For Uncle Jeff!

With the bedtime routine complete and Brianna quietly in bed, I took to the couch to try and unwind for the day/week. After just a few minutes of silence, Brianna started talking. I usually ignore it the best I can because it's her way of winding down as welI. This night however, I realized she was going through her list of prayer requests. It usually goes something like, "ah about daddy and Cayer (Carl), and Eko, and daddy, and mommy, and..." I didn't think much of it at first, but she kept going and going and going - seriously it ended up being about 5 minutes. After procrastinating, I finally hopped up to get the camera and only caught the tail end, because once she stopped, there wasn't another peep.

This goes out to Uncle Jeff. 

She loves you very much and talks about and prays for you frequently!

(video from April 13 @ 7:05 pm)

My Punky

I realize I'm missing the iconic pigtails, the fabulous vest, and rolled up jeans with a hanky on the knee (...so the whole outfit then!), but every time I put this outfit on Brianna, she reminds me of Punky Brewster. It must just be the bright and colorful aspect of the ensemble.

It was so nice outside last week, I called her to the lawn and asked her to look at me for a picture. This is what she gave me - she is so cute!! On top of the first 5 shots I got (before running out of internal memory because I forgot the memory card) I tried asking her back to the lawn to get a couple more. She gladly trotted back to the grass and gave me a couple more looks.

As a side note for Auntie Mick Mick - Ever since Easter when you put the ribbon in her hair, she wants to wear it again and again. It doesn't take long though once it's in for it to come back out again. I think maybe I need to look into some headbands for her!

How Do You Stop and Smell the Silence?

Synchronized napping has been non-existant in our house as of late. In fact, it's never been consistant - only something I look forward to (crossing my fingers)! Carl can't decide if he wants one nap or two. And Brianna has a hard time relaxing in order to take a nap herself. Then there is the saga of, just as I get one down, the other decides to start crying, and when that one calms down, the other is up again... arg!

Anyway, when silence does come, are you like me thinking, "ok, what do I need to get done so I don't drive myself crazy later?" or are you the disciplined type and just make yourself take a load off and maybe even get a nap in. I wish I were the latter, but even now as there is a hint of silence, here I am blogging the whole while thinking I should be sitting down and resting. But wait, I still have to do the dishes from last night and this morning...

In Search for Desserts!

Carl is doing amazing. He is crawling around like a crazy boy, standing up and walking along furniture, and (for the most part) gobbling down his baby foods. So far it seems he likes fruits over vegetables, but he'll still try it. He is over 20 lbs. already and growing so fast. Where has the last nine months gone? 

We had his nine month check-up a week ago, last Monday. Everything is going good, except this lingering ear infection issue. We were in three weeks ago, Monday, and he was given another antibiotic to help fight the most recent onset. It's gotten to a point where I'm just not sure what to do anymore. Thank you to everyone whose made suggestions so far, it just takes time to try each one, in order to rule it out. Right now I am on a gluten-free (no problem, we've been doing that already) AND dairy-free diet. It seems to be helping a little bit, as far as I can tell. He has less congestion and fluid build-up, but I still need to push that magic button for him to sleep through the night so I can finally feel rested. 

It's amazing the options that are out there for individuals with certain types of allergies, that one (myself included) normally passes by because it doesn't affect them. Well now, I am so thankful for every family member, blogger, and merchant for their help during this process. It makes a huge difference. Only a week had passed and I was in desperate need of some sweetness, and found this very simple macaroon recipe. It was just what I needed to keep my sanity. One problem, they were so good, I wanted to eat them all in one sitting! I didn't do that, but it didn't take long for them to disappear. Oh well, I'll just have to make more. 

Anyone else have good GF, DF recipes they'd like to share?

Capturing Moments

This past Saturday, my sister wanted a few subjects that she could test out some camera settings. I tagged along on the adventure - trying to photograph and wrangle 5 kids. I was glad it worked out to go with because she captured some wonderful photos of everyone. It also helps that the backdrop of the Mill City Museum adds so much character. Thanks Margaret - these are wonderful! I hope the craziness paid off, it sure looks like it!