Of Ring Pops and Bathroom Breaks

This is a short post, documenting the first time Lucy had success on a bathroom break - no details, other than to say she got a ring pop afterward (a BIG treat). 

She was so happy/excited/proud, but the minute the camera came out - her expression changed to "I have a tummy ache." Haha :)

Time was the only fix for getting all that blue off her face - it stuck around for a few hours, even after momma had scrubbed it. 

Way to go Lu!! 

Michael and the Mirror

Michael loves, likes a lot, lights up when he sees, MIRRORS.

For a fun comparison: Click Here (She's about 3 months old)

Seven Months

 7 Month Accomplishments:

• Sitting Up - Michael has gotten really good at sitting up and can stay in the vertical position for as long as he wants now (meaning that if he sees something outside of his reach, he will strain to reach it and will then fall over) :)
• Cloth Diapers - we were GIVEN 20 all-in-one cloth diapers (meaning there is nothing to stuff or fold!) and have been enjoying them so much. It has been an adjustment, as cloth diapers need to be changed more frequently than disposables, but the savings is evident already. :) The biggest challenge has been finding out how to wash them and get them good and clean but I think I finally have our wash routine perfected. From surveying friends and spending hours researching online, I have learned that no two wash routines for cloth diapers are alike! 
• Jabbering - Michael often says, "Baba" "Lala"  and "Dada" as far as we can tell none of these words have association with them yet, but his vocabulary is beginning!
• Peek a Boo - Michael loves to play Peek a Boo and will move a blanket up over his face and then move it down to see whoever is playing with him. :)
• Peas - Michael had his first taste of veggies and wasn't too sure of them. They are not his favorite but we keep trying! :)

Click here to see Lucy at 7 months

Michael's First Experience With Vegetables

Michael had been doing such a great job eating his rice cereal that it was time to start veggies! I made up some peas one evening and gave him a sampling. Do you think he liked them? 

 Before

 During

 After: Processing

 After: Contemplating

 After: Reacting

 I love the one eyed "Are you serious?" 

 "I don't like those mom."

 They made him shiver! Despite the reaction, he opened his mouth for more so I fed him a full serving (about 2 TBS) alternating bites with rice cereal. :) Keep them guessing! They won't know what's next. Haha!

 Well, he didn't LOVE them but maybe he will by the time all this is gone... 

(insert "evil" mom laugh)

And because pictures can't communicate sound, here is a video of Michael eating Peas (taken about a week after his first try). The sound he makes is hilarious! 

Fourth Fail

Alternate title for this post: "All Excitement for America's birthday gone. Apathy remains."

No this post is not about the fourth time I failed... but instead an account of our Family Picture Failure that happened on the Fourth of July.

As is tradition in the Kidder family, we all got dressed up and prepared to take a picture of our family on the 4th of July. Here we are the past two years:

July 4th, 2010

 July 4th, 2011

...Aaaand here we are this year: 

July 4th, 2012

Ahhhhhh hahahahahahahahaha!

Please excuse me while I go compose myself.....

Ok, I'm back. A few things played into the failure.... wind, bad timing, squirmy kiddos, wind, bright sunlight and did I mention wind? Oh well, we made a memory - I thought to myself, I can at least get a good picture of the kids right? 

Wrong....

 They. Would. Not. Smile.

 They were so apathetic. 

 Here is the closest thing to a smile I got from Lucy, but her legs are up, showing off her diaper cover..... ugh. 

(Maybe I can crop it and use it as a Facebook cover photo... hm, good idea!)

 Michael's expression! So funny! "Can I please go take a nap now mom?" This from my boy who usually lights up for the camera!

 I asked Lucy to hold Michael's hand, he would have nothing of it.... You can see both their dark brown eyes here really well here though. :)

We went to dinner at our friends Dan and Eden's house and then went to see Pampa's fireworks, celebrating Pampa's 100th birthday! We didn't go to the rodeo grounds, but parked with about 50 other cars along the road a good distance away. We were very surprised at the length of the show, we kept anticipating the finale, but it kept going! For a good 45 minutes! Both kids enjoyed the display - there were no tears (very surprising considering it started 2 hours past their bed time!).

We got home and had to give Ellie an emergency bath, she had enjoyed the firework show from the dirt with Lucy. :-/ But we had fun reading books and cuddling with Lucy while we waited.

So America's birthday ended well - I'm glad our earlier flop didn't define the whole day. :)

Have you ever had a family tradition fall apart into failure? Please do tell so I don't feel alone.

Sitting Up!

Michael can now sit up! He still needs a bit of help from his stable friend, Mr. Boppy, but he is doing great!  

When I put his basket of toys in front of him, it helps him sit up a bit longer. I think it's because of 1) the extra stability and 2) the interesting toys! :)

This duck tastes pretty good.

 What's the big deal mom?
(His eyes are SO dark)

Rrreach!

Good job Michael! We are so proud of you!

Our little "Chef-Man"

This post is about two of our daughter's birthday gifts, a Chef Hat and Kitchen. :)

S: Who are you? 

L: I'm a Chef-Man. 

S: You're not a Chef-Woman or a Chef-Girl? 

L: No, I'm a Chef-Man

 The Chef Hat was one of her momma-made gifts. It didn't cost me any money, the green polka-dot is left over from the back of her baby quilt and the blue is remnants from the binding on Michael's quilt! :) I love projects that I can make with what I have - especially when they are so stinking cute! I still can't believe how well the fabrics match her apron! (Lucy got her apron as a baby gift from our good friend in Chicago, Jenny - it's from Anthropology!)  

Side Note: This is the second chef hat I've made, 

to see the first and for a link to the tutorial I used, click here. 

Here is a video of the first time Lucy saw her new kitchen:

The kitchen has already filled many hours with creative, imaginative play.

Birthday cakes are a specialty of our "Chef-man"

She uses her scrub brush to wash her dishes and makes "beeping" sounds for the microwave.

(Here is a mini interview I did with Lucy while looking at these pictures with her)

S: Lucy, what's your favorite thing to do in your kitchen?

L: Cook. I like to cook donuts.

S: What are you doing in this picture?

L: Toast is in the toaster. 

(It is.... the green thing on the hearth is a toaster. :) )

S: What about this picture? What are you doing here?

L: I'm playing with my silverware.

S: What kinds of silverware do you have?

L: Kinds of silverware. 

Her kitchen is well stocked, thanks to the generosity of grandparents and friends. 

I had to include this picture - mostly because of her hair! I was pretty proud of her side braid that day. It is rare when she holds still long enough for me to do her hair. I can't remember specifically, but if I had to bet - a TV show helped her sit still this day. :)

I have no idea how I captured this picture but I love it - the blurred action around Lu and the fact she is in focus. 

How her table looks most days - all the guests attending her parties get silverware, a treat and a drink  (in a mug/tea cup or a bottle). :)

Looking for a candle for the cake. It is not uncommon for me to hear, "I need help finding a candle for my cake!" :)

There - she found it! Throwing a well thought out party takes concentration! :) 

Inconsistent

I had an interesting conversation with Lucy last Saturday.

L: (putting her spoon in her big girl water glass) "My spoon go here?"
S: No Lu, your spoon doesn't go in your cup - you can put it in your bowl or on the table.
L: Oh

A few minutes later

L: (Looking at me out of the corner of her eye, puts her spoon in her cup)
S: Lu, I just asked you to not put your spoon in your cup - if you do it again, I am going to put your water in a sippy cup.
L: But mamma put her spoon in her cup? (Said in her sweet, voice-dripping-with-honey-voice - yes, she is 2 and already has this voice down pat.)
S Thinking: Touché daughter - great I have double standards....
S: OH!!! Lucy you're right, Mamma does stir her coffee with a spoon don't I.

Honestly I don't remember what I said next, but I knew in that moment that this wouldn't be the first time Lucy pointed out an inconsistency in my parenting.

Things have been quiet around this here blog for about three months now. This has not been intentionally, it has just happened. Life has been a bit busy, Grandma Buning (Brad's mom's mom) lets me know that she misses updates on the blog, but understands I've got more on my plate with two little ones now. I miss updating the blog too! And I really hope to be better at this whole blogging thing - but honestly... I will probably continue to "blog binge" as Brad calls it - posting a TON in a short period of time. :)

I've been asked by a few people why I don't just post fun things as they happen and then go back and post things from the past. It's a good question and my response is always this: I hope to someday have my blog published into a book for our family - I see it as a sort of modern-scrappbook - and I really want to have everything in chronological order for that reason. :)

I got a fun (very early) birthday present though, that is hopefully going to help me be a bit more consistent with this hobby of mine.

Isn't she pretty? 

My computer is full of unpublished pictures and I've been keeping pretty good notes to recount our memories from the past few months. So get ready friends, we are going to take a trip back to July over the next few days and work our way toward the present. :) 

Are you ready?