Cindy Lou Who

Okay. I didn't mean to sound so Grinchy yesterday! I really do love the Christmas season. I love thinking of the perfect gift to get someone, making cookies, looking at the Christmas lights, and I really can't wait until Gemma is older and I can see her face light up at all of those things, too.  I guess I was feeling a little like Cindy Lou Who yesterday.  I just want to find and remember the true meaning of Christmas, and I suppose I've just had to try a little harder to find the Christmas cheer this year.

I'm just finishing up sending out the last of our Christmas cards and I am in love with how they turned out. (I was feeling a little guilty that you can't see the babe's face very well, but I've since come to terms with it.) We took the photos ourselves. Took the legs off of the couch in our basement (it was my grandma's), carried into our backyard, set up the tripod, and proceeded to take about 300 photos.  We learned pretty quickly that its difficult to get a dog and a baby to look at the camera, especially when there's no one behind it!  We ordered this card from Pear Tree Greetings, and I think the whole thing came together beautifully.

Here are a few fun outtakes from our little backyard session:

Can you spot Harper? 

Squirrel! Squirrel! Squirrel! (I also forgot to take Gemma's nuk out of her mouth.)

Wow! Jeff is REALLY happy.  Harper looks like a pouting teenager.

And now for one of my favorites of Gemma.  I was really tempted to make this our Christmas card, but we put it on an ornament for the grandparents instead.  The hat was given to G by her auntie, Sophie.

This is the raw image. Jeff did a bit of editing before we ordered it. :)

Do, do, do, do, do, do, do! It's Christmas!

Is anyone else having a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year?  Maybe it's all the RAIN we're getting here in Minnesota. Maybe it's the disdain I feel for the even earlier start of Black Friday. (Clearly, I am not a Black Friday shopper. I am a mostly online shopper.) Maybe it's the fact that I've been to the mall more than I should during December. (Something I rarely do.) I don't know what my deal is, but I'm not feeling especially festive this year...even as I'm wrapping up sending the last of our Christmas cards today.

Being that this is Gemma's first Christmas, I have a lot of fears of her not knowing the real reason for the season.  I see people getting caught up in the gifts and the commercialization of it all--people who really know better--and it worries me.  Even though this is Gemma's first Christmas and we want it to be special, she really is too young to remember anything or to understand.  Therefore, we've decided to just wrap up a few things we planned on buying her anyway and letting her open them as her Christmas gifts. Mostly for the reason that she loves paper.

I came across this awesome post by Britt from the blog Gus and Lula, and I think it's a tradition I'd like to start for our family next year.  Four gifts. One want, one need, something to wear, something to read.  I don't know that we'll ban Santa Claus from our home. We haven't really talked about it. My hunch is that we'll still incorporate him, but not really put much emphasis on him.  Anyway, Britt's post is bringing me joy today and hope for our future.  And, so is this song. It's a new favorite this year.  Here's to getting in the spirit!

Gemma's 6 months old!

Holy moly! Where did the time go?  I haven't written about all of the fun things Gemma is doing.  She was 6 months old last week, but we had her 6 month appointment today.  I was surprised to learn that she has two more teeth just barely peeking out on the bottom!  I didn't really pay much attention to the bottom since I already knew she had two and knew that the next ones to come are usually the top. (She is also getting 4 up there, but they are not through yet.) Gemma had a big growth spurt at her 4 month appointment and was in the 90th percentile for height.  She has since tapered off, which the doctor says is normal.

Here are her stats:
weight: 16 pounds 8 oz. (62%)
height: 26 inches (61%)
head: 16.25 inches (19%)


And here are the fun things she's up to:

-blowing raspberries
-starting to get her top teeth
-sitting up all on her own
-not crawling yet, but scoots backward and pushes up on all fours
-eating solids here and there. We need to be more consistent, but I'm not big into pushing solids. She's eaten everything like a champ so far! We've done squash, carrots, pears, rice cereal, and bananas.  I think she may have had a reaction to the pears, though. Poor girl got a rash!
-loves her jumperoo and exersaucer
-loves paper or anything that crinkles
-loves touch and feel books
-we moved her into her convertible carseat because she outgrew the infant seat lengthwise.
-loves Harper and tries to "pet" her much to Harper's dismay.
-talks (ie screams) constantly. (Unless there are new people around.)
-loves to watch me cook and bake
-loves the songs "Pat a Cake" and "If You're Happy and You Know It"
-is now wearing 6-12 or 6-9 month clothing, mostly because she is too long for 3-6.
-swats at everything. Don't let her fool you! You will think she's being all sweet and touching your face gently, but you'll end up with a scratch or a smack in the face! :) Stinker!
-still waking up twice a night. Usually at 2 and 5. (Yes, I count 5 as night!) Although, on her 6 month birthday she slept through the night, which was a godsend for me because I was up the entire night with food poisoning. (I've never had it before and I would gladly go through natural childbirth again rather than have it again.) Some friends have suggested not feeding her and letting her cry, but I don't have the heart to do it. I'm not at my breaking point yet! :)

Gemma in her Christmas dress reject.  I really liked this one, but found one that looked better on her complexion!

Gemma today after her shots at the doctor.  She recovered pretty quickly!

I can't believe it has been about three months since my maternity leave technically ended, and I have not regretted my decision to stay at home for a moment. I don't think I've ever been happier. (Not to say that there are not challenging days!)  I feel so blessed to be able to stay home with Gemma.

I'm looking forward to watching her grow, change, and witness all of the new things she'll be doing in the next months.  Walking, talking, etc.  We're taking a baby sign class through ECFE starting in January, so it'll be fun to see if she picks up on that!

Confessions

For lack of having anything better to write about, I thought I'd help some of you get to know me better by confessing some of my secrets.

1. I'm not very good at keeping secrets about myself. Hence, this list. (I am good at keeping secrets for others though! Friends, don't quit telling me them!)

2. I love being surprised. Yet, I can't help but snoop. I usually know all of my Christmas presents before it comes time to open them. Sometimes its by accident. Sometimes not. I know, I know. I'm a child.

3. If my husband is not home for an evening, my dinner will sometimes consist of terrible foods such as graham crackers and frosting. Good thing he's usually home for dinner or I'd be a lot heavier!

4. I normally can't stand Mariah Carey, but I love her Christmas album. You really should check out the Relient K Christmas album though.  It's one of my favorites even though its not traditional at all.

5. I sometimes wear sweats for pajamas so I don't have to get dressed the next day.

6. Our dog, Harper, sleeps in our bed more than our baby does.  We always said we wouldn't let her, but...it happens! She's so sweet. She always has to have her head touching my leg at night.  I don't mind too much. She's my little heater.  We may have to upgrade to a king size bed if Gemma starts coming into our room when she's older.

7. We only have basic cable. We're going on our second year without it now and we don't miss it much at all. Jeff doesn't watch much TV at all and I found from looking at my DVR'ed shows that almost all of them were on the basic channels.  We also don't let our baby watch TV at all, so we watch even less TV these days on.  (We don't usually even have it on when she's awake.) We can always watch things online or go to our friends' houses if there is something we really need to see. (Hasn't happened yet.)

8. I'm a big picture sort of person.  It's not that I don't notice the details or acknowledge the need for them. I just want someone else to do them. This drives Jeff crazy because if I start a project, I just want it to be done. I don't actually want to do it. So, sometimes, it sits half finished for weeks.  (Um, 30 before 30 list anyone?)

9. I'm the youngest of five kids but I often feel like a middle child.  (There are three of us living now.)  My older sister and brother don't really get along. Well, I shouldn't say get along. They just are very different and don't really have much contact with each other.  They do get along when they see each other once a year, and I know they love each other very much. But, I many times find myself defending one to the other when they talk disapprovingly of each other. I don't know when I became the peacemaker...Kind of a bummer, but it doesn't really happen that often.

10. I'm more like my mother than I'd like to admit.  Not that my mom isn't a great lady, but I just never thought this day would come.  I definitely have my dad's disgusting, inappropriate sense of humor though!

Okay, I think I've confessed enough for the day. Now it's someone else's turn! Go!

Photo Friday

I got my hair cut! I lopped off about 7 inches or so.  I don't intend to keep it short, but I just couldn't stand to be losing so much anymore. (Lovely post-pregnancy hormones.)  I know I'll still keep losing the same amount, but at least I'll find short pieces all over the place instead of long ones!

I had to share this cute one of Gemma in her snowsuit.  She looks like a little pink marshmallow.  She'll be needing a new one soon along with upgrading to her convertible car seat.  She's only about an inch away from outgrowing the infant one.  (Not sure how we got a tall baby!)

This is a newer thing Gemma has been doing.  She's all about sticking her tongue out. Constantly. I love that little weirdo.

Loved this verse.  I was getting a heat massage (or something weird in a time capsule sort of thing) at Body Beautiful the other day and as I was waiting, I read some daily verses. This date is my hubby's birthday.  I thought it was a pretty fitting reminder for him, so I snapped it with my phone and sent it to him. :)

This isn't a photo, but I wanted to share it anyway. :) Gemma has been using this jumperoo for a while now and loves it.  We borrowed it from our friends and are so glad we did!  (Along with a lot of other bigger toys that I said I never wanted! wink wink.)

Next Year I will Make Cheesecake

Today is the day my oldest brother, Matt, was born. My parents were so young---my mom was 20 and my dad was 23. Being the firstborn, there are a lot of stories of Matt's young childhood.  My dad likes to tell a little ditty of the day he was born. Dad told Mom Matt looked like a monkey. Mom cried.

Matt could walk at 8 months and could recite every nursery rhyme under the sun by the time he was a year old. His first word was "cocky." (My dad is a little mischievous.)  Matt was fast. Matt was athletic. Matt was popular. Homecoming king, in fact. I was in first grade and probably 6 years old that year.  All of the high school girls liked me (because of Matt, I'm sure).  They gave me those knotted thread bracelets (only to be worn on your left wrist, mind you).  I sat next to those girls during coronation. One asked me who I wanted to win, and I said I didn't care. (Of course I did!)  When Matt won, I jumped into his arms to hug him in the receiving line.  That embrace made the newspaper.

Matt was always my favorite sibling.  We rarely fought. Probably because we were so far apart in age.  Even when he was mad at me, like the time I told on him for piercing his ear (ha!), he didn't hold a grudge for long.   He was a sweet talker and I begrudgingly did things for him I really didn't want to do.  I just couldn't say no to him.

Matt gave me the most beautiful little niece and goddaughter, Kaitlin. She is one of the lasting reminders we have of him since he died in a car accident the day after my high school graduation.  Kaitlin was just shy of her third birthday.  And, even though she doesn't remember much of him, I try to remind her of how much Matt loved her.  He was one of the most devoted dads I have ever seen.

Sometimes I'm sad about losing my oldest brother. I'm sad he didn't see me graduate from college, get married, have a baby of my own. I wonder what he'd be doing now. What he'd look like. But, mostly I just miss him. Miss confiding in him.  I am, however, grateful. Grateful that I had 18 years with him. Grateful that we still have Kaitlin in our lives. Grateful that we were raised in a Christian family and, therefore, grateful that I will be with Matt again one day.

And, can I just add that I have the strongest mother on earth?  You see, I always only knew how it felt to lose a brother. And, now that I have a child of my own who has only been here five and a half months, I can't even bear to think of losing her.  Gemma and I baked some sweets and brought them to my mom at work today. We were celebrating Matt's life.  Mom was reminiscing a little and reminded me that Matt always requested cheesecake for his birthday. I can't believe I forgot that. It's my favorite dessert, too. Next year and probably every year after that, I will make cheesecake.

P.S. In no way am I trying to paint Matt as an angel on earth.   He had his fair share of faults, as we all do.  One of my favorite memories is of him outrunning the cops on his friend's motorcycle. He ditched the motorcycle and ran into our house.  My parents probably made a poor decision and told the cops they hadn't seen Matt since he had left earlier that night.  Bad kid, bad parenting. ha!  Anyway, I don't want to talk about his bad traits.  I just want to remember the good.  For today, anyway.

I always thought...

.....I wanted my children to inherit my blue eyes. (I knew this wouldn't be likely when I got married, considering my husband is 100% Chinese.)  But, I find myself gazing into Gemma's brown almond-shaped eyes and thinking they are the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen.

.....I wanted an important job where I would have authority and decision-making power. I now have that, but it's a completely different job than I ever expected. And, it certainly doesn't come with a high paying salary. (It does come with huge perks and is more rewarding than I ever expected.)

.....I would move far away from my hometown to a big city like Chicago.  I never did that, and while it makes me a little sad that I probably will never move out of Minnesota, I'm thankful to be so close to my parents and my in-laws. Knowing that my kids will grow up having a close relationship with both sets of grandparents makes me happier than the city life could. (I guess there's always Minneapolis?!)

Today, I'm grateful for being totally wrong about so many things in my life and knowing that He has bigger and better plans for my life than I could even imagine.