Milestones

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in the Odle household. Let's start with Ainsley...she finally rides in the "big girl" stroller now. To be honest, she's probably been ready for that for a while now but I wasn't quite ready to give up the infant carrier which allowed us to look at her while pushing. She started going into the creche at church during the service. She said "mama" twice one day (or so I thought...she hasn't said it again so maybe I was imagining it). She pulled herself up to standing. She eats finger foods... little organic corn flavoured crunchy rings, organic apple flavoured rice cakes and today we tried cheddar cheese. She also started crawling on Friday!! It is so cute to watch her crawl and to hear her make little grunting noises while she does it (that's hard work!). She also uses the edge of her crib as a teething ring. Now she has her 5th tooth. All this in the last 2 weeks! Ainsley is now learning the word NO very quickly since she's constantly reaching for things that she shouldn't be. We've loved our flat here for the last 2 1/2 years (and we still do) but we're quickly realising how "unbaby proof" it is. For instance, we have a fake fireplace which, for some reason, has real coal in it that Ainsley loves to grab and chew on. That makes for a really fun time of cleaning (her and the carpet)! Also, our coffee table has very sharp corners which about gives me a heart attack every time she goes to pull herself up on it or to grab something off of it. Anyway, like I've described, we've been busy watching our baby grow and develop. She's pretty amazing at 8 months old! As for myself, I was given a store manager position at Starbucks. There's a new store opening next month and that's the one I'll be at. So, I've been really busy interviewing, hiring and training new people to work for me. I'm enjoying it for the most part and really looking forward to the store actually opening. Now, probably the most exciting news is that Andy has finished writing his dissertation. He just printed off a complete first draft yesterday and gave it to his advisor to read and critique. Now begins the process of making corrections and preparing for his viva (oral exam/defense). I'm so proud of him. This has been a lot of very hard work and determination and it's great to see the end in very near sight. After all, that is the reason we came to Scotland in the first place! Finally, yesterday was Easter, the end of March, and we have had nothing but snow showers on and off for the last 2 days. I just can't believe the weather has been so terrible. Good 'ol unpredictable Aberdeen! You'll see the bottom picture that I took this afternoon out our living room window. Aaahhh!