Dun duh duh duh! (Announcement)

Last night I dreamt I was 4 months pregnant. And that an acquaintance's husband's mother was trying to kill me. I think the pregnant part was scarier.

I promise I'm not pregnant, but I do have an exciting announcement! We're not going to be homeless! Well, actually we still don't know about that, but Jared DID get a job! Without disclosing the exact location to the internet world, I will say it's a quaint little town of 7,000 people in northern Illinois, about 2 hours from Chicago. He starts August 1st, so we'll likely be heading up to the Land of Lincoln mid to late July. (We're throwing in some vacations to Utah and Texas sometime around then, so it's gonna be a crazy month.)

As much as we were trying to avoid ending up in a small town, we're actually getting excited about it now. First thing to be excited about: traffic, or lack thereof. SO excited to be done with that. Raleigh's traffic is incredibly mild compared to many big cities, but I guess Jared and I are just impatient, because it kind of drives us crazy.

We're also excited for a new abode. (Libby needs her own bedroom, stat. I think that might be the cure for her sleeping problems. We just have to make it 3 more months!) Only problem is, the only apartments in town are government subsidized (with income restrictions) and we haven't been able to find any homes for rent. There are plenty of homes to buy, but who's gonna buy from us when we leave? It's not exactly a boomtown. So, that's our quandary, but it's an exciting quandary to have.

I haven't been there yet, but I imagine it will look a lot like this:

That's an ethanol plant in small town Ohio where we lived for a couple months

And we'll end up with lots of this:

Our bounty from Ohio

But hopefully I don't have to do this again:

Booyah. Awesome outfit for working in the corn fields.

We are so grateful to have a job, especially given the current conditions of the job market. It's an exciting time for us and we are truly blessed!

7 months

At 7 months, Libby:

enjoys reading magazines

faithfully practices yoga

is too big for her bouncy chair

loves playing with Daddy

makes great faces

looks adorable in her new sun hat

has pink toenails

Developmental notes:

Libby is turning into an excellent scooter, pulling herself with her arms and dragging the rest of her body. She alternates between this style of locomotion and what I call the "vacuum cleaner," which entails her driving her head into the floor and pushing with her feet.

Sleep. Oh gosh, when will I have something positive to report on this subject? Please, soon!

Getting Libby to consistently eat or drink something (anything!) other than breast milk has been a goal this past month. We've had intermittent success with applesauce, sweet potato, and other bits and pieces from mom's and dad's plates, and major success with those little puffs. She devours those things. She is slowly learning the sippy cup concept, but still thinks a bottle is just a toy. However, she can drink through a straw and LOVES trying to drink from sport-top water bottles. I haven't tried giving her any formula or milk with these yet, because she still spills more than she drinks, but maybe soon.

Other tidbits I want to remember:

One of our favorite things to do lately is cover my face with a blanket and repeat "where's mommy?" until she pulls it off and finds me, which thrills her to laughter. It's awesome.

When I put Libby down for a nap, I usually hold her close (chest to chest) for a few minutes and rock her before putting her in her crib. Recently, she's been pushing herself away from me so that she can rest the top of her head against my chest. I guess it's comfortable? It's super cute, though and I can tell she's really tired whenever she does this.