we're homeowners again

I, yes, I, closed on the house today. Took 45 minutes, no hiccups. The seller wasn't there, I was a little bummed. I wanted to meet her. But, I have the keys, made extras and headed over to the house. I have a coat of paint on in Charlotte's room and my mom and sister came over to scrub the kitchen. I also cleaned two of the bathrooms. Tomorrow the carpets are getting cleaned. Saturday I'll be doing more painting and of course, more cleaning.

Charlotte got to ride her NEW bike around the kitchen. She can't quite get the concept of peddling yet, but like most things, she'll catch on quickly. The curtains I picked out look great in the living room and overall, I'm super excited. I can't wait to see what my new wicker furniture looks like in the beautiful sunroom. I'll try to get some photos up soon!

tinkle tinkle little star

Wow, today was a good day. This afternoon we made MAJOR progress in the potty training department with Charlotte. Since it was so nice out, we let Charlotte run around naked while we were planting flowers and throwing the balls for the dogs. During normal conversation we talk about going potty with Charlotte. She also love popsicles; almost more than pickles. Since it was hot, we let her have a popsicle. Mmm....

Then I got a genius idea. Hold your hat folks, I do not practice normal parenting tactics. Please close your eyes if you do not handle out-of-the-box thinking. One of the hardest concepts for Charlotte to grasp is how to make the tinkle come. She doesn't seem to get how to let the pee out. So, I thought I would show her, outside, on the driveway (secluded area) so she could understand. See, in the bathroom, she can't actually see anything. Well, like TWO MINUTES LATER she squatted in the driveway and made a tinkle. We all cheered and clapped and she got another popsicle. 

After that was gone she wanted a third one and we said she had to tinkle to get one. Well, she squatted again and peed!! So, she got a third popsicle. I thought yes, we are on to something!! She actually peed a third time too. I was so happy. I think Charlotte might actually understand how to make the tinkle come out.

Potty training...........here.......we.......come..............

happy 5 months gretchen!

My little baby girl is five months old today! Gretchen brings a sense of lightheartedness to my life. Each day I look at her smiley face, no matter what, I can't help but smile back and shower her with kisses. Unless you take food away, she never cries, never. Gretchen is truly the perfect baby.

Here's an update:

• She rolls over ALL the time to her belly. Last night, she even woke up on her belly, that was a first.
• She saw her first theater movie and slept through the entire thing.
• She plays with her toes all the time.
• She drools much more than my first child.
• She loves blowing raspberries and giggling at you.
• She goes with the flow - no matter what the day brings.
• She sleeps through the night and goes to sleep on her own.
• She's not shy and will let anybody pick her up.
• She's still working at taking a bottle - let's hope we can nail this within the next few weeks.
• She absolutely loves her mommy.
• She watches her big sister like a hawk; I just know she'll be running around before she's a year old.
• Update: Gretchen took TWO bottles from mama today....all I can say is thank goodness! I have two seminars in the new few weeks and I was wondering how that would work if she was still attached to me...

poppy fields forever

The poppy fields forever quilt is complete! Washed and dried today. Somehow I also managed to squeeze in a matching pillow sham. Haven't made one of those before, did it without a tutorial, and it turned out pretty good. I'm pleased at how great the quilt looks in the poppy bedroom with the matching duvet.

The bedroom was painted before my parents bought the house. The colors are amazing in the room; the flowers are my favorite part. Charlotte loves looking for birds, bees, fairies and scary gnome like goblins hiding in the trees. It truly is a magical forest. When I ran across the poppy print from Pottery Barn I knew it was perfect for the room. But, since Charlotte is now in a big bed, we needed a matching quilt for her bed, however, the poppy is out of print. Luckily somebody had a bed skirt on eBay which prompted me to turn it into a quilt.

poppy fields forever front

The quilt blocks are 12.5" and the other blocks are wonky blocks from Elizabeth Hartman in matching colors to the poppy colors. Twin sized. Sashing and binding are Kona Snow. The back is a red sheet from Ikea with some poppy squares filled in. I stippled this in a variegated red/pink thread. It's so bright and looks wonderful in the room. 

life's moving a little fast right now

Was it really only the first day of summer just the other day? To me, it seems like summer is already half over. Things are moving a little fast around here and I feel like I'm jogging next to the school bus with four fingers hanging on.

Today Kevin left for a 10 day vacation to interior Alaska to visit his best friend and go canoeing. Unfortunately, the part of the Yukon River they were canoeing in Alaska/Canada is greatly flooded and looks like the Grand Canyon right about now. Not good for canoeists. Wait....he's going on vacation and leaving me home with the kids for a week and a half?! Yep!

MUCH worse than this, and in a canoe

Wait, aren't we closing on the NEW house next week?! Yep! I'm doing it all alone. This boy owes me big time, BIG TIME! I'm not sure what would happen if I left the state for 10 days and was not available by phone for most of the trip. I'm already making a "honey do and make-up" list.

The girls are going great, growing big. Charlotte seems more grown up every morning. Talking up a storm and starting to understand concepts and ideas. She really amazes me. I also can't believe how much she remembers. Tip: Don't tell her anything you don't want repeated, like a secret. She might not give it up right away, but she'll spill the beans at an awkward moment. Gretchen is rolling over and wants to move around so badly. She's still a smiley girl and such a joy to have around.

Charlotte got a new bike helmet in preparation for our new move. No, she's not getting a bunk bed, she'll be getting her first bike! We promised her she could have one at the new house. I think she's really excited -- now we just need to find one that works for us and doesn't cost a small fortune.

new bike helmet

Gretchen, or "Scretch" as Charlotte would say, is definitely going to be a fast learner. She watches Charlotte all the time and is just sucking it all in!

poppy sneak peak

poppy sneak peak, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

I couldn't resist. Here's a sneak peak at the quilt I'm making for one of the back bedrooms at my mother's house (a.k.a Charlotte's room). There is a duvet with the poppy print already on a queen bed and my mom wanted a matching quilt for the twin bed that's also in there.

One problem, the poppy print is from Pottery Barn a few years ago and they don't carry it anymore. Luckily, and eBay seller was selling this great king-sized bed skirt so I snatched it up and used it to create this quilt.

I have half of the quilting done, it's in a variegated red/pink thread, which is fairly bold of myself. I probably should have used an off-white, but the back is mostly red.

Stay tuned for the final product, should be finished next week if I can manage to find some binding I like.

Gretchen's rolling over!

video: Gretchen rolling over a video by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.

At 19 weeks, Gretchen is rolling over! She's gone from back to belly many times after weeks of rolling to one side. The other day she even rolled from belly to back! This little girls doesn't like to be in the bouncy chair (reclined one) anymore, she is always trying to wriggle herself out of it. The jumperoo is another story though. She loves the lights and can spin around in it. I can't remember when Charlotte first rolled over, but this it seems Gretchen is doing things right!

mama, can i have a pony?

real horseback riding, a photo by [griff] [griff] 'n [chuck] on Flickr.
Charlotte loves ponies. The only chance she ever has to ride is at the zoo. Luckily, I found a stable, Erin Meadows Farm, right by my mom's house that has pony rides on Sunday afternoons. But, here, she gets to really RIDE the pony. No strap, no mama, no holding on. It was all Charlotte and her monkey legs. She got to ride the pony for like 5 laps and she loved every minute of it. I can see she's going to be asking me for a pony/horse as soon as she realizes that people can actually own them.

Walking down the hill by herself!

gretchen a.k.a. wedding crasher

Since the move I know I haven't been keeping up with the blogging. Some of you are probably wondering what on Earth the kids have been up to. I did finish another quilt and plan to have it basted by next week and quilted shortly. It's bright and I can't wait to show it to you; a twin size for the poppy bedroom at my mom's house.

Gretchen has officially rolled over to her tummy. She doesn't do it all the time, her shoulder tends to get in the way. Pretty soon it will be a normal occurrence as she definitely moves around when on the ground. She's also been in the jumperoo and her legs are getting stronger!

This past weekend Kevin and I went up to Door County for my friend Ralph's wedding. Isn't his bride beautiful?

Ralph & Rebecca

 They had an amazing wedding at The Chanticleer in Sturgeon Bay. The B&B was rented out for their few guests and we had a beautiful weekend filled with sun, friends and best of all, NO KIDS! Unfortunately, Gretchen wasn't going to let us get away that easy. I do admit that most of it is my own fault. Most of you know, I'm nursing and things are really easy for us. Saving and storing milk is such a hassle that I dread doing it and never want to waste it in a bottle. Well, I should have worked harder at introducing the bottle because Gretchen wouldn't take one on Friday. She went 8 hours without eating and after lots of tears (her) and phone calls (Grandma), Kevin and I met Grandma, Gretchen and Charlotte in Oshkosh to pick-up the little one and take her back to Door County with us.

If you look at the B&B website it politely says "NO KIDS." I begged the innkeepers....I swore she was a quiet, perfect baby....and since we had the whole B&B they said it was ok. YES! We didn't have to leave! Thankfully, Gretchen was a perfect little girl all weekend (as I had promised), even though she tried pretty hard to steal the spotlight from the bride. (Rebecca was too beautiful to let that happen!) So, I've definitely learned my lesson...

If you REALLY want to get away....make 110% sure your nursing baby will take a bottle!

Miss Heidi a Mister?

Today I got an interesting phone call from my mother. Heidi, the new puppy, went into the vet to be spayed. However, the vet called and informed us that she's a true hermaphrodite with both male and female parts. Oh my goodness!! And this is a certified AKC German Sheperd from the Falcon Du Chien line in Big Bend/Eagle area of Wisconsin. They continued with the spay (neuter) but what a shock this was! It's quite rare and I'm not sure she can even be AKC certified after this.

It's kind of strange thinking that Heidi is really a "he" as she had more dominant male parts than female. Will this change the way she acts? We purposly picked a female dog for the dynamics of the household so I hope this doesn't change anything. Maybe this is why she has the largest feet on any female GSD that we've ever seen. Looking at our reactions to this, I can't imagine how parents feel when they get the news about one of their children. So, do we change her name? Or just have a male dog named Heidi.....

strings of love

Gretchen's quilt is finished and I love it!! This was fun to make, I'll have to say I'm a big fan of the string quilts. This is made up of Patricia Bravo's Paradise collection from Art Gallery. Bound in Michael Miller Pin Dots in Orchid. The back is scraps I had left over from the Paradise collection. I'm really excited about this one. Now I have to save it until she's old enough to drag it around the ground with her.

quilt front

quilt back

growing off the charts

Gretchen is growing off the charts!! She was a trooper at the doctor's appointment when she had to get three major shots. I was more concerned about Charlotte getting upset that Gretchen was crying, but a bucket of stickers was enough to distract her. Gretchen was so sad afterwards and quite grouchy the rest of the day and all day today. Some kids just don't do well with the shots, I think her chunky leg is sore.

The charts: 26.25" long (98th percentile) and 15 lbs. 14.2 oz. (95th percentile). Her head is a good shape, it's not flat at all for those of you who are fooled by her bald spot on the back of her head. She's strong and is right on track. With the exception of a little grouchiness the last two days.

I've said it before, these girls better start dribbling a basketball...