{a new look}

I got tired of the old look again. What do you think? Gerard thinks it looks "less feminine" but I like it anyway. Very back-to-school, don't you think?

Anyway, here are a few pictures of Morgan's legs yesterday, the morning after her shots. They didn't seem to bother her at all! What a trooper!

{let them eat cake!}

Thank goodness for homeowners insurance! For those of you who missed it, we had a big storm roll through here last Thursday and we lost power for a few days. It was 85 degrees outside, 80 degrees inside, and about the same inside our refrigerator and freezers. We lost all our food -- not a pleasant sight or smell -- but our insurance will cover the lost food up to $500 per unit with no deductible! We're still adding everything up, but Gerard estimates our outside freezer had about $400 worth of food and I'm still figuring the inside fridge and freezer. I guess it's time to go grocery shopping....

The only thing left in the fridge is beer and coffee, plus the few staples I bought yesterday. Oh, and the cake I made tonight in my last night of cake decorating class. Not perfect but not too bad, eh?

And for those of you who know me well, you may know that I sometimes sleep on my back with my legs crossed. I know it sounds weird, but I've been doing that since I was little. I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree -- here's Gerard, fast asleep last night:

Oh, and Morgan had her 4-month check-up today. Everything looks great and her doctor was impressed at how social she is. She's doing everything a 4-month-old should be doing (oh, except sleeping through the night). She's 24.5 inches long (60th percentile), 14 pounds, 6 ounces (60th percentile), and her head is 42 cm (70th percentile). She had 4 shots and one oral vaccine and she was NOT a happy camper. Nothing a little Tylenol, sleep, and TLC can't fix though.

{the world according to gerard}

Gerard's boo boo has become legendary. Each time he tells the story of how he fell out of bed it becomes more and more elaborate. It's his war wound, and he's proud of it. Today it's a real shiner -- nice blue tones under his eye. He actually thinks it's cool.

He's starting to enjoy taking pictures with my camera, and when I'm feeling brave I let him have it. Today he took lots of pictures of the walls, the ceiling, the floor, the table, his feet, his toys, and this cute one of Morgan:

Morgan spit up all over herself this morning, so I changed her into this cute dress that was once Aunt Debbie's. Doesn't she look cute???

{fingers, booties and boo-boos}

I feel like all I do is complain about the weather. It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too dry. It's too rainy. Well, let me tell you -- I'm allowed to complain this summer! It really has been too hot and too cold and too dry and too wet. And that was just this past week! Yesterday it was raining and Gerard really wanted to play outside, so we went out on the wrap-around porch and he played there. Actually, we all really enjoyed getting "out". (Although Morgan would be happy anywhere, as long as she had her fingers....)

Look! Just like how Aunt Debbie used to suck her fingers:

Aren't these booties just too cute?!

Last night Gerard fell out of bed. It's the second time that's happened -- good thing he doesn't have bunk beds! Check out his boo boo:

And here are just a few of Morgan:

Look how cute they are, holding hands:

{been too long}

Wow! I haven't posted in a week and a half! I'm sorry.

Things have been busy, as usual. Let me try to do a quick recap:

1. We were concerned that Morgan wasn't hearing very well. We took her to the pediatrician who suggested we go to an audiologist to have a BAER test (Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response) or ABR test (Auditory Brainstem Response). They had to attach little electrodes to her forehead and ears and then piped sounds into her ears through little headphones. She was an angel during the test and slept right through it. And thankfully, she passed with flying colors! Like her pediatrician said, "With a brother like Gerard, she's probably learned to tune things out already!"

2. I'm taking a Wilton cake decorating class at Michaels. I've always wanted to take one, and I figured now was the perfect time because Gerard wants a Lightning McQueen (from Cars) cake for his birthday. I still need a LOT of practice! Here's my first attempt at a cake:

3. My parents came for the weekend. They babysat so Gerard and I could go out on Saturday night. It was wonderful! We went to a tapas bar/restaurant and ate way too much. We had a nice night, and so did little Gerard. I think my parents needed a vacation from their vacation -- Gerard really runs them ragged.

4. I went to a Silpada party the other night and got a cool ring and earrings. I can't wait for them to come in. (I was going to link you to a picture, but you can't view the catalogue online apparently. You'll just have to take my word that they're cool!)

5. Morgan's eating schedule is just about driving us crazy. The week or two after I stopped nursing (about 3 weeks ago) she was eating like a champ. I mean 30-35 ounces of formula a day. MORE than she needs. So, we decided we'd start her on cereal. Before we even had a chance to do that, she suddenly went from 30 ounces a day to 15-20 ounces a day. WTF!? We'd almost have to force her to drink 3 1/2 ounces at a time. Well, yesterday and today seem to be better. Today she has polished off both of her 5 ounce bottles and probably could have had more. If she keeps this up for another day or so we'll up her bottles to 5 1/2 or 6 ounces. Maybe this will help her sleep through the night!

6. I did a scrapbook page about our trip to Comerica Park:

7. Gerard must have just finished a growth spurt. Darci mentioned to me that his legs looked longer all of a sudden, and then my parents said the same thing. I didn't really believe it until we tried on some of his pants from last year -- they're too short!!! AND, he's riding his bike like a champ. He used to have a little trouble reaching the pedals, but not anymore!! When I'm pushing Morgan in the stroller I can barely keep up with him on his bike. It's so cute.

Well, I think that about sums it up. I'll try to post again soon, with more pictures. That is if I'm not outside busy building an arc -- it's supposed to rain for 6 MORE days. ARGH!!!

{future prom date?}

It's been brutally hot and humid here, so we haven't been able to go to the park lately. Everyone is feeling a bit of cabin fever, so yesterday Darci came over with Luke and Levi. Gerard and Luke had fun together as usual, until the hamster bit Luke's finger. Nothing like gushing blood to put a damper on the afternoon. Thankfully he was OK though. I have a feeling he'll never want a pet hamster now!

Of course Darci and I enjoyed an afternoon of adult conversation and not having to play Candy Land 100 times, and even Morgan and Levi bonded. Do I see a prom date in the future??? I took a bunch of pictures of the two of them and I tried to narrow them down so I could post only a few, but I just couldn't decide. So here are the best ones:

{season highlights}

I finally had a chance to go through the footage from soccer camp. This camp was for 4-6 year olds and Gerard won't be 4 until September, so he was probably the youngest there. Here are the highlights (beware, the video is 5 minutes):

I also finished one more scrapbook page from back in April:

{a great find!}

Remember what it felt like to come across a roll of film you had forgotten about? Remember the excitement when you had that roll developed? Remember rushing to the store 3 days later, paying for your prints, and ripping the envelope open because you couldn't wait to see what was on that roll? Well, the digital-age equivalent is finding a memory card that you thought was empty, only to find more pictures from soccer camp! YAY! Ahh, isn't technology wonderful?!

taking a water break:

the whole camp:

Morgan and Levi enjoying soccer camp their way:

a little R and R after a tough day:

It's official. Gerard and Luke are real pros now.

And a few random shots of the kiddos:

Today Morgan wore her Yankees outfit from Daddy. (Doesn't it go well with her mohawk?)

That's about it for now. I still have some video from soccer camp to post. I promise I'll do that as soon as I have more than 30 minutes to spend on the computer!