Nine (and a half...) months

(I am terrible right now at writing down milestones or making records of what is happening with my kiddos!  I document it in a fashion, but I'm not sure posting pictures to Facebook is going to cut it as fulfilling my role as family historian.  Maybe if I shove them all in a photo book later?  Let's go with that plan!)

Anyway, don't die of shock, but here's an actual update on our littlest person.

Levi is pulling up now, AND standing up in the middle of the room.  He triumphantly smacks his fat hands on the coffee table in triumph.  He also crawls VERY fast!

He is also getting pretty handy at this whole NOM NOM NOM thing.  See evidence of banana destroying abilities, to left.  Still totally variable whether/how much he's actually ingesting, but he's having a blast with it so his budding relationship with solid foodstuffs is going well. 

Favorites besides banana include green beans (frozen are fun too for the soothing feel on the gums), soft cooked squash Mama fished out of the soup, orange slices grabbed off the big kid's snack platter, roast beef pieces, and scrambled egg. 

(If you're curious about our approach to solids right now, it's a mish mash of Baby Led Eating and real food for babies.  Only, no liver.  *shudder*  If I won't eat it, he doesn't have to!)


We are really loving our used Didymos wrap we bought.  It is far and away getting the most love of any of our carriers right now.  Micah has always liked the mei tais best, but is very partial to the wrap as well.  He grabbed Levi the other morning to squeeze in some extra daddy/baby snuggle time while getting ready for work.

(Babywearing geeks, that is a back wrap cross carry with chestbelt.  Pretty much our favorite, although I am loving the rucksack carry more and more these days, especially when wrapping in public!)

Levi is a total joy right now - I forgot how much fun this age is!  He is a very happy baby and his funny expressions and giggles are beyond adorable.  I told Micah I think I am a babyholic - each baby seems cuter than the last and each babyhood seems more precious!   :)

BIG joys and {little} sorrows

{Small} in the grand scheme of things sorrow... I have a headache.

During naptime. 

On Friday. 

I feel like there should be some kind of law against this?


Also, it is cloudy and dreary and I feel lonely and blue. 

And I have accidentally overbaked two! pans! of my very favorite chocolate chip cookies. 

And! I tweaked the recipe and it doesn't taste as good. 

BLAH.  Woe is me.  (I know, I know. I am even annoying to myself.)  Moving on!

If my husband were home he would roll his eyes at me and put his thumb and forefinger together to make the world's smallest violin.  I would laugh and feel better. 

(He would also put the kettle on and suggest I take some ibuprofen.  Hold on a sec while I do that.)

Since he is NOT home, dear internet, I am instead sobbing on your shoulder.  You're welcome.  Or click the red X in the corner of the browser.  Either way.

And yes, I am indeed such a ditz that I have to be reminded to take something for my own headaches.  Frequently! Thank goodness for my husband!  He tells me to take something for my headaches, makes me laugh when I am mad (no small talent!), buys me spray paint and chocolate, and never complains.  He is my favorite.

And thank goodness (and a sweet friend) for new to us activities tucked away for dreary days such as this.  Added points if it is educational but they are having too much fun to notice!  They loved arranging the plastic shapes inside the pattern on the laminated sheets.  Kept wanting to keep going.  So fun watching them enjoy it and feel the pride of figuring it out.  They are becoming such smart little people!

Lord, I thank you for thrifted hoodies, cute handmedowns, my video monitor set up, Earl Grey tea, the afternoon sun that is just now bursting through the clouds and through my windows, and Saturday on the horizon. Amen.

And the ibuprofen/hot tea/sweet silence of naptime is kicking in and banishing the headache.  Yay!

Time for me to go wake up some sleeping kiddos {to make sure to have a smooth bedtime!} and maybe play some play dough! :)

Ta ta, friends, and happy weekend!

Keep your eyes out for the BIG joys and remember that the {little} sorrows will pass...

Wordless Wednesday

(Summer wedding! Congrats, Erik and Amber!)

paint it turquoise! paint it turquoise!

It wouldn't be fair to Martha to blame her for my recent spray painting spree, but I do just love this cover and since it has turquoise in it it seemed a fitting photo to kick off this post!

My husband recently bought me two cans of turquoise spray paint.  So far I have painted two lamps, two dinner plates, a glass bottle and lid, a few clothespins, a disposable diaper box with the flaps cut out (they make great storage bins, they even have handles!) and the lid to a kitchen canister.  :)

I had forgotten how relaxing it is to watch something transform with paint.

How refreshing it is to create something that will stay that way... unlike the good dinner or carefully made bed or folded laundry or clean dishes, all stacked in place.

Those things all have their own unique sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, but there is an added satisfaction, for me, in knowing that unlike many of my tasks which are done over and over and over, this will stay and look good (hopefully) and not revert to it's previous state.

 Although sometimes an undo button might not be such a bad thing, like when I accidentally did not cover quite enough of the sidewalk while painting the second lamp.  A friend suggested I spray paint it grey over the turquoise, but my husband objected that it might look as if I had covered up graffiti on our sidewalk.  I refrained from saying that technically he would be within reason to consider my spraying the sidewalk turquoise as graffiti, but I think he has enough reason to roll his eyes at my liberal use of spray paint without that, thankyouverymuch.

Anyway. Without further ado, here is one of my projects that I'm particularly pleased with.  I purchased a set of two of these lamps at a garage sale for $3 quite a while ago, and we've been using one as our office lamp.  I didn't like it, though, and I had originally planned on spray painting it all white... but then I had the turquoise... and I thought it would be really cheery and fun with it.

I have a quick tip for you if you're spray painting a lamp... if you have a dead light bulb (the one in our office lamp was dead - thank you procrastination!), then put it in/leave it in before painting.  It will save you the trouble of masking the round hole there to keep from gunking up the light bulb socket! I saved the turquoise bulb from the first lamp and used it on the second.

I love it.  :)  It makes me smile to see it, especially since I switched out the (rather staid) shade that had been on it with this funky one.  It seems to fit with the turquoise better.

Have you revamped anything lately?  :)  Do you think one can ever have too much turquoise?  And do you know of anything that needs sprayed turquoise?

'Cause I'm looking around my house persuading myself that everything I see does not need to be turquoise... or does it...

Also, if you haven't seen House of Turquoise... :)

Some Favorite Children's Books

 Scuffy the Tugboat and His Adventures Down the River

I LOVE Scuffy. It has been one of my favorite read aloud books for many, many years... our copy is one I gave to one of my brothers many Christmases ago, and he passed it on to our little ones so it could give more enjoyment.  I love the storyline -  Scuffy is discontent where he is, so he sails off to find adventure, and then realizes that he really does need the man with the polka dot tie and his son, and wishes that he were back with them... and just as he is entering the ocean, which has no beginning or end, the man and his son scoop him up and he is safe again.

 

                                  One of our board book favorites is Barnyard Dance!  It was a gift to Nathan when he was born, and we've loved it ever since. It has a fun rhythm and shows all the different farm animals dancing.  It has a lot of "moo" and other animal noises, which makes it a toddler favorite, and the fun pictures also make it a good book to entertain the baby during church.

 "Bounce with the bunny.  Strut with the duck.  Spin with the chickens now- CLUCK CLUCK CLUCK!"


We also have another board book by Sandra Boynton called The Going-To-Bed Book- it is fun and is our current diaper bag book, for distracting and calming a wiggly little one in church or elsewhere. :)


It has a really fun cadence to it as well...

"And down once more, but not so fast, they're on their way to bed at last.
The day is done.  They say good night, and somebody turns off the light."


And of course, we love the classic kid books...
- Green Eggs and Ham,  Bears On Wheels, Make Way for Ducklings, The Little Engine That Could, Corduroy



As you can see, we're bookworms, and it seems to be passing on to the next generation!  I think we better get some more bookcases soon, because these are all  full already...  are any of these your favorite stories too?  Have any others we should put on our library/wish list? :)

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More Miriam :-)

(All dressed up for her second Sunday)

Miriam Rose

Sunday night, Miriam Rose was born peacefully at home, weighing 7 lbs 8oz, and measuring 20 1/2 inches long.

Christmas clearance...

I just bought plain blue and green gift bags, white tissue paper, gold wrapping paper with black swirls, and vanilla candles all at 75% off at my local Walmart. If the Christmas wrapping paper gets any lower (than it's current 25 cents) I might pick some up, but we have a few started rolls that will probably see us through next year. We also got four light sets, since the tree seemed a bit lacking in the light department this year. At 75% off, that was the same as buying just one set before Christmas! I was also tempted by the lovely red paper plates with white snowflakes, and matching napkins... those will definitely add a bit of fun flair to Christmas next year!