Halloween recap

For the second year in a row, C was a bumblebee. He liked it, I liked it (it was a hand-me-down so I love the free part even more) so we had a winner. He wore it all day - we went to visit my Grandma in the morning so she could see the kids in their costumes - and took his nap in it and wanted to wear it to bed.

I wasn't planning to take C trick-or-treating - DH was out of town, and my sister R and her almost-fiance B were here to help with the kids and pass out treats. So, C was dressed in his costume and eating dinner and snacks, and at one point during the evening said with much excitement after one group of kids came by that he wanted to go trick-or-treating! He needed his shoes!" Find shoes! Put shoes on! Go trick-or-treating!" My sis said they would be fine if I wanted to take him to a few houses, so off we went!

We went across the street to the sweet older couple (one of the neighbors thinks they are in their 90s - I think maybe mid-late 80s) who had set up some folding chairs in their garage with a big box of treats between them. It was raining outside, and we still got a pretty good turnout. Maybe 30ish kids or more? I forgot to count. (We usually had in the single digits in VA, and some years none at all.) Anyway, back to trick-or-treating. We headed out, and C happily went across the street with his pumpkin in hand. He was so excited; it was very cute! I hadn't officially met the neighbors yet, but they were happy to see us and the woman said she and her husband had planned to stop over when there was a lull to introduce themselves. We chatted for a few minutes and C received 2 bags of chips. After we turned around to leave, C saw some other kids headed to our front door. He headed straight back home yelling "I trick-or-treated!!! I trick-or-treated!!!!" He didn't seem at all interested in going anywhere else, so we just stayed at the house where he ate his 2 bags of chips, and a short while later went to bed.

Happy as a clam with his chips!

Meanwhile, G hung out in her flower costume and smiled, and eventually just hung out in her bumbo. She is such a good baby!

And as I'm typing this, C wanted to come sit with me so he's on my lap, and after seeing the
photos, told me that when R and B came over, he ate hummus. Yup, that was one of the snacks. Oh, the things he remembers! :)

Hope you all had a nice Halloween! Can you believe it's November??

Conversations (3)

Apparently I am terrible at leaving drafts unpublished. I found this one from way back in the fall - hence the Jack-o-Lantern song!... it still makes me smile. :)

C during breakfast:
"I go for a walk.
I find a stick.
I play the cello."

Lately he's been pausing after he finds said stick to sit somewhere while I sing the Jack-o-Lantern song and he plays the air cello.

Yes, definitely the son of a musician! :)

Me to C while feeding G -
Me: C, will you go get G's blue chair for me downstairs?
(DH and I read in one of our books that kids need to take a moment to process things before they can respond, so I waited patiently until I saw his face light up that he understood.
C turned around to head downstairs then he turned back and said "Pleeeeease?" (as a reminder to me to say please!)
Me: Yes, sorry, please!!


C: Bong, bong, bong, bong
Me: Are you a clock?
C: Bong, bong, bong, bong.... good grief!! (And then I think he said something about "o'clock".)
I couldn't figure out for the life of me where he got that... until I was reading a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and it's in part of the book. Oh, the things they focus on!


C: (looking at one of those black and white picture book for babies) Baby Hedgehog!
Me: What did you say?
C: Baby hedgehog!!
Me: thinking for a minute... oh my goodness! The velcro fastener! He has a touch-and-feel baby animal book and the last page is a baby hedgehog... you guessed it, it feels like a piece of velcro!

October Fun - 2.5 and 6 months!

It's so hard to believe, but our sweet girl is 6 months as of Saturday! She is such an amazing baby - she's calm and rarely fussy except when she's hungry and we're not moving fast enough to get the bottle, and if she's tired or has a messy diaper. Other than that, she's very low-key.

6 months old!

He keeps poking at her cheeks to "help her smile"

C often asks to hold G. It's so sweet. And he never wants to let her go!

Sometimes she grabs his ear, which makes him laugh.

We had fun this past weekend at the pumpkin patch - C loves pumpkins lately and points them out anytime he sees one. :) Here are some shots of our afternoon:

picture of all of us looking at the camera? nope.

he cracks me up :)

He wanted nothing to do with riding in the wagon until we pulled it all the way back down to the car.
At the car he wanted to get in. DH let him ride in it back to the drop-off. Toddlers. :)

Thank goodness for continuous shooting mode so I have a chance of getting at least a few good shots! :) I also purchased a few mini pumpkins and gourds for decorations. C decided that one of the pumpkins needed to take a nap with him. Into the bed it went! Again, toddlers. :)

Stats for G at 6 months:
Still a little peanut but I'm loving her chubby cheeks and chubby thighs! :) Weight - around 14 pounds I think? We'll see in 2 weeks. Still loving her homemade formula but going to try sweet potatoes this week to see how she does! She eats between 6 and 7 oz, 4 times a day. Twice in the morning, once after her afternoon nap, and right before bed. Sleeps - FANTASTIC. I cannot imagine a better baby. She takes a quick 20-30 minute nap mid-morning, another nap in the afternoon for 2 1/2-3 hours and goes down for the night between 7-7:30. And she sleeps ALL night. 12-13 hours usually. She's been doing since almost 3 months old. I wish I was a little more disciplined to go to bed earlier to take advantage of it, haha. :) She's gotten much better at tolerating tummy time, and has been rolling over to her back for a while now, and is so close to rolling from back to tummy. I thought she might have once, but then I wasn't sure if C "helped"! She loves to lay on her back on her play mat. She's been sitting in the high chair next to us at dinner which she seems to like more than the bouncer. Maybe she wanted to be at our level? Like her brother, she's been super healthy, but also like her brother, she is going to need a helmet. She started developing a flat spot around 2 months, and despite repositioning, she has a pretty substantial flat spot. We had it evaluated last week and hopefully will get her star band later this week or early next. Of all the things to be upset about, this is definitely not one of them. I'm going to miss the close snuggles, but cannot complain after seeing what so many parents go through with their children. Also of note, we also had our home study meeting this morning - we had to update our home study since we moved, and we are praying that our attorney will be able to file for finalization in early November. In PA we have to appear in court for finalization (we didn't have to appear in VA), and we are then praying for a court date before the end of the year! This morning's meeting went really well! We have been so fortunate with our agency.

Stats for C at 2 1/2 years:
Height - 3 feet. Weight - pretty steady around 33/34 pounds. Potty training- we tried a few weeks ago, but he was definitely not ready for underwear. He was happy to sit on the potty, get up and wash his hands, then sit back down, but nothing in the potty yet. Since we were using a kids seat on the big potty, I bought kids potty to see if he likes it better. When we brought it home he wanted his underwear, but it was right before nap time so that was out. Our weekend schedule is pretty light in a few weeks so we may try again then when DH & I can both be home all day. Things he likes - hockey (playing with Daddy), soccer (he and Daddy often play after work while I'm getting dinner ready), and taking walks outside. He loves picking up rocks and sticks, and the sticks are still often his "cello bow". He still is content to sit and listen to music - or me play the piano - and "play cello." He found my claves and drumsticks last week and those have entered into the "cello bow" rotation. :) He eats and eats and eats - he has so much energy and loves to dance around. His vocabulary and comprehension is soaring - it's amazing the things he remembers- just the other day he asked me if I remembered something about the old house (in VA). More than anything he loves seeing his aunties and Grandma and Granddad, and Nana and playing with some of my youngest cousins (one is 5 years older than him!). He has his toddler moments - the lightning changes in mood can drive me crazy :) - but overall is just a very happy kid and it is so fun to see him grow and change. He also loves going to Mass - tells me he's taking my keys and car to "go to church". He can say the Our Father without prompting, and most of the Hail Mary and Glory Be. He can never go down for a nap or bed without saying his prayers, and he loves the Guardian Angel prayer too. He finds Crosses everywhere. He saw one as part of the stairwell in a church we visited recently and went over to kiss it. Oh, he melts my heart!!

Happy 6 months and 2 1/2 years to our sweet kiddos! Time is moving so quickly!!

Photos of C and G :)

Aren't you glad it's Friday? This year DH's company changed some of their vacation policies so this year he gets the national holidays off. It was nice to have a short week! :) This weekend we're going to try to get out (as long as it doesn't rain) to pick pumpkins. Other than that, we don't have plans. I'm looking forward to getting a few things hung around the house - a mirror in the dining room and some other art/photos.

And now for a few photos of C & G! I realized I haven't been as good at taking photos of G as I did of C (poor second child) so I've been making an effort to take more. Keeping my camera in an accessible place helped. :) They change so quickly and I don't want to miss anything!

a sweet little girl found her sweet little toes!

tummy time

G, let me help you smile

Stop it, C! (not happy about the help)

See, I can smile when I want to!

Happy Friday - hope you all have a great weekend! :)

HWFD: Chicken Tortellini soup & Apple Cake

It's been a while since I posted any recipes, as but as we head into fall around here I'm thinking more about yummy soups and stews and apple desserts!

Last night for dinner I made an old favorite - one I hadn't made since we went gluten free 4 years ago! It's from the Cooking Light Super Fast Suppers cookbook.

source and recipe here

I purchased these GF cheese tortellini which became available at a local store only recently. The company will ship all over, with their pasta packaged in dry ice. They're expensive, but for the occasional splurge, I felt they were worth it! I served the soup with toasted "pita" bread. I used an Udi's frozen pizza crust, rubbed a bit of olive oil on it, and sprinkled a little of Penzey's Brady Street Cheese Sprinkle on top. Yum!!

For dessert last weekend I made this apple cake recipe. And then, since it was gone 3 days later, I made another one. :) It's super easy and so moist and delicious! :) 

source and recipe here

I did not follow this recipe exactly - I was out of cinnamon the first time I made it, so I used 1.5 tsp of pumpkin pie spice mix to replace the cinnamon and cardamom. It was perfect. I also didn't glaze it or do the swirl exactly as directed; I ran out of time before naptime was over! After I smoothed out the batter in the pie pan, I lightly drizzled honey over the top and shook a little more of the pumpkin pie spice over it. It was sweet enough without the glaze, although it sure looks pretty in the photo! :)

Enjoy! 

Conversations (1)

Conversation #1:

C was holding a little pocket mirror of mine that lately is his "phone." He holds it up to his ear and talks away. Today I heard him saying as he looked at it "checking email." He was moving his little thumb over the surface as if he was typing. I asked him to tell me what he was doing and clear as day he said "checking email."

Conversation #2 (a few minutes later)

C while looking at the "phone" and holding it to his mouth "Call. Call mobile." Apparently I use the voice dial feature more often than I thought! After a while he said "Call. Call. Grandma." And then - and at this point I died laughing - "Call. Call. Parrot." Yup. He wanted to call the Pirate Parrot, who is apparently his BFF since we met him at the ALS walk a few weeks ago.

I will add that he also met Iceburg last Saturday at the Pens practice that was open to the public. He didn't call Iceburg, but he does remember that he blew him a kiss.

2 year olds! They are too funny!

G's birth story, Part 2

To read Part 1, go here.

After my mom told the family she would name baby girl, we laughed and told everyone we would have a name for them by the evening. We just wanted to see her one more time. Then we asked my mom what name she would give her. DH was in the kitchen area eating and feeding C his breakfast and I was down the hall fixing my hair. She started by telling us this story:

The week before Easter I was at one of the local parishes for confession. While I was waiting in line, I saw what appeared to be a tapestry of the image of the Divine Mercy. As I looked closer, I realized that in each square of fabric was an image of an unborn baby. Nearby was a sheet that asked people to name the unborn babies--babies who had been aborted. Since it wasn't my parish, I didn't write down a name, but as I stood there, I thought about what name I would give one of the babies. All of a sudden, the name G came to my mind. It wasn't a name I had thought about before, but I thought it was perfect. And then I thought, wouldn't it be something if (here she named DH & me) we named the baby G! I know you (DH & me) have never discussed names with me, but I thought it was such a pretty name. I thought wouldn't it be pretty to have her name be "G.G." Then I thought about it, and I didn't like "G.G" as a nickname, so I decided "C" would be a better middle name. "G. C." was better.

At this point in the story, I was glad I was in the other room and not trying to keep a straight face! I went in, looked at DH wondering if he wanted to reveal her name. We decided not to (although apparently my mom saw "the look" but then quickly dismissed it).

After breakfast, DH & I headed back to the hospital while my mom spent the rest of the morning with C. We decided that later in the day, DH would bring C & my mom to the hospital so they could both meet her.

We stayed in the family waiting room after we arrived at the hospital and gave baby girl her next feeding and watched while her hearing screening was done. It was a quiet day, holding and feeding her, watching her sleep and briefly open her eyes.

Mid-afternoon, DH returned to the hotel to pick up C and my mom. I waited while baby girl slept peacefully. When they arrived, DH brought C over to the bassinet and picked him up. He said "C - meet your new little sister! Can you say "G.M.?" At that point my mom got tears in her eyes and said "did you really pick that name?!!" When we told her we had, she said "I like that middle name the best."

Later that night (it was still Friday although it certainly felt like more than a day had passed!), DH took C and my mom back to the hotel and stopped to pick up dinner for us on the way back. We stayed as late as we could and decided again to get one more "good" night's sleep. On Saturday we watched all the baby safety DVD's mandated by the state and spent most of the day with her, and C and my mom again came for a visit. C was adored by all the nurses, who got a good laugh every time C would bolt out of the room and make a break for it down the hall. We're not sure where he was trying to go, except to perhaps explore! :) Again, that night, DH picked up dinner for us after my mom and C left, and that night the nurses were able to give me a room so I could spent the night with our sweet girl. She woke up every 2 hours or so--I didn't sleep much - I can never fall asleep easily, so she woke me up right after I fell asleep each time, but clearly I didn't care a bit! Early Sunday morning, DH picked me up at the hospital so we could get to Mass (Feast of the Divine Mercy) and so I could go back to the hotel to shower. We were back at the hospital before noon and we waited to make sure baby G passed her car seat test (she did!) and talked to the doctor and nurses and soon we were ready to be discharged!

Waiting for all the paperwork to be signed!

back at the hotel

proud big brother!

We did have to wait until after her follow up appointment and blood work the next morning before we could head to my parent's house. Fortunately the blood work the next morning was fine, and she weighed in fine at her appointment, so we ended up having C ride back with my mom and DH drove while I sat with baby G in the back seat.

We ended up getting clearance through interstate 3 days later (though I must confess my heart stopped when we got the call that we were cleared - we had just gotten to daily Mass that Thursday when my phone rang, and I saw our agency on the caller ID. I stepped out and called the agency back, and was so relieved when I was told that we had cleared interstate. I was so afraid G's birthmother had changed her mind! We still decided to stay a few days so that DH's family could meet her before we headed home.

Four (plus) months later... we are so in love with our sweet girl. We have been so blessed by the gift of her life!!