Birthday Boy

My oldest is 9. It's great, crazy and worrisome. Great because he is so fun and really a good kid. Crazy because if he's getting old, that means I'm getting old. And worrisome because I've had him for half of his non-adult life and I start thinking, "Have I really taught him anything? Am I doing a good enough job? Am I preparing him to be successful?...." Oh, the stress!

But, back to Mr. I. He opted out of a party this year because he wanted a more expensive birthday present (he is getting old).

He is such an all around good kid.  Very organized and responsible.  Currently loves legos, soccer, karate and anything electronic.  Bryan has started teaching him computer programming and Mr. I is eating it up.  It's so fun to watch the light bulb come on when he figures something out.

He's a bit of a goof, but in a good way.  :)

We love you Mr. I.  Happy Birthday!

9 months

My baby is 9 months!  Slow down!!  She is trying her hardest to crawl, but for the time being we are enjoying the immobility.

This is how we find her most mornings.  Sucking on these two fingers with the other hand laying on top.

And when fingers fail, the toes come in quite handy.

She is definitely a favorite around here.  The boys are so sweet to her.

We just love this little bundle.  Happy 9 months Miss H.

Bathroom is Tiled

We got the basement bathroom all tiled!  We have been dreading this because we knew it would be tons of work, but we finally rented a tile saw yesterday and had 24 hours until it needed to be returned - unless we wanted to pay another $70, which we didn't.  So we "hired" Mr I. to entertain Big R and GBJ all day while Bryan and I traded off holding/watching Miss H.  We laid the final tile last night at 2:57 am.  We are sleep deprived and sore, but glad it's done.  I brought some cookies to our neighbors this afternoon to apologize for using the tile saw so late at night, it's not quiet, that's for sure.

We still have to grout and install the shower floor, but at least the hard part is done!  It was hard to get a good picture because of the angle, but this gives you the general idea.  :)

Giant Ginger Cookies

I made these seriously scrumptious cookies yesterday.  I ate 4 of them - 4 giant cookies...and I ran sprints this morning.  Good luck...

Giant Ginger Cookies

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (when I make these again, I will only use 4 to 4 1/4 cups flour)

4 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups shortening

2 cups granulated sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup molasses

3/4 cup coarse Demerara, turbinado, or granulated sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350.  In a medium bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt; set aside.

2. In a large bowl beat shortening with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds.  Add the 2 cups granulated sugar.  Beat until combined, scraping side of bowl occasionally.  Beat in eggs and molasses until combined.  Beat in as much of the flour mixture as you can with the mixer.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in any remaining flour mixture. 

3. Place the 3/4 cup demerara sugar in a small bowl.  Using a #20 ice cream scoop or a 1/4-cup measure, shape dough into 2-inch balls.  Roll balls in coarse sugar to coat.  Place 2 1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  **I did 6 cookies per sheet**

4. Bake in preheated oven for 11 to 13 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned and tops are puffed (do not overbake).  Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes.  Transfer cookies to a wire rack; cool.  Makes about 24 cookies.

You can find the original recipe from Better Homes & Gardens here:

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/desserts/giant-ginger-cookies/

Catching Up

I've been neglecting this blog!  Here is a real quick catch-up!

Miss H turned 6 months.  Time is going so fast.  She is now 18 lbs (my first baby under 20 lbs at this age), sitting up and eating solids.  She loves music and grabbing everything in sight.  She is also sleeping through the night which is just lovely.

Next up, Bryan.  He celebrated his 32nd birthday by getting beat up (you should see the other guy  :) ).  He took a good left hook to the eye and survived 51 other punches - no joke, I counted and it was awful.  And yes, he wants to fight again...  Don't judge his cake too harshly, the kids were great helpers!

We also celebrated Big R's birthday this month.  He invited a friend and we all headed to Chuck-e-Cheese.  He wasn't too cool with the actual Chuck-e though.  This was as close as Big R would get (GBJ looks slightly terrified as well).

And lastly, our basement is coming along!  We are all insulated, sheet rocked and painted!  I am still picking paint out of my hair and fingernails.  Next up - flooring.  Bamboo in the entrance and office, tile in hallway and bathroom, mats everywhere else, should be fun...

First Christmas

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas.  Ours was great.  My sister Katie was able to be here, the kids had a blast opening gifts and wreaking havoc throughout the house, we ate lots of yummy food and I got a KINDLE!

Miss H enjoyed her first Christmas.  She is quickly approaching the 6 month mark.  She is trying her hardest to sit up on her own, loves rolling around on the floor and gets funner everyday.  She is in the "eating everything" stage which the boys find extremely amusing.

Life sure is good.

Chub-ee

Apparently babies only come in one size in our family...

XL

I know, all of you immediately start thinking of GBJ.
Here is a quick look-back in case you never had the privilege of beholding him in all his fat dripping glory.

Okay, he wasn't XL, he was more like XXXL
OH, my back starts aching just thinking about him.

While Miss H is not quite that massive, she is holding her own back in the XL department. 

Here's the breakdown:

94th percentile for height

85th for weight (a whopping 16 lbs)

and well

24th for head circumference. 

 Hopefully her body will slow down so her head can catch up...

But still as yummy as ever!