I don't believe I ever blogged about farmer on here (although he was mentioned on another friend's blog), so let me give you some background info. The Easter Bunny brought Gemma the Fisher Price Build-N-Fun Farm this year. It has been a really great toy for her, and she particularly liked (yes "liked" not "likes") the farmer. So much so that she would carry him around the house. I am always very (maybe too) particular about toys. Everything has its place and yadda yadda yadda. Well, several weeks ago, she and farmer were helping me make the bed. I swear to you, one minute that farmer was in her hand, the next he was gone. I literally watched the thing disappear. And let me tell you I tore that room apart looking for him. EVERYwhere. I have no clue as to where he has disappeared. We finally decided to just go with the theory that he ran off to audition for Toy Story 3. Likely, right? Sure, why not! Well anyways, last night I was shopping at a consignment sale and lo and behold, upon what do I stumble?!!!! You guessed it...FANOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (what Gemma calls him.) I was soooo excited (lame, I know). But hey, now we have a complete set again. I guess if Farmer 1 doesn't make it into Toy Story we'll have twin-farmers, but the more the merrier, right? For now I'm just happy with one, and will be curious to see if the other ever shows his face again...
This was completely Gemma's idea. She did this, and then came and got me and said, "Mommy! Puppy poop!" I guess the potty-training thing is clicking. Sort of? I haven't been pushing the issue, but we talk about the potty a lot, and she likes to sit on it (usually with her pants on). And this is what we ended up with... Good for a laugh anyways!!
We all got to hear baby's heart-beat yesterday at my OB appointment. It was very exciting!! The heart-rate was 150 bpm. Gemma thought it was pretty cool. She understands that baby is in mommy's tummy, and Aaron held her right by me and we told her that it was baby we were hearing. She seemed to understand in her own little way, it was very sweet. Everything else seems to be progressing normally. I am 14-15 weeks along and feeling great. Not much of a baby belly yet, just a little bit of a "pooch" after I've had a big dinner. I'll be certain to post pics once baby starts "showing". Thanks for checking in!
Gemma is so good at sharing. I think she will do great when the baby comes. She already likes to take her toys and hold them up to my tummy to share with mommy's baby. It's so cute. Here she is at snack-time sharing some of her Bunny Graham Friends with her baby. I guess we'll have to talk about what is and isn't appropriate to share once the baby comes, but for now I just think this is so stinkin' cute and sweet!! Such a generous heart.
We had Gemma's 18 month appointment this week, so for those of you interested:
*** 21.5 pounds (20%ile)...she's down a bit in this category, only gained 1/2 lb. in the past 3 months!!
*** 31.5 inches (50%ile)...so while she looks very tall, she actually is pretty average in the height department. I think it's her "minimal" weight that makes her look like such a string-bean!!I absolutely love our doctor, he is so good with Gemma: very thorough, very unpushy, respects and compliments our parenting and decisions...just an all-around good guy and wonderful doctor. We are very blessed.
And here is the obligatory monthly pic. I know you were just on pins and needles waiting for this one. HA! Am I predictable or what?!! :-D
We've been motivated lately to start working on some more house projects. The first thing we did when we moved in, two years ago, was paint the majority of the main level. It was a lovely shade of purple. Yes. Purple. Imagine. Ohhhhh, it was ugly (no offense to anyone who likes purple, just not our thing). Well, here you go, I have photo evidence, so see for yourself.
Yep, that's sponge-paint. And yes, those curtains do look like a prom dress from the 1980's that you may have owned. It just. Had. To. Go. And we figured it would be easier to paint before we'd moved all the furniture in and were living here.So anyways, we went with a neutral kind of buttery/creamy color, and then a shade darker in the master bedroom. Super happy with the color, but when we (our marvelous helpers and Aaron, that is) painted we only did one layer, and as time has progressed, we've found that you just really need to do two coats. No way around it. There was some purple bleed-thru beginning to show and it just didn't look as nice as it should. So, tedious as it's been, Aaron has been going through the upstairs wall by wall and doing second coats everywhere. He finished several more walls this past weekend, and we switched around the way some of our pictures were on the walls. Super happy with the results. It was just kind of cluttered before, I like it much better this way (pardon all the toys).
This is the last wall that will need painted, and as you can see due to its proximity to the stairs, we will need a ladder...and some prayers. Hehe, it's not that bad, but definitely will require a bit more work than the others. And then at the point that we paint the wall, we have this cool wrought-iron thing to hang in the middle of the wall, and a couple mahogany sconces we'll hang on either side. Super-excited to get that done...hopefully Labor Day weekend we're thinking.
I picked up some knick-knacks and a lamp for our end tables, they'd been empty mostly, and it really was just starting to drive me crazy. Still deciding on the lamp (as you can see from the yet-to-be-removed tags). LOVE the color and shape of the shade, just wish it were a bit bigger. Your thoughts?
We're also getting ready to have our bathroom floors redone (they are carpet and a lovely early-90's linoleum now) with ceramic tile and new toilets!!!! Wahooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! Our toilets now are kind of possessed. And Aaron got a "poop throne" (read: extra tall one) for the master bathroom. Should be nice. He's really excited anyways. Men and their toilets...whatever! We also are getting crown molding in the master bedroom, finishing Gemma's big-girl room (she won't be moving for quite some time, but we've been working on it bit-by-bit), and going to paint the kitchen red, hopefully this fall too. It is a nice shade of green now with a tolerable border (see pic, to the left of the fireplace with our rockin' awesome Last Supper Icon), but we have greens in several other rooms of the house and thought the red would just really pop, and tie in well with the family room.
And one last photo. When I peeked my head in her room towards the end of her nap the other day, this is how I found my sweet Gemma-goo sleeping.
I had a fun girls' night out the other night with my friend Vickie. It had been months and months since we just got to hang out, eat good food (Carrabba's!), enjoy a glass of wine (well, I didn't get to partake in the wine this time, but oh well) and not have to look at the clock. Fabulous! As much as I love being at home, putting my wee-one to bed, etc., a night out was just what I needed! It's been a good week. Did some cleaning this AM and now contemplating a nap. But alas, here I am, wasting time on the Internet. Story of my life! Well, now you know probably more than you ever cared to about our house. I'll certainly continue updating as we progress with our projects. Wish us luck!
Happy weekend!!
Okay, I lied. I'm not going to blog about the picture experience. Not now at least. I just don't feel like talking about it. I thought I would share a recipe though, since I DO feel like cooking again. This is a recipe of my mom's that we've tweaked just a bit. So without further ado...
STUFFED GREEN PEPPERS
Cook 1/2 cup rice (we use brown rice) and set asideIn another pan, (while the rice is cooking) brown 1 lb (ish) of hamburger and 1/3 c. onion. Add 1 can tomatoes (sometimes I use 1 1/2 cans), a bit of water (tablespoon or two), 1 tsp worcestershire sauce, then stir in the rice (when it's done), and 4 oz. (ish) of grated cheddar cheese.
Cut several (3-4 large) green peppers length wise (top to bottom) and clean out the guts. We blanch them for around 10 seconds, just makes them softer when you eat them. It's whatever you prefer.Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
This is a great recipe to make up in advance (as I did today) and then bake when you're ready for dinner. Enjoy! I figured with it being garden season and all, green peppers were certainly abounding, so thought this was a great recipe to share. Also, for those of you with littles, when Gemma was still eating baby food I would make just the filling and then puree it in the food processor and she really liked it. 
My picture is not NEARLY as cool as Karen's always are, but you get the idea.
In other news, we've been enjoying time in the pool almost every day. Gemma loves putting her diving rings on her head. I think she looks like an angel. It's really cute, they fit just prefectly!! 
And here's one of me in my new swimsuit. The bikini from the honeymoon JUST wasn't cutting it anymore.
Thanks for checking in!!!
We had a nice day on the Fourth. It was so great having Aaron home on a Saturday morning. He ran the smoker to make some pulled pork for the gathering at my parents', and we went on a nice family walk. We spent the early afternoon at my parents' with the rest of the fam and some of their friends. It really was a nice time, we ate, chatted and played some games. Then we headed over to my in-laws' and had an equally good time over there sitting in the backyard and just shooting the breeze while Gemma played. We came home in time for Gemma to go to bed, and let me tell you that little girl was a rock-star!! Fell asleep a little later than normal, but not a biggie considering it sounded like a war-zone, and after that she slept thru every bit of fireworks and canons and whatever else was going on. So proud of her. We, for the third year in a row, enjoyed our own professional fireworks show from the privacy of our deck. It pays to live close to a country club!!
In other news, the pregnancy seems to be going well. I am feeling a lot better, YAY, so that has been nice. A little icky when I awaken in the morning, and if I let my stomach get too empty, but ohhhhhhh so much better than a month ago!! I'm even cooking again!! Life is good, especially when I get a nap! Here are some pics from the Fourth.Sweet girl
Running around the front yard, she loves doing this!
Getting ready to take Max on a walk...another favorite activity
Playing with the in-laws' bunny
Thanks for checking in with us. Next post...Gemma's new sunglasses!
I got this recipe from Patty, so must give credit where credit is due. Thanks, Patty, we love it!!! At the request of another friend, thought I'd share. We "healthied" it up with the wheat flour, you can use all white if you want, but it really is good with the wheat. And it's a healthy enough "cake" that we even have it for breakfast sometimes. Shhhhh....BANANA CAKE3 1/2 cups of flour (2 wheat, 1 1/2 white)1 tsp. baking powder1 tsp. baking soda1/4 tsp. salt1 cup sugar (I typically use a bit less)1/2 cup butter2 eggs1 cup sour cream or yogurt2-3 medium bananas mashed1 tsp vanillaStir flour, baking powder, soda and salt together and set aside. Beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add eggs one at a time. Add sour cream, banana and vanilla. On low, blend in flour mixture. Pour into greased and floured 9/13 glass pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. You can also stir in 1 - 1 1/2 cups of mini choco chips, but we forgo this just to make it a bit healthier. For breakfast, you know...
A girl after my own heart. We discovered yesterday as we were sharing our daily "beagle" (bagel) that Gemma not only likes, but LOVES cream cheese. Today she was having some crackers for lunch and I figured, hey, might as well spread some cream cheese on the crackers for her. And really, she does like crackers. But obviously she likes cream cheese more, because as you can see by the picture, she took to licking all the cream cheese off the cracker and then holding it out to me and saying, "moi, moi, (more) pease, pease, pease". The girl definitely likes her some cream cheese, that's for certain!
As if Gemma and her daddy don't already have enough, errrr, games that they play, they have found a new one. We shall call this game "swingy", a-la Gemma...however it is not your normal swing in a swing swinging game. It involves, well, a gym bag. And a pillow. And a strong daddy arm. The inspiration for this game came from a picture we took back in September 2008. 
Aaron wondered if Gemma would still fit in the gym bag. Why does he wonder these things? Why did we put her in a gym bag in the first place? I don't know. These things are sometimes lost on me. So anyways he gave it a try. And she fit. But, well, that wasn't enough anymore so he started swinging her and now it is their new favorite game. Whenever she sees the gym bag she gets all excited and says in her little sing-song tone she uses, "swingy-swingy-swingy-swingy". And this is what they do. It really isn't as dangerous as it looks, I promise. Look at that anticipation!
Swingy
Swingy
Close-up
And this is the look on her face when she's all done. Mega-disappointment. You can almost hear her crying for more.
My silly girl...and hubby...
And here is one of her reading in the car on our trip to southeast Kansas last weekend. I will blog about that soon...lots of cute pics. Let me just say she was a fabulous little traveler!
CHEERS!
Yep, that's sponge-paint. And yes, those curtains do look like a prom dress from the 1980's that you may have owned. It just. Had. To. Go. And we figured it would be easier to paint before we'd moved all the furniture in and were living here.
This is the last wall that will need painted, and as you can see due to its proximity to the stairs, we will need a ladder...and some prayers. Hehe, it's not that bad, but definitely will require a bit more work than the others. And then at the point that we paint the wall, we have this cool wrought-iron thing to hang in the middle of the wall, and a couple mahogany sconces we'll hang on either side. Super-excited to get that done...hopefully Labor Day weekend we're thinking.
I picked up some knick-knacks and a lamp for our end tables, they'd been empty mostly, and it really was just starting to drive me crazy. Still deciding on the lamp (as you can see from the yet-to-be-removed tags). LOVE the color and shape of the shade, just wish it were a bit bigger. Your thoughts?
We're also getting ready to have our bathroom floors redone (they are carpet and a lovely early-90's linoleum now) with ceramic tile and new toilets!!!! Wahooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! Our toilets now are kind of possessed. And Aaron got a "poop throne" (read: extra tall one) for the master bathroom. Should be nice. He's really excited anyways. Men and their toilets...whatever! We also are getting crown molding in the master bedroom, finishing Gemma's big-girl room (she won't be moving for quite some time, but we've been working on it bit-by-bit), and going to paint the kitchen red, hopefully this fall too. It is a nice shade of green now with a tolerable border (see pic, to the left of the fireplace with our rockin' awesome Last Supper Icon), but we have greens in several other rooms of the house and thought the red would just really pop, and tie in well with the family room.
And one last photo. When I peeked my head in her room towards the end of her nap the other day, this is how I found my sweet Gemma-goo sleeping.
I had a fun girls' night out the other night with my friend Vickie. It had been months and months since we just got to hang out, eat good food (Carrabba's!), enjoy a glass of wine (well, I didn't get to partake in the wine this time, but oh well) and not have to look at the clock. Fabulous! As much as I love being at home, putting my wee-one to bed, etc., a night out was just what I needed! It's been a good week. Did some cleaning this AM and now contemplating a nap. But alas, here I am, wasting time on the Internet. Story of my life! Well, now you know probably more than you ever cared to about our house. I'll certainly continue updating as we progress with our projects. Wish us luck!
My picture is not NEARLY as cool as Karen's always are, but you get the idea.
And here's one of me in my new swimsuit. The bikini from the honeymoon JUST wasn't cutting it anymore.
Thanks for checking in!!!
Next post (gotta keep you coming back, right?!?!)...the 18-month pictures that didn't happen...
Running around the front yard, she loves doing this!
Getting ready to take Max on a walk...another favorite activity
Playing with the in-laws' bunny
Thanks for checking in with us. Next post...Gemma's new sunglasses!
Aaron wondered if Gemma would still fit in the gym bag. Why does he wonder these things? Why did we put her in a gym bag in the first place? I don't know. These things are sometimes lost on me. So anyways he gave it a try. And she fit. But, well, that wasn't enough anymore so he started swinging her and now it is their new favorite game. Whenever she sees the gym bag she gets all excited and says in her little sing-song tone she uses, "swingy-swingy-swingy-swingy". And this is what they do. It really isn't as dangerous as it looks, I promise. 
Swingy
Swingy
Close-up
And this is the look on her face when she's all done. Mega-disappointment. You can almost hear her crying for more.
My silly girl...and hubby...
