six months

My Baby Boy is six months old!

(And has been for a while.)

This month he...

eats

mama milk

sweet potato and squash puree

all sorts of interesting stuff he gleans off of the floor

cheerios and tiny pieces of blueberry

(I figure if he can pick up and eat tiny things off the floor,

it's a good idea to channel his interest in a healthier way.)

any cord he can get his hands on

(keeps me on my toes)

sleeps

in a pack-n-play now

(his crib was not sturdy enough for how busy he's becoming)

inconsistently at night

usually three naps every day

says

"mama"

(It's very distinct, and he's definitely referring to me!)

babbles long strings of syllables

has the jolliest laugh

still likes to sing himself to sleep

does

lights up the room with his smile

scoots all over on his belly

crawls on his hands and knees a little

gets up on his hands and feet and "jumps" with his feet

gets all excited when he sees me

scoots as fast as possible to get to me

tries to grab my leg when I walk past him

can already get himself out of the Bumbo chair

sits up by himself

bounces for long stretches of time in his johnny-jump-up

takes tiny steps while holding onto an adult's fingers

loves scratching on all the different surfaces he finds

clings to whoever is carrying him around

tries to get in the middle of what his siblings are doing

likes

being able to move around on his own

exploring new rooms

being the center of attention

making eye contact and "talking"

dislikes

pretty much the same as before

anniversary quilt

I've been holding off on posting about this

on the off-chance my in-laws randomly looked at my blog.

It's being given to them today, though,

so I think I'm finally good to talk!

Last month my sister-in-law and I

spent an intense four days making this quilt

for Ben's parents' anniversary.

She collected family photos and notes from the four kids,

artwork and hand prints from all the grandkids,

the family crest, and a favorite verse.

We printed all of these treasures onto fabric,

and incorporated them into a pretty awesome quilt.

(Even if I do say so myself.)

We are so proud of our accomplishment.

I can't wait to see the video

of my in-laws' reaction

when they open it!

summer

I don't really like summer.

Sure, there are aspects of summer that I love,

but the heat just sucks my life out.

Plus I have seasonal allergies,

and I never know what to cook when it's hot.

I'm trying to stay focused on the good things, though,

because life is so much nicer when you're not whining.

Here are some of the fun things we've been up to:

Little Man saved up his money and bought himself a new bike!

We're working on learning to ride without training wheels now.

Their enjoyment of the kiddie pool is infectious!

The sprinkler is great too.

I take my turn running through it,

but there's no photographic evidence. :)

Our popsicle love is still going strong.

left to right:

cherry lemonade

tropical trio (banana, pineapple, and coconut milk)

fruit-salad-sicles (bits of melon and strawberry in pineapple juice)

I'm having so much fun

learning as much as I can as fast as possible

about jewelry making.
Now I just have to figure out how to take better pictures

of the stuff I make.

sweet tea

(Who says mugs have to be reserved for the hot liquids.

I heart my mug collection all year long.)

We're seeing how far we can get through the Little House series

for the summer library reading program.

It was that time again.

Time to upcycle the dirty, broken crayon bits

into bright, fresh heart crayons.

Not pictured:

Planting flowers

Date nights with Ben

(Motorcycle ride and a picnic with a view! Also Star Trek.)

Dairy Queen

Vanquishing organizing projects

and completely rethinking my laundry system.

(Both much more fun after the fact.)

Road trip to Washington with Mum and the kids.

Enrolling Little Man in school

Autumn vacation planning

five months

Baby Boy is five months (and a little more than one week) old!

Right now he...

eats
mama milk

oat cereal

the occasional bite of big people food

(he doesn't want to be left out)
anything: toys, magazines, blankets, hands, etc.
(teething already?)

[first solid food]

sleeps

in his crib most of the time

4-6 hours at the beginning of the night fairly consistently

better when he rolls himself onto his side or tummy

says
babbling "talk" when making eye contact

sings himself to sleep often

is loud when he finally gets worked up enough to cry
has a fantastic and contagious belly laugh

does

rolls around all over the floor

loves toys
(picking them up, examining them, and chewing on them)
can scoot a little bit in an inch-wormy way
is trying to get his knees under himself to crawl
loves to stand (with help) and step and jump
has enjoyed hanging out in the johny-jump-up twice
kicks his legs vigorously in a jumping motion when excited
plays with his toes

likes
music
being held
excercising
toys that make noises when handled
being the center of attention
making other people laugh
(most notably by blowing his food everywhere)

dislikes
having a wet or messy diaper
being too hot or too cold
not being picked up after making eye contact and cooing

having his toys out of reach

the big picture

but of course life's not all sunny mornings,

painting peacefully with the boys,

enjoying sweet baby smiles,

and delighting in my girl

it's also up-all-night

comforting the coughing, feverish ones

and your being cries for rest

through aching body and runny nose

exhaustion beyond  imagination

yet appointments must be kept

and dishes pile up

while laundry mountains grow

and trash begins to stink

and everyone still wants to eat

so you gulp the coffe down

and try to breathe in deep

and you pray for super-human Grace

to keep on going, keep on loving

and somehow strength is there

one month

Ahem. Yes, Baby Boy is actually more than

one-and-a-half months old.

I'm running late on my blog post,

but the photos were all from the week

he turned one month old.

At one month Baby Boy...

eats

mama milk on demand

sleeps

anywhere relatively quiet

but preferably snuggled up on mama's chest

not in the middle of social situations

says

soft, monosyllabic, coos

hearty cries ("MAAAAAAA") when distressed

does

lifts his head and looks around

flails his fists and kicks his feet with vigor

makes a lot of "duck faces"

occasionally smiles

studies the world around him with solemn face and furrowed brow

likes

being in motion

dry diapers

cuddling

music

having his head rubbed

dislikes

sudden loud noises

sneezes (see above)

his car seat

hats

[first smile for the camera]

boy art

"Happy Birthday"

and a jaguar boat

by Little Man for his Nonna.

Spider Man

by Brother

also for Nonna's birthday.

"A Shark" along with some O's and L's

by Brother

for Grandma

(I love this one so much that I was sad when he gave it away.)

"A Squid in Some Water"

by Brother

for me.

(YES! So pleased to hang it on my fridge.)

preschool and valentines

[first day of preschool]

 This month there was an unexpected opening

in one of our local preschools.

One of my friends is on the board of directors

and was able to offer us the opportunity

to start Little Man mid-semester.

He began  last Monday
and was so excited,
that it was impossible not to catch his enthusiasm.
We are, however,
facing a bit of a learning curve
as we work on fitting our schedule around it.
Preschool has yet to become part of our routine.
It'll happen.

I was excited that he got to start before Valentine's Day
so that we could make some of the cool valentines
that I have been pinning.

We selected these simple yet unique
guitar lollipops from Zakka Life.
(I'm so, so thankful for the nice people
who provide awesome free printables.)

Little Man was able to do most of the work himself,

cutting and assembling like a pro

with just a little help.

They turned out fantastic!

Sadly, we had a break down in communication,

and in spite of his excitement to share them with his friends,

his awesome valentines came back home again in his backpack.

I almost cried (hey, yesterday was just an emotional day).

But in a quick call to his teacher,

I got the okay to try again Monday,

so it's all good.

I also free-handed some simple valentine hearts

for Little Man's teachers.

He colored some of the details and signed his name.

These did get delivered yesterday. : )

Baby

Our newest little boy

arrived on January 3 at 9:46 p.m.

after a short and smooth labor.

He's tiny yet big,

weighing 8 pounds 1 ounce

and measuring 22 1/2 inches long.

He has been perfectly healthy

(Which is a relief since the rest of the family

has been suffering from a nasty respiratory flu)

and is a peaceful, easy baby.

I am attempting to get my fill

of baby cuddles, tiny fingers, softest skin, and downy hair.

Also sleep.

You'll understand if posting is sparse for a while...

our family photo

This is the photo we ended up using

for our Christmas card.

It makes me laugh.

Some battles are not worth fighting,

and belaboring getting a "perfect" photo

is just not one of them.

return to normalcy

Normalcy, of course, is a relative term.

We had a fabulous trip:

concert going

(Benjamin and I discovered a new group, got pictures with and autographs from some of our favorite musicians, and generally enjoyed being slightly irresponsible together going to concerts two nights in a row.)

restaurant dining

(We went out on a limb and ended up discovering an amazing hole-in-the-wall Vietnameese restaurant.  Turns out Thai coffee is fabulous, and of course Coldstone Creamery is always a sure bet.)

thrift shopping

(Horay for big-city selection!)

golfing

(Ben and his dad apparently enjoyed an amazing round of autumn golf at a course in Parley's Canyon that they've been wanting to try for a while.)

autumn festival enjoying

(My sister-in-law and I took my three little ones and the baby she nannies out for a fun-filled morning of hay rides, bouncy houses, mazes, rubber duck racing, pumpkins, and more.)

and just hanging out

(Playing games and having movie night with Ben's parents, getting together with his uncle and aunt, cooking and eating yummy food, going to girls' night at my sister-in-law's place, chasing the cat, and lots of time for grandchildren/grandparent interaction.)

We came home and (with the exception a few days battling an icky cold), I've been busy, busy ever since.  In addition to the normal stuff like appointments, laundry, and dishes, I've been enjoying doing lots of baking and breaking in my new crock pot, doing a photoshoot, working on another handmade Christmas gift, and making a custom wedding vows calligraphy.

That said, I definitely have stuff to write about, but I have to find time to actually sit down and put my fingers to the keyboard.  I still don't have a laptop, and Little Man has officially dropped his afternoon nap, both of which leave my blogging routine, well, non-existent.  It's okay, though. I'm really loving the stage of life even if it leaves me breathless half the time.

caramel apples

While we were at the grocery store last week

Little Man requested that we make caramel apples together.

I was happy to agree!

We wasted no time and made a batch

of the gooey, crunchy, autumny goodness

last Monday.

Yum.

frugal Cars themed party

When both of the boys enthusiastically insisted that what they really wanted was a Disney Cars themed birthday party, I heaved a heavy sigh.  I'm not against branded characters, but I do dislike the over-the-top craziness often exhibited at Character Parties.  Not to mention that anything with Lightning McQueen on it is likely to be at least twice as expensive as an equivalent Generic Race Car product.

After some careful thinking and planning, I was able to come up with a party that satisfied not only my frugality and preference for simple celebrations as well as the boys' love for Lighting McQueen, Mater, and the rest.  Here's what we did.

I used the generic Paint program on our computer to enlarge a racing checkers image I found online. I centered and printed the checkers and used my embellished paper to make these little favor boxes. (Free printable box template found here.) I customized them further by adding Cars stickers, and then filled them with sheets of stickers for our young guests.

We used another free printable that does not seem to be available anymore for the invitations.  They were cute, featuring Mater inviting you to a "tow-tally awesome party" or Lightning McQueen urging you to "race on over."

The cake was carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. I added still more racing checkers and some red frosting, and finished the decorations with a few clean Cars figurines and candles. (No, no one was turning fifty-three, it was simply a joint party for a five-year-old and a three-year-old, and I didn't have enough space to spread out the candles.)  I bought some Cars napkins to accent our red desert plates, and that was all!

The boys were both very pleased.  Everyone who we invited actually came to the party (a huge first for us as we usually have a very sad success rate with party attendees), and I think they even all had fun!