7 Months Old

Heidi is 7 months old now! I figured it was about time she got her own blog post.

Below are some pictures I took last week. They remind me of the pumpkin pictures I took of Cosette when she was about this age.

Here's what our little girl is up to:

• She is getting to be really good at rolling. She usually only rolls to her right and at an angle, so she's really good at getting herself stuck and crying for help.
• She is eating more and more solid foods. Green vegetables are her favorite, especially avocado. She's not really a fan of banana, and she'll sometimes tolerate applesauce (this makes me a little sad, since these are easy foods to prepare that I usually have on hand). I've been making my own baby food this time. I blend up a batch in my Vitamix, freeze portions in an ice cube tray, and thaw each night what she'll be eating the next day.
• She is a pretty good napper in her crib, but not a good napper in the car or at church. She usually takes three naps a day, but sometimes she'll take four. She's very good natured and doesn't get overly fussy or cranky even when she's overdue for a nap.
• She is a people person. She loves watching people and being around others. She gets really mad if she's left alone.
• She's very good at grabbing things and putting them in her mouth, even if I think they're out of reach. She also enjoys sucking on the tablecloth when she's sitting on my lap at the table.
• She loves taking baths, kicking and splashing and playing with a floating ball.
• She adores her big sister. She gets the biggest smiles when Cosette is around, and she just can't take her eyes off of her.
• She does this really funny head wiggle, and sometimes she'll "dance" in her booster seat and wiggle her whole body.
• She enjoys sitting in front of her basket of toys. Her version of playing is usually taking things out and tossing them out of her reach. Occasionally one toy will make the cut and she'll enjoy sucking and chewing on it vigorously before it too is rejected.

Funny Cosette Moments

Cosette asked Jeff if today was a Fast Sunday or a "slow Sunday." As Jeff was explaining what a Fast Sunday is, Cosette told him that she thought it meant you had to get to church quickly.

When Cosette says the prayer, she'll say the word grateful over and over and over. Also, instead of just saying "bless the food," she'll repeat the phrase for each person at the table.

Below is a picture showing Cosette sleeping on the stairs. We have a similar picture of Jeff doing this when he was little. She definitely gets it from her daddy, because (to my knowledge) I never did this.

We've been having some trouble with Cosette getting up in the middle of the night, so I started using a technique I read about in a parenting magazine. It's called "Filling the Corners," and each night after we turn off the light we take a minute to pretend to fill the corners of her room with happy things like balloons, stuffed animals, or trampolines. We take turns picking what goes in different corners, and Cosette likes to choose to fill her room with more furniture, like beds and dressers. Hey, whatever makes her happy.

We have a decorative dry pond of rocks next to the bridge in our backyard, and Cosette loves to pretend there are fish in it. She'll hold out a stick over the edge of the bridge and "go fishing," or she'll feed the fish with leaves or flowers.

Cosette climbed up inside one of the cubbies surrounding the washer and dryer in the playroom.

And to end, here are a few Cosette quotes:
My socks are all crunched up.
Mom, you have corn teeth.

Spring Flowers

We have been having some crazy weather this year. Spring decided to come early!

These first two pictures were taken yesterday, and the last picture was taken today. They show the first flowers on my creeping phlox, hyacinths or tulips (I can't remember which) beginning to grow, and the first crocuses.

I don't mind a short winter, but I'm afraid that we might still get frost or snow that will come and kill all of my spring flowers. I guess we'll have to wait and see!

Our Funny Girl

Here are a few funny Cosette quotes and stories I've been saving up for a blog post.

After losing my BYU hat (so sad!), I bought a simple white winter hat to replace it. When I put it on and asked Cosette what she thought about it, she replied, "Mom, you look like a polar bear."

Scene: One night Cosette called me up to her room after I had put her down for the night.  When I walked in the room and sat down on her bed, here's the conversation we had:
Cosette: It smells like pretzels.
Me: Well, I ate a few tortilla chips.
Cosette: Mmm, it smells good (as she leans closer to smell my breath)

One day I was baking cookies, so I was using both of our Silpats (non stick baking mats). Cosette will sometimes play with them, so when she saw me getting them out of the cupboard, she decided that she wanted to use one. When I informed her that she couldn't use them right then, because Mommy needed them to make cookies (I thought the end result might placate her), she responded, "Grr. Mom, I won't be happy forever today."

Cosette enjoys grapefruit. She likes it so much that we often squeeze the juice into a small glass and she drinks straight grapefruit juice. Once, after doing this, she exclaimed, "Sour juice makes me thirsty!"

I have been very amused at the changes that Bear's family has undergone over the past few months. First of all, the title of Bear has now been bestowed upon three different bears. The former Bears are now Bear's brothers. The first/original Bear is on the right in the ladybug mask from the 4th of July (yes, he's been wearing that mask since July).  The second Bear is the brown bear seated next to him. Our neighbor across the street gave it to Cosette right around the time that Heidi was born. She was so excited to be given a special bear just for her that he became her new Bear and the panda became Bear's brother.
In the picture below, the current Bear is in the laundry basket.  He is actually a costume that's a fuzzy brown coat with a bear face on the hood.  We were only supposed to be borrowing him for Halloween from my sister Suzanne, but Cosette became attached to him and dubbed him Bear (still not sure why...). Since he was the third, I thought it might pass, but he's been Bear for several months now. Fortunately, Suzanne let Cosette keep him after she learned that he is her all time favorite friend. Thanks, Suzanne!
Let me introduce you to the rest of Bear's family: on the left is Bear's Baby, next to her is Bear's Mom, and in the front is Bear's Dad (yes, the multi-colored cow... don't ask me). And when I think of Bear having two brothers named Bear's Brother, I'm reminded of that clip from Newhart, "This is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darryl."

One last silly picture showing off Cosette's flexibility and goofiness. She was rolling around on the floor like this:

I sure love our funny girl!

Flower Arrangements

I've really enjoyed being able to make flower arrangements using flowers and greenery from my own yard.  I took pictures of some of my creations and wanted to share them with you all in a blog post.  

Tulips with Variegated Dogwood

Lilacs (my favorite smelling flower)

Iris with Variegated Dogwood

Bleeding Heart

Red Coral Bells with Creeping Euonymus

Columbine

Peony

Roses

Columbine

Columbine and Roses with
Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass

Jupiter's Beard

Red Coral Bells with
Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass

Mrs. Bradshaw and Purple Geranium

Roses with Variegated Dogwood

Roses with Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass

Trumpet Vine with Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass

Roses with Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass

Lilies and Trumpet Vine

Lilies and Red Coral Bells with
Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass

Chrysanthemum

Roses

I made this last vase just yesterday.  I'm not sure if all of the buds will bloom, but it's going to freeze this week and I wanted to save these last few flowers if I could.
I ended up filling more vases than I took pictures of, but many were repeats.  I often had a vase of Red Coral Bells with Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass in Cosette's room - this was my favorite combination, and they were both available throughout summer and fall.  I often filled a vase with roses for the living room, because they looked pretty and filled the room with their wonderful scents.
I also learned a few things: irises are smelly (I won't do a vase of those next year), and Shasta Daisies are smelly and attract bugs (I didn't take a picture of that vase because I brought the clippings indoors to arrange, only to discover I brought dozens of tiny bugs in with me as well, so I ended up throwing them all out).  My favorite greenery to add to a vase was the Strawberries and Cream Ribbon Grass.  The Jupiter's Beard shed like crazy, so I probably won't put that in a vase again. And I was pleasantly surprised at how long the chrysanthemums lasted.

Sisters

I wanted to share some cute pictures that capture the special bond that exists between these two sisters.
Cosette was a little unsure what to think of Heidi for the first few days. She didn't want to touch her or even talk to her at first. But it didn't take long before she wanted to play with Heidi. She loved showing things to Heidi and shouting for her to "Watch me!" while jumping off the stairs or doing some other silly stunt. She often gets upset when it's time for Heidi to go down for a nap, because she doesn't want to stop playing with her. Cosette also enjoys posing for pictures with Heidi, as you can see below. And I love hearing Cosette talk to Heidi in a high pitched voice, imitating the way that adults baby talk.
And the love definitely goes both ways. Heidi adores her sister. She's happier when Cosette is around, so I often ask Cosette to help keep Heidi happy if I have to do something she doesn't like (such as using the snot sucker). Heidi perks up when she hears Cosette's voice, craning her neck around to try to see her. This has started to become problematic when she's nursing, and I sometimes have to ask Cosette to play in another room so that Heidi can focus on eating.

I sure love my two girls, and I'm grateful they love each other so much.