Sneaky Baby

Gemma is jonesin' for a family vacation so she's been thinking up all sorts of schemes to convince her Nonno to treat the family to a trip.  The most recent is dressing herself up in beach gear and using props.  Sneaky Baby!  I hope it works!

Week 10

Blog catch up time!  Our lil angel is almost 11 weeks old, but it's time to blog about the 10th week.  We had a fun week because the weather was beautiful!  We had some awesome hammock time and actually snapped a photo of me and my girl.

 Chooch got her very own big girl chair for reading stories and lounging.  Couldn't pass up a sale at PB Kids, especially when they told me this pattern was being discontinued and PINK is what's pulling her room together in girl fashion - pink and green.

 We went swimming for the first time - Nonno heated their hot tub up to a nice baby friendly temperature and this lil gal was in HEAVEN.  We have a total fish on our hands.  Lots of cooing and smiles and complete and utter enjoyment.

 We went on two 3.5 mile walks in her new bad-ass stroller.  Smooth ride and she loves it.  She sprawls out and takes a fat nap while we walk.  She's still a little too small for the stroller, but we take it easy - no off roading yet.

 Tummy time every day!  In fact, now when we try to do tummy time, it doesn't last long because she rolls right onto her back.

 Cutie-patootie in sunglasses.

 With Grammy at cousin Ava's baptism. 

 "Are you jealous of my hair flower?"

 Family photo at the baptism luncheon - it was HOT!

 Our boy turned FIVE years old on Saturday!  He got some cheese and wet food in his kibble, along with a new frisbee, a bone and a new ball toy. 

 We had fun hanging out in the evening, snapping photos with our camera's remote control.  Riley is a little camera ham.

...and her weekly photo!  Not going to lie, these are getting hard to keep up with.



Sleeps....

...just like her Daddy.  Nothing can wake this kiddo when she wants to sleep.

Farewell....

Goodbye, lush, bountiful pregnancy hair.....it was fun experiencing a lovely full head of hair.  See you next kid!

Fruit Tart - Kind of Homemade

Brian and I went to dinner at our friends Mike and Jen's house on Friday night.  It was a really fun excursion out of the house with Gemma.  Our first, in fact, besides going to our parents' houses.  It turns out when you have a baby your social invitations really go down the drain (in our case anyway, and I'm not complaining, it's just different).  So, we were excited to hang out with some friends, and get out of the house with the baby.  I offered to bring something and Mike suggested dessert.  I wanted to bring something summery and fun, but I only had a couple of hours.  So, I perused a couple of recipes on my handy-dandy iPhone while Gemma and I were at Target and picked up the ingredients to make the fruit tart pictured above.  I call it "kind of" homemade because I took a big short cut for the crust in the interest of time.  This was DELICIOUS!  In fact, I made it again to tweak a few things last night for dinner with my family.  It's very easy and very summery - everyone gave it two thumbs up.

Ingredients

- 1 package of the sugar cookie mix (from the baking aisle at the grocery store, the kind where you just add an egg and some butter)

- 1 egg

- 1/3 cup butter

- 1 and 1/2 packages cream cheese (softened)

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1 tbspn fresh lime or lemon juice

- lime or lemon zest (to your liking)

- fresh fruit, sliced up (small berries can be kept whole)

- 3/4 cup apricot preserves

- 2 tbspn water

Instructions

Start by following the directions on the sugar cookie package.  Preheat the oven as directed.  Grease a tart pan (mine is the kind with the removable bottom, I highly recommend). Once the cookie dough is mixed, push it onto the bottom of the tart pan and up the sides.  Try to keep it thin, you won't need all the cookie dough.  Bake, as directed on package.

Make an apricot glaze.  Heat apricot preserves and 2 tbspn water in a microwaveable dish, stopping and stirring a few times.  I also ran mine through a strainer to get the fruit bits out so I had a nice, smooth, glaze.  Once your crust is cool, brush the glaze onto the crust with a pastry brush (I'm sure a spatula would work, too).  This prevents the crust from getting soggy later.

With a hand mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, lemon or lime juice and zest until smooth.  Spread over crust evenly.  Next, arrange all of your fruit in a fancy looking design.  I used peaches, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries in the picture above.  Kiwi, nectarines, blackberries, etc. would all be yummy, too.  Once your fruit is arranged, brush a layer of apricot glaze over the top.  This will keep the fruit in place and give your tart a fancy shiny look.  Ta-dah!  Delish.

Next time, I'd like to allow for more time and make a homemade pastry crust....

Week 9

I am running about a week behind with my weekly Gemma updates, but we are busy doing things away from the computer.  We've been doing lots of house stuff - new door hinges here, hanging a mirror there, a picture here and there, new smoke/carbon monoxide alarms, attempting to fix closet doors, etc.  More to come on these house updates later.

Back to the good stuff - Gemma!  She's still so cute and making us smile every day, all day long (well, aside from the occasional fussy baby episode).  She's a cooing machine and she's such a happy, smiley baby in the mornings.

 She got to enjoy some football with Daddy, Mike and Riley.  We're going on lots of walks and spending lots of time in the hammock.  She is definitely going to be an outdoorsy baby/kid.  When she's having a rough moment and needs to be calmed down, take her outside and it's like an instant switch!  We also got her birth certificate last week so she's all set for her first vacation - San Juan Island in Washington with Mommy, Grammy and Great Auntie Sue next weekend.

 Look at that sweet face.  I want to kiss those cheeks nonstop (and sometimes I do).

 Sweet baby girl at 9 weeks old!

Smiley Baby!

Gemma and I slept SO well last night and it paid off.  This morning, this is the happy, smiley baby I got to spend time with.  What a smile!  Daddy got to see his baby girl while on his business trip thanks to the good ol' iPhone, too.

Water Baby

Yesterday, it was FINALLY hot enough to take Gemma swimming.  Since Brian is out of town on business for the day, we went over to Grammy and Nonno's to swim.  Nonno heated the hot tub up to a good "baby" temp and Gemma got to try out her new swim diaper and swim suit.  She is a natural water lover - just like Mommy and Daddy!  Although this video doesn't do her joy justice, she was loving it.  More cooing and excitement all at once than I've ever seen from this lil baby.  She was moving her arms and kicking her little feet, staring up at the trees and the sky (her favorite thing to look at).  For some reason, as soon as my dad started to record us, she got a little fussy and as soon as the video stopped, she was a happy camper again.

This is the swim diaper I got on Amazon (ImseVimse Swim Diaper) for her swim lessons starting next month, and although it's still a little big I am very pleased with its performance!  She pooped and I had no idea (ie. no leaking in the hot tub!) until I took her suit and diaper off when we were done swimming.  I highly recommend this for any upcoming vacations or swim lessons to those of you with babies.  Just a word to the wise, it doesn't hold in pee - just solids so you can't let the baby hang out it in (unless you don't mind pee everywhere).

I think we'll be going swimming again this weekend if the weather cooperates!

On My Two Month Birthday...

I played with my toys in my bedroom and Mommy read me some books.

 I had happy tummy time and Mommy admired my new hair that is growing in thick and shiny.

 I told Mommy and Riley some stories.

 My boy really wanted me to share my toys with him.

 I listened to some tunes on Mommy's bed after I got dressed in my pretty flower romper.

I laid outside in the shade with my my pup and looked at the blue sky and the tall trees.

 I had to have a "2 Month" photo session and I did not cooperate and give a smile.

 I got to swing in my hammock which is my favorite!

And I got to spend the evening with Daddy while Mommy went to see The Help.  He fed me, read to me, played with me and rocked me to sleep.  Not a bad day, not a bad day at all.

Week 8

Already 8 weeks!  I'm behind in blogging because our little Ciucci LOVES to be held all the time now, unless she's sleeping.  Needless to say, she keeps me busy. 

A few fun tidbits I forgot to mention last update (well, actually the pictures were just on my other camera)...Gemma got to meet her Great Grandma Ann!  We took a girls trip up to Vacaville to shop at the outlets for the day and we stopped to visit Grandma and Grandpa on the way home.  It was a long day for the Gemster, but she did great.

 The three of us (me, Riley and Gemma) have been going on lots of walks, too while Brian's at work.  When we take our short walk, we stop at the park and play fetch.  Gemma likes to relax in the shade, and so does Riley, but I'm trying to work on my tan (ha!).

 Last week, we made the trip up to Vacaville to celebrate Debbie's 55th birthday!  Gemma had a great time visiting with lots of family and showing off her super-cute pink halter top romper.

 And finally we got a little smile for her weekly photo!  And a cute outfit to boot!  Her "real" hair is coming in pretty thick now which is so cute and soft.  Her eyes are also getting lighter.

 She still loves the hammock.  Last weekend, she got to lounge in the hammock with her Nonno.

 Bright eyes!

We are spending our mornings talking and cooing and working on getting on a good nap schedule because pretty little Gemma is an angry little baby when she doesn't get her naps.....

Baby Talk

Little Gemma is all smiles and baby talk these days - or at least it's starting!  Here's a little video I took on my phone this morning.  Her smile is infectious!

Squirrel Hunting

Gemma and I changed the words to a lullaby to honor our squirrel hunter....

"Bye, Baby Bunting

Riley's gone a-hunting

To catch a little squirrel skin

To wrap his Baby Gemma in"

Week 7!

As I write these weekly "Gemma updates", I feel like I'm counting down the days that are slipping by!  We are still having such a wonderful time with our little girl.  Every day she is sweeter and sweeter. 

Most recently, she's discovered she does love her paci, but only this kind.  She loves to suck and gaze around the room and sometimes fall asleep.

 We took lots of pictures this week trying to get the perfect shot for her baptism invitation - which I ordered today.  We had her rite of enrollment/annointing yesterday at our new church and scheduled her baptism today for October 1.  Our precious peach was an angel in church...even if she did poop really loud during her annointing AND the quiet time after communion.  Oops.

 Riley loves his baby girl, but he does not love when I pretend to make her ride him....

I can't stare at her enough and laugh and play and talk to her - her facial expressions and reactions are getting cuter and cuter each day.  She smiles big huge smiles and I wish I could capture one on camera, but we're usually too busy laughing and enjoying her big grins. 

 She's also starting to coo and baby talk a little more....she really works it up and then makes a funny little noise and is so proud of herself.

 Gemma loves the hammock!  Fussy baby + swinging hammock + cuddle with mommy or daddy = happy baby.

We're officially moving out of most newborn clothes....this little lady is too long for her onesies and footy pants and sleepers and long sleeved shirts.  The 0-3 month sizes are a wee-bit too big, but at least they're not too short!  I love the little dress in her "weekly" shot - Baby Gap clearance!  Soon, we hope to get a smile in one of these weekly photos! 

Her hair is thinning out a bit in the back and she's got a mini-mullet going on, but it's too cute!  In other, more exciting news, we signed her up today for her first swim lessons!  She starts next month at 3 months old and the session runs through December.  It's a mommy/daddy and me class so either Brian or I will get to splash around with baby Gemmers as she learns to love the water like us!  She even has the cutest ruffle butterfly swim suit ready to go!  She loves the bath and the shower so we're thinking she's a natural fish.

Week 6

Gemma turned 6 weeks old on Saturday.  This week she's been a much fussier baby, but at the same time, she's also getting much more interactive and giving us lots of smiles!  I love love love her little smile!

This week she also discovered she likes the pacifier - but only the Soothie kind by Avent.  She'll take it sometimes and loves to suck and look around and eventually fall asleep. 

 We are also discovering she loves to sleep on her belly - and we realize that BACK IS BEST, however when she's doing her tummy time and falls asleep, we can't help but think she's so cute!

 We're working on aiming for smiles during our weekly photo shoots, but so far we only get the straight-face look.  We think she's still cute!

 Gemma loves to take mini-naps on our bed while I get ready and do little things around the house.  (For all you rule-followers, don't judge or worry, we don't REALLY let her sleep like this with our comforter on her, just for mini-naps while we're right nearby.

 This week, Gemma also spent almost a whole day with her Grammy and Nonno while I had my 6 week check up.  She got to use her new play yard that Grammy bought her and she had a great day - lots of smiles and love!  We also went shopping at Broadway Plaza with Stefania and met up with Grandma Debbie and her friends for lunch.  Gemma was a great little shopper - mostly she slept in her stroller or looked around and enjoyed the change of scenery.

On lists of amazing baby items, this week's is not really a baby item, but it's amazing and comes in very handy for nursing and pumping and just holding a sleeping baby.  We got an iPad2 and it's FABULOUS!  I can now check my email, surf the internet, play Words with Friends, check my bank balance, pay bills, chat on Yahoo! Messenger, watch TV shows on Hulu, stalk on Facebook, shop on Amazon, and read books on Kindle while I nurse, pump or just hold the sleeping baby.

Oh how I've missed thee....

Today, I made chocolate chip cookies to bring to my workmates tomorrow when I bring Gemma for a visit....and I got to sample some cookie dough for the first time in almost a year...MMMMMMMMMMMM!  I don't make cookies all that often, but I love a little bite of the dough and all through my pregnancy that was a no-no because of the raw egg.  Today, I probably over-indulged but MAN was that dough delicious.  This new chocolate chip cookie recipe was DE-LISH according to Brian who sampled a few when he got home from work.