New Dining Room furniture

Okay, I don't really have a dining room but I do have a fairly large eat-in kitchen. My kitchen has very limited storage space so I bought a beautiful solid cherry hutch at the local auction house shortly after we moved here. (The lighting doesn't do the color of the wood justice)
I was very reluctant to sell this beauty but Daniel's sitter took it so I know it is in good hands. We have been using my parents' old table and a mish-mosh of old, rickety chairs, some of which looked and sounded like they could fall apart at any time. In looking for chairs to replace these, I ended up buying a whole new dining room set on Craigslist. It is a beautiful solid maple Moosehead set that will fill a dining room should I ever get one. There is a table with two leaves, 8 chairs, a large buffet w/ china hutch, corner hutch and a dry sink! I can't believe the deal we got on it. If I were to buy four new chairs it would have cost more than this whole room of furniture. I wasn't 100% sure I would love it when I bought it but having it installed in my house, I think it is wonderful. What do you think?

Daniel is 5 months old!

My tiny baby boy is getting so big! He is now fully in 3-6 month clothes - even though most outfits are very baggy. He is working on sitting by him self and seems to want to start crawling soon. Rice cereal has become a regular evening meal and I think he will start vegetables soon. His curiosity is making him quite the handfull. He wants everything that I eat, drink, read, or touch and tries to put it in his mouth which is very cute but can be destructive too - he slobbers a lot!
At his check up he weighed in at 14 lb, 12 oz (about 40%) and 25.5 in long (75%). This week he has started sleeping much better and only wakes up once around midnight and then sleeps until 7:00! I have been able to get REM sleep for the first time in what feels like years!

Chicago and Family

Last weekend Daniel and I had a bunch of firsts. We found an amazing deal to fly to Chicago, where my sister Sharon lives, so Daniel and I boarded an airplane Thursday morning and met Sharon at O'Hara that afternoon. I was nervous to see how he would handle the flight and how difficult it would be to travel on my own. Daniel slept when he wasn't the center of attention for all around us and the people we encountered were amazing. People oohed and aahed over him all over the place -- in the security lines, in the waiting area, in the bathroom, on the plane. . . everyone seemed to want to be near us and have the chance to play with him. Every time I had to move people asked if I needed help. In fact, when we got off the puddle jumper plane in Harrisburg and they brought the carry on luggage out on to the tarmac I didn't even have the chance to get my stroller, car seat, and diaper bag, three different people just grabbed them up and stated that "it takes a village." I have never experienced such courteousness from Americans before.

Sharon, her baby Ella, Daniel and I had a very nice visit despite cold, rainy weather. We went to the store, cooked, napped and enjoyed each other's company. Ella seemed to really like playing with Daniel and kept poking him so that we knew he was there! I got to see her husband, Mark, in passing and at meals; he was shut up in the office all day working from home and all night doing work for his MBA program. Daniel in Ella's "I'm a princess everyday" bib.

Friday our sister Laurel and her youngest Leah joined us.
The three babies were so cute together (when we could get them all awake at the same time). The weather cleared a bit so we took a nice long walk Friday and did some yard sale-ing Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon my cousin Andy and his family drove out from Indianapolis. I haven't seen them since last Thanksgiving so it was a nice added treat. Amy is pregnant with twins (one boy, one girl) and they have two adorable little girls, Anna and Cora, already. Cora is about two and a half and is smaller than Ella who just turned 1! Daniel spent most of the day playing with Andy. I think they were overwhelmed by all the pink swirling around them and they both seemed to have a wonderful time doing manly things.


I had to leave Sunday morning just as the weather really got nice (there seems to be a pattern developing here with my vacations and nasty weather) but I loved every minute I got to spend with my sisters! We'll have other years to visit the city of Chicago.
(You can see more photos of the trip on my sisters' blogs.)

Hawk Mountain

This past weekend Kat's parents and some members of their Sunday school decided to venture to my side of the state and go hiking. We met them at Hawk Mountain where there are wonderfully kept nature trails and beautiful vistas. I saw more hawks driving home than I did while we were there but the exercise was needed and the scenery was amazing.

Kat's parents stayed for dinner and then helped me out by feeding Daniel his cereal while I cleaned up the kitchen.

Daniel then decided to eat Jason's fingers for dessert.

Celtic Classic

The past three years we have been trying to go to Bethlehem for the Celtic Classic. There are highland games, sheep dog challenges, Irish dancers, Celtic food and wares, and my favorite Celtic music (bagpipes and drums). www.celticfest.org
We finally made it there this year and it was a bit too crowded to see much of anything but we did get to see guys throwing a sheep's bladder over a pole and tossing a log. Daniel was sufficiently ogled by many and Kat was stopped by a reporter who said I caught his eye across the crowds for 1 of 6 interviews he wanted for an article (I'll get it Wednesday and post it for you). I guess it helped that Daniel was wearing an adorable outfit his Grandma Stallings bought for him.

Daniel napping in anticipation for the activity of the day.

Sunday we tried to keep it low key except for church in the morning and bible study in the evening. I thought I would just throw in some cute pics of Daniel in another adorable G. Stallings little man outfit. This is the first time I have seen him support his full weight on his hands instead of his elbows!

First Cereal

At his 4 month check up last month Daniel slipped from the 50/75% brackets of weight and height to the 25/50% brackets and he still does not sleep well at night so the doctor told me we could start him on rice cereal at night. It hasn't helped with the sleeping but he likes it!

Daniel is 4 Months Old!

Daniel is so big! He is working on rolling from back to front, he loves to play with his toys (and by play I mean eat) and he enjoys standing and sitting up (both with assistance still). Here he is playing in his Exersaucer (on loan from his good friend Tyler) and riding in the stroller face forward for the first time! We have a check up Monday so we'll get to see just how much he's grown this month.