Loving Nature at the Arboretum

June 18: A Visit to the Arboretum

We love our visits to the arboretum. Every time we go, there is always something and somewhere new to explore. Carl was not yet walking but he still loved crawling around when I let him on his own. They had a "Green Play Yard," built just for kids. They were able to explore new plants, water, trees, small buildings, and so much more.  We barely had any time left before we had to leave for anything else! In fact, we had a hard time getting away from this kids-sized walking bridge. Let's just say Carl could have stayed there longer!

His "OOOOOO" moment. Notice the tippy toes. 

As we headed back to the car for a picnic lunch, we stopped to examine many of the fountains. This one was particularly perfect for just viewing the water trickle down. 

"Cunbredda"

June 16, 2012: It was a rainy morning, so while Carl napped, Brianna and I went on a short walk in the rain. We tried singing in the rain, but someone was more enthralled with the umbrella, or "cunbredda" as she calls it. Isn't she so cute! She loves holding it all by herself, so much so that we had to turn around on our walk so I could get a second umbrella for myself. Gotta love our walks together!

2 Months!

Wow. We have neglected our blog for 2 months to the day. 2 months!! It seems unbelievable, but with how blessed we've been with tons of activity in our lives lately, blogging is the first thing to be put on hold or in some cases forgotten. (by "blessed" I mean CRAZY busy - but blessed seems to fit nicely in its place!)

It's a shame it does get tucked away on the back burner (kitchen pun intended - more to come), because for those that check in once in a while, it's a great way to stay connected. Well, it's not the first time I've said it, and won't be the last - Sorry for the delay in glimpses of what's going on in our lives.

In order to catch up, I'll start by just adding pictures and small stories if I've got the time. They do say, "A picture is worth a thousand words!"

Enjoy snippets of our last 2 months!

June 15: Story time with Daddy! I found the Hungry Caterpillar at a garage sale for 25 cents. It's hard to beat a classic children's story for so little cost. Brianna starts "reading" it by saying, "one day - sun was out... a little egg and pop. Out comes a VERY hungry caterpillar!"

For Baby Joey!

On June 2, I catered my very first baby shower! It was to celebrate and shower with gifts my cousin’s wife, Mary, who gave birth to their first just 21 days later.

I had a lot of fun doing it, but it was intense – a lot of work, but a big reward. I was so humbled by the many great comments I received for the food.  To top it off, it was completely gluten-free! I think (or at least I hope) I maybe changed some people’s perspectives that gluten-free can actually taste good. Had it not been announced (which there were others besides myself that required such a menu), I doubt anyone would have thought twice.  It was that tasty!

Their new baby is named Joseph, Joey for short, so my Aunt thought it would be fun to use an Australian theme for the shower, after a kangaroo’s baby who is called a joey. I had been thinking about creating food name cards with outback-themed names but saved it till last for if I had time. After a full day of shopping, preparing, and baking (we’re talking 11:30 pm the night before!!), I was finally able to get to the cards. I am so glad there was time, because they really seemed to add just a little more detail that helped pull it all together. Plus, I also tried to go around my own house and gather up some baby blankets and toys to help decorate the party room. A huge thanks to my sister Michelle, for helping set up and set out and put the finishing touches on the food. 

Mary and Aaron, I am so happy for you guys and can’t wait for our play dates! 

The Menu:

Wallabee (egg) Bake

Walk-About Parfaits

Fruit on the Barbee

G'Day Pumpkin Muffins

Kindie Rice Krispies

Chokkie Macaroons

You're Invited...

To the 1^st Annual Rubber Duck Olympics. In honor of Carl's first birthday, I'm attempting something new and hopefully really fun (or funny, either one works). I've already met with my neighbors and got their permission, talked with my neighbor across the creek and they are so excited, and plans are starting to fall into place. Not too long now, I'm excited to see how it turns out. Essentially we will be tossing our Rubber Ducks into the creek in our backyard and watch them race down in a friendly and exciting competition! 

Prizes will be awarded for the 1^st place duck in each of these three categories: Ages 0-6, 7-17, and 18-99. Rubber Ducks* will be essential in order to compete, so don’t leave your duck at home!

*Rubber Ducks should be at least 3 inches in length. 

"i aohld him"

Brianna is constantly asking to hold Carl - she thinks he is the greatest and wants to be close to him. Normally, Carl is so on the move that for him to sit still long enough to even get him in her arms would be a miracle. But the other day while playing outside I just couldn't say no, it seemed to be a perfect situation.

She wanted to share her car with him and asked if she could "aohld him." Since they would be squished in the one little seat with sides to help prop and activity to keep attention, it was a no brainer.

Immediately they both were smiling and giggling. They sat there for almost 7 minutes honking the horn and turning the wheel. She couldn't quite move her feet enough to move the Flintstone car, but she was content enough that she was holding him. After a while, she opened the door and said, "I'm done." In which case, I ran quickly to the side in order to catch him from falling out sideways. She did however want to continue the fun and insisted I put him back in by himself so she could push him. He was a little unstable and kept getting his feet caught under the car, but LOVED it. 

It's so fun to see them playing together and loving it. Hopefully this is a good sign for the future!

Who Wants to Walk!

He Does, He Does!

Carl has been working diligently on his walking. On one hand it's SO exciting and on the other it's life as we known it - over. 

I'm 98% sure I'm ready for it. It's summer time and he's ready to move and chase his fabulous big sister. She has been doing great with him; she's been sharing, bringing him things, and making sure to play around him with care. Carl is ready to keep pace with her. It took Brianna 15 months and a younger cousin to decide she was ready to walk on her own, but I'm pretty sure Carl will take the plunge well before that. 

Personally, I just love his technique. Notice the fancy footwork AND the tippy toes! If he gets stopped he thinks if his feet keep moving, the momentum will shift the walker just enough to keep going. Yeah Carl!

Just Perfect!

Here's our sweet little girl singing "Jesus Loves Me" - with backup singers.

She is simply wonderful and amazes me everyday!

P.S. Shelley, thanks to your amazing talents and your daughter's, B requests "little turtle ad big turtle song" daily. Good thing I listened closely when you sang it and could repeat it. But I think she knows it's not you singing it to her. I don't get the laughter like you did!

Just Me and Carl

Here's our little man! How we love him so. Only 2 more months until he turns 1. It's gone SO fast!

Now that I look at this picture, does anyone else think Mr. Potato head looks, well... what do you think?

Movie Star at the Dentist

Early last month I went to my regularly scheduled dentist appointment. The last time I was in, my fabulous dental hygienist asked me if I wanted to schedule a "happy visit" for Brianna the next time I went in. I said yes, so the whole week leading up to the appt. we were talking about where we were going and what we would be doing at the dentist. The day came and she was ready! The happy visit consisted of them putting super sweet "movie star" sunglasses on her, turning on the camera thing they use for the mouth so she could see herself on tv, and actually using "Mr. Tickles" and "Mrs. Thirsty." I went first (so she could see how it's done), then it was her turn.

She did amazing. She had some spots the hygienist was able to get off because she sat so still and opened wide. It's encouraging to hear your dentist say, "whatever you're doing, keep it up - her teeth look great, pleanty of room for growth." Now the second part to that I don't have much control over, but as challenging as it is some nights to keep up with the regular brushing routine makes it all worth it. As for our fabulous hygienist, she is simply that. I am so thankful for her. She was incredibly patient with her, talked Brianna through the whole thing, and waited while she got a little skiddish then just continued on.

I'd say she loves brushing her teeth even more now after the visit than before. Having such a positive experience for something that can be not so pleasant is truly a blessing.

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!