EDIT: I added the 1994 picture below. Yes, I am a brave woman. Can I claim that it's someone else standing in for me??? See below...
My heavens, has it really been almost a week since I updated?!! Things here have been going well, they've slowed down considerably since last week so that is nice. My grandma's funeral was Saturday, it was a simple yet beautiful ceremony in her honor. I will miss her. As rough a weekend as it was, it was so nice to see so much family in town, and to celebrate grandma's "birth" into life eternal. Here are some pics I took over the weekend. Gemma has just been walking up a storm. Here she is in the pretty dress she wore to the funeral. 
The funeral was at 11, so we decided to go ahead and take her, and, against my normal judgment, brought some bread and cheese since it coincided with her lunch time (typically cheerios is the extent of food that we will do at church). She did well, all things considered, and then Aaron brought her home to nap while I went to the burial and luncheon. That ended up working out really well, because then she was rested and refreshed and we were able to go spend the evening at my aunt and uncle's with lots of other family.Here is a picture of Ira and Gemma before the funeral, they were such troopers.
My cousin, Laura, from Denver stayed with us. It was so nice to have a house guest, and it was a good opportunity to catch up, as we don't see each other very often.
Here's me with "uncle" (he's really a cousin) Bob T. (aka Big Bob) from Washington DC. ALWAYS a treat to see him!
And here are pictures of grandma's grandkids and great-grandkids, respectively. Last time all us grandkids were together was 1994. Hard to believe!! I will try to get a copy of the 1994 picture scanned in and put it up with this one, so be sure to check back in a day or so. Although it's pretty self-incriminating. I believe my first comment when I saw it was, "WHAT on EARTH am I wearing?!!!" Yeah.Grandkids 2009
Grandkids (with Grandma) 1994
Great-grandkids 2009
I didn't get any pictures of my dad and his siblings this past weekend, so here is one that was taken at our wedding.
Like I said, Gemma is just walking everywhere. We went on a family date last night to get ice cream (Gemma even got to try a few bites!!) and then to Borders where she got a new book! We LOVE books. This one is called "Gossie" and it is about a gosling who likes to wear red boots everywhere. She was so excited, and said "duh, duh" (her word for duck) as soon as she saw it. She was close. Plus, I thought it was pretty fitting as she has a recent affinity for shoes, she just LOVES wearing them, and will go back to her room, bring them out to me, put them on my lap and say, "shoes, shoes," until I put them on her. So sweet. After I had paid for the book last night, I brought it out in the lobby area where she and Aaron were waiting, and held it up for her and I tell you, it just does a momma's heart good to see her little girl reach for a book with sheer glee in her face! YAY for reading! Not much else going on, hoping for the return of some sunshine so I can plant some annuals. CHEERS, and thanks for checking in with us!
Not much to say, but have some cute pics to share. My cousins from Alaska were here last week, here's Gemma with Claire, who is about 3 1/2 months older than she. Yes, Gemma is a tall, tall girl. Wonder where she gets it?? HA!
Here's a sweet one of Gemma and daddy just hanging out.
Gemma playing with my good friend Kristal's grandson Lawrence. She was "sharing".
Gemma and godmother Vickie before bedtime the other night. 
Gemma got her first "owie". And here's how... this is one for the baby book. She has started taking some steps, so the other day when we went to the park I thought, "oh how cute would it be to help her walk down the sidewalk to the playground," about a block-and-a-half, mind you. Well, she would have none of that. She wanted to crawl. All by herself. On the sidewalk. And she did. The whole way. Got to the park, crawled over the landscaping timbers, across the rocks, over the river, through the woods, errrrr, I mean and to the swing. Then she stood up by it as if to say, "okay, we're here, put me in now please and I shall live here." Seriously, I do think she would just move right in to the park if we let her. I digress, point being, as I was undressing her that night, I noticed she had rubbed her poor little right knee absolutely raw! I think it bothers me more than it bothers her, although when I ask, "Gemma, where is your owie?" she plops her little bum on the ground, and searches one knee, and then the other until she finds it, at which point she proudly points to it and says, "owEEEE, owEEEE". Pretty cute. We tried a bandaid, but that didn't work out so well. And, due to this little mishap, and just being ready I think, that girl has taken OFF with her walking. It is amazing, she just go go goes. YAY Gemma!
On Thursday she was super tired, she had had a really rough nap, or lack-there-of, on Wednesday, I think due to teething and some of the other stress we've had around here lately, and then she had a rougher night on Wednesday night. So Thursday she is eating her lunch independently like such a big girl and I noticed after a bit she was awfully quite. So I looked, and this is what I saw.
When I went to get her out, she woke up long enough to give me that zombie look and say, "oh, hi mommy," in a very monotone voice. Then she put her little head down on my shoulder and would you believe I carried that girl back to her room, changed her diaper, nursed her and put her in bed and she stayed asleep through it all. Yes, you read that right. I changed her diaper and she slept through it. And then on top of that she slept over 3 hours for her nap and had a great night last night. Think she had some catching up to do.Well, as usual this has turned out longer than I intended. Story of my life. Thanks for checking in everyone, and yes that means you Uncle Jim!!
My dad's mom passed away last night. May she rest in peace. Here is a picture of four generations, taken last January (2008). My dad, my grandma, myself, and my little Gemma-goo at just a few weeks old.
Rejoicing in grandma's eternal life...
Aaron was installing some "Tot Locks" on our cabinets yesterday. We haven't had issues with Gemma getting into things, but we do keep cleaning chemicals and whatnot below our sinks, and just figured it's better to be safe than sorry. At any rate, he was in the bathroom working, and little Gemma was pretty taken by the "bang, bang, bang" sound of the hammer. So as soon as I got her down from her high chair (after a GREAT dinner I might add), all on her own she went and got one of her Little People, came in to stand right by daddy, and started banging poor little Michael (or whoever it was, help me out here, Michelle) on the cabinet with sheer glee. It was so stinkin' cute! Reminded me of the book I was looking at just yesterday at my mom's, "We Help Daddy". So sweet.
We took Miss G to see the baby chicks at TSC on Saturday, so stay tuned for some very cute pics of that little adventure in the near future.
Gemma is just getting to be such a big girl. First of all I wanted to share her 15-month professional photo. Isn't it sooooo sweet?
The other day she got to try Jello for the first time. Fiber jello even,haha! Lately she has had a few issues with some minor constipation (sorry if that's too much info), so I tossed some Metamucil in while I was making it, figured why not?! Anyways, she thought it tasted all right, she really doesn't eat sweets so it was quite a treat, and when it came to tactile experiences she LOVED the texture. I just gave her the bowl and a spoon and let her go at it for a bit, and she thought that was pretty cool.
She has also figured out how to work the lever on her See-N-Say all by herself, here she is, sooooo proud!
In very BIG news, I am SO PROUD of her accomplishment last night. For the first time ever, she went poopy on her potty-chair. YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She loves to sit on it (pants on), and spends a lot of time each day just hanging out on her potty. And as I think I've mentioned previously, she seems to be beginning to have an awareness of when she goes. She had been trying to poop (again, pardon the details, I'm excited about this!), and was having trouble going in her diaper. I figured, what's there to lose? So I sat her on her potty and she went within about 15 seconds. Here's the cutest part...as I was rocking her to sleep last night her little eyes were fluttering closed as she drifted off, and all of a sudden she starts clapping her hands and says, "yay poopy, mommy!" It was the most precious thing. Ahhhh, I am so proud of my little sweetie-magoo.
It was nice to get some good pictures at Church, since outdoor pictures on that rainy, cool day really weren't an option. OH well, it's sunny and warmer now and everything is getting so green! YAY!!
Easter Bunny visited our house while we were at Mass and left Gemma an Easter basket with a soft stuffed bunny, a lift-the-flap book (a recent favorite of hers) and a Fisher Price Build-N-Fun Farm. Gemma was pretty excited about all of the above. No eggs this year, figured she was still a bit young to understand that concept. 
Heading to the grandparents'!
With "ba-pa" Ron.
Playing peek-a-boo with Grandma Evelyn. She rarely says grandma, but often she makes the elephant sound when she sees my mom (mom taught her to do that)...it's pretty funny. Especially the weekend when we got to Mass and she did that, loud and clear, as we walked into the pew beside them.
Here are some pics playing with cousin Cooper at Grandma and Grandpa D's. Ever tried to take a picture of two one-year-olds? Ummmm, yeah...
I had a professional Easter/15 month picture taken of her on Monday, so I will post that when I get it scanned in. It turned out sooooo sweet! HAPPY EASTER!!
He is Risen! Alleluia, Alleluia!
These are a few pictures from today after Mass at St. Elizabeth's. I'll post more later on in the week, but right now I think I'm going to go take an Easter nap. God bless!
JoAnn's has their flannels on sale for $2.49 a yard (if you're interested, better hurry, the sale ends today). I was pretty excited about this and picked some up yesterday. I was able to hem and wash them while magoo was napping, and here she is helping me show off my fun new finds. I think they're pretty sweet! Can't wait for some little projects on which to work.
Also just wanted to share some of the things that Gemma understands. There were two instances yesterday where she just amazed me. First off, yesterday morning it was almost time for breakfast. We were back in the master bedroom, and I told Gemma, "it's almost time to eat breakfast, but first we need to start some laundry. Can you help me with the laundry?" She smiled, turned around, and proceeded to crawl all the way out to our laundry room and stood up by the dryer with a huge grin on her face. She LOVES helping me unload the dryer, the other evening she spent 20 minutes unloading some towels. Such a good little helper already! Then later in the morning we were getting ready to run some errands and she was playing with her toys. I told her, "Gemma, it's time for us to go. Can you go get your shoes?" And sure enough as I headed to my room to put my shoes on, she crawled back to her's, grabbed a shoe, and brought it to me. So sweet!!! Also, in the past several weeks, she has started telling me "potty" when she goes in her diaper. Not on a regular basis by any means, but maybe once every day or two. It's always been pretty obvious when she goes, and I have tried to point it out to her by saying, "oh, did you just go potty?" and then signing the sign for "potty". I think she is slowly beginning to have that awareness. I certainly am not going to push the potty-training, but it is good to know we're headed in the right direction. And she just loves sitting on her littly potty-chair! I am just so proud of my little gal...who is 15 months old today!!! It is also the feast of St. Gemma, so we will make a little trip to the Catholic store and she will get to pick out a religious item. Fun times!! Thanks, as always, for checking in!! Have a blessed Easter.
I have lots of pictures to share this time, so I'll try to keep the commentary to a minimum (yeah, good luck with that). As I mentioned in my previous post, we recently attended my nephew's third birthday party. Gemma was particularly taken with his rocking chair, as evidenced in the montage below. 
Check it out, I can even play with toys from the comfort of my (Ira's) chair!
AHHHHHH, some tasty plastic peas. This is the life!
Standing up to give mom a sweet, sweet smile. But notice she's still touching the chair!!
Here she is definitely intrigued by what the big kids are doing, but she doesn't waiver...the chair it is!
Posing for a pic with uncle Drew...while keeping a death-grip on the chair.
Such a cutie!
And here's a flashback for you...Gemma-goo in the very same chair at about 6wks old. She's changed just a bit, eh?! Still the same sweet smile though, if I do say so myself.
In other news, the weather here STILL isn't warm for good. Grrrrrrr... In fact, the other morning we had record lows. But never-the-less daddy and Gemma decided to brave the cold for a walk with her in the "honey". What, you may ask, is a honey? Well, it is her front carrier, which Aaron calls a harness, which Gemma pronounces "honey", so now we all call it the honey. And now you know. At any rate, the wee-one donned her trusty cap and mittens, and off they went. As you can see, she was just THRILLED by the prospect of wearing these cute little puppy-dog accouterments. NOT!!!!
Picture 1: looking a little worried
Picture 2: These mittens have GOT to go, guys! Seriously, where are my THUMBS?!!!
Picture 3: And this hat. Come ON!!!! (I absolutely love her expression in this one)
Oh well, at least daddy was able to hold her close in the honey and keep her warm. I will be sad for the day when she outgrows that. She's really too heavy for me, but Aaron LOVES wearing her around, and she gets a pretty big kick out of it too... as long as she's not wearing a hat and mittens.And last but not least, Gemma's fascination with shoes has again surfaced. Only now they are more than just a cool toy with strings, she realizes they go on her feet. And TRY. AS. SHE. MIGHT..., she just can't quite figure out how to get them on. Even still she tries and tries bless her heart. She tries with her shoes, with my shoes, with daddy's shoes, with just about any shoes on which she can get her little hands. It's pretty cute to watch, I just love seeing her figure out new things.
WHEW! This was much longer than I intended for it to be, but wanted to get these pics out of the way as I'm sure we'll have all kinds of Easter photos to share come next week.May God bless you as we celebrate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The funeral was at 11, so we decided to go ahead and take her, and, against my normal judgment, brought some bread and cheese since it coincided with her lunch time (typically cheerios is the extent of food that we will do at church). She did well, all things considered, and then Aaron brought her home to nap while I went to the burial and luncheon. That ended up working out really well, because then she was rested and refreshed and we were able to go spend the evening at my aunt and uncle's with lots of other family.
My cousin, Laura, from Denver stayed with us. It was so nice to have a house guest, and it was a good opportunity to catch up, as we don't see each other very often.
Here's me with "uncle" (he's really a cousin) Bob T. (aka Big Bob) from Washington DC. ALWAYS a treat to see him!
And here are pictures of grandma's grandkids and great-grandkids, respectively. Last time all us grandkids were together was 1994. Hard to believe!! I will try to get a copy of the 1994 picture scanned in and put it up with this one, so be sure to check back in a day or so. Although it's pretty self-incriminating. I believe my first comment when I saw it was, "WHAT on EARTH am I wearing?!!!" Yeah.
Grandkids (with Grandma) 1994
Great-grandkids 2009
I didn't get any pictures of my dad and his siblings this past weekend, so here is one that was taken at our wedding.
Like I said, Gemma is just walking everywhere. We went on a family date last night to get ice cream (Gemma even got to try a few bites!!) and then to Borders where she got a new book! We LOVE books. This one is called "Gossie" and it is about a gosling who likes to wear red boots everywhere. She was so excited, and said "duh, duh" (her word for duck) as soon as she saw it. She was close. Plus, I thought it was pretty fitting as she has a recent affinity for shoes, she just LOVES wearing them, and will go back to her room, bring them out to me, put them on my lap and say, "shoes, shoes," until I put them on her. So sweet. After I had paid for the book last night, I brought it out in the lobby area where she and Aaron were waiting, and held it up for her and I tell you, it just does a momma's heart good to see her little girl reach for a book with sheer glee in her face! YAY for reading! Not much else going on, hoping for the return of some sunshine so I can plant some annuals. 
