This will make your day...

Giggle Girl from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

Shannon & Daddy

Whenever she sees Eric she raises herself up as high as she can and smiles.

Giggling Shannon from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

Bouncing Shannon from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

When do you think she'll crawl?

I want to crawl! from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

Summer is REALLY over

I decided that since today was officially the last day of my summer (my last Sunday before the craziness of school begins) I would go for a relaxing bike ride to the Bungalow. The trip out was nice, despite my late start (I got up with Shannon around 6:15 and let Eric sleep in). After sipping my coffee I hopped on my bike to hit the trail back, since it's always safer to ride on the trail versus the road. I compete with myself to keep my speed above 17 mph even though the trail has lots of curves. I was doing fine until I tried to take a sharp curve like I've seen Lance do in the Tour with my speed pretty high. I leaned a little into it and before I knew it I heard a pop, my front wheel slid out from under me, and I hit the trail with my right hip and proceeded to skid across the trail, still clipped into my bike. I haven't experienced anything like that since my college days when I thought I could roller blade down the Coliseum sidewalk...some of you might remember that. I pushed the bike off me, unclipped, and checked for any broken bones. That's when I noticed blood streaming down my leg and off my arm.

As soon as I started walking my wounds swelled up and I realized I hurt all over. Thankful that I was wearing my padded bike gloves and my helmet I slowly walked my bike to the next road intersection and called Eric to come pick me up. It wasn't until I was sitting under a tree in the shade that I noticed my baby Trek was as beat up as I was. The handle bars were bent and I suspected that the fork or frame could be cracked. I'll take her in tomorrow to see what the damage is but I'm afraid she may not have survived. That makes me really sad...but at least I got a good workout in and I still have my Hoo-Ha.
After coming home we decided to give Shannon her first solids. Here are some fun pictures and a cute video of her sitting up on her own and then tasting her first bowl of rice cereal.

Shannon's First "Solid" Food! from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

Good Morning!

Now, normally once she sees me she gives me the smile you see, but when the camera isn't around she will kick and squeal too. Of course she is always distracted by the camera...These days she's distracted by everything!

Waking up... from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

And this is just what Shannon does these days! She's getting bigger and is more fun each day.

Nothing Exciting, Just Shannon from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

And I forgot to mention that we have two little bottom teeth about to pop through!

What do you think?

As Shannon gets older I think she starts to look more and more like me as a baby. What do you think?
Me at my baptism, 6 months old...

Shannon, 4 1/2 months old...

Me...

Shany...

Our Funny Little Girl

This is my last week before going back to school. I've had a wonderful summer. Here are some new pictures, and they say everything about her personality.

Untitled from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

She can grab and put things in her mouth now, rather than just slinging them everywhere and hitting herself in the face :-)

Pictures

Shannon's Personality

It's scary how such a tiny baby can show so much personality...and that it reminds me of me! Her frustration at not being able to crawl yet is funny for us but she gets very mad.

Shannon trying to scoot from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

You may wonder why she is on a towel. Well, as you see in this and other videos, if she was on the rug she would get some serious rug burns on her cheeks. Whenever we put her on the rug she ends up with dog hair stuck all over her face and body despite how many times I vacuum the rug.

Pictures from this week...

That last picture is for you honey...
She's 18 weeks old today...Though I guess we speak in months now, rather than weeks. It's tough to go back to months after the 40 week pregnancy where you mark major developments each week!
I know one thing this week, or month, or however you gauge time...I want time to slow down.

Talking with Daddy from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.

Best Summer Ever

Summer usually means taking classes, research, landscaping, gardening, and filling the remainder of my time with something. This summer has been very different, and I've liked it. Morning starts early, sometimes before 6am, because Shannon doesn't know summer is a time to sleep past 8. Once she's chattering in her room so much I can't sleep through it, I go into her room and am welcomed by her beautiful smile. I pick her up, change her diaper, and feed her. Then we head to the living room where Shannon plays (which means smiling at everything I say and rolling over) and we turn on the radio to listen to the news. Then it's off to put her in her swing while I sing some tune where I substitute her name for the lyrics, and brew some MUCH needed coffee. My favorite part of the morning happens next when we head outside to sit in a rocking chair on the front porch and talk to each other (yes, she does babble back) about the trees, the types of clouds we see, what color cars drive by, and the many species of birds that land in our yard-all while I sip my coffee. It doesn't get much better.
I'll be sad when the summer is over and I have to get up early and head to work instead of hanging out with Shannon. I'm glad she has taught me how to slow down and enjoy beautiful summer mornings. This has been the best summer ever.

Spinning Her Wheels from Jennifer Parrish on Vimeo.