Is Gemma's newest word. Dinner prep time continues to be the hardest time of the day- she can frequently be found face down crying on the kitchen floor or parked in front of the refrigerator pointing at various food items she'd like you to put in her mouth. That is, until last week. She was standing up on a kitchen chair in order to supervise and come up with her best strategy to create maximum chaos. John pulled a bag of shredded cheese from the fridge and set it on the counter.
Gemma: cheese (points vigorously at bag)
Mom and dad: jaws dropped
Gemma (more loudly): cheese! ( pronounced "chee...s")
M&d: (scrambling to get the girl some chee...s already)
Sent from my iPhone
Monday, September 23, 2013
Friday, September 20, 2013
My day off
I don't work on Fridays, so in a way, it is my day off. Here is one example of how I spend my days off:
7am: up with the kids. They are fighting about who is strong enough to lift Gemma out of her crib. When I arrive at lightening speed (a good 50m dash to start the day off right), they have rigged up several totes and a play desk in order to accomplish their task. Creative, right?
7:10-feed kids
7:25-Dishes, clean up
7:40 -chase kids into clothes. Help kids make their bed and brush their teeth. Decide to drive William to school as we are cutting it close on time.
7:55- Walking through the kitchen feels like taking a walk on the beach due to the crumbs. Sweep kitchen. Halfway through, Gemma decides the broom is the most hilarious toy ever. A 10 minute task becomes a 25 minute one. While waiting for her to be done playing with the broom, I notice the windows are super dirty and covered with window markers. I clean all the windows in the kitchen. Then I resume sweeping.
8:20 poopy diaper
8:25 Argue with Amelia about her hair. I prefer to see her face. She prefers to have her hair long and in her face a la Rapunzel. She concedes to a braid and then pulls it out. I finally arrive at a barrette compromise, but it does not match her shirt. I'd like to tell you this isn't the end of the world, but in truth it makes me CRAZY.
8:30 Brush my teeth, hair in ponytail, contact, yoga pants, ready to go
8:35 quickly put together the box of sorted items to drop off at the church garage sale.
8:40 chase kids into shoes, load van
8:50- Drop William off at school
9:00- Bring Amelia to her Spanish class that meets at her preschool. When I open the door to unload her, I discover Gemma has thrown up. Amelia has no idea when/how/why this has happened. There isn't a lot, but it has covered a large area including carseat, straps, shirt and pants. I strip Gemma to her diaper and wipe the seat with wipes. I walk Amelia to her Spanish class with Gemma wearing only her diaper and favorite red shoes.
9:10 Try to figure out how to put Gemma in the carseat with out getting yuckiness on her (or me).
9:20- Drop off box of items at church garage sale.
9:30 - Arrive home. Scrub carseat some more. Gather Gemma from the side of the house when I notice she has stepped in dog poop. Dog poop in our yard again. Her favorite red sandals have dog poop on them....
9:31 Gemma in the tub. Scrub her up clean. Scrub her sandals while she plays in the tub.
9:40- Gemma dressed, sandals are drying
9:41 Bleach and scrub the bathtub and sink.
9:50- Load Gemma back into the carseat with towels around her to prevent yuck touching.
9:55 Pick up Amelia.
10:00 Arrive back home again. Disassemble carseat and find enough crumbs to feed a small country. Wash carseat components, vacuum carseat. Wipe off seat in the van.
10:30 Make a call to the local animal control people. We are talking about 10+ years of dog poop in my yard.
10:40 read books to the girls
10:55 hang up carseat components so they will be dry when it is time to collect William this afternoon.
11:00 realize Gemma's carseat is nearing expiration, make a mental note to start looking for a new seat for Gemma.
11:05 start another load of laundry
11:15 make lunch for Gemma. Gemma refuses to eat.
11:25 make lunch for Amelia. Gemma falls asleep in her high chair.
11:30 Gemma to her crib.
11:35 Amelia refuses to eat the lovely beans I made her for lunch. She insists on carrots. Wash, cut and prep carrots.
11:40 Amelia and I eat lunch together. As a special Friday treat, I am having a sliced apple and exactly 1 T of peanut butter (operation pants fit better is underway) along with my turkey wrap. Amelia swipes an apple and half of my peanut butter in one bite. I decide it is too much work to get more.
....and it's only NOON! Can you imagine the relaxing activities I have planned for this afternoon? (includes laundry sorting, folding, exercise, showering, and MAYBE a few stolen moments with my new library book.)
Sent from my iPhone
7am: up with the kids. They are fighting about who is strong enough to lift Gemma out of her crib. When I arrive at lightening speed (a good 50m dash to start the day off right), they have rigged up several totes and a play desk in order to accomplish their task. Creative, right?
7:10-feed kids
7:25-Dishes, clean up
7:40 -chase kids into clothes. Help kids make their bed and brush their teeth. Decide to drive William to school as we are cutting it close on time.
7:55- Walking through the kitchen feels like taking a walk on the beach due to the crumbs. Sweep kitchen. Halfway through, Gemma decides the broom is the most hilarious toy ever. A 10 minute task becomes a 25 minute one. While waiting for her to be done playing with the broom, I notice the windows are super dirty and covered with window markers. I clean all the windows in the kitchen. Then I resume sweeping.
8:20 poopy diaper
8:25 Argue with Amelia about her hair. I prefer to see her face. She prefers to have her hair long and in her face a la Rapunzel. She concedes to a braid and then pulls it out. I finally arrive at a barrette compromise, but it does not match her shirt. I'd like to tell you this isn't the end of the world, but in truth it makes me CRAZY.
8:30 Brush my teeth, hair in ponytail, contact, yoga pants, ready to go
8:35 quickly put together the box of sorted items to drop off at the church garage sale.
8:40 chase kids into shoes, load van
8:50- Drop William off at school
9:00- Bring Amelia to her Spanish class that meets at her preschool. When I open the door to unload her, I discover Gemma has thrown up. Amelia has no idea when/how/why this has happened. There isn't a lot, but it has covered a large area including carseat, straps, shirt and pants. I strip Gemma to her diaper and wipe the seat with wipes. I walk Amelia to her Spanish class with Gemma wearing only her diaper and favorite red shoes.
9:10 Try to figure out how to put Gemma in the carseat with out getting yuckiness on her (or me).
9:20- Drop off box of items at church garage sale.
9:30 - Arrive home. Scrub carseat some more. Gather Gemma from the side of the house when I notice she has stepped in dog poop. Dog poop in our yard again. Her favorite red sandals have dog poop on them....
9:31 Gemma in the tub. Scrub her up clean. Scrub her sandals while she plays in the tub.
9:40- Gemma dressed, sandals are drying
9:41 Bleach and scrub the bathtub and sink.
9:50- Load Gemma back into the carseat with towels around her to prevent yuck touching.
9:55 Pick up Amelia.
10:00 Arrive back home again. Disassemble carseat and find enough crumbs to feed a small country. Wash carseat components, vacuum carseat. Wipe off seat in the van.
10:30 Make a call to the local animal control people. We are talking about 10+ years of dog poop in my yard.
10:40 read books to the girls
10:55 hang up carseat components so they will be dry when it is time to collect William this afternoon.
11:00 realize Gemma's carseat is nearing expiration, make a mental note to start looking for a new seat for Gemma.
11:05 start another load of laundry
11:15 make lunch for Gemma. Gemma refuses to eat.
11:25 make lunch for Amelia. Gemma falls asleep in her high chair.
11:30 Gemma to her crib.
11:35 Amelia refuses to eat the lovely beans I made her for lunch. She insists on carrots. Wash, cut and prep carrots.
11:40 Amelia and I eat lunch together. As a special Friday treat, I am having a sliced apple and exactly 1 T of peanut butter (operation pants fit better is underway) along with my turkey wrap. Amelia swipes an apple and half of my peanut butter in one bite. I decide it is too much work to get more.
....and it's only NOON! Can you imagine the relaxing activities I have planned for this afternoon? (includes laundry sorting, folding, exercise, showering, and MAYBE a few stolen moments with my new library book.)
Sent from my iPhone
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Note to self
When Amelia is 14, crawl into her bed at 5:30am. Put your ice cold feet on her legs and then proceed to recite the pledge of allegiance in your most patriotic voice over and over again.
Sent from my iPhone
Sent from my iPhone
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Bye bye
Gemma says bye bye in the video- she is SO SO adorable I can hardly stand it. She says bye bye and I can't resist scooping her up and covering her day cheeks with kisses. So adorable.
Kind of helps erase the fact she brought a bouncy ball into the grocery store in her hand and then let it looked in the crowded cracker aisle. While I chased it up and down the aisle, she took the opportunity to unload the cart onto the floor. All somehow managed while she was buckled in.
Kind of helps erase the fact she brought a bouncy ball into the grocery store in her hand and then let it looked in the crowded cracker aisle. While I chased it up and down the aisle, she took the opportunity to unload the cart onto the floor. All somehow managed while she was buckled in.
Monday, September 16, 2013
5 Month Appointment
Current stats:
Height:32.75 inches (off the charts, over 100%ile for kids in her age group)
Weight: 24lbs 4 oz (85%ile for kids in her age group)
Head: 18.74 inches (90%ile for her age group)
In general, there weren't any real concerns about her growth and development, although I had to giggle when he warned me about the molars she would start cutting "any day now". She has had those molars for the last 3-4 months or perhaps longer. Gemma had her 3 shots and took it like a champ - she cried during but quit right away. She quit crying immediately and then continued to send very dirty looks towards the nurse.
The biggest issue we had was waiting for the appointment. Gemma had 2 tasks on her agenda:
1. Lick all the toys in the sick waiting area. Then the floor.
2. Crawl/wiggle behind the giant fish task in the waiting room. Then play with the wires. Or attempt to climb into the tank itself.
You'll be shocked to find I wasn't on board with her plans and thwarted her at every turn. Or tried at least. The secretaries behind the counter did their best, but at one point both of them were laughing out loud at her antics while she was trying to climb out of my arms with little regard for her own safety.
During her running, I noticed her poor little toenail fell off :( Poor baby! You'll all be glad to know I did not collect the nail for her baby book. Your welcome Gemma. No gross toenail legacy for you.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Uh oh....
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
William's hair
I tried to talk him out of it because his hair is uncooperative. It is super thick and in its current long stat, I don't think it will stay up. It's just too long.
He was not convinced, so we gave it a try. He kept telling me it wasn't right and I went to comb it down when he finally said "yes!!!!! Just like that!" So we went with a spiky spike look. Or whatever you'd call this.
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