Kisses

I'm spending some time at my parent's house this week and one of the "fun things" all of our kids have enjoyed is the bannister along the steps that provides much entertainment. All of our kids have loved climbing the steps and putting their faces to the balusters to receive kisses from the other side.

I love this game because I love getting kisses.

Gemma and I were playing this game last night as we were getting ready for bed. She had her pajamas on and was holding/chewing on her toothbrush.

I was excited to see Gemma press her face between the slats and wait for her kiss because she is a baby on the move lately. She is a running, walking, climbing, dumping, shaking kind if active baby. She doesn't want to snuggle, cuddle or hug. She has things to do and messes to make. Any type of kiss, hug or affection is a big deal from this kiddo.

So, when she waited for a kiss, I was happy to oblige. She went up a step and then leaned in for another kiss. She thought this was hilarious. Hilarious enough she leaned in for another kiss. And again. This time, I waited with my face pressed up against the boards waiting for yet another kiss from my sweet little girl. I heard a little giggle from her that let me know she was on her way. I relaxed and shut my eyes to enjoy the bliss of this moment.

Which is when Gemma shoved her cold, wet toothbrush in my mouth. And then she laughed.

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Flying cheese

We went out to eat with my parents last night and ended up at a pizza restaurant we frequent. We gave Gemma some of the cheese and shredded carrot pieces from the salad along with some breadstick bits to eat. She happily munched on her portion until she was bored or full.

Then she banged her hands on the table.

There was white butcher paper on the table stretched along a few different tables.

The little bits flew into the air from the banging with impressive height. One more whack and suddenly the adults at the table were scrambling to cover their drinks as they were in danger of being filled with the bits of stuff from the table.

Gemma's face lit up with a smile a mile wide. Either the reaction of the adults at the table or the stunning flight of roughly 75 food particles at the same time was so entertaining! Which meant the banging/flying food continued for a good portion of the rest of our dinner. Luckily, pizza and lasagna noodles were not as aerodynamic.

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William observations

The kids are home for the summer and we have fallen into a loose routine. One goal I have is to maintain my workouts. Nothing crazy, just stay where I am at. In order to make this work, Gemma naps and the big kids watch tv. They choose a title from our netflixs choices. They go through spurts and watch the same stuff over and over again. The kids are currently in a Handy Manny kick.

( briefly, the character, Manny, has a fix it shop where he fixes thing.)

William: mom?
Mama: yes?
W: I think all the Handy Mannys seem kind of the same:
M: oh?
W: yeah. All he ever does is fix broken stuff.
M: really?
W: yup. Every single time something breaks and Manny fixes it. Weird , huh?
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A hot summer day + sippy cup=

Yuck. Super smelly yuck.

Gemma's New Ride

Gemma got a tricycle from Grandpa and Grandma McGarry. She loves to be pushed around it and William and Amelia love to push her.

Grumpy Old Troll

When we went to Lake of the Ozarks, I took the kids to a park while Kelly gave her presentation. The playground equipment had a bridge and Amelia came up with a game involving a "Grumpy Old Troll". This was the face that went along with the game.

Gemma Reading

Gemma loves to read. In addition, for some reason all out kids have found this shopping cart irresistible to sit in.