Today is my dad's 65th birthday! He probably won't like that I told everyone how old he is, but I think it's pretty cool to be 65! Even Trever said today, "He's getting around pretty good for an old guy!" Well, Dad, hope you had a great day! Sorry we missed Joe's Barbeque. Happy Birthday! We love you!
Anytime Liberty has a blankie she plays peek-a-boo, even without us persuading her. Yesterday I was just standing there holding her, and I look over and she was playing peek-a-boo with her shirt!
I love the little things that I notice about Liberty. She has these funny little "habits" that I just think are so cute.
Anytime she has two smaller objects, she has to put them both in one hand. She will work SO hard at holding them between her little fingers, just so she can get them both in the same hand. Even if they fall out after 2 seconds of holding them, she will do it over and over again. It is so funny! If she for some reason can't get it though, she gets really mad.
Her new thing is putting things inside of something - boxes, baskets, etc. She has this little Fisher Price Little People car that she'll put the people in, and any other small toys she can fit in there. And, once she gets them inside, she take them out - sometimes dumping them out - and then start over, and put them all back in. So cute. And sometimes they are just really random things. For example I have this check box lid that she for some reason loves putting things inside it, taking them out, and putting them back in, over and over. Gotta love her!
We went to Rolla, Missouri this weekend. Trever & his friend, Jory, did the "Tour of the Ozarks," which is a 100-mile bike ride. It actually turned out to be about 105 miles. The funny thing is, they didn't know it until Trever's odometer said 100 miles, and they knew they weren't close to the finish. And, the best part about it was that the last 5 miles consisted of 2 major hills! But, they finished strong and they did a great job! I'm so proud!
I had originally planned on going shopping at some outlets near the Lake of the Ozarks while they rode. But, the day before we left we realized that the "Tour of the Ozarks" and the "Lake of the Ozarks" were actually about an hour and a half away from each other. In the end, I decided it wouldn't be worth the extra 3 hours of driving. So, instead, and I'm pretty embarrassed to admit this, Liberty & I just hung out in Rolla, ate breakfast at Panera, and went to JcPenney and Big Lots! :) Pretty pathetic I know, but the place didn't have much to offer.
These are the guys in front of the classy 2-star Econo Lodge. I was definitely glad we were only staying one night at this place!
I took this picture because Libby is NOT a binky baby! I don't think she's slept with a binky in her mouth since she was only a few days old! 
Liberty turned 10 months old on Monday! The closer she gets to 1 years old, the more I can’t believe it! Trever and I always say though, she gets more and more fun to be around the older she gets. She learns so many new things all the time, and is becoming more interactive by the day. She has learned many new tricks recently, and does them all the time. But, as soon as we get the video camera out she won’t do them anymore! It is so frustrating! We keep telling her that no one is going to believe us if she won’t let us record her new tricks. Hopefully, sooner than later we will capture some of those moments on camera. But, for now, we’ll just tell you about them. A few of the newest things she has learned are: peek-a-boo - holding a blankie in front of her face and then pulling it down all by herself, dancing when music comes on (she finally would let me record this), taking a few steps at a time, and waving “hi” and “bye.” Oh, and she can drink out of a straw! I think my favorite thing about all of these things, is that one day, she just all of a sudden surprises us and shows us what she can do! It is great! We sure love Liberty!
Here's a combination of clips of Liberty dancing and a little playing too. Downloaded videos are a little grainy, but you get the idea!
Here is a video clip of Liberty walking with a little help. This was actually 3 or 4 weeks ago. Liberty loves walking around the house pushing anything she can get to move. The only problem is she gets mad and screams when she gets to a wall and can't go anymore! She is so happy!
I think now that we've had a week of 60- and 70-degree days, we can officially say it is Fall! I hope I haven't spoken too soon, since the only consistency with Missouri weather is the inconsistency. A few of the many things I love about Fall here is spending time outside, picnics at the park, exercising and walking outside, the changing colors, leaving our windows and screen door open for fresh, cool air, etc. I think my only complaint about it is that it means winter is next! AHH!
In celebration of this great weather, we finally broke down and bought a jogging stroller/bike trailer, so we can run and ride with all 3 of us! We have definitely enjoyed it so far. We can't wait to try it out behind our bikes!
I have mixed emotions about the summer coming to an end. We have made so many great memories this summer and have enjoyed all the fun that comes along with the summertime. We looked forward to the summer break for so long - Trever had time off school, and we visited Arizona and California. But, now that we are back into the swing of things, and summer has officially ended, we have different things to look forward to. Let's just hope winter doesn't come too soon!
Liberty is almost 10 months old, and we can’t believe it! It is hard to even describe what a joy she is in our lives. She definitely keeps us on our toes. Libbs is a total sweetheart and feisty all in one! She is still our “high-maintenance baby” and requires a lot of attention, although she is becoming more independent. She never seems to amaze us, and is learning and growing SO fast. We love her so much! Here are some of her latest talents:
1. Liberty is always willing to help around the house. Her favorite thing to help with is dishes (clean or dirty) in the dishwasher.
2. She is able to stand on her own longer and longer everyday. She is so close to walking, and has taken 3 steps at a time before falling. She is so proud of herself when she stands up. She can even bounce up and down out of excitement as she stands.
3. Liberty loves to clap, especially after she falls down. If you clap, she will follow your lead and clap along with you. As long as you say “Yeah for ____!” she’ll clap.
4. She loves to walk around the house with the help of some of her toys by pushing them around – even if they are not meant for assisting her in walking.
5. Liberty loves to “explore,” including inside the refrigerator, the pantry, under the table, inside cupboards, under my desk – and everywhere else – especially if she isn’t supposed to.
6. She especially loves making messes. Anytime I put all of her toys in her little toy box, she immediately goes over to them and pulls them all out again. She also loves to pull clothes off their hangers, unfolds laundry that I just folded, or pulls out clothes that are folded and stacked in the armoire.
7. Interestingly enough, Liberty has learned to share toys. She will very willingly hand a toy to another baby or child, but then expects it back within 5 seconds. That doesn’t always work to her advantage. It is now her new game, where she hands whatever she has to someone, and they’re supposed to take it, then give it back to her. She especially loves playing this with Trever.
8. Liberty is eating more and more table foods. Her favorites are cheerios, cheese, grapes, peas, lima beans, green beans, bananas. She also lime cantaloupe, watermelon, carrots, spaghetti noodles, zucchini, and mashed potatoes. If you put a pile of any of those in front of her, she is very content. I don’t know if there is anything she hasn’t liked yet.
9. She is our human vacuum. If it’s on the floor, she eats it. She is particularly good at finding the smallest thing on the floor, and cruising over to it before we catch her, and putting it in her mouth. A few days ago I spilled the whole punches out of the puncher on the office floor. She puts the whole punches in her mouth over and over, even after I take them out every single time. She now thinks it is a game and laughs everytime.
10. Liberty is a little monkey. She loves to climb on everything. Anytime she’s standing by something, you will see her little leg go up like she thinks she can climb on top of whatever she is holding on to. Tonight she climbed on top of a baby wipe box, and stood on top of it so she could reach something on top of the end table. She has no fear! She is also very quick at climbing up the stairs. She thinks it is the greatest.
11. Liberty loves to laugh. Tickling her, playing peek-a-boo, hiding from her, and many other things just cracks her up. She is so easy to make smile and laugh. We love it!
12. She has learned how to talk on the phone. She knows to hold the phone up to her ear, both play phones and real ones.
13. One of her newest games is throwing toys over the banister and down the stairs. She thinks it is hilarious.
14. Liberty also LOVES to push the buttons on the TV. When we tell her “no,” she just turns around, looks at us with a huge grin on her face, and then pushes them again.
And, as a side-note – a few of Liberty’s favorite things:
Music and the Spoken Word with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir & Orchestra
Snugglies & soft blankies
Baby Einstein while Mom makes dinner
Toys that play music or make sounds, she’ll push the buttons (or whatever makes them go) over and over.
Reading books with Mom & Dad
Looking out the windows while pounding on them
Dad’s laptop – she is determined to get hold of it!
A wet paper towel after eating or a wet washcloth after her baths.
Swimming, especially when she gets a sip of the water.
Pulling hair, grabbing noses, and pretty much anything on your face she can get hold of.
At the end of Trever's week off, we decided to take a trip to Columbia - which is about 90 minutes away. Trever rode his bike the first 60 or so miles, and then we picked him up in Huntsville. He really enjoyed his ride through farm after farm, and all the Missouri rolling hills. 
*My favorite part about the 2nd picture, which I didn't realize until uploading it to the computer, is the sign below the Huntville sign that says "Home of Westran Lady Hornets Missouri State 2A Softball Champions 1987, 1996, 1999" We have noticed in all these rural towns around us, their claims to fame are the championships their high schools have won. It doesn't matter if it was 15 years ago or the previous year. These towns are proud! Gotta love it!
Trever had a week off between quarters, so we decided to take a trip to Chicago for a few days. We had such a great time! We drove to Quincy, IL which is about 90 minutes from here, and then took the train the rest of the way to Chicago, which was about a 4 hour ride. It worked out perfectly, and it was really nice not to have a car in Chicago. Instead of putting together another slide show (which you may all be sick of), I am just going to include some of the highlights of our trip.
1. We went to the Chicago Art Institute Art Musuem, which was really neat.
2. We ate some famous deep dish Chicago Pizza - so tasty, and so filling!
3. Our friends, Jessica & Rhett, were also in Chicago, and Jessica found out about a Jazz concert in an outdoor venue at Millenium Park. It was Orbert Davis' Chicago Jazz Philharmonic It was free, and we loved it. It was actually one of our favorite parts of the trip! And of course, Liberty loved it. She was so into it, but pretty serious about it. We got such a great feel for the culture that Chicago has.
4. We went with Rhett & Jessica to an Italian Restaurant in little Italy. It was SO good.
5. We experienced the Navy Pier, including checking out Lake Michigan, an architectural boat tour on the river, and eating coconut shrimp at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. 
6. We also got to go to a Cubs game! What a neat experience. There was so much tradition and pride there, which made it a lot of fun. Wrigley Field was so cool to see. It was amazing how little changes have been made over the years. The scoreboard is still manual, there was very little advertising, and very little high-tech screens or monitors. We had great seats, which made the game even more enjoyable. The people around us loved Liberty too. We loved it all! 
7. We ate tasty Chicago-dogs from a street vendor - what's a trip to Chicago without that?
8. We went to the Field Musuem, which was awesome. You could spend an entire day there, and still not see everything! Sue, the largest, most complete T-rex was cool to see.
9. We also had to make a visit to Ghirardelli's and have a hot fudge brownie sundae, and pick up some famous Garrett's carmel & cheese popcorn.
All in all, the trip was nearly perfect! We both loved Chicago, and had such a great time together. Liberty did pretty well. At times, we thought, "Wow, she is being SOOO nice!" But, other times I said, "We are never taking her on a trip again!" What do you expect from a nine-month old? She did very well considering. Thanks for the fun trip Trever!
Trever is a 2nd year medical student! He started his 5th quarter last week. Supposedly this quarter is the toughest one of them all, so it should be interesting. He will do great, I'm sure!
Here is a picture of the "Osteostache" that Trever grew a few weeks ago. A bunch of the second year students decided it would be funny to all grow "osteostaches" when the 1st years started class so they could show them what KCOM was all about! There were some pretty creepy looking dudes around here! I couldn't believe some of the wives let their husbands go out of the house (including myself). I couldn't even look at Trever seriously with his 'stache. Enjoy!
Liberty turned 9 months old on August 17th. We got her picture taken at the wonderful Walmart. Hey, you can't complain for $5.88 for lots of pictures! I'll give you an update soon about what little Liberty is up to these days.
I haven't been very good at keeping our blog updated lately. I will get there soon. But, I wanted to post this picture of Libbs real quick. This picture makes me smile every time I look at it. It's just so her! We love Liberty so much!
(I recommend clicking on the picture to see it full-sized.)
