Long overdue

Bad bad mommy hasn't posted in over 2 months. Crikey! That's a long time! I could make up all kinds of excuses as to why I haven't written a blog post in so long, and while they would all be true, they would also be a waste of time. Instead, I'll skip to the good stuff.
1) Our new home! As everyone knows, we successfully closed on our house on 8/12 without the slightest of hitches and moved in 6 days later. The move went off well, with only the mysterious disappearance of a few hand towels... Jason swears he saw our moving men using them to pad furniture and they've never been seen since. Anyway, before moving in, we managed to get the master bedroom and bathroom painted, as well as Miri's room. Miri's room had that crazy wall mural of Miller Park... Multiple coats of primer and 1 coat of paint+primer later, they are now a lovely shade of "Timeless Lilac." We have many more house projects still to go-- painting, decorating, etc etc-- but we're at least settled enough now to live comfortably. Jason and I wish we had more progress towards being truly settled, but there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

2)Vacation/ Adam and Rochelle's wedding! Miriam took her first vacation for her uncle and aunt's wedding in late Aug/ early Sept. It was a very fun time, and the wedding was such a lovely, special day. Here are a few pictures: a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMcuP1qAXajtsn6SukiVMQ8gqeEaCcR8HyYbvIi9uVoHXooAhS0PkPiBX_3oHE5ixmCGLhMf1U1aHo8UMt6q4QBLb-FO3BGpHP0QRbwwT4Z0gCBl8urJnC34pn4jv-9Qje5IWyutAUYxzO/s1600/ARweddingbobbie.jpg"> Can't wait to see all the beautiful wedding pictures that the very talented Bobbie Buchholz-Recob took of the wedding! I'm on pins and needles!!! Miri enjoyed meeting Rochelle's little cousin at the wedding!

3)Miri's one now! I'm sure my 3 or 4 faithful blog readers have all seen her birthday pictures on Facebook by now, but I will re-post one of my favorites, taken on her actual birthday while enjoying a mini chocolate cupcake. Our lovely little lady has been bringing joy, laughter, and love into the hearts of everyone who knows her for over a year now. She is truly the most magnificent person and Jason and I are delighted and proud to be her parents.

4)Fall fun! So far, my favorite season is off to a wonderful start! And not only because my Packers are 4-0 and my Badgers are 5-0 and gave Nebraska the perfect "Welcome to the Big 10" spanking! The Bashaws have also been having non-football-related fun too. A few weekends ago, Uncle Adam and Aunt Rochelle came up to belatedly celebrate Miriam's birthday. We went apple picking and had a great time, despite Miri being under the weather with a whopper of a cold. Miri worked on this apple for probably close to 2 hours. Forget teething toys people... just give your baby an apple! She loved it! Also, I went to FL for a 3-and-a-half day weekend with my amazing girlfriends! I had a wonderful time and was reminded again how blessed I am to have my BFFs in my life. The weekend was characterized by soaking up sun in the pool, drinking wine, listening to the "Country Strong" soundtrack, eating yummy food, and laughing so hard my belly ached. As much as I missed Jason and Miriam (and trust me... I missed them A TON), my soul was nourished being with my girls. I love them all so much. Every girl needs a getaway with her BFFs now and then, preferably to a warm climate. While I was gone, Miri and Jason got some really great bonding in. Jason did just fine all on his own w/ Miri (his first time!), as expected. He even texted me pictures of her all weekend long, which was so sweet. I am so lucky to have J as a husband, and Miri couldn't possibly have a better daddy, that's for sure. Since I came back, I noticed that she seems closer than ever to her daddy, so I think the trip worked out really well for all of us.

5)Miri's a walker! She started taking an occasional step or 2 about a week after her birthday, and just a few days ago, she really took off! I missed her first really long walk while doing laundry in the basement last Friday, but J counted 23 STEPS! She's still a little wobbly and it's not second nature yet, but this girl is on the move!


6)And a talker! Miri now consistently and appropriately uses the following words: Mama, Dada, up, uh-oh, hi, night-night, and bow-wow-wow (when you ask her what sound a dog makes). She continues to sign "more" and "milk," as she has been for the past few months. I am also 90% sure that she has intentionally, with meaning, on multiple occasions, said help, duck, apple, read, cup, Prescott, Elmo, Gammy, and I love you, but because I am a speech pathologist who takes language very seriously, I am hesistant to officially list them as words yet until I see her say each of them a few more times. My mom and Jason think I am nuts for this and don't give her enough credit. They're probably right. :)