. Dunno why.

I feel like I'm walking into a Lord of the Rings set every time I see these trees. This hanging stuff is everywhere, and I love it!

Mmmmm... Texture...

This was Emily's first day with a sippy cup. I don't think she really gets it, yet, but she loved holding it. I just love how indifferent she looks... :)

Our apartment is in the historic district, which means are streets are made up of these...

My favorite kind of palm tree. I refer to them as "the firework palm."

I love when the trees grow out sideways. Add a pleasant little walkway underneath, and some hanging stuff, and voila! Awesomeness!

This is a "short lil' dude" palm.

This was funny. Kirby squatted down to look at this mother duck and her ducklings who came waddling towards us. As soon as he squatted, birds from EVERYWHERE flocked to us! Ha. They thought we had bread. So then Kirby held his hand like he had some and MORE came. They would run towards spots if he pretended to throw bread, too... Well, at least we know they are well trained. And well fed, for that matter!

This is "the Dr. Seuss" palm. Complete with the kink in the trunk.

This is the "big ugly hairy-chested man" palm. Not much to look at.

And my favorite shot of the day. Yum. :)