Baby Smiles!

Okay, I know I already showed you the video of Selah and the baby in the mirror, but I had to share the still photos that I took before I remembered the video function on our camera. Be forewarned -- it's almost too much cuteness!


I love the next one ...

"How YOU doin'?"

Just A Quick Note ...

Despite the fact that I have no musical ability whatsoever, Jeff and I have been hoping that his genetics would take over and our children would somehow be prodigies. We're still waiting. And in the meantime, we're enjoying his saxophone. We discovered recently that if he plays one long continuous note, Selah will stop fussing. Maybe this will be the one!

Sleepy Babies

Aren't they beautiful?

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

I love to make muffins for my family! They're quick and easy and very versatile. They also freeze well, so I can make a big batch and keep them handy. I recently found a wonderful recipe for muffin mix that makes them even more convenient. The recipe makes enough mix for 4 batches of muffins. The fun part is coming up with different combinations of stuff to mix into the muffins!
All-Star Muffin Mix
4 cups all-purpose flour
4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
In a large bowl, combine the first six ingredients. Store in airtight containers in a cool dry place or in the freezer for up to 6 months.

Additional ingredients:
1 egg
1 cup 2% milk
1/2 cup butter, melted

(Each batch of 12 muffins requires 2-3/4 cups of the muffin mix, plus the additional ingredients.)
To Prepare:
Place 2-3/4 cups muffin mix in a large bowl. (Fold in your choice of different ingredients here.) Whisk the egg, milk and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. (Do not over stir!) Fill paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 400° for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Here are some great options for different flavors of muffins:
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1 cup mashed canned peaches
1 cup blueberries
1 cup miniature chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup shredded carrot
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup shredded apple
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
1/2 cup dried cranberries
zest of one lemon or orange
replace half of the milk with orange juice
1/2 cup shredded zucchini

Use one or two of these options, trying different combinations to suit your family's tastes.

Baby in the Mirror

I took a short video of Selah today. She's discovered that fascinating baby in the mirror. They're quite good friends already.

Big Brother is Watching You

I don't have very many pictures of Joe with his little sister. That's mainly because she's a baby and he's not so interested in her. I mean, he loves her, and he pats her head and coos at her. But she doesn't DO anything! Well, she cries. A lot. And sometimes makes noises that are apparently hilarious which result in Mommy changing her diaper and occasionally her outfit, too. I guess when she becomes mobile he'll be able to interact with her a little more. That said, Selah was playing on her blanket the other day and I was glad to capture a couple of pictures of Joe talking to her.

Out of the Mouths of Babes ...

My kids provide something for me to laugh about nearly every day. I've saved up a few from the last couple of weeks. Joe is just at the age where he provides more fodder for me, but I'll close with a cute one from Kaity, Child of the Digital Age.

Joe was getting on his big sister's nerves. She made an aggravated "arrrr" sound at him. His response was, "Why did you "arr" me? I am not an "R"!" Let me tell you how happy that made Kaity!

On Thursday, I told the kids to get socks and shoes on. They were immediately suspicious, because we pretty much never leave the house on Thursdays. They started discussing between them what could be going on, where we could be going. Kaity tentatively suggested it was grocery shopping. In a long-suffering tone, Joe said, "It's not Friday, so ... apparently we're not going grocery shopping."

Joe was in the kitchen getting a snack. I called to him from the living room, asking if he needed help. "I got it!" he hollered back. Then a crashing sound. A pause. "I don't got it!"

Last but not least, Kaity was helping me in the kitchen one day and raced out the room abruptly. She called back, "I have to go to the bathroom ... BRB!"

Mommy and Selah

Kaity took all these pictures!

School Days

One of the things Kaity does in school is dictation. I read aloud a passage from one of the books she's reading that week and she writes it down. I show her the passage ahead of time so that she can take note of punctuation, spelling, and any unusual elements in the paragraph. Afterward, I always ask her to go over it to make sure she hasn't made any mistakes. Then I mark anything she's gotten wrong and let her see the passage again so she can correct herself. Well, this week we got to the "going-over-it" part and I said, "Okay, check your spelling and punctuation, make sure there's nothing you've missed -- capitalization, commas ..." Here, Kaity said, "The author used too many commas! I can't remember all of them. I think she overpunctuated." Well, there were a LOT of commas!
P.S.
You can't really tell in this picture, but Selah is sucking her thumb!

Joe being a good big brother! I was fixing lunch and cleaning up the kitchen.

Joe is working on "pre-reading" in school. Basically, learning letters and sounds and sight words. The other day, I told him to race around the house to find me three things that start with M. He brought me milk, math, and a mug!

Hello, Kitty!

Our family now includes three cats. Daisy was a present to me from Jeff for my 19th birthday ... a hundred years ago. Smoky was the next addition. He used to live next door until he started spending more time over here than there. We asked if we could adopt him. :)
This is Daisy, routing Smoky from the best seat in the house.


Our third kitty is unusual in that she is brown! I've never seen a brown cat before, not like this. She's beautiful and shy -- until we all go to bed. Then she and Smoky tear up and down the stairs chasing each other until they collapse, exhausted, on our bed. Then they pounce on whatever moves under the covers.
Hershey, the chocolate kitty, blending in with our brown comforter.

Love It!

This morning I left Kaity in charge while I went to get a shower. When I came out, Kaity and Joe were on the love seat snuggling while she read a book to him. Selah was in her bouncy seat watching them. As I walked up behind them, Selah fussed a bit. Without missing a beat in her story, Kaity stuck her foot out and started rocking the bouncy seat to calm her. She's going to be such a good mommy!

The Rest of the Story ...

By the time I made it fully into the room, Joe had climbed onto the back of the love seat and fallen down onto an art project Kaity had left on the other cushion. Selah started crying. Kaity yelped at Joe and he sat up, raised a hand and said, "I'm okay!"

Fondue Night!

I love fondue! It's so versatile. You can serve whatever you want to use as dippers and everyone can have something they like. You don't have to have a fondue pot to serve it, either, just keep it in a saucepan and reheat as necessary. Ours generally gets eaten so quickly that there's no need to heat it up!
Cheddar Cheese Fondue for dinner! I served it with cubed chicken (seasoned and sauteed), baby carrots, roasted potatoes, and little rolls stuffed with spinach and cheese. It was all good, though I confess that the potatoes nearly caused strife when there were only a few left. Fortunately, no one was stabbed with a fondue fork, but it was a close call. :)

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
3 potatoes, scrubbed and diced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary

This is a very simple, to-your-taste recipe. Just toss the potatoes with the olive oil and seasonings. I don't actually measure anything for this, so the amounts are all approximate. Bake on a foil-lined baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Take out and stir around, flipping over the potatoes. Bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown.

Dessert -- Double Chocolate Fondue. Wow. This is incredibly rich, but -- wow. Here's a link to the deliciousness. I served it with marshmallows, apples, bananas (not pictured), and rolls stuffed with peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Yep. She's A Girl

From laughter to tears in 0.6 seconds. :)

Kiddos

Selah in her swing.

Kaity reading -- Cheaper By The Dozen, I think. Wonderful book!

Joe working on Explode the Code.

The kids surprised me this morning with clean rooms without being asked! Part of the routine of our school day is getting their rooms straightened and beds made. I generally have to "encourage" them to get the job done in a timely manner. What a fantastic surprise! I gave them each a Tootsie Roll Pop as a reward. :)

Splish-Splash, I Was Takin' A Bath ...

I gave Selah a bath in her tub last night and had Jeff take pictures.

Before ...

During ...

After ...

One Month!

Yesterday was Selah's one month birthday! I didn't have any good pictures to upload, though, so I decided to wait until later to post. I finally got around to the pictures at about nine o' clock last night ...

That's Smoky trying to get in on the snuggling.





And one last picture that I forgot I had. I took it on Sunday after getting ready for church. The dress is one Nannie -- Jeff's mom, Cheryl -- got for Kaity.

News

I don't have any new pictures right now to put up, but plenty of updates! For starters, we've moved back into our house in Commerce. Our first night back was Saturday and we're getting settled in pretty well. The whole family is very glad to be back at church at Maysville. We've really missed serving and worshiping there!

Jeff's job is about the same, nothing unusual going on there. He's glad to be back in the band and choir at church.

I bounced back amazingly quickly after Selah's birth, with only a little hiccup called mastitis the week after she was born.

Kaity is currently sick with what we think is the flu. But otherwise she's doing well. She's had a lot of fun fixing up her room and likes having it all to herself. (Selah's in with us for now, but will eventually transition to Kaity's room.)

Joe is doing fine, not sick yet and we're hoping he won't get it! He likes being a big brother but doesn't like the crying. :)

Selah is also doing fine. She's one month old today! She has a restless, fussy time about 10 or 11 at night. Once she settles down, though, she sleeps until 5 or 6 in the morning. The vacuum cleaner makes her instantly quit crying, which is nice.

Daisy is thrilled to be home again. Our other cat Smoky, who had been anxious throughout the car ride, started purring as soon as Jeff pulled into the driveway.