8 Month Pics of Ayda

My very talented sister-in-law has taken Ayda's pictures at birth and 4 months (www.allisonlewisphotography.com) . We decided to take some again at 1 year but I wanted a few of her at 8 months! It is amazing how much she has changed in only 4 months! My friend Lauren came to help "spot" her and I got some really cute shots. I am glad to finally be putting our nice camera to use other than around the house pictures of Ayda doing her random things! Enjoy!!

Upcoming Changes:

As you know Kevin graduated in March, took boards in May and got the results that he blew it out of the water in June! For about 7 months now we have been trying to figure out where we should set up his practice. It has been a journey of patience, faith and, well, patience!

We wanted desperately to make Atlanta work for us. This has been my home since birth and his the past few years. My mom and step dad are here, our church family, and an amazing small group. We searched for office spaces in the area that would keep us close by. And we found one that we liked and had actually gotten a pretty good deal on thanks to our broker. But we just didn't have peace about it. It was hard for me to see Kevin, who is such a rock for me, to wrestle with the decision. There was not much I could say to help him but I just kept encouraging him and staying patient. Trust me that was an answer to prayer because if you know me you know I am not always the most patient person. Sure standing at the check out line I am quite content to wait but when it comes to life decisions I like to know what we are doing, 5 years ago! So we finally decided to look at other areas around Atlanta, branch out and hit up some small towns. We visited Madison and loved it but still no peace.

We were planning to go to Florida to visit Kevin's family and decided to look at properties down there just to know our options. We really didn't expect anything to come from it. Well before Kevin even headed out to look at places we already felt peace about being there. For me it was very strange. Like I said, Atlanta has been my home for 27 years. I just felt at peace and at ease for the first time in months. Kevin went with a Broker in FL to look around last monday and found a few places he liked. By the time we left monday afternoon we were both pretty sure we knew what our direction was. And by Tuesday we knew for sure. We are moving to Florida!!! We are both excited and thrilled that we feel like God is leading us down this path. It is still very bitter/sweet because we are so happy with our life here in GA as well. It will be hard to say goodbye to my mom and Jim and our church family. And for me, to say goodbye to my NICU family will be sad! But we also are excited to know there are people there excited about us coming.

So the plan: I resigned from my job this past Thursday morning. It was a one month notice so I have four weeks of work left. Our lease is ending on September 30 so we will pack up and head south around then. Kevin is planning to go down in a couple weeks and continue nailing down plans for his location. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we make this transition! We finally don't feel scared about the whole thing...we are excited. I know Kevin will run an amazing practice and we are both excited to get started. It has been a wild ride so far but it has only brought the two of us closer together as we have reached this place. Thanks so much and I'll keep you posted as details unfold!

Tommy the Monkey

Here is Ayda's 8 month picture with Tommy the Monkey! I posted a few to show this month was definitely the hardest to get a good one. She was being very silly and not very still. But we managed to get maybe one good one with a lot of funny ones! And had lots of giggles doing it!

Quick trip to FL

Kevin, Ayda and I hit the road last friday for a long weekend in FL to visit his family. Ayda always seems to pick up where she left off with them and had quite a weekend. She basically could care less if Kevin and I were there. She would spend hours out on the deck being passed around by each family member! I looked out at one point and Kevin's Grandpa was walking around the front yard with her in the stroller. It is fun for me to watch! So here are a few pictures I took of her playing and doing her thing!

Smiling up at Kevin's mom
Playing in the baby pool Kevin's mom got her! She loved it regardless of if we put water in there or not!
I loved that I got this face because I get it multiple times a day. It is her "Momma, can I please eat this?!?". And of course before I could say no, it was in the mouth!
Playing in the water and loving her water toys. Kevin even got in for a little while to cool off. Of course Ayda ate that up!

Stay tuned for an update on the Lin family! Lots going on around here...and of course the monthly Tommy the Monkey picture is coming soon!

Green Beans and the Kitchen!

Ayda is definitely loving her solid food! She has loved everything I have put in her mouth so far...except...green beans. When I put the first spoon full in her mouth I received a face much like this one below. And I continued to get that same face with each bite. I decided right then I would not be the parent that forces the child to eat something. So we put the green beans away for the night and decided to try again the next night. Slowly but surely she is accepting green beans. Definitely not her favorite though!

Ick...green beans!!!
Ayda has also been quite busy exploring every inch of the kitchen. She LOVES it. Thank goodness she has not figured out the cabinet doors open. She is content to pull up on everything and bang on the stove. She is also quite fascinated with the dog's stuff. The bowls are rarely on the floor anymore, especially after finding her sitting in a puddle of water after she dumped over the water bowl. As you can see above she has a blast in there!
Trying to figure out how to open the dog food. We are in trouble if she figures that one out!
She loves to look at her reflection in the stove. And bang on it!

Finally...Pictures!

At last...here are the pictures of the past couple weeks!!! As you can tell in all the pictures Ayda is one happy kid and quite full of personality! Enjoy!

Playing at the coffee table. It is marble and made me quite nervous but she did pretty good. Only bumped her head a couple times and it apparently doubles as a teething toy! Marble + Teeth= HORRID sound!
She LOVED going on walks around the neighborhood. We went for a walk about everyday. The weather was perfect and we loved getting out and not having to sweat buckets while we were there!
The sun comes up an hour earlier up there so Ayda was up too! So while we waited on the rest of the house to rise and shine we watched Blue Clues. She really seemed to like it!
Ayda and Nanna Lori on fourth of July! We were getting ready to go to the fireworks!
At the beach waiting for the sun to go down and enjoy the great fireworks!
Dad and Ayda enjoying a relaxing walk on the beach! Dad carried each of us kids this way and at some point along the way we each fell asleep up there! Ayda didn't fall asleep though she came close. She did however find Dad's ear and test it out as a teething toy! Dad was thrilled with that as drool ran down his neck!
She was totally content to just hang out up there!

Ayda and her guard dog, Cody! Cody absolutely loved her and followed her almost everywhere!
Something about Aunt Jaci made Ayda go nuts! She loved just being silly with her! It was hilarious!
Ayda loved hanging out with Uncle Greg too! She was always so content to just sit with him and chill!
After we got home from CT I had to work two nights and then we drove down to Peachtree City to meet up with a nursing school friend of mine. Michelle lives in Miami now with her husband and sweet baby girl. It was so good to see her and finally meet Mia! The girls had so much fun and chased each other around. Ayda was pooped after that play date!
Kevin and I always joke saying Ayda is our future Chiropractor and will take over Kevin's business...no pressure! So we get a kick out of her standing at his adjusting table and playing. And in this picture she found one of his teaching pamphlets and was playing with it!
And at last...Tommy the Monkey and Ayda-Seven months!!! I have to confess I did take this about a week late since we were in CT on her 7 month birthday. But alas here it is!!! I can't wait till she is a year old and put them all together! Crazy how fast she is growing! And in her seventh month here is what she did:

Pulled up and started "cruising"

Cut two more teeth (top front)

and Tried more foods

It was a busy month with lots of traveling but we had a blast with each trip! Now we should be settling down with no where to go! It's fun to travel but also nice to be home!

So many happenings...

Ok where to start...
Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to post right now. Why you ask? Two reasons...one being I went to Connecticut (more on that later) to visit my dad, step mom (Lori), sister (Jaci) and brother (Greg) and didn't bring the camera. I know, I know that is ridiculous when you have a 7 month old but I just didn't have room. So I used my step mom's camera and will have to get those from her and then I'll post the pics of the trip. The second reason is that Ayda is so on the go these days that I can't seem to grab the camera for a picture without losing her or her falling. I have come to one of many forks in the road with parenting...get a cute picture or risk her hurting herself. Yes I choose her safety! So...here is a recap of the Lin House the past couple weeks:
Ayda...oh, my little on the go, full of personality, cutting teeth, squealing baby. We had an awesome trip to CT for a week. We had tons of time with family and they were able to show her off to their friends up there. Of course I did not mind that one bit! We had a great 4th of July and Ayda not only stayed up for the fireworks but she enjoyed them! Although she did finally pass out in her stroller about half way through them and then proceeded to sleep through the rest, including the finale. We also went to the beach, played in the swing at the playground, crawled all over the place, went shopping!, and more. We enjoyed an evening with my dad's Aunt, cousin and her husband. This is the second time that Ayda has seen her great great Aunt Janet! How cool is that?!?!
Their standard poodle also took on the job of body guard for Ayda. And let me tell you, he took his job seriously! It was funny to watch him protect her from the other dog and just follow her all around with an occasional lick on the face/head. Ayda loved it too! She would just look at him at times and crack up...and i mean the all out belly laugh where she could not catch her breath! Amazing! It is safe to say she enjoyed her time at Papa Joe and Nanna Lori's house!
Me: very simple...I chase Ayda all day! ha! I was off work for a couple weeks which was nice. I absolutely love being with Ayda all day everyday! I did manage to sneak away to a movie with Lori and Jaci one afternoon. My dad was working from home and stayed with Ayda so we could go! It was my first movie since she was born that I didn't have her with me. It was kinda nice to not have to worry about her making noise or crying. And I knew she was in good hands with my dad!
Kevin: While the girls were up north he tended to some business here. He also took a few days to go to my mom and stepdad's cabin in NC. He enjoyed a 4th of July bluegrass festival. How different our holidays were!!! He is staying quite busy with getting stuff together for his practice. We are definitely making progress! I am so anxious for him to open his doors and start helping people get well!!! But we gotta tend to all the details to make sure it is all done right!
So that is about it! I promise pictures will come soon! Hope everyone had a great Holiday weekend! We did but are also glad to be back together as a family again!