Six Months

Aubrey is now six and half months old. She's using her voice more these days, eating more foods, reaching for and grabbing anything in her reach, and still giving us so much joy with her smiles and laughter. At her well-child visit today she measured 27 in. (90th percentile) and weighed in at 16 lbs. 14 oz (75th percentile). She's put on the pounds these last two months. Time to move her out of her infant carseat that only allows for babies up to 20 lbs AND 26 inches or less--oops! Sure is nice to go to the doctor and have no questions or concerns. I'm thankful for our happy, healthy baby. She's got some swollen gums, so we should be seeing some teeth soon. Joel and Kari both got their first tooth at 7 months. She also seems to be following in the footsteps of her two siblings when it comes to her dislike (just a slight understatement) of the church nursery. We'll keep trying, but if she's anything like her brother, we'll most likely be spending the next year or so listening to the service from the hallway. There are worse things, for sure!

Sitting

Aubrey's getting better and better at sitting up.
Our bright-eyed baby.
And this is why we still put the boppy pillow around her--not totally stable yet.

Day Two

Second day of preschool a hit as well. Went pretty much the same as the first day, just a little smoother. Kari's counting down the days until she gets to go again next Thursday. Don't worry, I won't post an update every day of Kari's preschool career. It's all starting to sound the same, even on day two--painting, recess, snack, stories. Ahhh, the life! So glad she likes it.

Don't know where THAT came from

Today I took Kari to her first day of preschool. I have experienced nothing but feelings of excitement for this day and felt totally and completely unemotional...until I got back in van after taking Kari in to her classroom. It took me by surprise. It didn't take my husband by surprise. I assured him before he left for work today that I was fine and wasn't going to cry. What would I cry about? Geez.

Kari was VERY excited about going to school and just a wee bit anxious, I think. In trying to prepare her for what was to come, I'd told her I'd be waiting outside her classroom door when it was time for her to go home. I didn't realize she would take me so literally. I said something to Joel this morning about what we were going to do once we came home from dropping Kari off, and Kari piped up and said, "But Mommy, I thought you were going to be waiting in the hallway for me!" I clarified that I was not going to be in the hallway with her brother and sister for three hours, but that I would definitely be there to pick her up when it was time to go home. She was ok once she understood the plan.

Kari wasn't emotional at all--very business-like. As soon as we got there, she gave me a perfunctory hug and kiss and said, "Good-bye, Mom!" And we left.

Joel did not make a scene (something I was a little worried about since up until a few days ago, he was under the impression that he was going to school, too), but he was quite concerned that Kari wasn't in the van with us. He had such a sad, forlorn little face. The whole way home, he kept asking, "Are we going to pick up Kari NOW?" "No, Joel, not now, in a little while." "Now???" "No, not now...."

Finally, he said, "I just 'tend [pretend] Kari's here."
"Ok, you just pretend, and we'll go pick her up soon."


We had some special Joel time this morning while Aubrey took her nap. We made green slime (thanks for the recipe and idea, Michelle!). Grandma came over for a visit, and Joel played with his snakes in the slime--a great boy activity. He loved it and appreciated the fact that the slime didn't make his hands messy. :)


Kari's teacher said she did "great," which apparently was not the case with all the kids. I overheard part of her conversation with another parent whose child thought the whole morning should have been playtime.

Kari gave me a nice, calm, "Hi, Mom," said good-bye to Mrs. Weber, and was ready to head home. I had to pry information out of her, but this is what I gleaned:

--she liked her first day
--she made some new friends (retained no names)
--she liked music class and learned about instruments
--her snack was too big (she says I need to give her fewer apple slices and only half a granola bar next time)
--some of the kids were naughty and had to go to the office

We'll see what day two holds!

Wildwood Venture

We had a great time at Wildwood on Monday with a bunch of friends. The kids ran ahead of us on the trails and boardwalks all morning. We barbequed hot dogs for lunch and spent some time throwing rocks into the river. I think the kids would have continued rock-throwing all day if we'd let them. It was a blast.
Here's a link to view more photos from the day: http://picasaweb.google.com/gamoffats/WildwoodBbq#

End of the season

Well, it might be the end of the pool season. There may be a couple more warmer days, but just in case there aren't, we got in one more BBQ/swim time at G&G's house this weekend.

A little from the kids' week

Aubrey enjoying her saucer time. She "runs" in it and makes a lot of noise.













Got out the fingerpaints again. Joel was not a fan. He was done after 1 minute (long enough for me to take a photo).













The kids being silly together. Joel wore that fireman hat from Grandma's house all over town this week.













Aubrey had butternut squash for dinner. We've been busy making baby food. Greg's quite the fruit puree chef.

Welcome to the world, Baby Girl

My dear friend Jane and her husband Curtis had their baby, Rebekah Jane Lillie, 8 lbs 15 oz, 21 3/4 inches, in the wee hours of this morning, and we are so excited and happy for them!! I haven't seen a photo yet, but Jane says she has dark hair and is just beautiful. :) I wish we lived closer, because I want to see that baby!

Quite the Weekend

Greg ran in the Hood to Coast Relay this weekend on a team with a bunch of friends from church. He got back late Saturday night, and while he was hurting (all the guys were!), he had a great time, and I'm proud of him. He ran three legs, a total of almost 14 miles, and his first one was a brutal all-downhill stretch from the base of Mt. Hood. Check out the Wilson's blog for some photos of Van #1 before they left.

Meanwhile, back at home Friday night, I fell victim to the awful virus that has plagued our family for the last two weeks. I broke the Glover's (and probably many other households') mom-is-not-allowed-to-get-sick rule. It's ridiculous how long these germs survive! I washed sheets, cleaned bathrooms, disinfected surfaces all over the house this week, thinking we were finally in the clear, and then a week after Kari puked all night, it was my turn. Unbelievable.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful mother-in-law who came over to take care of the kids as soon as I made my desperate phone call Saturday morning. She's already had the bug, while my mom has managed to avoid it thus far. My mom was going to be plan B.

So, we made it through the day with help, and today is recovery for both Greg and I. He took the two older kids to church this morning, and now he's snoring away on the couch. Got to get ready for another week! :)

No longer depriving my child

Aubrey is just a few days shy of 6 months, so I decided to finally give her some real food, and she liked it! I waited, for my own convenience, until after our vacations to start her on solids. She's waking up once or twice a night now (started when we were at the beach), so I'm hoping maybe this will help. I've heard it doesn't really, but we'll see. So, now it's time to start making baby food while all this fresh produce is in season!

I gave her the first few bites, and then we let Kari feed her, something Kari's been waiting to do since Aubrey was born. Kari did a great job. I'm assuming the novelty will wear off eventually, but in the meantime, we have an eager helper.

She never really smiled while she was eating, but she ate it as fast as we could shovel it in, and when it was gone, she cried, so we gave her some more.

Yumm!

Super Readers

Kari and Joel signed up in June for the library's Summer Reading Program, and today we went in to turn over our booklets and get the last prize. Upon arrival, we found out, much to Kari's disappointment, that the last leg of the program gives you a t-shirt (or $5 book coupon) and not a prize from the box as the previous three legs do. I should have remembered that from last year, but I didn't. It became yet another teachable moment in flexibility for Kari when things don't go the way she would like them to go or the way she thinks it should be. It was a little unfortunate (or rather, embarrassing) that it had to be in a public place in front of a well-meaning library volunteer, but we're trying hard to work on this issue right now, so it comes when it comes. As we were walking away from the table, (Kari still unhappy, but now quietly resigned to the t-shirt) the quick-thinking volunteer asked if we'd enrolled the baby, because if she was enrolled then she could have three prizes (ie, the kids would get to pick a prize after all--for Aubrey, of course). I hadn't planned on enrolling our 6 month old in the library's Summer Reading program, but before we left the library today, she was enrolled and rewarded for her participation with 2 bottles of bubbles, a beanie baby panda, and a t-shirt of her very own. Doesn't she look pleased?

All choked up

I've been very teary today. It started this morning when I got the call that Paul and Karyn had their baby, a boy--Philip Samuel. I cried happy tears, so excited for them. Then this afternoon Aubrey was having a difficult time sleeping, so I held her, trying to get her to calm down. I rocked with her, and she fell asleep on my shoulder (very rare now that she naps in her crib). Tears rolled down my cheek for the second time today as I held her and thought about my baby growing up. I'm enjoying her babyhood so much, maybe because she's such a sweet little thing, or maybe just because I know she may be our last. Whatever the reason, I know I don't want it to go by quickly. Our first baby is headed to preschool in a couple weeks, so even though some days with our three little kids seem to creep along, I know the time will speed by.

I took this photo after I put her back in her crib this afternoon. See her little frown? She's sad about growing up, too. (Actually, she just didn't appreciate the flash from my camera.)



The way this day is going, I'll probaby cry watching the Olympics tonight, too. I think I'm a little sleep deprived, as we were up all Saturday night with poor vomiting Kari (this bug just never ends). Aubrey and I are the only ones who haven't gotten sick yet. There may be more tears in the coming days. Let's hope not.

Seaside Beach Trip

It was a wild and crazy time with the Moffats this last week in Seaside--eight adults and eight kids, ages 4 and under, all in one big house. We kept busy with a variety of activities, laughed a lot, and really enjoyed being together. We had fun, despite the nasty gastrointestinal illness that hit Greg, Sam, and Maggie during the week. Could have done without that, but what do you do?! It seems to be a fast and furious bug--over within 12 hours. Joel was hit with it once we got home, but he's fine now, a day later.

So, thanks Mom and Dad for the good week together. I know it wasn't a relaxing vacation for you, but we sure appreciate you making it happen and spending the week with us all.

More on Rockaway

I was too tired last night to do anything more than the slideshow. I'm feeling refreshed after sleeping in our own bed, even though my shower this morning was less than satisifying (you'll understand in a second).
Here are some of my favorite things from our trip:

• showers at the Carl's beach house-- the water pressure is truly amazing. We've tried, unsuccessfully, to emulate it at our house, even bought the same shower head and everything
• Kari joyfully jumping in the waves with anyone who would go with her
• Joel literally gagging when his hands got sandy on the beach
• Kari "fishing" off the dock at the lake-- I think Grandpa started something here
• Aubrey going to sleep by 7pm most nights
• going to the Air Museum, learning some history, and watching our kids play "pilot"
• Tillamook ice cream waffle cones--finally got my German chocolate cone on our way out of town. Yum!
• Grandpa's beef "steaks" that weren't--he said someday it will make a good sermon illustration, so you may hear more on that later
• watching all of our family love and play with our kids all week--it's hard work keeping up with them, and we sure appreciated you all. As Brian noted, every activity you come up with only lasts 20-30 minutes before they're ready to move on and do something else. There are so many 30 minute increments in a day!
• finally winning the dice game--10,000
• playing Settlers almost every night
• Joel just being funny little Joel-boy and making me laugh just by looking at me with his impish little grin
• feeding the seagulls with the kids and Grandpa--the birds got pretty aggressive and hovered a few feet from Joel and Kari as the kids alternated throwing and taking bites of the bird food (bread)
• having lots of time to hold and play with my baby

We had some unfavorite times, too, such as the hours spent trying to get our two older kids to sleep in a new place the first couple nights, the multiple lengthy meltdowns/tantrums by our overly-tired and sugar-highed eldest child, excessive whining from our overly-tired 2-year-old, and our fogged-in weather the last couple days, but overall, the good far outweighed the bad. We really had a great time with my family.

Now it's time to gear up for beach trip #2 with Greg's family in a couple days. (It just worked out that way this year.) This time we're headed to Seaside, a different beach. Better get to that laundry. Packing this time will be a breeze.

Rockaway Beach '08

Just got back from our beach trip with the Arnolds. It was a full week, and we're tired, but it was fun and all worth it. Thanks, Mom and Dad, for everything you did to make it a successful family vacation for us all--good memories.