My first food!!

Ok, so the Dr. gave us the go ahead to start trying some solid foods for Alli. So we thought we'd give it a go...We had an extra avocado so we figured we'd let her try that. They have very little taste and are easy to mash into a soft food. She didn't appear to have a problem with the taste so much as what to do with it once it was in her mouth. It was like she didn't know she could swallow it! So here are some funny pictures for you to enjoy of her eating her green mess!!

Bath Time and Ready for Christmas!

Alli has really started to enjoy baths. Her least favorite part was drying off. I think she didn't like the rough feeling of the towels. But we've devised a method she likes better so here are a few pictures of her good mood after her bath.












We really tried to get a smile but for some reason whenever the camera is in her face she either keeps her hand in her mouth or gives you this stone cold look. I swear she really is a happy baby!












Here is an attempt to smile!



















Ok so I know this is before "thanksgiving" but the weather was too nice today to not take advantage of it. So we put up the Christmas lights and well...might as well put the tree up. So yes...I am enjoying Christmas early!!! Now I can wrap my presents and get them out of the closet. Bring on the holidays and good food!

Finally learned to use my wheat!!

We recently bought the attachment for my mixer to grind wheat. I finally busted it out and put it to use. The measuring cup is full of my fresh ground wheat.

Let the mixing begin!

Yeast mixture

Now time to rise

After another mixing and a real gooey mess to get them into bread pans...they are set to rise again.

Risen to the top of the pans and ready to bake.

Our finished yummy product. I'm so excited that it turned out so well. Ben loves it. I love it! Yeah now my wheat is sitting in storage without a purpose..I now know how to make bread!

Focus!

I've really enjoyed watching Alli play on her mat the last two days. She has really started to focus on the hanging toys. She focuses on trying to grab them. It was so cute last night she was trying to grab the butterfly and missed it twice before she finally caught it. Tonight she was holding onto two of the toys at the same time. I've uploaded a video of her holding the toys and then a still shot of her focusing on the one with the rattle in it.

Couple Pictures

Here are a few recent photos. I really need to keep my real camera with me so all of my pictures aren't cell phone generated!

Bath TIME!!

Bumbo love!


FYI...Chief is supposed to announce ladder driver positions this week!!! If Ben doesn't get ladder driver, they've also opened up driver positions with applications due the 20th (even though we were told NO driver promotions till next year).

Here is a funny for the day. I called the Tennessean 1-800 # today to get mom subscribed to the free Yes paper for coupons. I told the guy that I didn't want a subscription to the Tennessean but for the Yes paper...He says, Uhm Uhm yes I can help you with that. So he asks for the number, which I give to him. Then he asks for the address...so I tell him mom's address. Then he says, "And what state is this in?"

I'm sorry....did I call the wrong number? Isn't this the Tennessean the local newspaper for TENNESSEE???

So I very politely tell him Tennessee even though I'm giving mom the look that the guy I'm speaking with is an idiot!! So he says to me, "ok so you want to start a subscription?" for which I tell, "Yes, but NOT for the Tennessean. I want the free subscription to the Yes paper." He then says, "ok...ok uhmmm how did you hear about us?" I told him "from my daughter" since I was acting as mom. And then he asks me, "did your daughter tell you anything about this paper?"

At this point I realize this guy has NO clue what it is I'm talking about. So I asked him if I had called the wrong number. He said no you called the right number because you want to get a subscription but I don't see the Yes paper listed as an option. So I told him not to worry about it and that I would call my daughter to find out how she subscribed to it...so mom and I looked up ANOTHER number to the Tennessean and finally got her set up to receive the paper....I just thought the funniest thing was the guy asking me what state we lived in. Yeah like I would live in Kentucky but I want the Tennessean....nope don't think so.

Will they ever announce it???

So we are still waiting for the announcement of ladder driver promotions. A couple of the lieutenants have been teasing Ben about being ladder driver. He really felt like they wouldn't tease him like that unless they knew he got it. We still are not sure but ben was told today by a source I won't mention that Chief has made the decision of 5 of the 6 drivers. The reason they are taking so long to decide on the last position is because it is down to Ben and another driver. The debate is whether or not they should give it to Ben because they KNOW it will cause a lot of anger in the department. I don't think there will be a LOT of anger...but definitely the guys he gets it over would be upset. The big reason they are thinking of giving it to Ben is because of his dedication to training and studying. They know he works hard. His efforts are finally being seen! So we hope to know soon. Either way, it will be what the Lord wants for our family. That is what we are praying for. I can't help but hope for it though. The extra money should help Ben relax how many 48 hr shifts he's pulling. This only getting to see him every 3rd day is getting OLD! I miss him and I know he wants to be home. When he is home that 24 hrs goes so fast.

On another note....here are pictures from Alli's Halloween night. We did not take her trick or treating...she needed to go to bed. But we had her outside with us while we handed out candy.


Also, Alli's new thing is she is starting to stay awake more. She no more of this napping after being awake for only an hour. She is still going to bed between 8 and 9 and sleeping till 8am. But this week has been QUITE an adjustment to her knew schedule...which is to NOT have a schedule. She appears to be dropping one of her nap times and staying awake more like 1.5 hrs before getting sleepy. She has been only napping lately for 30 min but I think this was because I didn't understand what was going on and tried getting her to stay to her OLD schedule. Mom in training....constantly learning. This coupled with a little bit of a constipation problem Sunday and Monday makes for an unhappy 4 month old. :) We're getting there though.

So I've continued the coupon thing this week. I'm super excited about the savings. I saved $97 at Kroger (54% saved) and $67 at Publix (66% savings). Some of the items with coupons were pretty close to free. This is definitely meeting my goal of saving 50% on grocery items. So I'm proud of that. I'm also proud of mom. I guess she's been inspired to try to save some too and did a little coupon shopping at Kroger herself on senior discount day. She did really well!! Way to go mom!

Oh so...another update since last post...we thought the hospital had written off our portion of Ben's surgery bill. Not even a week later I get a bill. I went online to check it and make sure the balance was still $0. No...it wasn't...the bill was back to a balance! So I called and they told me that insurance sent an update explanation of benefits which showed patient portion still owed, so they in turn updated our bill. I'm not mad about having to pay...because we knew we owed it. I'm mad at being TOLD we had a zero balance and then they take it back and expect us to pay it. We had the money to pay it and then after being told we didn't have a balance I put it towards Pepper's surgery bills. So once we got the bill....we didn't have the money we'd had before...so incredibly frustrating. Anyway, Ben graciously put some of his birthday money towards the stupid bill and I'm happy to say that all our dumb medical bills are paid off! Hallelujah! Now to pay off Pepper's surgery.