I'm a "Mom My Ride" Alumni

Found this on YouTube. The golf balls are the perfect touch! Oh, and the duct tape. Although, my handsome husband would probably try electrical tape first... heehee

*For those of you wanting a tooth fairy update: she did, indeed, make her way to our house on Wednesday night. Owen found a shiny, Susan B. Anthony silver dollar under his pillow! Very cool!

Tooth Fairy, Are You Listening?

Okay, I know I promised Lola pictures this time, but she's been ousted by something temporarily more exciting: Owen lost his first tooth today!! He's sooo excited and he looks very cute with his new smile!

It all started Sunday morning when Owen came into our room- gushing that he had a loose tooth... Today it finally gave way (after lots of wiggling during every spare moment) during snack time at school. So now it's one down... nineteen more to go! Just look at that smile! (but ignore the hat head!)

Six Months Old

Already?! And I'm late posting this by about a week-and-a-half, even! Sigh. Where has half a year gone? Our little Rocco is now six months old. But he doesn't look it... Especially when sitting next to his other baby friends! He had his check-up with Dr. Foster yesterday and he did fabulously- even during the shots. Oscar held his hand to make him feel better while he got three shots (ouch). Such a fabulous big brother! Rocco turned beet red for about 20 seconds of screaming and then he immediately stopped and was smiling again- happy as a clam! I think Oscar was pretty impressed! Anyway, here are his stats from yesterday:

weight: 13lbs, 5oz (3rd percentile)

height: 25" (7th percentile)

head circ.: 16.25" (5th percentile)

So, yes: Rocco is officially a peanut! Just to give you an idea of how he stands up to his friends, here are some stats from other new-to-the-planet-arians we know (note that they are almost all younger!):

Cousin Penelope, at age 4mos: 14lbs & some change

Piper Carr, at age 4mos: 15 lbs, 6oz

Skylar Cook, at her 6mos visit: 14lbs, 5oz

Benjamin Christensen, at age 3mos: 18lbs & change!

But the doctor is not at all concerned for his growth- Rocco is growing, just on his own small-ish scale. And that's cool with us! He's doing very well developmentally- still nursing, but also eating solids 3 x day, sitting up with assistance, rolling over, swiping at things with his hands and attempting to cram everything he sees into his mouth! These are all very normal things for someone his age and he's sleeping like a champ (knock on wood!)... We just get the added benefit of him fitting into his clothing longer than his brothers did.

I've been taking photos of him with his hand-me-down stuffed alligator, so creatively named AL... I started when he turned one week old and have been doing it monthly ever since. Now that he's halfway to marking his first year on Earth, I thought it would be a good spot to show you how he's been growing! Check out his slow-but-steady progress below while I go cry thinking about my baby turning one...

Oh, be quiet. I know it's not until August, but now that we're halfway there it doesn't seem so far away! Time is passing so fast- I wish it would slow down but I know it won't. But we're having so much fun together!

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Below: Rocco, 1 week old, with Al, 7 years old

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Below: 2 mos old

(I'm so annoyed- can't find the 1 mo photo... It's around here somewhere!)

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Below: 3 mos old

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Below: 4 mos old

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Below: 5 mos old

(note the bold fashion statement of socks and a diaper... Stylin'!)

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And, Finally: 6 months old!

Coming up next time... more LOLA!!

(She complained that her contract covers more press

than she's currently getting. The celebrity is going to her head!)

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

It is, indeed, the Year of the Boar. The boys & I read a new book last month called Dragon Dance. It's a kids' lift-the-flap book about the Chinese New Year. We so much enjoyed reading about the fun things the Chinese do during their 15-day New Year's celebration that we decided to have our own celebration here. (We were a few days late, but no matter.)

So we arranged a no-frills celebration at the beginning of March... some homemade banners wishing "happy new year" and "good luck and good fortune" and some Chinese take out for dinner! We ate in the formal dining room... We got a large sampling of different kinds of food so there were many things to try out- most of which the boys really liked. Even I discovered that I "kinda like" chicken lo mein!

For those just joining us: I am usually very open about my dislike of Chinese food! Skip will occasionally bring it into the house on his way home from work and I find another room to be in because I find the smell so offensive! Now, it's not prejudice against Chinese food here so don't judge me, Man! I have had several bouts of severe illness after eating Chinese food that caused me to swear it off! However... on with the story now.

So we shared a bunch of different food and had a great time together. It was so much fun that later that evening at our Family Meeting, Oscar had the idea that we should celebrate a different country next time. So we've decided to make it a monthly theme dinner- each month we'll be celebrating a different culture and making a meal out of it. Since it was Oscar's idea, we let him pick the next country- he chose Africa. So now Skip's researching some African cuisine in preparation for our meal at the end of the month. Should be interesting! I'll try to post some menu highlights afterwards... In the meantime, enjoy the photos of Chinese New Year!

Oh, and "Gung Hay Fat Choy" means- loosely translated- "Wishing You a Prosperous New Year!" Click here if you'd like to check out your Chinese Zodiac sign!

Hangin' with Peppy

We had the pleasure of a visit from Keall, Callahan & Penelope this week... We hadn't seen all of the kids together since Christmas Eve so it was nice to see how everyone's grown. Cal is so cute- as always... We are compelled to just squeeze him tight! Such a sweetie. And Miss Peppy was much more awake than the last time we saw her when she slept nearly the whole visit... We got to see some sweet smiles from her this time! And she already weighs more than Rocco- her older cousin. (At this point, who doesn't weigh more than Rocco?! Our peanut!) Rocco seemed thoroughly pleased to have his cousins- especially Penelope- here. Peppy seemed pretty indifferent to all of us, however. Well, to most of us- I should say. I, on the other hand, brought on a much stronger reaction from her- sheer distaste! She cried when I scooped her up from Keall and anytime thereafter that she was left in my general vicinity! (What!? How could anyone be indifferent to my noble wit and charm, you ask?? Well, she is unschooled, let's not forget. We cannot hold this against her. Someday she will recognize my vibrant, fabulous personality and be the wiser for it.) Rocco did try to warm her up for me by flashing some baby leg, but she was impervious even to his charm! Valiant attempt, though, I must say, Rocco! Of course, once the big kids realized they could be having their pictures taken, they swarmed us and we were forced to do a photo shoot! (Twist our arms...) My kids think they are models anyway, but whenever we get all the kids together we somehow end up making it into a photo session with Keall & I snapping away!

That's all I've got for now, but I am in the market for a new digital video camera so I can post videos on the blog as well. (Cookallaros- you've inspired us!) Keep an eye out for that sometime in the next month or two... Oh, and lest I be scolded by our baby for neglecting to mention it: Rocco has sprouted a tooth! It's not very visible yet, but it's definitely through. (As a nursing mom, I can tell you that for a fact! Ouchie-wawa.)