Backtracking a bit...

...but for GREAT reason!!! In late November, when our dear friends Kara and Jeff and their handsome little Coleman visited, Kara used her incredible gift for photography to do a few "photo shoots" of our Susannah.

Susannah was not quite six months old in these EXQUISITE pictures. I tried to pick my favorites...but realized quickly that there are a tremendous number of irresistable shots of our sweet one and our family. Oh, these are just the bare minimum of what I wanted to post!

Harry and I are sooooooo grateful to have these beautiful moments captured. Thank you, Kara, for your life-catching, breath-taking way with a camera! These (and the other 200 pictures on the CD you sent!) mean the world to us! Such a celebration of God's gift of Susannah Joy...

The dress Susannah is wearing in these pictures was handmade by our talented and generous friend Janet. It looked so big when Janet gave it to us shortly after Susannah's birth...and now she has almost outgrown it! Thankfully, she has worn it many, MANY times, and I plan to get a shadowbox for it when she can no longer wear it. It matches her nursery perfectly and will therefore look beautiful adorning one of the walls! This dress holds a dear, dear place in my heart because of its exceptional beauty (the colors are Susannah all the way!) and all of the heartfelt labor that went into its many tedious stitches. Thank you, Janet, for blessing us with such a gorgeous gift!

A Glimpse Into Our Baby Daughter's Soul...

I must be delirious because I feel absolutely compelled beyond words to begin this blog entry at 12:15 A.M. This is "wee hours of the morning" blogging...but I have to do it. I must preserve this indescribably precious moment in our daughter's history.

Each night at around 10:30 or 11, Harry gives Susannah what the Baby Whisperer calls a "Dream Feed." He picks her up gently and gives her a bottle of warmed pumped breastmilk to "top her off" for the night. She doesn't wake during this time...just sucks until she is full, pulls away from the bottle, and snuggles down into her crib again (where, I must note before I forget to write it down somewhere, she always sleeps on her right side with her paci in her mouth and her "Silky"--a baby-sized, soft-as-down, pale pink and cream blanket she received from Emily Cox and family upon her birth--between her hands, which she keeps right up close to her face so that Silky is against her cheek). These "functional feeds" are actually very dear moments to both Daddy and Mama...quietude interrupted only by the sound of slow, muffled breathing and a steady suck-swallow ritual that has come to be one of the most familiar and soothing sounds I know as Susannah's mama...

Tonight, because Harry has to be up at 3am in order to leave at 4am for a basketball tournament in KY (and he calls this "fun"...), I did the "Dream Feed." Though I internally warned myself against it as I grabbed a particular bottle from our basket of feeding accoutrements, I used the one that made it to my hand first despite its intermittent history of leaking. Should've known better... As I began our normally-peaceful feeding, the bottle began to leak. And I mean LEAK. I shoved a burp cloth under it to abate the flow, but to no avail. After a few minutes, three layers consisting of onesie/jammies/wearable blanket on my warm, snoozing angel-baby were soaked through, as was the arm on my own jammies. I hastily put her into crib in order to run downstairs to grab another bottle, fetch some extra milk that I had (providentially) just pumped, and return upstairs to resume the feed with my now-screaming baby. Ugh.

Feeling TERRIBLE for our sweet one and her rudely-interrupted slumber, I got the new bottle quickly into her mouth, at which point she calmed and continued to drink. She was back to sleep in no time, but I realized the new dilemma at hand: I could not put her back to bed for the night in milk-soaked jammies. I tried to wedge a dry washcloth between the soaked arm and side of her onesie and her skin; however, that just seemed uncomfortably bulky and ineffective. It was then that I knew I would have to re-wake and change my baby's jamms at midnight. Double UGH.

I gently picked her up, laid her upon the changing table, fumbled in the dark for new PJ's, and returned my eyes to my girl...who was now smiling drowsily at me. I whispered that I was so sorry, and that I love her so very much, and that I was now going to strip her down (all three layers...) in the cool night air and then as delicately as possible re-stuff her tired chubby body into several new layers of nightclothing. I heaved a great sigh as the process began. I was feeling angry--at the bottle company (who knows why...), at myself for not heeding my initial reservations, at the situation. But my malcontented thoughts were rudely interrupted by my dollbaby's pterodactyl-esque squawks of COMPLETE JOY. Her sleep-stained eyes were sparkly upon seeing me, her beloved Mama. Her cheeks were fluffed and her perfect, teeny nose scrunched compliments of her ginormous gummy grin. And then she began to move her legs in a jumping-like fashion (jumping--on EVERY SURFACE and AT ALL TIMES--is her latest motor achievement!) as she delighted in the thought of spending the next few minutes engaging with Mama at one of our favorite "hot spots," her changing table.

I changed her as quickly as possible, but when I was done it was too late--Susannah Joy was so OVERCOME with elation at this midnight rendezvous that she was fully awake and ready to play! What started out for me as disastrous and anger-invoking was redeemed and became perhaps one of the sweetest moments I have shared with our precious one since we brought her home seven-and-a-half months ago. And this moment has LOTS of competition for the "Sweetest Moment with Susannah EVER" Award, which is doled out in my heart about a dozen times daily. We spent the next 15 minutes or so snuggling, dancing, laughing, kissing (for her it's more like chin-sucking, but I'll take whatever she gives!). As I cradled her in my arms and danced with her to a song about the goodness of God's grace, she giggled and wriggled and continued her excited jumping-in-the-air leg motions, which made me giggle and wriggle inside in response. I breathed her in, knowing that it could be 2am before I actually saw my pillow and I wouldn't even care (til morning maybe...).

But it's not even near 2am and she has long since fallen soundly asleep. And I am going to bed with a full heart, a vision of God's redemptive power in the big and little incidents in our lives, and a glimpse into the very depths of our daughter's precious, innocent, JOYFUL soul.

But first I had better ditch my wet jammies...

Oh, how my heart overflows with LOVE and GRATITUDE for this gift of being Susannah's Mama!

Our Strawberry at Six AND Seven Months!

Found her toes!!!!

(This, of course, makes it very difficult to change her diaper...because all she wants to do is play, play, play with these exciting attachments!)

Who could ever have imagined that life with our sweet Strawberry could get any more FUN and WONDERFUL than it has already been since her birth on June 4? Oh, but it is INDEED!

On December 4, our babydoll hit the SIX MONTH MARK...which is completely shocking to us both. We have had this little one for over half a year now! Bittersweet it is to be a mama. Watching Susannah grow is tremendously exciting; however, with each developmental milestone that is achieved, another wee-bitty way or two (or three!) is pushed aside. This baby constantly propels forward in her development. It is what we as parents absolutely live to see...but it is also what we grieve when we reflect upon precious days gone by. Now, when I hold another mama's newborn babe, I find myself reflecting on those first moments with our girl, and I wonder what happened to those blurry days of sleeplessness and near-constant nursing. (They have been replaced so quickly by ongoing sleeplessness and solid foods...and more nursing! :)

We are more thankful than ever to be the parents of Susannah Joy. What a gift the Lord has given us in this ever-growing, ever-changing little creature! My days are perhaps more purposeful than they have ever been...

Susannah is an expert roller now! At around the six month mark, she began rolling from back to front, and she uses this new skill combined with her long-ago mastered front-to-back roll to move short distances. She began on the center of her floor gym, and was off and playing in the mirror in a matter of minutes!

EVERY time this baby sees Rylie-dog, she can hardly contain herself! Luckily, Rylie feels the exact same way about her "pet baby." We try to put a limit to the face-licking by both parties, but are largely unsuccessful unless we are hypervigilant about it. Gotta let go sometimes... Susannah loves to lay alongside Rylie and "pet" her. She is actually quite gentle about it! She strokes her open palm along Rylie's furry body, softly grasps her ears, and, when she is able to get ahold of Rylie's tail, puts it immediately into her mouth. This leads to a very funny face as the fur hits her tongue! YUCK! Rylie is a trooper...so patient and still, allowing Susannah to do all the petting and sitting upon she likes.

(Rylie's one limit? She prefers Daddy not put Susannah on her back since she is NOT a horse! She is a PRINCESS, and princesses are not for riding!)

When given a burp cloth or her favorite little "Silky" blanket, Susannah will immediately put it over her face and kick like crazy while breathing hard and rapidly. It's as if she's saying, "Where did I go? Where did I go?" in a semi-panicky-but-still-smiling way! When we peek under the cloth, that sparkly gummy grin remains; when we remove the cloth, she puts it right back up and starts the fun cycle of "Peek-a-Boo-with-My-Best-Friend-ME" again! This is how we often find her during her floor time...

A Visit to Grammy and Pop's

When Daddy traveled to Tennessee with his basketball team for a tournament in early December, Susannah and I went to Colonial Heights to see Grammy and Pop. Grammy LOVES giving this baby sink baths in the kitchen...never resists an opportunity to lather her up and let her splish-splash! And neither of us can resist this slippery-when-wet, lily-white nakey body!

She cleans up well, doesn't she?

Kisses from Grammy on my squeaky-clean cheeks...all FOUR of them!

A few days after her six-month birthday...looking comfy and sweet in a yellow-and-white sleeper. Susannah sits with support, though she often arches her back, throwing her head and shoulders backward, preferring to stand with our hands on either side of her rather than miss out on anything while sitting!

All dressed up in my beautiful dark green velour Christmas dress from "Aunt" Jackie! I wore it for the first of many times to Jenny Bliley's baby shower in Richmond. Of course, Mama and I arrived super late to the shower because I took a nice long nap in Grammy's big-girl crib...

Time to Start SOLIDS!!!

Back at home, about a week after she turned six months, we started Susannah on rice cereal! For her first week or so of eating solids once a day, I mixed TONS of breastmilk with just a little bit of cereal. She made a few funny faces, but really liked the runny rice! She wore her adorable strawberry bib from Emily Cox for her first adventure with something other than mama's milk.

Pretty good stuff!

One of the funny faces our little Strawberry donned during that first feeding!

All done...and quite a mess (though nothing compared to what she's capable of now that she's eating sweet potatoes and avocado, among several other foods!).

But messes don't both this girl one little bit, because she LOVES playing with a wet washcloth after eating. As she does in the bathtub, she will sit in her high chair after mealtime and play for twenty minutes or more with a single damp cloth! Soooooo funny to watch her. She is an incredibly focused, detailed baby...a "downloader," as "Aunt" Kara says! :) She will shake the cloth, rub it around on her face and tray, suck on it, put it over her eyes, and study its tag. Oh, the fun you can have with the simple treasures in life!

Daddy's Littlest Cardinal

Daddy is the world's best basketball coach, working hard to teach his high school boys at VSDB the rules of the game as well as lifelong discipline and determination. We try to go to as many games as naptimes will allow. Susannah enjoys watching the students as they fuss over her in the stands, as well as attending to the court. And she wouldn't think of wearing anything other than her super-school-spirited shirt, pictured above. What VSDB Varsity Boys Basketball Coach's daughter would be complete without it?! (The VSDB students got a MAJOR kick out of this the first time she wore it!)

Church Babies 2008

Community Fellowship Church here in Staunton, our church home for the more than five years that we've lived here, is full of BABY GIRLS!!! God was clearly thinking PINK this year when He created all of these sweet little things :). Susannah is gonna have her pick of little friends in the years to come. In fact, she already spends a lot of time in the nursing room each Sunday with Mama and several of her little comrades.

Oldest to youngest babies (left to right):

Mariner (born in March, I believe), Elena (born May 3), Susannah Joy (born June 4), Adelaide (born July 7), Skylar (born mid-August), and Annika (born November 2)

Babies and their mamas!

We left out baby Josie (the oldest...far left) in the first picture, but thankfully we got this not-so-happy-to-be-a-part-of-this-event girl in this shot!

"Aunt Roommate" and Callie Spend the Day!

The Roop Family had planned to come spend a few days after Christmas with us; however, their darling Julia, age four, became sick while they were in Roanoke with Jason's parents, so the family had to return to Alabama. We were soooooo disappointed both that Julia's Christmas celebration (and inevitably her parents') had been colored with a fever and ear infection, and that our dear friends would not be able to spend that much-anticipated time with us.

It was a great surprise, though, that Jaime and Callie (now a year old) were able to drive up to our home for the afternoon. We enjoyed relaxing, playing with the babies, talking, and LAUGHING!!!! We hope to see their whole family again soon, as they are precious to us.

Susannah and "Calla Lily" meet one another. Susannah is becoming increasingly social, wanting to watch and now even gently touch friends!

The girls had some avocado for dinner that night. Callie ate avocado lots as an infant, but hasn't had any in a while. She liked it! Susannah tried it for the first time, and this is what she did...

"I don't know about this stuff, guys! Slimy and gooky, if you ask me!"

(She now LOVES avocado, just for the record! The author of the book, Super Baby Food, says it is perhaps one of the best foods you can eat. Susannah eats a few tablespoons of it mashed almost daily.)

Jaime snuggles our little Strawberry... She is such a gentle, loving mama and friend!

Splish Splash, Baby!

Bathtime is the highlight of Susannah's day! She is now sitting up, with constant support, in her infant tubby. What a big girl we have! Once she sees the water running to fill her tub, her chubby legs start kicking and she pants as she awaits the immersion of her body into the warm water...

Her legs move in bicycle-fashion throughout her ENTIRE tubby!

And, as previously mentioned, the washcloth is her bath toy (heck, anytime toy!) of choice!

After her bath, she is all giggles and snuggles...

...and SNORTY FACE!!!!

Slowly but surely, our now-7-month-old is getting increasing amounts of strawberry-colored fuzz. No curls yet...but we are certain they are not far off!

Oh, how we adore our growing girl!

Soon to come:

Christmas!

Baby Cousins Meet Again...and "Play" Together!