Halloween

To be fair, I started a post about a month ago. However, it was one of those that included, "yesterday we did…" and then I didn't finish the post and it became too much of a hassle to correct the grammar and tenses, so you just didn't get to see the September edition. Perhaps I'll review it and realize it's not the hassle that explaining it is and I'll post it after this. Boy, I'm a mess.

Anyway, today was Halloween, so here are a bunch of pics. We finally have our Star Wars Halloween stuff together. Next year, Ellie will probably want to be a doctor though and our careful planning will all be for naught….

To give you an update on the girls, Cali is HUGE! She will be 9 months in just over a week. She is almost 18 pounds (if not over). Her thighs are so big that I cannot wrap my hand around them. Of course, I haven't been able to do that for a while. She finally started solids on a regular schedule last week. I was just doing lunch and dinner, but she's stopped nursing when she wakes up and this morning she got downright cranky, so today we introduced breakfast. I'm starting to find it hard to offer her variety. I have a personal challenge to not buy any jars of baby food. It's pretty easy to blend up what we eat or to mash soft foods. However, we are also trying to do a little more baby-led weaning with her, so often I'm just putting soft foods on her tray. So far she has had: roasted broccoli (a favorite), persimmon, banana, avocado, blended gnocchi with butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potato,  tender dried apricots (another favorite), rice blend, roasted okra, and some others I'm sure I'm forgetting. The girl likes to eat. About the only thing she has outright refused is baby oatmeal with breast milk. To be fair, it's pretty disgusting cold. And, avocados. She eats them, but doesn't seem to care for them much. And, her hair is starting to come in. She might have actual hair by Christmas...

Ellie is progressing like gang-busters. She talks constantly. She sings too, but mostly to herself, so if you pay attention, she usually stops. Breakfast and lunch continue to be her favorite meals. Lately, she's been refusing to eat much of anything for dinner. She'll be moving up into the Preschool class in January. She starts her first extracurricular tomorrow. They opened Kindermusik up to toddlers (since she's almost not one anymore). I think she'll love it. Her big thing lately is tea parties. A friend recently gave her one as a "big sister" present and she won't stop playing with it. We get lots of invitations to tea, but as yet, I don't think anyone has been given leave to actually drink the tea. She is very bossy. I'm not sure where she gets that from ;)

I'm working on Tri Kappa publicity. It's a big proposition, but I'm having some luck engaging my committee. Unfortunately, everyone is scheduled to the eyeballs, so it's a little more challenging than other groups I've been in. Next up, I need to work on Marketing for the new restaurant, Main+Lincoln. I keep putting it off because the opening seems far off, but somehow I'll need to find balance or engage a sitter for a few more hours a week to get some things done. I've been trying to get to bed by 9 all week without success. On the upside, if I decide to go back to work in a few years, I think I can make a convincing argument that I stayed active in marketing while unemployed…

Rick was recently promoted to CEO. He's been pretty busy since. He'll be resuming his two-week long trips to Asia and Europe in 2014. I'm not looking forward to those. He's about to start work in earnest on Ellie's big Christmas gift, a dollhouse. Grandma Nancy is working on the dolls, and I have the task of finishing and decorating the dollhouse. I've actually had a reason to be on eBay and may have found a hobby for when I'm an empty nester (yes, I realize that's pretty far off). There is a whole other world out there made up of people who are SERIOUS about modeling small scale environments. It's pretty cool.

The power has been out for about an hour now, so before we lose internets too, I'll sign off. You'll have to use your imagination on the captions. Thanks for reading.

Labor-free Weekend

It's still August and I'm bucking the trend with a second post this month! (Thanks, Janet for prompting me with your email :)) This week finds us in Texas. Cali has made her first plane trip. Since Rick isn't flying anymore, Cali won't bank as many flight hours as quickly. Both girls handled the flight pretty well. We had to wake them up early (in theory). In reality, Cali woke herself up about 5:30 am and Ellie bounded out of bed when I crept into her room asking, "Is it time to go to Texas?" She's a hoot, that one. Cali slept briefly on the way to the airport and then for 2 20-minute siestas during the 3 hour flight. She really didn't care for the decent. Ellie bounced all around the cabin for at least 2 hours of the flight, but she still didn't want to nap once we got settled at Grandma's. She's starting to fight naps, although the increase in whiny erratic behavior indicates to me that she's really not ready to give them up.

Today, Daddy took Ellie to Schlitterbaun, a nearby waterpark. Cali and I went with Grandfather to Half-Price books so I could soak up the atmosphere of one of my favorite browsing stores and do a little shopping. We discovered that a baby carseat is a tight fit in the back of a Fiat. Tomorrow, we get to celebrate Great Grandma's birthday with my Aunt Candie and meet Aunt Mad's fiancé. Daddy and Grandfather are planning to go to the shooting range in the AM. It should be a fun-packed day!

Since I last wrote, Dad and Ellie went car camping with the Tesla, they caught a Cubs game, the family went down to Indy for a mini-reunion (and a Star Wars exhibit), and Ellie got her second haircut.

Cali isn't doing much drastically different. She rolls sometimes, but it seems to be an accident because it's so rare. She's showing interest in solid foods and I've let her try a bit of melon, oatmeal, and tomato. I'm waiting until she can sit better to let her get too into food. She's had a recent growth spurt that has thrown a monkey wrench into our (formerly) beautiful sleep schedule. She's wearing mostly 9 month clothes and when she goes for her 6 month appointment in a couple weeks, I expect she'll be about 16 pounds. Her little legs are like sausages. I have to actually dig into the fat folds to make sure there's nothing hiding when it's bath-time. I've abandoned cloth diapering for now. The child leaked out almost every time and the laundry was getting a little ridiculous. We're transitioning to size 3 diapers now.

P has discovered the versatility of Raspberry Pi's (tiny computers) for creating interesting side projects. He has been working on time-lapse cameras for the build site and now he's working on a back seat camera for Ellie's "jump-seats" in the back of the Tesla.

I've been working on a little marketing for the new restaurant, but mostly I've been collecting ideas for the decor. It's been fun getting together with the other investors to iron out our ideas of how the restaurant should look. I'm also working out how to get a more disciplined Publicity committee going for Tri Kappa, but it's a tall order to do that from the ground up. Luckily, I had a great mentor, so I know what a good program should look like.

My garden is a mess, as it usually is by this time of year. I don't have the heart to prune my tomatoes much or the foresight to stake them as well as I should, so I usually end up with some wildness. Thus far, tomato worms are staying away, which is kind of amazing. Squash bugs and heat have decimated my zucchini plants, which is just well I suppose. Apparently, I did a decent job selecting beans, because I've had a colorful assortment of yellow, purple, and green for a while. The yellow Capitano have been the overall best producers, but my string beans have finally rallied and are producing some awesome greens and purples now. I've had a less than stellar crop of tomatillos, mostly because I squeezed them in as an afterthought instead of planning for them. I will be able to make a batch or two of Emeril's enchilada sauce though, so that'll make it worthwhile. I think I'll finally be more selective next year with tomatoes. I've been randomly planting whatever varieties sound good in the seed catalogs for 5 years and I'm finally finding some I really like (other than black cherries, which were love at first bite). I've decided I don't really care for the buxom slicing tomatoes. I have a small variety of slicing tomatoes (that I'll have to identify soon) with delicious flavor that aren't mealy. I also planted San Marzanos, which are delicious, but I've found are a little prone to blossom rot. And, my black cherries are yumtastic again this year. For sheer interest, I've got a beautiful small black and red variety called Indigo Rose. However, they are a LONG time maturing, so I haven't eaten enough to decide if they are keepers or merely interesting. Otherwise, I've decided to try to track down the Zima brand tomatoes for next year. I think they are close to Golden Sweet (F1). I normally only grow heirloom tomatoes, but I'll make an exception with these because they are delicious, which is unusual for yellow tomatoes in my opinion. If anyone has any suggestions to try for next year, shoot me a message :)

Tom, Zuzu, P, Ellie, and Cali (behind the toy bar). Can you tell whose child is whose?

Ellie and Aunt Cat

Mom and the girls

Dad channeling Steve Harvey at a charity fundraiser for the parks department.

Just a few of my tomatoes. The really dark ones are the Indigo Rose.

Ellie at Wrigley.

Enjoying nature in comfort.

Inside the cabin-tent.

Cali's face through much of the flight.

Dad and Cali

Ellie and Mommy

Ellie at the 'Bahn.

Sneaky August

Hi folks! The summer has really flown by. We have broken out the pool once. Been to the Splash Pad a few times, hit up Taltree many times. Their new Children's Exploration Garden has become quite the favorite since it has animals AND things to climb on. The Railway Garden has fallen a bit in popularity. Mom still likes it for the predictable air-conditioned oasis and nice (easily accessed) clean bathroom. We've been to Fair Oaks Farm. It is truly an impressive operation. We've been to the Indy Zoo, the Michigan City Zoo, and this weekend we catch the Star Wars exhibit at the Indy State Museum before catching up with family poolside.

Cali is rapidly growing and becoming stronger. She recently transitioned to cloth diapers and is proving that her evacuations are far more powerful and voluminous than her sister's were. We may be abandoning cloth if the leaks aren't contained soon. She also drools like a fiend. I don't think she's teething, but she is very oral right now, so she could be in the early stages. She should be rolling over and sitting soon. Her neck strength is pretty impressive. She's usually pretty good at entertaining herself on her floor mat. Crinkles are her favorite right now. And burp cloths.

Tomorrow, she'll be 5 months old. At her 4 month appointment, she weighed 14 lbs, 5 oz. She is now around the 50th percentile. Her fuzz has gotten longer and lighter, but I doubt she'll have much hair before she starts walking. It might be a nice honey color to start though. Her eyes have lightened to Ellie's and my grey-blue.

Ellie has been conducting. I think she will be a very musical child. She sings quite a bit, and has expressed interest in all the instruments she can get her hands on. The summer has gone quickly this year since she is in Montessori from 8-3 daily. I think we'll abbreviate her schedule once school starts back up in the Fall so we can do more together. She's at a fabulous age where she can interact at a higher level and is starting to get interested in letters and numbers. I'm hopeful that she'll be an early reader simply because she loves books and stories so much that I can't wait for her to be able to experience the joy of reading them on her own.

E has been enjoying longer hair. Her go-to hair-style has evolved rapidly over the past 6 months from 2 tiny barrettes, to larger barrettes, pig tails, pig tails with barrettes for her bangs, loops, and now loops with a headband for her bangs and fancy flowery barrettes. I think the time for doing her hair has doubled just in the last week, lol.

P and I have a new venture. We're involved in a new local restaurant, Main+Lincoln with a really impressive and active group of people. P has been helping with demo and design of the bar. I have been helping with the identity and marketing. I'm excited to see what the final product will be. It should open in late 2013 and will be run by a pretty fabulous Chef.

I may be entering into a phase where I take on too much again. I've quit 2/3 of my original volunteer commitments to have time with the girls, but they've been replaced now by the restaurant work and the Tri Kappa Publicity Committee. It's less physical travel and design work though, so I can do a lot of it on my laptop while they play. As much as I don't enjoy marketing, it seems to keep sucking me back in. I do love planning and list-making. The silver lining is that I can put it on my resume if I ever decide to get back into the job market.

Caught by the cat.

Poor Grandma had to make an entire family of bunnies. Guess who has the clown nose....

Wave running with D.

No doubt telling him he can't do something.

Back at the beach the next day with Aunt Cat.

Cali in her office.

In the Otter tunnel at Michigan City Zoo.

Summer bounty.

The toad who lives on our deck.

Fair Oaks:  The milking wheel.

Mom's new haircut.

Less than 24 hours with the Vargi and she's a diva'd out princess....

Watching tigers at the Indy Zoo.

Girl's Night Out - Bob Schneider at Lincoln Hall, Chicago.

Almost 3 and finally swinging.

Dragging D onto the playground.

Half of the restaurant. (For more pics and progress, follow Main+Lincoln on FB.)

Ellie's new do.

Monsoon June

Here we are, nearly out of June. It has been a wet wet month. Someone told me last year we got 26 inches of rain and so far this year, we've gotten 27 inches. My veggie garden is loving it. However, we haven't been able to break out the pool yet. I am waiting for a dry Thursday through Sunday (since they mow on Thursday). I may be waiting for a while.

Today, we took the girls (and Grandma) on the Garden Walk. We made 3 gardens before stopping back at the house to drop the girls and Dad off for a nap. The first garden was one I've been curious about for some time. It's a brick farmhouse built in 1870 that has a very private yard protected by heavily planted berms, mature trees, and lots of shrubs. Turns out the owner is in my service sorority. And, she likes to garden :) That one was my favorite, but the others certainly offered a variety of styles and features.

Ellie has seen two fireworks shows this year. She doesn't really watch them, but she's done a good job of catching our enthusiasm for them. She's  not scared of them, which is nice. Thus far, we seem to be raising a relatively fearless child. I'm working with her to instill a healthy amount of fear in parking lots, streets, etc. Ellie's not much of a climber, but she's taken a few tumbles lately, so she's learning about gravity too. She might have a future as a stuntwoman though. She is pretty good at catching herself when she trips over her feet. There are lots of opportunities to practice though because she does so at least half a dozen times a day.

Calista is growing well. She holds her head up pretty well and should be ready for less supported baby-wearing pretty soon. We might even see some full-fledged rolling here soon. Sometimes, she will roll from her tummy to her back or side. She's currently in a size 2 diaper and fixing to move up to 6 month clothes. I'm still trying to find the motivation to transition to cloth diapers and move her into her crib from the bassinet in our room. Since she's been sleeping through the night for a couple months now, it seems like there's really no reason to delay. We still use the rocking feature of the bassinet, although she  really doesn't need the incline and she's almost too tall/long for it.

E was having accidents at school for a while and when we tried to express disappointment she had a few meltdowns. So, we've been working more on positive reinforcement instead of negative. She's been responding well and takes great pride in telling us when she's had a "dry pants" day.

This summer has been full of exceptions to the normal rules. We've been to the drive-in three times (Ellie doesn't fall asleep until 10:30 or 11), with another visit planned this week. The two "late nights" with fireworks, and all sorts of goodies like lemonade, orange juice, cake pops, several visits to the ice cream parlor, extra screen time, and pushed naps (which today did not work out so well) are causing me to stress a little about too many treats. I realize that summer is for having fun and that I have a tendency toward stick-in-the-mudism, however she's so young that it's hard to communicate to her that these things are special when they seem to be happening all the time. Tonight, Ellie lost it in the bath because Dad told her that she was going to bed afterwards. She wanted to go to the movies. And, when she learned THAT wasn't happening, she bargained for fireworks. She had to settle for keeping a book in bed since it's not a school night. And, she was perfectly happy to do so.

Father's Day was a success. Dad did get a big hint when a few days before Father's Day, we got two subtle BRIGHT ORANGE Shutterfly packages (thanks, a lot, Shutterfly!). One of the packages contained his "sentimental" gift of an 8" x 8" photo book skimming over the past year or so of highlights. He also got a tennis ball key-keeper alien that goes on the fridge (Ellie and Isis both agree that it does not belong to Dad), a Star Wars game of Operation, and an egg separator (because Mom hears all).

Aunt C had a pretty good birthday, I think. We had her pick out a cake. I guessed she'd go with something pistachio. And, she did not disappoint. She picked out this one, a triple layer pistachio-apricot monstrosity with a cream cheese frosting. The celebration was quiet for a 30th, but we dragged her along to the company picnic and "gave" her a fireworks show for her birthday. She also got to split an elephant ear. We're tentatively planning on a Bob Schneider concert in Chicago for a delayed celebration since C is all about her music and Schneider is an old favorite.

Aunt C and Ellie at Ogden Garden looking at the fishies.

No paparazzi!

Smiles

More smiles.

My romaine the day before the deer found them :(

Ellie and Daddy at Forest Park.

Ellie finding her groove at the Splash Pad with Cousin Soph.

Playing on the dirt pile at Butterfly Park.

Cali asleep before the "Man of Steel" started. Too bad it didn't last.

Ellie's new favorite activity. Mixing colored water outside.

The dogs in a rare moment of companionship.

Aunt C making a wish.

Ellie practicing the family trade of flower arranging.

A little Chicken of the Woods.

A small sample of our foraged snack Thursday. 

The ominous sky right before it opened up on us.