We had a nice weekend around here. Not really a whole lot going on actually. We had intended to go visit Aaron's extended fam in SE Kansas this weekend, but he's had a lot going on at work, plus his uncle that we stay with wasn't going to be in town, so we decided to postpone. Yesterday Aaron's buddy Brent came over for lunch and we just hung out around here. Today we did some shopping in the late morning/early afternoon, and Gemma got to go play at Grandma and Grandpa's with cousin Ira. The two of them are just so adorable together (wish I had brought my camera instance #1). Ira is almost 2 1/2, and he's just so cute with Gemma. He cracks me up sometimes. He just doesn't quite understand that she doesn't have the same thought process and communication skills as he does. It's funny, and way cute! Back to the shopping...we got Gemma's big girl carseat. We won't need it until she turns one and hits 20 lbs., but we had a 20% off coupon that expires this week, and that ended up being a considerable amount off, so we figured we'd need it eventually, might as well get it now. We got the Britax Boulevard Riviera (for those who care), and I think it will be fabulous. I have a number of friends who have Britax, and from what I've read they have a high rating when it comes to safety, SOOOOO. It's nice to have. Now just have to figure out installing it correctly. I don't have "latch" in my Honda, so I have to just use the seatbelt, which isn't too bad. I just still find it difficult making sure everything is buckled tight enough, etc. Latch would be nice, but not worth buying a new car over.
Then this early evening we took Gemma to the pool at Genesis (wish I had brought my camera instance #2). We swam with her some several months back, but hadn't been lately. She liked it then, but again, was much younger so just kind of hung out happily in the water. So OH MY GOODNESS that girl had so much fun today. She splashed like nobody's business. Just had a perpetual smile the entire time we were there. I even decided I it would be smart to take her under (much to the dismay of my hubby who thought it would scare her too badly). I just thought it would be wise so she won't be afraid of the water. Well, I counted 1...2...3..., blew in her face, and went under then came right back up. I think she thought it was some sort of game, because she just laughed and grinned...didn't even phase her. Mind you all this took place in the "therapy pool" which is like 90 degrees...so it's like one big bathtub. At any rate, it was a great time for all. The girl ate a humongous dinner and seemed pretty wiped out at bedtime.
A definite good weekend. Next time I'll take pictures.
Well, we've started giving Gemma Cheerios, decided it's time for her to begin figuring out the whole business of finger-food. She is quite amused by them. She picks them up...drops them...passes them from hand to hand...laughs at them...squishes them...holds them up in the air. But does she eat them? Nope! She has yet to eat one, save the few I have physically put in her mouth myself. Yet if I were to, say, set a bunch of little pieces of plastic on her tray, we all know where those would end up!! My crazy, silly girl. She also has a new fascination with shoe-laces. I'm beginning to wonder why I buy her toys, when I think she would be just as happy if I gave her an old shoe. :-) Aaron said for Christmas we can buy a pair of shoes and give one to Gemma and one to Max (our dog) who also has quite an affinity for all things shoe.
I had just recently commented to Aaron how I would really like a little table and chairs for Gemma when she gets a bit older. I thought it would be a fantastic little toy for the basement for coloring and pretend picnics and whatnot. I thought I'd just keep my eyes out at consignment sales or garage sales or whatever. Welllllll, yesterday when I was teaching piano there was a message on the machine from our neighbor down the street asking if our little girl had a little table and chairs, because she had one from a friend of hers and wanted to GIVE it to us!!! YAY!!! It is so cute. The legs may need something to tighten them on a bit, as it's a tad wobbly, but it is just what I had in mind. God is so good...thank heavens for kind and generous people!
Well, those of you who have kiddos know that they truly do seem to grow and change every single day. A few instances of this...the other night Aaron was feeding Gemma her dinner and I was in getting her bath water run. He hollered, "hey hun, check this out, she's drinking from the sippy-cup by herself." And sure enough, there she was, slugging away at her water all on her own. Lately (past week or so) I have been letting her kind of "play" with the cup, I figured otherwise she wasn't going to ever learn to use it. And we have been giving her water for about a month now. I was just really surprised that she picked up on it so quickly. She only uses one hand, so it's kind of heavy for her. I have noticed that she is still developing the coordination to grab something with both hands and use both hands together to move it. It's cute watching her figure stuff out.
Then last night I went to put her jammies on her after her bath and grabbed my "favorites", the Gerber zipper ones (that the largest size they make is 6-9 months, agh!), and low and behold I couldn't get them over her shoulders. It hadn't been THAT long since she wore them. That girl grows another inch every time I blink. Last doc's appt. she was in the 90th %ile for height. We'll see what she is when we go here in October.This morning while I was playing for Mass daddy took Gemma on a little walk (they LOVE to do this together) and this is what she brought back. She was soooo proud, can you tell by the grin?!
He said she grabbed it and held it for over half the walk, just passing it from hand to hand and looking at it. Such a curious girl. A bit later as I was rocking her down for her morning nap I thought, what's that smell?? It was a smell that took me back to the days of playing outdoors at my grandma's as a little girl. And then I realized: my precious daughter smelled like a sycamore tree. Ahhhh, the sweet circle of life.
While this blog is mainly centered around our precious daughter and the comings and goings of our family, every once in awhile I just need to divert and do some "thinking" on my own... So here goes. This Sunday is a Men's Choir Sunday, so Aaron and I split up going to Mass. I really don't like doing this, but the Choir sings at 11, and that's typically just when Gemma is waking up from her nap, and those of you who know me know that I really and truly despise disrupting her schedule. Personal problem? Maybe. But it is what it is. And I must say I do believe part of the reason she is such a happy girl is that she is a very well-rested girl. But now I'm going off on a tangent on a tangent. Oh to be inside my head. Point being, while I love my little girl to bits, I quite enjoyed the quietness of participating in early Mass this morning without a squirming, "talkative" eight-month old on my lap. Don't get me wrong, I feel that it is very important for us to attend Church as a family on a regular basis. How else will little Gemma learn about family and God and coming together as God's family? BUT ohhhh, every once in awhile I relish a moment where it is me and Him, and Him and me, and I can really focus my whole being on praying. Okay.So then I got home, put the wee-one down for her nap, saw my husband off to choir practice, and began to tackle the clutter in the basement that has been bothering me. AGAIN, those of you who know me well know that I'm a bit on the, ummmm, OCD side when it comes to things like, oh, housekeeping and organization. And after moving three times in two years, I really got a whole different perspective on clutter. I don't like it. One bit. Little knick-knacks, and just sit around "crap" (for lack of a better thing to call it) just drive me nuts. I went down this week to get out our fall decoration. No, that wasn't a typo. That wasn't supposed to be a plural word. We have one. A little scarecrow, he sits on the counter where are phone is, and he reminds me that it is fall and winter is approaching. So cute. Yeah. And when I put him away here after Thanksgiving and get out our Christmas decorations (yes, that one is plural), I will be very glad that there is just one of him. I don't know, cutesie stuff is nice, and I like our house to look good. But oh, I just get shivers at the thought of having boxes and boxes and MORE BOXES of, errr, things, that will follow me around wherever we go. The house we're in now will likely be a 5-10 year home, just depends on the kiddo situation. It won't take us too long to outgrow our dining area. The thought of moving stresses me out, it really does, and I think about it every time I make a purchase. It has changed my perspective. After all...do we own our possessions, or do they own us? Now there's a point to ponder. So, I rearranged the things on the shelves in our basement for the Nth time, purged a bit more junk away, and now I am prattling endlessly about it to those of you who have actually made it this far. Next thing on the list is to get some of those big rubbermaid tubs to store the seemingly endless amount of baby clothes we have somehow accumulated. THEN I will feel clutter free...until I again decide it is time to purge and rearrange. Thank you for bearing with me. This has been strangely theraputic. Until next time...and I promise then we'll be back to our grinning-giggling little gal!!
I think I made it to all of the area Consignment sales this fall, and last night's was by FAR the best, as it always is. A friend of ours gave us some of her extra consignor passes, so we got to go to the pre-sale. THANKS LAUREN!! I got some great clothes for Gemma that will fit her now, and some bigger ones for late winter/early spring. I have been so blessed when it comes to clothes, between the consignment sales and some "hand-me downs" (name brand and in mint condition to boot) from a patient of Aaron's, and add to that all her baby gifts, we have been set from birth on. I could count on one had the clothes I have bought "new" for this little girl. YAY! It really is awesome. And the consignment sale stuff is in such good condition. She gets to wear Baby Gap and Children's Place and OkieDokie (a fave of mine, for some reason), etc. at a fraction of the price. Last night I was also anxious to look at some toys. Gemma is beginning to grow out of her little box of infant toys, and there are several things I've been thinking about getting her lately. I picked up some wooden blocks at Target this week (the kind with colored letters and numbers on them), and we've had fun with them. I am thrilled with what I found last night...especially the giraffe toy. So nice to meet you, Mr. Giraffe.
These are the neatest little toy (if I do say so myself). They are about a 3-inch cube, and on the inside they have a little animal or object of some sort, ANY sort. The tops and bottoms are colored and textured, and sometimes you can spin or move the object on the inside. I had been wanting a set of these for Gemma ever since she played with some at a friend's house (hi Lauren) and really seemed to enjoy them. They are the perfect size for her little hands to grasp, and so bright and colorful. She has already figured out how to put the blocks in the top of the giraffe, and they clunk around and come out a slot at the bottom.
She wasn't quite sure what to think of this little "bumble-ball". When you press the button he barks and plays a song and bumbles around. I think she liked him better from far back...she's definitely a cautious one. (I have NO idea WHERE she gets that, hehe!)
I also got her a little Children's Bible. It is a board-book, with a neat soft cover that velcros closed. It has various Old and New Testament stories in rhyme, so it's a very young-child appropriate way to share the stories of Jesus. She has another Children's Bible, but it is geared more towards maybe a three or four year old, so I'm really excited about this version.
So as you can see, I am THRILLED with my latest finds. Most of the clothes are little pant/shirt outfits. I am sure you will see many of them in posts to come. Thanks for checking in.
Just an update for those of you who faithfully check in. We are doing well in this neck of the woods, survived the flooding unscathed, although our sump ran every minute-and-a-half for the better part of Friday. I hate to think about the alternative had it gone out. Ugh. I really should have taken some pictures, but alas didn't. We actually didn't venture from the house at all on Friday, which made for a verrrrrrry loooooong day. And since it took Aaron 45 minutes to get to work (it normally takes him 5), he didn't come home for lunch. So, Saturday came along, and after Gemma's nap we were going to go cruise the aisles at Walgreens (hey, quit laughing, it got us out of the house). Well, the creek was still higher than I imagined, so we didn't make it to WalG after all. Oh well, it was a nice drive I guess. All 1.5 miles of it. We did make it shopping with the hubby after her afternoon nap, so that was a nice, much-needed diversion. And now that the rains are over, we have been basking in the gloriousness of this fall weather. Gemma's an outdoorsy girl already, so we definitely take advantage of that. I think she would live in the swing at the park if I let her. Or in the bathtub. And speaking of the little girl, I hear squeakings coming from her room, so I suppose this episode of "morning nap" has come to an end. TTFN!!
Hard to believe that my little baby Gemma is eight months old today. Goodness, time flies! I always thought it was funny, when she was born, how people would say, "gosh, you just forget how small they are". I was like, seriously, come on, it's a newborn, of course she's small. Well, I got to meet a friend of mine's little newborn the other day, and I have a cousin (in Alaska) who also just had a baby whom I've seen some great pictures of (boohoo, wish they were closer), and you know what I found myself saying?! Yep..."Gosh, you just forget how small they are". I have decided maybe I should just quit talking, because I have found lately I've been eating a lot of words. Copious amounts of words. It's a little pathetic actually. My sis mentioned that she's been doing the same thing. Hmmm, at least it's not just me... Here's Gemma's obligatory monthly pic:
We celebrated my bro-in-law John's birthday this weekend. I didn't take many pictures, but here's a great one with her godfather Uncle Mike.
Daddy and Gemma already have a very special relationship, which just melts my heart. More days than not he gets her up in the morning and they hang out while he eats breakfast. They watch SportsCenter and play and "talk" and just have a grand 'ole time. I love it. I've always been close to my daddy (my mom too, of course), so it's good to see Gemma getting some quality time with her daddy-o already at this young age. I guess she wanted to stow-away to the gym with him the other day...maybe one of these days little girl! This picture makes me laugh, because there's a picture of me as a little girl all curled up in my daddy's brief-case. Maybe if I run across it I'll put it on here.
For those of you from out of town, with whom we don't always keep in touch on a regular basis, here's an update on our little Gemma. She's almost eight months old...I know, hard to believe! She weighs sixteen and a half pounds, and has her two bottom middle teeth. She sits up great, but still doesn't roll a whole lot or crawl. She does enjoy sitting and rocking in the "crawling position" but that's about it. She loves to play with her toys, and it's so cute watching her observe the world around her. She's a great napper, and has really settled into a nice schedule that really doesn't vary a whole lot from day to day. She still awakens several times during the night. She started solids just after six months, and is currently eating rice cereal and baby oatmeal, carrots, green beans, peas, sweet potatoes and chicken. I am making her baby food and that is working out great. I make a bunch up at a time, and freeze it in ice cube trays, and then transfer the cubes to ziploc bags in the freezer. Works like a charm! She is also still breast-feeding. I have switched her to cloth diapers, and that is going unbelievably well. I am SOLD...one of the best kept secrets out there!! I'll post some pics so you can see how she's growing and changing.
Here's one in her little yellow dress from Marcia, Aaron's secretary
And here is her seven month picture
Sporting one of her cloth diapers
Look what I can do (with mommy's help of course!)
Playing silly with daddy in the morning
Well, I have finally jumped on the bandwagon and joined the Blogspot world. After much deliberation about a screen name and what not, I have ended my year-long stint with Xanga (see older posts here) and arriven here at blogger. So here goes... Check in for updates about what's going on in the day to day lives of my family.
My precious, happy little girl.
After bathtime.
And so goes another day at our house.
I had just recently commented to Aaron how I would really like a little table and chairs for Gemma when she gets a bit older. I thought it would be a fantastic little toy for the basement for coloring and pretend picnics and whatnot. I thought I'd just keep my eyes out at consignment sales or garage sales or whatever. Welllllll, yesterday when I was teaching piano there was a message on the machine from our neighbor down the street asking if our little girl had a little table and chairs, because she had one from a friend of hers and wanted to GIVE it to us!!! YAY!!! It is so cute. The legs may need something to tighten them on a bit, as it's a tad wobbly, but it is just what I had in mind. God is so good...thank heavens for kind and generous people!
Then last night I went to put her jammies on her after her bath and grabbed my "favorites", the Gerber zipper ones (that the largest size they make is 6-9 months, agh!), and low and behold I couldn't get them over her shoulders. It hadn't been THAT long since she wore them. That girl grows another inch every time I blink. Last doc's appt. she was in the 90th %ile for height. We'll see what she is when we go here in October.
He said she grabbed it and held it for over half the walk, just passing it from hand to hand and looking at it. Such a curious girl. A bit later as I was rocking her down for her morning nap I thought, what's that smell?? It was a smell that took me back to the days of playing outdoors at my grandma's as a little girl. And then I realized: my precious daughter smelled like a sycamore tree. Ahhhh, the sweet circle of life.
These are the neatest little toy (if I do say so myself). They are about a 3-inch cube, and on the inside they have a little animal or object of some sort, ANY sort. The tops and bottoms are colored and textured, and sometimes you can spin or move the object on the inside. I had been wanting a set of these for Gemma ever since she played with some at a friend's house (hi Lauren) and really seemed to enjoy them. They are the perfect size for her little hands to grasp, and so bright and colorful. She has already figured out how to put the blocks in the top of the giraffe, and they clunk around and come out a slot at the bottom.
She wasn't quite sure what to think of this little "bumble-ball". When you press the button he barks and plays a song and bumbles around. I think she liked him better from far back...she's definitely a cautious one. (I have NO idea WHERE she gets that, hehe!)
I also got her a little Children's Bible. It is a board-book, with a neat soft cover that velcros closed. It has various Old and New Testament stories in rhyme, so it's a very young-child appropriate way to share the stories of Jesus. She has another Children's Bible, but it is geared more towards maybe a three or four year old, so I'm really excited about this version.
On the way there we had to wait for some duckies to cross the sidewalk.
My favorite thing to do is swing swing swing!!
Look at me, I'm so brave swinging all by myself.
We even got to go on the slide!
I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful weather as much as I am!!!
Daddy and Gemma already have a very special relationship, which just melts my heart. More days than not he gets her up in the morning and they hang out while he eats breakfast. They watch SportsCenter and play and "talk" and just have a grand 'ole time. I love it. I've always been close to my daddy (my mom too, of course), so it's good to see Gemma getting some quality time with her daddy-o already at this young age. I guess she wanted to stow-away to the gym with him the other day...maybe one of these days little girl! This picture makes me laugh, because there's a picture of me as a little girl all curled up in my daddy's brief-case. Maybe if I run across it I'll put it on here.
