{i love messes}

Every baby has their messes,  and here are a couple of Pepper Mae's lately.  Since she has become mobile,  her toys just do not seem to suffice!  The top pictures are from her playing in the freezer {yes,  I let her play in the freezer when I'm cooking}.  She pulled out a container I had made of pureed blueberries... I turned my back to clean out her highchair and she opened it up and went to town on the frozen cube.  It ended in an early bath for the day and a belly full of blueberries!  The second pictures are of her getting into the toilet paper roll... seems to be a staple of every baby at some point!  Enjoy!

{a slight confession}

look at those upper teeth

Hi,  my name is Lauren Ustad, and I need to make a confession.  This is silly, really... I just need to get it off my chest.  So, I have a neighbor {in her 50s}, who a few weeks ago offered to "take pictures of my baby with her really nice camera".  She doesn't know I am a professional children's photographer {obviously}.  So what do I say?  "Oh, sure!" I mean what could I say?  I felt bad and tend to say "yes" at any given moment when put on the spot.  YEAH,  I told her she could... even though I have so many professional pictures of my baby she is going to grow up thinking I have a camera for a face.  Well,  I decided to just not mention it and hoped she would forget about it and not bring it up again.  I should have come clean at the very first, right?  Well... now it's too late.  She ran into me today again and really pushed the taking pictures thing hard this time.  She said she has a professional camera and has "done weddings and models dressed really nice".  That really peaked my curiosity and gave me an excuse to ask... "Oh really? What kinda camera?" haha.  She replies she has a "Nikon D70".  Don't get me wrong.  That's a nice camera... the 2nd best nonprofessional  DSLR on the market.  A whopping $1000.  Very good quality images {with a decent lens of course}.  But notice I said nonprofessional... big difference.  So what do I do?  Keep a straight face, of course, and say "Oh great!  We can do the pics next weekend!"  YES,  I just booked a session with my neighbor and her "professional" camera.  This really cracks me up.  To be honest,  I'm kinda curious to see the results.  I guess I will find out how it goes next weekend!  I'll keep you posted.  Moral of the story?  Always come clean in the beginning before you get too deep into it not to...

Of course,  what is a post without my pics of our baby.  She is getting in her two top teeth,  and I really hope thats the reason she's been getting up at 6 am every morning for the past week.  Looooove her to death!

{cousin love}

cousin love.

snack break

she's amused by jesalyn's button

really hard to get them all to look at the camera

first apple not pureed 

mimi love.

apple love.

Today we had a surprise visit (well,  surprise to most of my family) from my older brother Brandon,  his wife Jessica,  and my niece Jesalyn.  My mom's birthday is tomorrow and they thought it would be a good way to celebrate with her.  We ended up spending most of the day at the pool... and they swam their little hearts out! (including Pepper Mae!).  It's not often we get ALL three Mollica cousins at the same place,  so it was fun to snap some pictures of them together.  This was also PM's first time in a "big" pool,  so she loved just watching all the other kiddos play and jump in.  Sweet way to end a great weekend! Miss PM was pooped,  and passed out 30 minutes before her normal bedtime.  We might make this an every day affair!

{tippy toes}

look at her on her tippy toes

this is what happens when you over expose... and if I don't fix it in the computer.
sometimes I appreciate the affect...

not sure about the gravel

Today we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and took some pictures!  I adore how she stands up on her tippy toes when she's holding onto something.  Love this girl... too much for words.  Enjoy!

{recently}

playing the "drums"

chillin' with daddy

smily girl swimming

creeping up on Dakota

I can't believe our baby is almost NINE months... can you?  Joe has a week off of work {after one whole months of NO days off}... so we have time to just relax and spend time at home as a family.  This was perfect timing given that my mom went off to the beach with her best friend {much needed vaca. I'm sure} for the week.  Pepper Mae's crawling is in full swing and she's getting to go around the house as she pleases.  So where does she want to go you may ask?  Wherever Dakota is... of course!  The bottom pictures are Pepper Mae creeping up on Dakota,  who is barking at the front door at nothing.  This amuses her beyond end though.  All she wants in life is to sneak up on Dakota and grab her.  She got pretty close in the first picture!  

It's also been really really hot outside,  so we've been swimming in the play pool ... we dumped all her toys in and realized they took up the entire pool!  The plan is to go for our first swim in the big pool this weekend!  

Also,  I've taken full advantage of Joe's home time to work on lots of projects I want to get done.  Today we got the basic kitchen sink and oven in tact... it's looking a - m - a - z - i - n - g  if I do say so myself.  Also, we snuck off to Atlanta this past Monday to see my brother's family and go to Ikea for a new TV stand.  In theory,  much cheaper than the one I wanted from CB2 thats on backorder until July.  Don't even get me started on Ikea.  Let's just say by the end of the day this new and particular momma was letting her 8 month old crawl around on the ground of the warehouse on the bottom floor of Ikea, as we were looking for the 50 million separate parts to the TV stand.  Her legs and feet were black. Needless to say,  we got home and realize we STILL didn't have all the right parts... so we ordered the right ones off line and will return the other parts on our next trip to Atlanta.  Whew.  I'm sure I'll be doing a post on the new stand soon...

Lastly,  I am quite determined to start learning to quilt!  These books have been starring at me way too long... and It's time to take the leap.  I'll be sure to keep you updated on that!  Oh,  and by the way,  we still don't have those Easter Basket pictures.  It's still sitting in her room waiting on... me.

{plans and more plans}

I'm loving everything about this.

Oh so many plans for Pepper Mae's first Birthday,  and on top of that,  I want to make her {with Joe's help of course} her first play kitchen.  A while back my awesome friend Amber gave me light of this woman that gives out plans on a website based on the pottery barn kids kitchen play sets,  and I was sold.... on making my own.  Turns out,  lots of moms are,  too.  The picture above is an example of one mom's I found {she actually sells them on Etsy}... and it's by far my inspiration piece.  What can you not like about this kitchen!?  The color is perfectly vintage blue/green.. and the sink skirt is to die for!

The big question is... when do I start making this?  Knowing how anal I am,  I should probably start... yesterday.  I think we might need a couple more power tools.  Hopefully,  my next blog on this will be the finished piece I create!  Photos: blue eyed yonder

{little cruiser}

She has become quite attached to her lamb... it doesn't have a name yet.

On the go.

Miss Peppy is mobile!  One evening Joe and I were sitting on the floor playing with her and all of the sudden she just decided to crawl across the room.  We were amazed... so fun to see something just "click" in their mind.  After the first time,  she just did it randomly but it's increasing more and more as she gets more comfortable with it.  Just today,  Joe and I were talking on the floor of her room and looked over and she was crawling out of the room down the hall!  Oh my goodness... the trouble she will get into now!  Naturally,  I didn't get a good picture... so the one posted is the best I have... ha.  I can't believe she is growing so fast!

{remember... dakota?}

This is what I see when I look to my side most of the day

She looks just like Joe here... look at those little curls on the back of her head.

Elmo truly disgusts her.

I told her if she wanted me she would have to come get me!  She wasn't thrilled.   

Remember a dog named Dakota?  Well,  there were lots and lots of pictures of her before little Miss Pepper Mae came around.  She was our first child, right?  For all of those worried,  she is still here... alive and toy in hand as usual,  just a little more persistent!

Some of you might not know this,  but we literally live a street over from my mom... and a street over from my grandmom.  Turns out,  this has been such a blessing!  Gives Pepper Mae a good change of atmosphere during the day when we walk over for a visit... plus they have new toys to interest her!  


She is SO close to crawling.  I think she's the type of person that believes if she's going to do it,  she's going to do it right... no playing around with this gal!  She's got the stance just right,  she just needs to make the plunge!  One milestone she hit a few days ago was being able to sit up by herself from her stomach.  This opens up a whole new world for Miss Pepper Mae! 

{shocking... and sweet}

Okay,  I've got to share what happened today when I was out getting my mom her Mother's day present.  There is no good way to start this,  so I'm just going to get into it.  Pepper Mae and I went to Hannah's Garden shop to innocently pick up a Hydrangea for my mom.  After we checked out,  we ended up standing around in the middle area where you pay to talk to my friend Lorraine from high school.  So let me set this up for you:  It's me (I'm holding Pepper Mae)... Lorraine is standing in front of me and we are just talking away.  All of the sudden,  this tall, heaver set guy comes in from my right side,  and proceeds to pull down the front of my shirt (I was wearing a v-neck) and is looking over me straight into my chest.  Yes,  I don't have to repeat myself... my bra and chest were exposed.  So,  the first thing that runs through my mind is... okay,  I MUST know this person and he's playing a prank on me.  Shortly after that thought,  shock set in that I didn't know this person,  and I yelled "What Are You Doing!?!"...  

Okay,  now it's time to lessen your shock.  Lorraine looks at me and says "He's special needs.  He's special needs."  Then, his caretaker comes and grabs the guy and takes him away.  Lorraine and I just looked at each other like,  what the crap just happened... and we walked to my car.  The more and more I think about what happened... I feel so violated!  I realize he didn't know any better,  but thats seriously the craziest thing that's happened to me.  Ever. 

On a more normal note,  here are some pics of my first Mother's day flowers from Joe and Pepper Mae.  So beautiful!  I had pointed out the vase in Anthropologie last time we were in there... matches my house perfectly!  

What are your plans for Mother's Day tomorrow?  We are going to have a lunch at my mom's house and my stepdad Jamie is going to cook out on his new grill (it's not only Mother's Day but his birthday as well!).  They just had their backyard newly landscaped and now everyone can enjoy it.  We opted for this plan, instead of the craziness of going out to eat... with Pepper Mae.  Ha.  Hope you have a great Sunday!

{recent happenings}

Recently,  Miss Pepper Mae has been quite clingy,  given her ear infection {right before Easter},  awful cold {Easter for over a week},  then... double ear infection {today}!  So when does this girl get a break to just be a baby!  Needless to say,  she literally hasn't let me put her down, so she hasn't had much time to practice crawling!  Though she does do this scoot thing,  and ends up reluctantly going backwards across the room.  When she gets there,  she gives me this look like... "Well,  are you going to come get me?"  And of course,  I do.

One other development is Pepper picking up these little organic "puffs" and eating them using her 2 front {half grown in} teeth.  It's just about the cutest thing you'll ever see.  Also, she hasn't been a fan of riding in her stroller for walks,  so we have resorted to hanging out at the lake on a blanket while she plays after her last nap of the day.  She loves it! {if an "old" person doesn't walk up,  of course}

Lastly, operation plan Pepper Mae's first birthday party is well underway!  Four months in advance,  you may ask?  Umm... I started planning for Easter four months in advance,  so why wouldn't I plan her first big birthday bash that far ahead!?   This is my chance to be as creative as I want without her having an opinion yet... and I'm going to take full advantage of that as many years as I can!