gosh dang it!

gosh dang it was a little saying my dad used to say at certain points in our childhood. as in 'gosh dang it, heidi, why did you stick two glasses together? they're stuck now'... (this really happened & i remember it very well b/c my dad had to break one of them to get the other one unstuck). & now that's what i'm going to say about this: addy is sick...AGAIN. GOSH DANG IT. (btw: golly gee willickers was another favorite).

she yakked all over the carpet: oatmeal, blueberries, milk, & applesauce, hitting about 6 puzzle pieces as well. yuck yuck yuck. i was quick & put a bowl under her & she yakked in that very well...then i had to take the bowl to the kitchen & i was nearly yakking myself. lucky wes was on the phone with me at the time & heard me dry heaving. gotta love marriage, eh? it's the 4th time she's had this combination of croup, fever, vomiting, & we'll see in a few days if she gets the usual ear infection.

this time i called the pediatrician's office leaving a message with the nurse to tell dr. mahoney that i don't want to bring her in. it's annoying going to that office so often! we know what to expect with this mystery illness anymore. i just hope it ends with cold weather & winter-ish misery.

poor adeline. poor poor child. she was so sick this morning...the girl who can't sit or stand still for longer than 5 seconds barely moved from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. but remarkably, she ate dinner with us (well, she ate 1 1/2 bananas & 2 bites of homemade pizza) & ran around a bit after dinner.

anyway. that's our latest & greatest.

as for millie. geez oh man. she was up at 12:30 a.m., 1:30 a.m., & 5 a.m. for a bottle, then again at 5:45. i was actually going to get up with her, knowing that wes had just spent 30 minutes awake with her. but nope, he stoically proclaimed: 'you sleep. you need sleep.' happy valentine's day to me!

although wes & i did have a bit of a disagreement lately. it's about who makes the appointments for the family. prior to amelia, i made most of the appointments (except for his, but i did that often as well). now that i usually am carrying millie around during the day & chasing addy & all that "stuff" (how to explain what a parent does all day with little ones?), i find that making appointments is one of my least favorite things to do. you know, being on hold & then suddenly they're on the phone asking all these questions JUST as adeline has peed on the floor or is drawing on the table with permanent marker, then they give me a bunch of times & dates as if i can actually sit down & look at my calendar. when i say 'whenever is fine' i mean it. just give me an appointment already! so i have asked wes to make some appointments recently, one being my eye appointment. you'd think i was asking him to go to my annual ob-gyn appt for me or something! so last week i made millie's 6 month well baby appointment & gave the wrong birthdate & then the wrong middle name. oops. another reason i want wes to make the appointments is b/c he's my #1 babysitter, right? i just don't have someone who can pop over here for 1 hour (well, judy does this very often, actually, but i hate asking her b/c she has her own kids). so i make my appointment today. finally! then i email wes saying that i have an appointment next week at such & such a time & he should take an early lunch to watch them that day. he replies that he has a meeting & can't do it. GAH! that's why i want him to make these durned appointments! so now what the heck am i going to do? & medical offices seem to think that having one child tagging along is cute & all. not with two. tried & failed. bringing 2 ensures a few questionable looks & a long wait in the exam room. anyway, just had to see if anyone has any certain opinions about how to handle this situation.

oh glory

we have been able to go out of the house & play outside for 3 days now. 3 days! glorious. yesterday i kept the windows open for a few hours & i think the gross dog smell nearly left our home for about 30 minutes. simply amazing. since this is ohio, i am assuming we will have at least 1 or maybe 2 more snow storms, probably in late march. but i am saying it now, jinx or no jinx: spring is on its way...& i have never been so pleased or ready for it. wes even has our garden plans on an auto cad drawing. we are ready to order seeds...we are just simply ready for spring.

adeline played outside alone for about 1 hour yesterday & came back in filthy from head to toe. i didn't get a picture b/c she started running around the house, so i quickly nabbed her & stripped her in a matter of 1 minute. it was a RELIEF to let her go free outside & hear her laughing & clumping around the muddy grass. the look on her face was amazing; she simply adores playing outside.

& i have to put this in writing: i need to make myself an eye appointment! do it already! do it do it. do it. i have needed to do this since january 1st & now i only have one set of contacts left & need to find a new optometrist. ugh. i really suck at making appointments. and another goal: as of monday, i am going to start going to the gym again. this is major b/c now i can actually go & work out...before now i had to carry amelia around the track in the bjorn. which was fine until she became a chugga-lug (which i love, but hey my back doesn't). so she will be 1 week away from 6 months, which is the gym day care's age limit. i think i will work out for 20 minutes, then head down to the vending machine area & read a book & munch on a granola bar for 40, then meander to the showers...or maybe i will get into the hot tub as well. in reality, i will work out for 40 minutes, run to get the girls b/c i will be a nervous wreck that amelia cried the entire time. then i will be very sweaty & smelly & not be able to get a shower until they go to bed at night. that is reality.

and amelia is now a jumpa-roo fanatic! she can go sideways! she can go vertical! she even goes horizontal! hopefully i will catch her in the act on camera soon... adeline is also learning how to give love...when people come to visit recently (well, her aunt kristi & then ms judy her fake mama, so people that she knows very well) she will not stop giving them hugs or kisses & wants to sit with them & climb on them. it's really endearing.

i also feel so bad about this: we didn't make valentine's! is this bad for grandparents & cousins & close friends to not get valentine's from their wee ones? egads. it just hit me today. i guess i still have time...maybe tonight. we just got a valentine's day package from grandma & grandpa gerbick & it just HIT ME *boom* we didn't do valentine's! it's 2 days away! (btw, sue, adeline immediately put on her 'sweet dreams' pajamas & has read the book about 10 times already). the new pj's really help her to swiftly slide down the slide on her belly, head first.

& now i'm off to put adeline down for her fake nap. anyone have any advice on how to get a barely over 2 year old to nap??

things i am used to

first, some pictures of valentine cookie baking & decorating.

addy's one cookie that she iced & put sprinkles on about 20 times. can you say 'sugar high'?

amelia & elliott. they don't know it yet, but they will be the best of friends.

greasy haired amelia. she has a terrible case of cradle cap which i think is probably itching her noggin, so we gooped it up with some oil & i have spent nearly an hour today brushing the dried skin out of her hair. may sound gross, but i get this weird enjoyment from picking dried skin off (you know, when you have a sunburn & it peels? well, i love to pull the skin off for some unknown reason).

this is a post i wrote awhile ago, but failed to publish for some reason. so i am doing that now.

things that will be in my life for awhile:

• laundering the largest load of pink & reds ever known to man every 5 days
  
• bottles on the counter to be rinsed & put in the dishwasher
  
• not thinking that a pile of poop or pee on the floor is a cause for concern (first it started with a dog, then adeline potty training, & i'm sure when adeline finally gets it, amelia will start it all over again. by the time amelia is trained, griswold may have passed on, so i'm sure there will be a puppy...)
• old sippy cups with milk found under a piece of furniture.
• finding random, single baby hair barrettes just before the vacuum sucks it up.
• being worried that there will be dog hair in the food i serve to guests.
• a dishwasher that needs unloaded
• hearing "MAAA MAAAA" being yelled from the top of the stairs
  
• muffin crumbs on the couch & floor, then crusted on blankets & socks.
• frozen dinosaur chicken nuggets in a huge bag from costco
• monthly costco trips that cost over $150
• ketchup dried on a plate, which won't wash off in the dishwasher b/c our dishwasher sucks
• a folder for stickers
• stickers stuck to my socks
• stickers stuck to wood furniture
• sticker stickiness in the dryer
  
• being woken up by a teddy bear being thrown in my face. or a book. or my glasses. or adeline shouting 'mama!'
• griswold farting in his sleep during the day. which i first think it's a kid's dirty diaper, so i change or check their diapers first, then realize it was griswold.
  
• annoying kid plastic forks & spoons...they are everywhere in our house.
• the first 2 items on any target list are: diapers. desitin.
  
• finding random things in the laundry basket in the basement (from adeline sending them down the laundry chute [or shoot???}).
• plastic bibs hanging on the kitchen curtain rod to dry.
• not being able to walk through a room without tripping over a toy
• counting the days to the next 'grandparent take over event' (when g&g take addy or visit, giving me a break!)
• wondering if i will ever truly have a real vacation again
• searching the the entire house while the phone is ringing, trying to find it. giving up & finding the phone in the toy basket, laundry chute, & even the dishwasher an hour later.
• using 'oxyclean' by the tub within 1 month
• empty desitin tubs everywhere. everywhere
• planning 1 hour in advance before leaving the house.
• spit up or urine or a bit of poop or vomit on my clothes not bothering me a bit...then still wearing those same clothes the next day!
• chalk, marker, crayon on walls, furniture, & important papers
• seeing the coloring paper without any type of marking on them.
• hearing a toddler run through the house. pitter patter *clunk clunk* (that's adeline falling)
• looking for that 1 missing puzzle piece like it was a lost child
• needing coffee in the morning like i need a vacation (if i don't get it, i won't last much longer)
• saying 'no' about 300 times a day
• day dream about sleeping all night long
• enviously looking at women at a store who don't have kids with them & are obviously buying things for their kids
• wondering how to get adeline to take a nap...how many hours of rough, physical play does it take to get an adeline to nap? (answer: more than 3)
• thinking that i have the cutest kids in the WORLD! (that will last for the rest of my days, though). sorry everyone else, but the cutest kids are mine. i know quite a few who come in second, though, if that makes anyone else feel better. ;o)
• singing cartoon songs in my head & actually dancing to these songs during the day, with or without a child in my arms.
• feeling my heart melt as i watch the girls learn something new or smile or laugh or eat or go in the potty

okay, that's enough for now.

how could i forget this?

so last night, we were all upstairs in the playroom goofing around, playing with large cardboard blocks. addy was not cooperating with her socks so wes said 'if she didn't put her socks on he would 'chop her feet off'...my dear husband always says odd things like this that don't make sense & could be taken as very mean, but he is totally joking & says them in a funny voice. usually addy laughs. but oh, not this time! she suddenly had a STRICKEN look on her face, grabbed her feet & started sobbing immediately! she then looked at me for help & just sat there crying. wes felt terrible, of course... i consoled her quickly & we explained that her daddy really will not chop her feet off & he was only joking.
a good reminder to both of us that adeline may not talk, but she certainly understand all that we say.
remembering that moment & typing it now makes me laugh so much...tears are coming down my face. oh my, the look on her face...

random schtuff. this is going to be long.

to start, here is a picture of adeline & amelia sitting & watching tv (dora the explorer to be exact, the dancing dvd). i feel no guilt about this, even with a 5 month old watching tv. but she watched it for 45 minutes! isn't that unbelievable! & wonderful! i had to bake the muffins for playgroup & for adeline, so the poor dearie won't starve without her hourly muffin intake. anyway, this was my solution & it worked. guilt free is the way to be (i should make buttons with that saying...).

part 1: what i found after my last post:

i mentioned that i heard honey bunches of oats being poured. this is what i found; yup, that's the entire bag.

then there was a millie squawking upstairs in her crib. rolled over & putting her hands through the rails. it was very cute.

part 2: a loving parent

so this morning we went to church. it was decided at first that wes would take amelia & adeline to central vineyard (where we have gone since moving here) b/c he hadn't told the guy in charge of tithe counting that he couldn't help out anymore b/c we are looking for a new church (more near us). anyway, so he was going to take the girls & i was going to get a morning to myself. then i felt a bit bad sending them off & i do like the church, of course. so i decided to go & had 15 minutes to get ready. which is really kinda bad b/c i hadn't taken a shower in about 5 days (i keep putting it off b/c i would rather go to bed early than take a shower...i have been exhausted the past week. but that's what happens when babies & toddlers wake up at 6 a.m. & then don't take {for amelia, -good-} naps). so i threw a hat on, a staple these days & out the door we went. but amelia & adeline looked so cute today, so we had to get a picture before we left.
so the message was about how god cares about us, all the daily frustrations & such. well, really the message was about prayer, but someone behind me kept talking, so i had a hard time concentrating during different parts. {grrr, what a pet peeve of mine...i hate it when people talk during class & church & things like that.} anyway, the crux was that god is guaranteed to be there loving us no matter what...even in the seemingly small things parents struggle with daily, like when addy pees on the carpet for the 5th time in one day & i don't know what else to do but cry & put a towel over it. which got me thinking that since the most comparable love of god to us is a parent's love to a child, i have decided that what i want amelia & adeline to think of wes & i is that we were loving, guaranteed. i may have other things i want to do (like play word twist or post a blog or get the outline of a puzzle done or, or or...), but i want them to know i will always be here to love on them, that i desire to know them & their problems & their joys, any time of the day, for whatever causes their need of a hug or some mama love, i will be here for them as much as humanly possible.

adrienne (the lady giving the message today) also mentioned something about people may have a hard time praying from the gut, or with daily concerns & hurt, something like 'banging/knocking on heaven's door to post a complaint of life' or something like that. well, i have no problem doing that. my prayers are nothing like poetry. maybe beat poetry, but for sure not all lovey-dovey gracious & thankful words. more like 'what the *bleep* is going on today, god? why can't you give me kids who take naps or learn to use a potty, blah blah blah'... just thought ya'all might want to know that.

part 3: adeline

the past week she seems to be going through a growth spurt; she's eating constantly. i made mini muffins this week hoping that would give her some portion control, but instead of eating 2 large muffins every hour, she ate about 8 mini muffins. good grief! i guess i didn't outsmart her... today in church she had a really rough time apparently & cried most of the time she was in her classroom, which was shocking! she has NEVER gone through any sort of separation anxiety, but i'm left to think that's what was going on. anyway, she is doing great in general.

although...she had a very hard time sharing on friday when we hosted a play group. of course, it was with a boy, who is about the cutest & sweetest 3 year old i know. man oh man, every time i see him i just want to gush to his mom over him. plus he had the name i was going to give a boy, if we ever had one (we didn't, as you may know & the name is jude). anyway, him & addy were upstairs in the playroom & he came down after about maybe 10 minutes & his mom asked if he would like to go back up to play & he replied 'no, she won't share her toys with me'. heartbreaker! so i went & gave addy a 'stern talking-to'...which is what i have recently started to call a warning or whatever else others call discipline. i call it a stern talking-to.

when talking with this boy i also realized that i can't wait for adeline to start talking. i just want to hear what she has to say about things. like i asked him what he was eating (i obviously knew he was eating a granola bar, but it was a conversation starter, ya know) & he replied "this kind of granola bar that my mom gives me sometimes & it has chocolate chips in it & i like them" ... (like i said, this kid is so cute that even 3 days later i am still gushing about him & his mom isn't even here!) anyway, i felt so bad that adeline wasn't sharing. yes, so is the stage in her life now, but it's frustrating. what's also frustrating is that adeline still isn't talking. she has really perfected 'mama' & that's about it. every once in awhile she will throw out some crazy entire word or two like 'caterpillar' or 'thank you' but it's never consistent & the rest of the time she just says gibberish. we are waiting until she's 2 1/2, per pediatrician recommendation, but my mama sense is telling me something isn't right. knowing addy, she will probably wait until she's 2 years, 5 months & 28 days & then start speaking in full & understandable sentences. she is such a fun girl to have around, though...she really just loves to have fun & laugh & explore. you can just see it in her eyes when she wakes up in the morning at the crack of dawn that her brain is already in overdrive.

part 4: amelia

again, another one who loves it all. however, she takes awhile to warm up after waking up, just like her mama. most often when she arouses, she is very grumpy & likes to be left alone. so when she wakes up cooing & giggling, it's shocking & wonderful. but when when wakes up grumpy, i understand completely & give her some space to wake up a bit. this weekend i have switched over most of her clothes to the 9-12 month size! holy crap! we like to say "we gerbicks grow 'em big" & it is very very true.

new news: she is sort of sitting up! it's more like an ape sitting, though (as we especially know after our trip to the zoo today, but more on that later).

i just can't believe she's nearly 6 months! i feel like i say this constantly, but here i go again: they grow up so fast. it also appears that amelia will have some shade of blue for her eye color & possibly a dark blond-ish red hair color. i'm seeing a bit more curl in her hair than addy had, so you never know, she may get the gerwig curls after all (my sister & dad have very curly hair & i have been very envious of it my entire life). millie is just so peachy right now. although she could sleep a bit longer in the morning. but that's always my complaint until they sleep until at least 7 am. (i can dream, can't i?).

part 5: s & s

this is the part of this post that i'm going to lodge a complaint against another person. i KNOW this person doesn't read my blog b/c i don't even know who she is. every day i get this email from this website called "mamasource"...a bunch of moms from all over the great u. s. of a. can post any question they want about parenting, marriage, health, etc & moms who know something about the topic or have been through similar situations reply & give advice. i don't often give advice, i just like to read what other people have questions about. some are pretty silly, others are very serious. so this one mother & wife wrote a question about how to get her husband to help out around the house. apparently she used to stay at home & now has returned to work & when she stayed at home she LIKED to clean the house & cook all the meals (what?!) but now she is finding that she doesn't have the time to do it all & wants her husband to help out. so i wrote that she is doing a valiant thing & that maybe she could start a chore chart on a big poster board for everyone in the family, including her husband & give little rewards out each week or month. after i submitted my little advice ditty, i read other replies of advice from other mamasource members...most were similar to mine. THEN i read this one by a lady & my blood started to boil (doing that at such an early hour is certainly not good for my heart). this lady said that she has found that men seem to be interested in only 2 things, which she called s&s: sex & sandwiches. & then she asked this lady if she was 'paying attention to her husband's needs' b/c that seems to make them happy.

WHAT? seriously? i have never responded harshly to someone on mamasource, until that day (thursday, i believe). i started with something like saying that men are only interested in two things is really a terrible thing to say about men in general b/c they are very much more dynamic & interesting than that. & then to advice this lady, who is already exhausted beyond belief, to 'put on something fancy & tend to his needs' & maybe she will get his attention that way without nagging him...i think i said something along the lines of 'if i have to do that for my husband to share the housework load, i would probably no longer be married b/c that's not a partnership, that's more like servant hood.' anyway, i didn't go on very long about how much this lady pissed me off. but i am still reeling about it, how someone can really, truly think that men are only about sex & sandwiches. actually, now that i think about it, she probably has a terrible marriage to a very boring husband to think this is reality. anyway, the lady who posted the original question wrote me back the next day also saying that she was taken aback by what the s&s lady said. some people are so weird!

part 6: the zoo

we went to the zoo, which is fairly self explanatory in general. we did hear a lion roar, saw monkeys & gorillas & an aquarium. it was fun & a beautiful day...so good to get out. we went with the crawfords. this picture below is of adeline & owen & in the background in a very large gorilla giving a butt shot.
ah, judy & elliott.
it was a crazy fun day & the girls were in bed & asleep by 7:40, exhausted from our day out.

next time i have that much to say i will try try try to get more posts in during the week. not likely, but i will try.

snow & sun

as i type this, it is snowing outside AND the sun is shining...so the snow looks like glitter falling from the sky & adeline is simply entranced by it. she was looking out the window & had many many 'ooh & ahhs' about the situation. sort of like when it is raining, but sunny. i am not going to go outside to check for a rainbow, though. anyway, yet another reason i love winter. i love snow b/c it makes people slow down a bit in everything (driving, walking, going out, etc). i love the cold b/c then i can wear scarves & hats & fleece sweaters. i love getting into a warm bed (from the other love of my life, the electric blanket). i love winter food: chowders & potato based stuff & gravies & breads (comfort food). one layer of snow can even make our composter look fancy & pretty. simply stunning.

adeline slept in this morning until 8:30. i had to wake her up! well, technically, i went to check on her b/c i had this fear that she had somehow smothered herself b/c she never sleeps in anymore. & while checking on her, woke her up by just opening the door. true confessions. then she realized that wes wasn't home & had a little meltdown during breakfast (wes usually gives her breakfast) so i apparently wasn't doing it right. then she was a bit pissy & somehow knocked over her entire cup of milk, spilling it all over herself. which made her even more upset. i really don't get worked up over spilled drinks b/c she really does them accidentally & i don't want to make her feel any worse than she already feels. but she cried & cried & cried over this spilled milk. i think she really was just a bit miffed that wes left for work without waking her up. she has been infatuated with wes for the past few months. let me tell you: i don't mind one bit! she has even turned down both grandmas to put her down for a nap & bedtime in favor of wes.

this is a picture of her this morning after the whole breakfast meltdown. see, she recovers well. if you can read her shirt it says "daddy's sweetheart" & that's the only one she wanted to wear today (she chooses her shirt based on what the writing or animal or whatever is on the shirt). as soon as i read it to her, she nodded her head YES, which apparently means 'put it on me immediately'. then she took it from me & put it on herself. 'i do it!!!'. okay okay!

& little millie. she is napping right now. addy is watching veggie tales & playing with her maracas. i love that she is now watching tv! she didn't like it for so long & now it can occupy her for nearly 20 minutes! amazing. millie likes tv already...she becomes engrossed in a matter of seconds. which is okay with me. a mama needs some free minutes during the day, ya know! below is a picture of amelia's first hair up-do.

a great shot of adeline sitting on the potty & playing with my cell phone. seeing this now reminds me that i should probably sterilize it...adeline is really having a tough time with potty training. she did wonderful for about a week...& now is totally uninterested in doing any sort of business in the potty. WHHHAATT?! this is totally frustrating. but i am backing off. which means that i am cleaning up about 3-4 messes on the floor daily. DAILY. ugh. it's like she knows that she has to go & then will start to go in the underwear, pull up or diaper & then halfway through, will try to take them off, getting the pee or poo everywhere. like i said, frustrating. i ask her at certain times throughout the day if she has to go potty, then when she says no, i still put her on the potty & she will comply & sit there. then she'll get off & do the aforementioned business. then i get out the vinegar water & do the clean up job. grr.

millie just loves her seat lately. she just really loves a lot recently; she's full of smiles & laughter.

this is me trying to find out how far amelia will lean back before she breaks her neck. she's a contortionist!

i have no idea how some moms are able to write anything of substance on their blogs...since i started this post, adeline has realized i wasn't paying 100% attention to her & has sat on my lap about 10 times, tried to put stickers in my hair, dumped a tablespoon of sugar into my coffee cup, climbed onto my back & jumped several times, given me 2 packets of oatmeal to make for her, & then has begun crying saying 'mum mum mum mum'...which either means 'mama' (pay attention to me') or 'grand-mum, grandma' (please come play with me). one of the two. now she is off with a box of cereal, well, that's what my ears are telling me.

this month i want to do several things: make home made cinnamon rolls (if i can ever get ahold of my grandma's recipe...until then i will have to use another from allrecipes.com) & then valentine's day cut out cookies. & biscotti for play group on friday morning, which is at my house. which means i should probably clean the bathroom & mop the floor (read: officially clean off all pee & poop spots from adeline). i also want to start a puzzle for me. i love puzzles, love them, love them. in my job before adeline was born ("psycho-social rehabilitator for the therapeutic learning center") we had a puzzle table all the time. sometimes, when very frustrated with a student or all of them, another worker would take over (i was 'in charge' of the high school classroom) & i would sit down for 10 minutes to let my blood cool a bit & work on a puzzle...it's just very soothing to me. apparently it is for adeline as well; she can spend an entire hour doing nothing but her toddler puzzles (& read books).

from the sounds of it, honey bunches of oats is now being poured out onto something (hopefully into a bowl or at least onto the table) & amelia is waking up. which means this mama has to clock back in.

stupid groundhog

so the groundhog in pennsylvania saw his shadow, which means we have 6 more weeks of winter. i say bah hum bug. usually i am happy to have more winter & more snow. i guess i really don't care if we keep getting snow or not; i just want us to be healthy! this winter has been a long one already with constant illnesses...but right now, hold your breath, we are not sick! well, wes & i still have a bit of the lingering effects of the last cold, but it's workable. anyway, stupid groundhog.

we have figured out how to get adeline to take a nap during the day...wait until 2:30-3, then put her down for a nap. it makes for a long morning with her & by the early afternoon she's a bit of a defiant little bugger but when she wakes up she's the sweet adeline that we're used to. except for this morning at the mall playground; goodness she was a bit bratty to this little boy...i've noticed that she has more attitude with little boys than little girls. hhmm, i wonder where she got that from? :o) anyway, this little boy who was probably 2 or 18 months wanted to climb on the tiger, which was what she was playing on. so she looks at the boy & says very whiny & rudely "mine! mine!" & gives him a nasty look. poor little boy looked so sad! of course, his mom was RIGHT beside him & looked a bit miffed, yet humored. i told adeline that she was being mean & naughty & she needed to apologize to the kid before he hates girls forever...then adeline gave me the nasty mean look! ooohhh. boiling blood in this mama, for sure. so i said 'either you apologize or sit in time out'...little miss defiant nodded her head that she would sit in time out, then plopped herself up on the seat! she would rather sit in time out than apologize! after her time out i again told her that it was naughty & mean & she didn't even seem to care a lick.

where did this little attitude come from? as a kid i was feisty, but i wasn't mean like that...at least i don't remember being like that (well, maybe to my siblings... ;o). i know kids are just kids & sharing her favorite toy (even if it is public property!) is difficult...i'm just a little shocked sometimes by her attitude. other times, she is the sweetest & kindest girl around. maybe i'll say it came from the gerbick side! hahaha!!! (totally kidding...wes & cliff, wes' brother, are really the nicest guys).

also something to note: amelia is eating solids like crazy. she just can't get enough. we are feeding her solids twice a day & each time she could gobble down an entire jar of baby food & then at least 1/4 or 1/3 cup of rice cereal. it's amazing! then still take a bottle...if you saw her thighs, you'd know where it all went! this is a bit shocking to us, as adeline refused to let any solids into her mouth (without a big fight at least) until she was well over 6 months...so a little 5 month old who eats this much just amazes me. i guess we better get the food processor out to make some pureed veggies & fruit or else we'll be broke from buying both baby food & formula.