5, 6 and 7 months old...and 2.5 years!

Wow - I am getting really bad at this.  I've already missed posts for Micaela's 5, 6 and 7th month "birthdays" so this will have to be a super one.  Oh, the pressure...

5 months

6 months

7 months

So where is she at?  At just over 7 months she is sitting up well, with the occasional accidental tip to one side and on-purpose fall backwards because she likes it. She is rolling easily to her stomach and once in a while rolls back to her back.  She sleeps on her side sometimes now, mostly for naps, and can move around her crib a fair bit by kicking and pushing with her feet.  The weaning has begun, and day 1 is going fairly well - I don't anticipate problems since she has gotten over her hatred of the bottle (I think, I hope). She is eating solids, loves the multigrain baby cereal and is coming around on fruit, but has started to nix veggies.  We'll see how she does with this week's new addition: salmon.  Thank goodness she doesn't know that poached, pureed salmon with no seasoning is not the way most people like it! :)

Micaela is a pretty easy-going kid now, though I think the teeth are interfering with her sunny disposition because they have yet to appear.  Avery's number 1 and 2 teeth came in around 7.5 months, so Micaela's might be any day now. She is pretty willing to hang out in the stroller/exersaucer/jolly jumper while her crazy sister runs all around her.  But I know she is dying to get out there and run too. No rushing that on my part!

In a dress bought for next year

Pensive at the park

Avery is doing very well at 2.5 years.  She is a super-happy kid when we are out or when she is at daycare.  At home it can be a little more variable.  She LOVES TV, and isn't always very happy when we say no - so that makes for a lot of tantrums as we try to limit her watching to specific, limited times.  The other main time for grumpiness is first thing in the morning - apparently asking her to say good morning to us before she says "I watch TV" is enough to set her off.  Sigh...I assume this too shall pass. :) But on the upside, she is talking more and more and is coming up with the cutest expressions.  It is amazing how they become so much more fun and adorable at the same time as they become so much more trying.  It's like it was designed that way.  I am definitely looking forward to the fall as Avery starts a dance class and sportball.  She is such a little person now!

Dozy ladies

We have had a pretty great summer - but that will have to be another post...hopefully soon. :)

Finally, I read a whole book!

I just finished reading Andre Agassi's autobiography, Open. It was the first library book I was actually able to complete since Micaela was born - and some of them I even renewed several times before just giving up altogether.  I found the book really interesting - not because I was ever a huge Agassi fan, or at all really, but more because I love getting an insider's perspective on any exclusive world, and because I love tennis. It was very cool to read about some of his matches that I remember watching on TV, including the semis of the 2001 Australian Open when he beat Patrick Rafter in a match I tried to get tickets to because I was in Melbourne at the time.  It turns out that Agassi is a pretty interesting guy, and isn't exactly who the media told us he was.  And though I wasn't ever a huge Steffi Graf fan, I love that they are together and I really hope their marriage is as good for them as the book made it sound. Especially since Brooke Shields and that marriage didn't get the most favourable coverage.

Would I recommend it?  Not sure...the writing is decent and the story is definitely gripping enough (especially for the tennis nerds).  Might not be worth your while if tennis isn't your thing.  But thought I would share nonetheless.

Super Mom!

Ok, not really. But I do have moments when I am super-proud of my mom skills (but never my photography skills :).  Like today when I made playdough for Avery (with Micaela screaming the whole time).  Most people would not be as impressed with themselves as I am, but then, I don't have the Martha Stewart gene, nor am I a crafty person. So when I found this recipe and it actually worked out well, impressed I was. The Wilton food colouring gels work really well to get cool colours and you don't need to use a lot for each batch.  This pic is actually from the first time I made the playdough - today's colours were orange and yellow.

A fun summer dessert

These have been a hit lately: Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches.  This was another recipe courtesy of the Food Network page on facebook.  My modifications were to buy the strawberry ice cream instead of making it from scratch, and to roll the sandwiches in mini chocolate chips instead of peanut butter chips or peanuts.  The peanut butter cookie recipe is a keeper all on its own.