Rockin' with Daddy

That's one way to rock your baby to sleep. Here's another:

This is Philip playing Rock Band with Caroline. She loved it! And she fell asleep after about 15 minutes. Who falls asleep when they're rockin' out? :)

I have lots more pics I want to post, but we at the Ryle house have been busy lately! I'm still working on my dissertation whenever she naps (which thankfully has evolved into two regular, 1 1/2 - 2 hour naps). My newest endeavor is couponing. (Yes, I used that word as a verb.) Thank you, Stephanie, for introducing me to a new hobby that I can use as a tool in my never-ending project of PhD procrastination! Seriously, though, I was always one who would clip a coupon I saw if I thought I might need it, and I ascribed to the philosophy of "never buy anything unless it's on sale." I thought I was frugal. Boy, was I wrong! These couponers are serious! I pretty much only shop at Publix, Walgreens, and CVS. So long, Wal-Mart! I shoot to save at least 50% on my groceries and at least 80% at the drug stores. You can get pretty much any toiletry item free. My best shopping trip yet was getting $205 worth of groceries for $56 at Publix last week. Be warned, though; it's addicting! So far I've gotten my mom and my friend Erin on board, and Steph and I convinced our friend Shanan to give it a go.

Anyway, an update on Caroline: She is now 7 1/2 months old. She is still not rolling over, thought she is trying to pull up to standing on her own. We went back to the doctor last week to recheck her weight. She was 14 lbs 4 oz, which is still exactly on the 5th percentile curve. We're happy as long as she stays there and doesn't drop again! She loves to sit on the floor surrounded by toys and play, play, play. And she loves attention from the poodles (though I'm not too fond of all of the poodle kisses she's been getting!). She is just changing so fast! I'm loving every minute of it.