Nerdy Boys

The boys are wearing my reading glasses.  Is this how they'll look in 10 years?

Julia on the Swing

She is loving it.

Daddy

On a ferry in San Francisco.

Denise

Andrew took this picture of me.

Andrew

Stevie

Pulling up!

Lots of posts about Julia lately; she is developing so quickly!  Today I walked into the living room and found her like this:

Yesterday saying Mama, today pulling to a stand; will she be walking tomorrow?

Baby's first word is . . .

Mama!

I attempted to put Julia down for a nap this morning.  As she was crying in the other room, suddenly the boys and I heard an intelligible sound.  Andrew said, "Mommy, Julia just said Mama!  She can talk!"

She has been practicing her new word all day.  I am impressed with my daughter.  She can not only sit up, crawl, and pull up to her knees, but can say one word, and all at six months.  She is definitely the most advanced baby I've had.  And look at this: she can even help with the laundry!

I am very proud of my little girl.  Hearing her call for me by name is very endearing.  Good job, Julia!

Tire Swing

Jimmy came home early from work the other day and made an temporary tire swing for the boys. They had a blast, especially Stephen.

More Brotherly Love

I came into the living room after breakfast this morning to find the boys quietly reading together on the chair.  I wish they were this easy all the time!

Brotherly Love

The boys love their little sister.

I am going to miss this...

On Friday the children and I had a great time at the beach.  It was actually one of the best outings we've had.  We started off digging in the sand.  I let them bring a large truck each, along with all the sand toys, which made for a crowded stroller on the way down, but lots of fun once we got there.

Sitting on the sand by the water on a cool, sunny day is the ultimate relaxation.  I have spent many mornings doing this these last six years while we've lived in this house.  I am really going to miss the beach when we move.

After digging, the boys engaged in one of their favorite activities, throwing rocks into the water.  The horseshoe crabs were ashore, and we watched them creep along in their slow, clumsy way.

We went on a little beach rock climbing adventure after digging in the sand.  Andrew, the cautious one, surprised me by climbing like a little monkey over the rocks.  There have been a few times when I've looked at Andrew and thought, "Now he is really in his element."  The first was when we went hiking.  I often think it when he is watching trucks.  I certainly thought it as I watched him climb over the rocks.  It was easy for him and so much fun.

Stephen did not have the same success on the rocks so I don't have any pictures of him.  Maybe later this summer when he is bigger.

Julia and I made it up the rocks.  This is an urban beach.  Behind us is the sidewalk and a very busy road.  I have trained the kids well when it comes to traffic.

Julia had so much fun that she fell asleep immediately.  This was also her first ride in the double stroller.  I've been carrying her in the sling with the two boys in the stroller.  Andrew walked to the beach this time, and the two young ones shared the stroller.  Things went pretty well, though Andrew was tired by the time we got home.  It was about a half mile walk, in addition to the walking on sand and climbing on rocks.

I am going to get to the beach as much as I can in the next weeks.  I will greatly miss it this summer!

Baby's First Food

Having turned six months this week, Julia had her first taste of solid foods today.  I've started all my babies on mashed banana instead of the usual rice cereal, because rice cereal just tastes gross.  I don't want to feed my baby something I wouldn't eat myself.

As you can see from the pictures, Julia enjoyed the experience.  Andrew was sitting next to her and wanted me to take a picture of him eating too.

Baby's First Haircut

Yesterday at the beach I met a mom who is a hairdresser.  Julia was starting to sport a baby mini-mullet.  The other mom suggested I cut it in the back a little to even it out.  So today we broke out the scissors and gave it a trim.  Afterwards she had her first blow-dry.  Andrew actually took some of these pictures.

Before:

During (taken by Andrew):

After:

I tried to layer it a little in the back to hide the thin spot babies get from the early months of constant recline.  I also trimmed the bangs so she can wear them down or swept to the side.  What do you think?  Leave me some comments.

Beach Baby

Julia's first trip the the beach yesterday!  She enjoyed it, especially the eating sand part.  I found some sand in her diaper this morning.  Is that good for the digestive tract?

Summer Baby

Julia enjoying the beautiful weather at the park.

Chocolate PB Sandwiches

I have been cooking/baking a lot lately.  We recently made chocolate snickerdoodles, which are a basic snickerdoodle recipe with 1/2 cup cocoa powder substituted for 1/2 cup flour.  Andrew shaped the dough into balls and Stephen rolled them in cinnamon sugar .  After they were baked, I spread peanut butter between two cookies to make a sandwich.  Delicious!

Popcorn for Snack

The kids and I often have popcorn for our afternoon snack.  No, we don't make the carcinogenic microwave version.  We make our popcorn on the stovetop.  It is best to use a very heavy pan or dutch oven with a lid; I use my deep cast iron skillet.  Simply add 1-2 Tbsp oil, 1/4-1/2 cup corn kernels, set heat to medium, place lid slightly ajar, and enjoy the popping sounds.  If you take the lid off during popping, the kids enjoy seeing the popping corn fly into the air.  I top popcorn with lots of salt and sometimes a little sugar.  It is a delicious, healthy snack that's also fun to eat.

Dark Chocolate

I love dark chocolate.    I think it deserves a place in everyone's diet, even if they are on a diet.  Breakfast is my favorite time of day to enjoy it.  Lately I've been making a dark chocolate dip for strawberries and bananas for my breakfast.  It is basically a buttercream frosting recipe with much less sugar:

1 tsp butter, melted

3 tsp cocoa powder

1 tsp powdered sugar

few grains salt

few drops vanilla

1 1/2 tsp half & half

Melt butter, stir in cocoa, sugar, and salt, and then add liquids.  Enjoy with your favorite fruit.  You can add more sugar if you don't like it quite so dark.

Julia's New Room

Julia has long outgrown her bassinet, and when she started trying to pull up to a stand in it, I decided it was time to move her to the crib.  Yesterday the boys and I set up her new room.  We've just been using this room as storage, but having it as a bedroom really makes the house feel bigger.  Not surprisingly.  There still are some book boxes in the corner of the room.  We won't have these in her room at the new apartment (which is still unfound, in case you were wondering.  Our new move-out date is June 1.).  So here is a photo:

Jimmy scored this beautiful rug for her.  It is from Williams Sonoma and in good condition.  It's in my favorite color and extremely plush.  This is one of two similar rugs he scored; the other will go in our bedroom.  Thanks, Jimmy!

I am excited for Julia to finally use her crib.  I spent a lot of time picking it out and really like it.  She looks excited about it too.

Last night was her first in the crib.  She slept from 7:00pm til 5:30am.  We all woke this morning unusually refreshed.  Now I just need to get over missing my girl in the bassinet right next to me.

New Haircut

Before:

After:
I got a new haircut for my birthday.  Not too different, just a little shorter and with long bangs.  I wanted short bangs but wimped out at the last minute.  I may go back and have her shorten the bangs after all.  If I have time.

Baby and Daddy

Jimmy is such a good daddy to our children.  Julia was so comfortable in his arms here that she fell asleep.

More Happy Steve

I can't tell you how relieved I am to finally have Stephen happy again.  The last month was very difficult.  Here he is singing in his "microphone."  It is the bracket for the hand rail that fell off on the stairs.  He spends a lot of time singing enthusiastically into this microphone.

Here is his dinosaur tattoo.  It's funny that Stephen loves dinosaurs so much because he is so cuddly.  He has a stuffed dinosaur that he sleeps with.  When he sees it he will roar and then hug it.  Sometimes he'll say, "Mommy, I see his scary eyes," in a cute little voice.

Almost Crawling

Julia sat up at 4 1/2 months and lately has been trying her best to crawl.  She has been able to get into the crawl position for about two weeks now.  She can jump her little knees forward from there but hasn't figured out yet how to move her hands.  Mostly she just moves backwards.  I often find her backed into the corner of a room unable to get out.

The boys enjoy demonstrating how to crawl.  They also like lying next to her and pretending to be big babies!

Julia doesn't look too enthusiastic about it.

Sick in the Spring

This spring has brought us our share of illness.  I have had mastitis, a stomach virus, and at least two colds.  The kids have had two or three colds each, Stephen had the stomach virus, Julia had an ear infection, and just today Andrew woke up with a fever.  Let's hope it's not the swine flu.

On top of all that, Stephen has been teething.  He is getting all four two-year molars at once and has not been the happiest boy.  We were getting numerous tantrums, especially around mealtime.  It has been a tough month or so with him.  The past few days, however, he has been getting much better.  He is smiling and laughing again, hugging and kissing me like he used to.  Here is a picture of my happy google today.

It really makes me feel better to see him happy again.  He is such a sweet boy when he's in a good mood.  He loves to cuddle and looks up at me with those big blue eyes.  We are glad to have you back, happy Steve!

$$$

The only good thing about the much-hyped recession is that now it's cool to save money.  Our simple-living lifestyle is finally in vogue.  I think that's a good attitude for most people to take.

Birthday

Do you know whose birthday cake this is?  Mine!  I am 27 today.  This is a Scandinavian almond cake.  It is a very simple recipe: 

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 t almond extract

2/3 cup milk

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 cup melted butter

Beat wet ingredients, add dry, and stir in butter.  Pour into greased pan into which toasted almonds have been sprinkled.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

The recipe is from Jimmy's grandfather's second wife.  It came with the house.  I've made it many times because it is so good!

Jimmy is treating me extremely well today.  He got the kids up and fed and allowed me to sleep in.  In a few minutes I am headed to the spa for a massage and haircut.  I am treating myself well too.  I bought all my favorite foods: organic dark chocolate, pure black licorice, blueberries and strawberries.  I am really enjoying my day.

Score

One of the perks of being a mover is the scores.  These are the pieces of furniture or other household items that people get rid of when moving.  Most of our house is furnished with scores.  Since Jimmy's company is the highest-end mover in the area, we've gotten some pretty nice stuff.

He recently scored this rug that we put in the boys' room.  I think it makes the room feel more comfortable and inviting.  We spend more time playing in there and less in the living room now, which helps keep the house picked up.

We also got a kids' map of the country.  The boys love hearing about different states and what they're like.  Almost every night we look at the map before bed.

Under Andrew's bed is the "garage."  Every night the boys enjoy parking their trucks, then getting them out first thing in the morning.