gretchen is eight months

Today is the 27th - that means my little rather large Gretchen is eight months old. I really can't believe we are closer to one year than we are to the beginning. She is getting so big and beefy; I just love it. She is well into the 9-month clothes. Even the 6-9 month jammies don't fit. I've started to bring out the 12 month stuff. I know she's just as tall as Charlotte was but she weighs a bit more.

Still a cheerful little girl, Gretchen wants to be in the middle of the action. Everything within a good two feet around her she grabs and puts in her mouth. She reaches and scoots. When on her belly she can move about 3-4 feet in any direction by spinning around. I know she's itching to crawl, it's only a matter of time. At that point, I'll really have my hands full.

Gretchen sleeps a good 12 hours at night. We put her down around 6-7pm and that's when she gets up. Usually eats once in the night, so she pulls about a 7-hour shift. During the day she takes about two naps. Usually close to Charlotte's schedule so I can have both girls down at the same time.

Gretchen sure is a hungry thing. She loves to eat and is so ready to start some solid foods. When you put the puffs on her tray, she grabs at them like she hasn't eaten in a week.

We sure love this little bundle.

shredded cheese, little bits of squash and puffs

Grandma and her four (Aiden, Ava, Gretchen & Charlotte

highchair recovered

With the new cabin just around the corner, I know Kevin is going to want to spend a lot of time up there. This year and the years to come. Since we plan on having more kids, and I know his brother is going to have a bunch as well, I knew it would really help to have a highchair up there. There is plenty of storage in the basement so I opted for a full-sized chair.

Off went my emails to the MOMS Club. Had I known you could get a cheap chair at Target for $30, I probably would have gone that route. But, I bought a hand-me-down for $20. (What I thought was a deal at the time.) To my dismay, when I got home, it looked like somebody puked on the chair cover. I didn't even want to clean it. So, having seen a great tutorial on Make-It-And-Love-It, I decided to make my own cover.

Off to Joann's the kids and I went. I wasn't too impressed with the fabric choices, but I found something that works. Done while the kids were napping, I'm really happy with how it turned out. I also admit, I was rushing, but it worked!

highchair recovered

love me some amy butler

I've made some major progress with my king-sized quilt this week. I have all 72 blocks sewn using the paper piecing method. I absolutely love these blocks and can't wait to start piecing them together. I've modified Cara's Urban Lattice Quit. The solids are Kona Aloe and Gray and most of the prints are from Amy Butler. I'm still working on finding somebody to quilt it for me because I know it won't fit under my machine. Stay tuned!

get your scream on

Yesterday was a perfect day. I went to Great America with three friends and the weather was absolutely amazing, there were no lines, and it was the last day of the season. Not too hot, not too cold. Just perfect. I spent about 10 hours at the park walking around and riding roller coasters. With a discounted ticket and the amount of rides we went on, we figured each ride to cost $2.10. Now that's a cheap thrill if you ask me!

Kristin, Superman, Me

Kristin and I love roller coasters but our husbands do not. Luckily two of our girlfriends also hate roller coasters but their husbands love them. We took Dave and Jeff to Great America with us. It was so much fun we might have to do it again next year providing I'm not pregnant or something. I hadn't been there in almost five years, Kristin around 10 and the boys around five years so there was plenty of new stuff for us to see as well.

Here's the breakdown of our rides:

Batman (4) - 2x in front

Raging Bull (3) - 1x in front

Superman (2) - too scared for the front

The Dark Knight (1) - don't waste your time

Vertical Velocity a.k.a. V2 (1)

Viper (2)

Whizzer (1) - 1976 classic, first coaster in the park

American Eagle (2) - forwards and backwards

The Little Dipper (1) - 1950s restored classic

Six Flags Train (1)

Carousel (1)

The lines were so short we managed to go on Batman in the FIRST row, get off and get back on in the SECOND row in a mere 17 minutes. We were so beat by the end of the day with no lines. I've never been on so many roller coasters in my life! Raging Bull was by far our favorite. Although it doesn't do upside down, the drop and steep turns are sure to give you a great thrill. Superman was the scariest for me. There's nothing like riding a coster while starring at the ground.

Superman roller coaster at Six Flags

Thank you, Kevin, for staying home with the girts. We walked around all day and saw kids in strollers who were most definitely miserable and were very thankful that ours were not there.

high school all over again

Beware, this is a small vent. Thanks to a few events today, I'm fairly angry. Farmers Insurance and Wells Fargo's miscommunication didn't help much. I'm so frustrated with clique's and excluding individuals. I suffered through this in high school and really didn't want to go through it as an adult. There was a little of this in my last MOMS Club and I tried hard to stay away from it. Unfortunately, I'm seeing it again and it just makes me mad. Sure I like certain moms more than others, that's normal. My personality meshes better with others, but when it comes down to it, I try really hard not to exclude people. Especially since at one point or another, I know I'll find myself in the same position.

Gretchen, sweet Gretchen, isn't so sweet around 4 p.m. Come on over, you'll see.

With that said, I'm just upset. Thanks Wells Fargo.

On a positive note, we started a new playgroup this week with the Cedarburg MOMS and it went really well. Having moved I was forced to join the local chapter of the MOMS Club, I was previously part of the Mequon MOMS. I like our new group and the kids played super well together. I'm glad Charlotte has the opportunity to play with so many different kids in one week.

saving this one for gretchen's wedding

video: gretchen likes her toes a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

Gretchen likes her toes. I caught it on camera. I'll have to save this video for her wedding day. It's sure to provide some laughs when she's 25.

rainbow of fabric flowers

my girls, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I've finally gotten around to making some adorable fabric flowers and attached them to hair clips. This means the girls will have one to coordinate with every outfit. Tutorial is from Make-It--And-Love-It and it's super easy -- you'll get addicted.

Wellspring Farm

Yesterday was quite the adventure. I set out to attend my first activity as part of the Cedarburg MOMS Club. We were visiting a veggie farm with the kids and they had the opportunity to pet chickens too. I don't have a smart phone, so went I got lost in West Bend (the farm is in Newburg), I had no clue where I was and where I was supposed to go. 

Panicking that I'm already 30 minutes late, I finally got a hold of Kevin and work and he guided me 20 minutes East to Wellspring Farm. There was a nice crowd and Charlotte seemed to enjoy herself. She loved petting the chickens and found a 6 inch worm she wanted to bring home. I can't believe she even tasted the tops of fennel and a ground cherry.

My adventure led me to the realization that if I don't have a GPS, I really need to take my mom's iPhone in December when she upgrades. I'm really living in the dark ages.