I thought I would list a few things about Gemma at the 2 1/2 year mark (upon seeing another friend do the same thing on her blog), just for the record. I think it's fun and interesting to look back on this stuff.LIKES: bubbles; going to the park; DADDY; reading stories; donuts; straws; vitamins; listening to music (her 102 Children's songs and Bible Songs CD's); bunny-roni; helping mommy and daddy; playing with her bubby-brother; her ever-growing bedtime routine with daddy; flushing the toilet for anyone who uses it; using the timer to let her know when it's time to do something (get dressed, put her binky away, leave the park, etc.). It's hard to argue with a timer.DISLIKES: eating (she's not picky, just not a huge fan of eating in general); having her hair done; her musical sea-horse. he strikes complete and utter terror in her, even though he is hidden away in a drawer in our room (as per her request). it is very bizarre.ABILITIES: climbing, hanging, running; can't carry a tune typically, but definitely understands going up and down with her voice when singing; does pretty good feeding herself with a spoon; goes up and down stairs very well (read: no longer scares mommy to death); can go to the bathroom on the big toilet essentially by herself (no longer using her potty-chair); beginning to dress/undress herself (still with assistance); completely potty-trained (still wears a dipe at night, but hasn't wet it for at least a month); will entertain herself playing for 20-30 minute stretches; can pedal her tricycle; falls asleep by herself in her big-girl bed COMMON PHRASES: when asked what we do for toots, "We clap them." (long story)- "How'd you like to go to the park? WE can go to the park!!"
- "Daddy sleep with you for minute. For just a minute." (the ever-asked question at bedtime)
- "Whose yours is that?" (asking whose something is)
- "Would you like to read a stoooory?"
- "What haaaaappin???"
- "No ________, like this!" (she knows how things are done)
- around Communion time at Mass she will sweetly put her arm around your neck and say, "Is it time to go and get a donut?" Likewise, when we drive by Church she always comments, "There's Jesus!" and sometimes adds, "and a DONUT!"
- "Mommy, are you happy?" (when she's in trouble)
TYPICAL DAY: Up around 8AM. Naps noon-3 (give or take). Bed between 8:30-9PM. We love you, sweet Gemma!!
1.) Conquered a sewing project I'd been wanting to tackle.2.) The kids and I have made weekly trips to the library the past two weeks. I really hope to make this a regular activity, as it is fun, educational, gets us out of the house, and FREE!!3.) This is actually my husband's success. And I think it falls more under the category of "large successes", but I thought I'd post it here anyways. We now have a functional, furnished, and non-purple basement!!! The basement was finished when we moved in, but was not the most useful space, plus we didn't have anything to put in it. Plus, it was purple. Did I mention that? And it had *shudder* a wallpaper border of lovely magnolias going all the way around. As our family has expanded, it has become evident that the space in the basement would indeed be nice to have, so we (Aaron) set about getting it all ready. He painted it in stages, finishing this past weekend, and put the desk together this morning...so we're pretty much good to go!!!! I am quite pleased and anxious to spend more time in this peaceful (did I mention non-purple) abode!Here are a few BEFORE pics, so you have an idea what we were working with.
And AFTER...The stairs going down (this wall was one of my favorite upstairs updates). You can see how we have a much lighter wall-color upstairs than what we painted in the basement. I like the contrast.
View as you come down the stairs. I found the art at Hobby Lobby for $6. Already had the frame.
Looking across the basement from the bottom of the staircase
Play area. Traditional Guardian Angel picture from Catholic store for $3, also already had the frame!
Plates my aunt had made for the kids. I really like these!
Looking back the other way
Piano nook
So now the basement is ready for our family to use, and we are living in a wallpaper (and purple)-free household! YAY!!! Head on over to Faith and Family Live! for some great Catholic articles and to read about others' successes.
Not a lot of sewing going on lately, although at the rate my little guy is growing I should really get started on some large diapers. I have had a little spurt of projects this past week or so though, so thought I'd share.The first one is a blanket for Kolbe. Technically this fleece wasn't sewn (just tied) but it still falls under the sewing category I think. The little stinker rolls so much that when I put him down on the baby blanket on the rug, he would promptly roll off and then inevitably spit-up. On the rug. So I call this blanket "rug insurance". Plus, I reallllllly like the jungle print and bright sunny colors.
I am super-duper excited about (and proud of) these reusable shopping bags.
The pattern/directions came from a book called One Yard Wonders that a friend of my mom's gave me. I've mentioned before, I'm not much for following directions. I learn much more easily by being shown, either in person or with lots of pictures. But I really wanted to successfully tackle this project, so I gave it a shot. It was a great confidence builder, and really a lot of fun and fairly easy as well. It took (as the title implies) one yard of material and about an hour-and-a-half. The second one came together more quickly since I knew what I was doing. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon while the kids were napping; and as there are 101 different projects in the book, I hope to give more of them a try in the future. So many of them would make really neat homemade gifts... So anyways, we're looking forward to using our new bags for trips to the library, grocery store, fabric store, just about anywhere!! And they're so much nicer looking than those red Dillons bags I've had for the past several years. YAY!!! Still working up the courage to tackle a dress for Gemma...
This is a recipe I kind of morphed together on my own, after reading several different recipes online. I really like it, my hubby isn't as huge a fan (he doesn't dislike it, just not his favorite). We have it once every several months or so. At any rate, it's quite easy (I really do like crock pot meals in case I hadn't mentioned it) so if you're looking for something quick and easy to toss together and forget about until mealtime, here you go.In a bowl combine:- one can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom with Roasted Garlic Soup (I use the lower sodium kind)
- one can of mushrooms (or you could use fresh, chopped)
- a small chopped onion
- 1/4 or so cup of whole wheat flour
- 1/4 tsp of ground black pepper
- 1 tsp of garlic powder
- around 1.5 lbs of sirloin, chopped in cubes
Stir it all together until it's well mixed and place in your crock pot (I usually spray my crock pot with nonstick spray). Slice 1-2 tbsp. of butter on top. Cook on high for an hour or so and then turn to low for another 3-5 hours. You can stir it once or twice.Before eating, stir in around 1/2 cup of sour cream and about 1/2 package of whole-wheat egg noodles (boiled and drained). We usually serve ours with steamed green beans and some applesauce.ENJOY!
I posted in early May about the seeds Gemma planted, and updated a few weeks back about the beans she picked. Well, last week her sunflower bloomed. It was a small little guy, but the pot it which it was planted was fairly tiny (and dried out very easily in the baking KS heat), so I'd say we did pretty well. We've talked about planting a few sunflowers in the yard somewhere, so maybe next year. Overall though the project was a definite success!
Gemma has discovered critters. And has a love for them for sure. St. Francis would be proud. Recently we've had a frog and a caterpillar spend some time with us. The caterpillar may have turned into a chrysalis. Or he may be dead. I'm not entirely sure, so we're just leaving him for now. We got some cool butterfly books from the library though (the only one we had at home was The Very Hungry Caterpillar), so we've been enjoying reading about that whole process together. Daddy brought the frog in the other morning, and he stayed with us the whole day in a cottage cheese container with saran wrap held on by a rubber band over the top. I was really glad he didn't escape. I don't mind frogs, I will handle them and I think they're cool, but I really don't want one loose (read: lost) in my house. No thanks. So anyways, she carried him all over the house and he "played" with her toys with her, and she even wanted to take him to the park that evening. To play with her. Yes. Really. I had talked to her all day about letting him go, and she seemed cool with it. And she was. But here's the funny part. We let him go out by the lake, and he hopped out onto the ground and started to hop off. For whatever reason she thought he had to be in the water (I'm thinking it may have something to do with her book Little Quack's New Friend, where a frog plays with a bunch of ducks in a lake, but who knows). So as he's hopping away, she runs over, grabs him and chucks him in the lake. It was HI-larious. Here is a photo montage of the event.Checking on her friends
Heading to the park
I vetoed going up the ladder with him. She's dangerous enough doing that on her own. But she thought about it!
Sliding
Swinging (sorry it's blurry)
Saying goodbye
Watching him hop off
After chucking him in the lake
It was a fun time. Thanks to aunt Vickie for spending the evening with us. She was quite entertained as well!!
Kolbe is six months. Half a year!!! I just do not know where the time has gone. He is rolling all over the place and is quite the "talker". He still grunts, and does this funny grunt yell thing while holding his arms in front of him stiffly and then bringing them together when he yells. It's funny. He has two teeth (bottom center), the first one he got on 7/9 and the other on 7/17 (the day after turning six months). He is smiley, alert, sweet and "conversational". He likes to interact and play with others. He is sitting some on his own, but not well enough for me to leave his side. He likes to "buck" (which he does often while being held) and I'm afraid he'd just throw himself backward onto the floor. If he's focusing on a toy or something though he does pretty well. He still likes to be worn, and that's his main method of falling asleep, except before bed at night when he typically nurses to sleep. He sleeps well, usually three naps a day at fairly regular times (give or take). His nights are good, he sleeps in his crib some and cosleeps some. He still nurses 2-4 times during the night. It works. I have come so far in my views of sleep/good sleep, etc. I've learned a lot, and resigned myself to the fact at this point in my life, nighttime parenting is just a part of life, and that's totally cool.
His six month stats:Weight: 16 lbs 12 oz (25 %ile)Length: 27 inches (75 %ile)Head circumference: 16.5 inches (10 %ile)Yep, still a small head. But he appears to be getting a little bit of hair. Maybe...And the obligatory pic!
I decided to finally jump on the bandwagon with the Small Successes Thursday. Head on over to Faith and Family Live! to check out others' successes. As for mine...1. Successfully got professional pictures taken of both children. Together. Smiling and happy.2. Managed to stay relatively patient and loving with Gemma this past week, even in some very trying situations. I've been struggling with this a lot lately.3. Celebrated four years of marriage (yesterday 7/21) to my wonderful husband.
This is all my husband's doing. They are both sitting in the little "nests" we built for them on our bed (very handy way to keep them occupied/contained while we're getting ready before the days when they are too mobile). As I said, the socks on the head were all Aaron's idea. Both times around. Don't worry, they were clean. ;-D
Gemma, 7 1/2 months 
Kolbe, 6 months
The obsession continues. Yep, we're up to a pile now. If we keep going at this rate she's going to be sitting amidst a nest of straws at some point methinks!! Ohhhhhhhh Gemma... 
