6 Months Old, ALREADY!

We can't believe our little girl is already 6 months old!  How quickly the time has gone.  This has been the best 6 months our lives!  She's such a blessing and really lights up a room and can turn any bad mood upside down (even her Daddy's!).  Here's a recap of month 6!

Miss Gemma had her visit with Santa before Thanksgiving - we noticed Santa was already posted up at the mall and the lines were non-existent, so one evening we popped in and got her photo taken. Look at that cute little grin!  No tears, either.  She was totally digging the Big Man.

 Thanksgiving weekend, The Robbins came to visit and with a visit from the Robbins comes Alia's mad camera skills.  So, since we had our tree up, we dressed Baby Chooch up in her Christmas dress and told Riley to lay by the tree and snapped some photos. I'm so, so happy with how they turned out!  We are getting so many huge smiles and belly laughs out of Gemma these days!

 Of course, I take advantage of the holiday season to dress her almost every day in a Christmas outfit of some sort. 

 She is so, so close to being ready to sit up all on her own.  She can for a little bit, but she tends to tilt herself over.  She's also a rolling machine - flipping to her belly the minute she is put in her crib and making her way around our house roll by roll.

 We went and picked out a Christmas tree, too.  In her sixth month, Gemma not only started solids, but she also got a taste of the tree - she managed to get a pine needle in her mouth from the carpet and swallowed it!  Good experience for us calling Poison Control (Fraser Firs are NOT poisonous) and she was just fine.

 Her eyes are settling in at a really pretty blue - our pediatrician said by this age, they don't vary much more so looks like Miss Gemma is going to stay a blue eyed beauty.

 This month, we also finally have enough hair for bed head!  Here she is after her morning nap - crazy hair baby!  A handful of people have also commented on her "faux hawk"...not amused.

 We started solids last Sunday - about a week shy of 6 months old.  Man, was she ready.  Brian couldn't shovel in the rice cereal fast enough!  Since then, I've made homemade Sweet Potatoes and Pears.  She didn't seem to love either, but she didn't refuse them or spit them out!  Next up?  Butternut squash!

 We also have an array of Christmas pj's!  Gemma is loving her time in her exersaucer but also wanting to jump and move more so we'll be looking to move to her jumperoo soon!

 We think she's looking more and more like Brian - what do you think? 

  And here she is today - on her 6 month birthday in her big girl high chair!  And what has decided to grace us with its presence just in time for her half-year birthday?  A tooth!  It hasn't come through yet, but we definitely have a teether on our hands!  She loves to gnaw on Brian's fingers, her cold teething rings, her sippee cup (yes, we introduced that with water this week, too!), her Sophie giraffe and basically anything within her reach that she can put in her mouth before we can stop her!  Her favorite of all things to do is to drink from Mommy's big girl cup - cold, cold water! 



Thankful...

As I mentioned in my last post, I have a lot to catch up on.  So, in this post, we'll be covering Pre-Thanksgiving with Friends, Gemma Turns 5 Months and the real Thanksgiving.  Ready...go!

Earlier in November, we had a Pre-Thanksgiving Feast with our friends...our 2nd Annual back in California, but I used to do this with my roommates in college and after college so for me, I think this is my 6th (in California - did 1 in Colorado, too!).  It's much easier now...I remember the first year Alia and I were wrestling with a frozen turkey...no idea it needed several days to thaw....searching for a neck in the cavity...calling our moms every step of the way asking how to do this or how to do that.  I think I have it down, now.

 We made the bird, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the gravy and we baked a pie we bought at Apple Hill, too.  Our wonderful friends provided the rest of the plentiful feast's menu.

 Everyone ate themselves silly.

 Here's proof of said eating.  Also, check out those cute babies who joined us at the table in their Bumbo chairs.

 I knew you wanted a close up of the babies.  And a rundown of the cat-fight that ensued.  Here you see Gemma playing with her bird toy...you also may see cousin Ava trying to also play with it.

 Oh, hey, look at that.  Boom!  Ava's got the toy....you want to know what happened next?  I had to put down the camera to stop the fight my dear daughter started by grabbing a fistful of Ava's beautiful mane and yanking.  That naughty baby (it's a good thing she's so stinkin' cute!).  Is this a sneak peak at what's to come when she's a teenager?  I mean, I know she's jealous of Ava's hair, but violence isn't the answer.

 Speaking of hair, look who has some more!  Gemma also turned 5 months old between Thanksgiving with Friends and the Real Deal.  Here she is with her favorite toy (at the moment) - doing her favorite thing - gnawing on it.  Those smilin' baby blues are telling me she's one happy baby with her book, all snug in her Baby Gap sweats.

 And onto Thanksgiving Day, 2011.  Sadly, I don't have many pictures.  We hosted it at our house this year and I must have been preoccupied with all the cooking and setting up.  We did, however, snap a few photos of our favorite turkey in the most adorable Thanksgiving outfit EVER before she pooped all over it...twice.  That's right, this bad boy was in the wash before people came over and back on, only to be destroyed once again before dinner.  Oh, Gemma, we love you.

Maui or Bust....

Aloha, Blog Readers....First let me apologize for my lack of blog upkeep.  I'm a busy lady these days.  Baby, hubby, dog, work, house...amongst other things.  I know I owe lots of updates, however THIS is certainly the most exciting update as of late...

We are Maui bound in less than 2 months!  O.M.G.  I'm practically bursting with excitement.  I feel like Mai Tais and Pina Coladas are seeping out of my skin as the excitement boils over.  We're taking a Dirty 30 Birthday trip in style - got a condo on the beach in Kaanapali Bay with my brother and his girlfriend (sadly, only Brian and I are turning 30, they are still spring chickens) - and of course Baby Gemma, too.  We are staying at the Honua Kai resort (picture above).  Thank you, Costco Travel, for a smokin' deal.

So, while you're enjoying the dead of winter, we'll be enjoying the luscious sand beach pictured here - oh, did I mention that Kaanapali Beach is listed on some 10 Best Beaches lists?  That's right.  Anywho, enough bragging....what do you think of this swim suit for Baby Chooch?  It has a matching hat....

Whoops....

I am so brain dead I didn't even realize I'd already posted about Halloween.  Sorry for the redundancy...hope you love pics of my little lady bug as much as I do!

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

More like 16 days late, but who's counting. And we're really not a dollar short, but we are out of clever blog titles.  Halloween photo time!  We had a fun evening with Baby Chooch doubling as a Lady Bug this year.  We took lots of photos with our pumpkins, handed out candy, had a nice dinner with Kristen, Josh and Ava and talked about how fun next year will be when this little bug can actually Trick-or-Treat!

What a smile she has!  Too bad the smile did not last more than 15 minutes in this hot, hot costume!  Gemma was en fuego and quickly was down to just her Halloween onesie, watching Monday Night Football with her cousin, Ava...



Fam Bam Photo Teaser

On Sunday, we took family portraits with my family, and we also got some photos of our little 3-person family (sorry, Riley).  Here's the "sneak peek" shot the photog gave us.  LOVE!

We had a lot of fun - making crazy noises and making fun of my mom (Grammy) for jumping around like a fool to get Gemma to smile, but it worked and we got some great, great photos so the joke is on us!

Anywho, speaking of the photog, he's an old swim-team friend from the rec swimming days, Christopher Cooke.  He is awesome.  And affordable.  Definitely will be our photog go to in the future.  He was supposed to do our Newborn session with Gemma, but he was ill, sadly.  Check out his website and blog:

http://www.christophercookephotography.net/

http://www.cmc-photo.com/

Workin' Mama

I went back to work last week. It was a rough week and a sad transition emotionally.  I keep reminding myself I want to use both parts of my brain and have a "dual" purpose again.  And the investment in my career is an investment in Gemma's financial future, too.  And I want to show my little girl that when she grows up she can have a career and be a mom, too. 

As I transition into a full time workin' mama....I am so, so, so thankful for my beautiful, happy baby who makes being a mom so easy.  She smiles and laughs all the time.  Rarely cries.  Is very content and relatively patient for a baby.  Sleeps well, eats well.  She's pretty dang perfect, if you ask me!  I also need to give a shout out to Brian, too - he's made the transition that much easier by helping more around the house, assisting in getting Gemma ready for the day each morning and for sharing the responsibilities of drop off and pick up at daycare.  What a guy!

And so, I leave you with the cutest video YET of Miss Happy Baby herself :)

*%$*$#@&& Justify Button

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD....

Fellow Bloggers, please help me understand why NONE of my photos are center-justified when that is how I format them in the "edit" mode?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!!?!?

Gemma Does Denver

Brian had a business trip two weeks ago to Colorado, so Gemma and I tagged along using a free ticket on Southwest.  We had the BEST time.  We were in Denver for 4 nights and we were able to visit so many friends.  AND, Gemma experienced her first snow!  We flew in right before a big storm, so there was fresh (very wet, soggy) snow on the ground for the rest of the trip.

 We had dinner with Sara on Tuesday night, lunch with Austin on Wednesday, dinner with Blitzer on Wednesday night, lunch with Laurie on Thursday and a visit to the old office to see many old co-worker/friends, amazing chili-dinner party hosted by the oh-so-generous Gomperts on Thursday night with lots of our mile-high pals and Friday fun day (and night) with the Herrmanns.  Unfortunately, I didn't take that many great photos with our friends, but I did score this awesome photo of the cutest little face ever in her bear-fleece, flipping the bird to her photo-viewers.  I'll need to crop that out for the Christmas card...

 A visit to Colorado wouldn't be complete without a photo of Baby Chooch tapping the Rockies with a cold Coors Light.

Looking forward to a mountain house weekend with our Denver "family" sometime this winter!



Harvest Baby

Having a baby around the holidays is way more fun than just having a dog (sorry, Riley).  Per usual, we headed to a pumpkin patch this year, with not only Riley in tow, but Gemma, too, of course. 

We were THAT family who showed up with their dog, baby in a Halloween outfit, camera with self shoot setting and remote control.  We trotted over to the hay bales and set up pumpkins as we see fit for our photo shoot back drop.  Brian was embarrassed, I was not.

It's much harder to get your dog AND baby to pose in pictures, we are finding.  Gemma loved the pumpkin patch.  We think it was the twinkling lights and the colorful pumpkins.  The minute we arrived, she was full of giggles and smiles. 

 Then it came to carving pumpkins...which as you can see by the look on her face, was boring to her.  Luckily, Brian and I had fun with her, taking photos and talking to her while we carved. 

 We feel pretty strongly that our baby was the CUTEST dang lady bug there was on Halloween.  Look at that smile, double chin and big ol' cheeks!  I just want to kiss her all day long, every day.

 I carved her little pumpkin for her (By the way, carving small pumpkins is hard!  The flesh of the squash was much harder to carve through and it was quite difficult to get the guts out of such a small hole) - a smiling girl face with kissy lips.

We handed out candy and fought Riley to the door with each ding of the doorbell.  Halloween is Riley's favorite holiday - it would be yours, too, if you were a dog that loved visitors.  It was like Christmas morning every time the door bell rang....

Looking forward to more holiday-baby pictures over these next couple months...only 47 more days until the big man in the red suit visits!

Giggle Wiggle

The sweetest sound we've ever heard.....

4 Months Old!

Look who's 4 months old!!!  We can't believe 4 months have already passed since that amazing day this little angel came into our lives. 

This past month, Gemma is a smiling machine!  She also started laughing which is like music to our ears.

She also was baptized this month!  She was such a good baby for the whole ceremony.  Even when we stripped her down, dipped her in a bowl of warm water, poured water over head in front of a bunch of our family and friends.

 She is lucky to have her Great Uncle Danny and Great Aunt Amy for her Godparents, too.

 We had a barbecue at our house afterwards, which was lots of fun.  My mom ordered chocolate truffles as favors and they were wrapped with pretty pink ribbons.  Brian picked the cake flavor - vanilla chiffon cake, lemon mousse, lemon curd and fresh raspberries, yum!

 Brian barbecued chicken and tri-tip for some of our family and friends.  I made orzo salad and fruit salad and ordered dinner rolls.  My mom made potato salad and Debbie made green salad - it was quite a feast!

 This pretty baby wore a very special baptismal gown, too.  My grandmother's grandmother made this gown in Italy many, many years ago.  My dad wore it (with blue ribbon), I wore it, my brothers wore it and now it was Gemma's turn.  I had it restored just for the occasion and it looked beautiful.

Anywho, onto more month 4 updates...she loves to stand and push off her legs, but she's not quite steady enough yet for her jump-aroo, so we got her an exersaucer which she LOVES.

 We went on our first date night and Uncle Gabriel and Auntie Lindsay baby sat.

 This naughty baby was at it again - shopping spree central on her 4 month birthday!  Now that she's in 3-6 months clothes some of the time, she wanted some new outfits and Carter's was having a HUGE sale. 

 She is a grabber!  She particularly loves her Little Giraffe blankie with the silky edge and her star blanket that has different textured edges for some good chewing.

 Here she is at 4 months old!  What a ham!  She's a talkative little baby these days, too.  Also, she rolled over from back to front this month!

Apple Hill

Last weekend, Brian, Gemma and I drove up to Apple Hill for the day.  We figured it was a great way to spend a fall "family day".  After almost three hours in the car, this baby was very pleased to move to her stroller:

 We had a bbq lunch, looked around the craft booths, shared an apple fritter and enjoyed ourselves at High Hill Ranch.  Then we walked to a pumpkin patch....on the way, we passed really pretty vineyards:

 At the pumpkin patch, this 'lil pumpkin looked so cute!

 Look at those smiling eyes peaking over daddy's shoulder:

 Family photo at the pumpkin patch after a big bottle and a diaper change:

 We walked by a tree farm, too...took this picture of silvertips for my mom:

 After I had the most delicious caramel apple ever, we each had an apple beer then we headed out to Bodhaine Apple Ranch to buy frozen pies for Thanksgiving....Harvest Pie (cream cheese - pumpkin) and a Raspberry Apple Cream Cheese Pie...both blue ribbon winners at the state fair...yum!

We had a great day...next year, we'll go during the week AND when the weather has cooled down a little more.  Gemma was so good all day - even in the car! We ended the night by stopping in Vacaville for dinner with Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Mitch.