I'm taking over.

Hi folks, Rose here. I've decided to take matters into my own hands. Like the e-trade baby, I have learned to type, and will be soon taking over the family finances. But, to warm up, I'm starting with learning to blog. Let's face it, I can't be worse than my mother.

Speaking of mom, she's hovering over me right now. She tries not to hover too often, but she can't help herself sometimes. Truthfully, I don't really mind, but daughters are supposed to complain about their mothers. So, there you have it.

My dad isn't too bad. I really like falling asleep in the crook of his arm while he lazes on the couch. As a matter of fact, I think I may do that as soon as I'm done with this blog post. Give me a pacifier, a belly-full of rice cereal, and my daddy, and I am one happy baby.

Oh, didn't I tell you? I'm eating solid foods now. I turned six months old today, and so I decided to celebrate with a big bowl of rice cereal and a dash of oatmeal for dessert. I also like sitting up on my own, though I'm still a little wobbly. Momma bought a new rug for the living room, with a very soft and squishy pad underneath. (Remember what I said about hovering? She wasn't hovering close enough last night when I tipped over...good thing she bought that cushy rug pad.)

Well, I had better let you all go. I have to catch the rest of Dancing With the Stars (it's my guilty pleasure). I will leave you with a couple pictures of yours truly.

Enjoy.

Rose

Rose's 3 month photo shoot.

Today Rose turned three months old. To celebrate, we decided to go to another out-of-state wedding this weekend. This one was in the Chicago area, so we just drove. Rose was a model traveler (of course). After the wedding, we drove north to spend some time with my (Becky's) family. We did lots of wonderful things, but of course I didn't think about taking any pictures until the drive home. Not really much of a surprise, when you think about it...

Anyway, I give you Rose Elizabeth. The bulky cloth diaper makes her look like she's got a lot of junk in her trunk, but I promise you that she's actually quite small in the patootie. Oh, and there are a couple more pictures on Facebook; these are just the highlights.

Caption contest winner announced!

You may remember in May how I challenged my three blog readers to come up with a caption to a particular picture of Rose. I just realized that I never actually told you about the winner. Perhaps I'm biased, but I loved my husband's lolcats-like caption. I'm not a photo editor (and not very good with lol-speak either), so please excuse the paltry modification. But, I think you get the idea...

What? Michael Jackson passed away!? I hadn't heard.

So, like the rest of the world, I have been listening to a lot of Michael Jackson the past week or so. I've always had a soft spot for his duet with Paul McCartney, "The Girl is Mine". The laid-back beat, the painfully memorable lyrics ("'Cause she said I blow her mind"), the ridiculous voice-over (Michael: Paul, I think I told you, I'm a lover not a fighter. Paul: I've heard it all before, Michael. She told me that I'm her forever lover, you know, don't you remember?). It's all just too perfect.



But then, as I began to think about, I started to feel bad for Paul and Michael. I mean, this girl is two-timing them! And they're both oblivious. Michael's off sending her roses and telling her that he'll love her endlessly, and all the while she's telling Paul that she's her "forever lover". Wake up, boys - she's using you both! And let's look at the two of them. They only have one thing in common: their fame. Can you say "gold digger"? Geesh. They shouldn't be fighting over a girl like her. She probably moved on to Hall & Oates soon after. Typical.

Two Months Old!

Rose celebrated two months of age on Friday. Here are a couple of pictures I snapped of her.

Milestone Alert!

I'm going to try and take a picture of Rose every month on the 10th, celebrating her first 12 months of life (this idea was stolen from my friend Emily). I couldn't decide which ones to post, so you get a variety pack.

In case you're wondering, life with the baby is great. She's a good sleeper, which means mom and dad are well-rested and perky (most of the time). Dad has even been able to sneak in a couple of rounds of golf, and I was able to play for our rec-league softball team a few weeks back. We'll be flying to Houston this weekend for a wedding - have baby will travel. Rose also got to meet a lot of new people last week, including one of her great-great-grandmothers (that's right, she has more than one great-great-grandmother). I posted some more photos to Facebook too, so you might also want to meander over there for some additional oohing and aahing.

The official blog transition.

Now that I'm a parent, I have some bittersweet news: this blog will be inundated with baby-gushing from now on.

I can't help it! She's so sweet and adorable and precious and cute and wonderful and amazing and...well, you get the point. But, I assume you'd rather see for yourself.

I give you Rose Elizabeth:

(It may not seem like it, but I promise she has more blankets than just the one in all of the pictures.)

Lastly, I've been inspired by my friends Graig and Sara to present all of my blog readers (all three of you) with a small challenge. Below is one of the more entertaining pictures of our little goofball. I have a couple of captions in mind for this photograph, but I'd like to hear your suggestions. Please send me an e-mail or write a comment with your best idea for the caption to this photo. I'm not sure what the winner will receive (besides our admiration, of course). May the best caption win.

[I've also posted this challenge on Facebook.]