Big Baby

Rachel recently went to the doctor, and she is in the 100th percentile! We knew she was big, but wow. The best part is that we can now teach her to sleep through the night. Yay!

Her new favorite game is blowing raspberries with the binky in her mouth, which of course makes it fall out. Then she fusses until we put the binky back in her mouth, and she does it again. It makes her happy.

She is such a happy baby. The other day she started laughing in the grocery store for no apparent reason. I was able to keep her laughing just by making little noises. Last night I was holding her upside down and saying, "ha, ha, ha," which made her laugh really hard.

She still doesn't roll over, yet. Soon enough.

I love babies.

Of blessings, haircuts and birthdays

First and foremost, Dominic got a job! We are all very happy about that. He is doing PSR (psycho-social rehabilitation) work again. He already has activities and lessons planned for his clients.

We blessed Rachel last Sunday. She's already 4 months old. Where did the time go? Dominic said it is much easier blessing an older baby: she was calm, quiet, and smiled at him.


Elisa before, front and back














I finally did it. I cut Elisa's hair. It was so long and wavy that it was difficult for me to do. But her hair was getting unmanageable. She wouldn't leave clips in, so her hair was always in her face. The other day she got mad and yelled at her hair, so I knew it was time. It's a cute little bob that she can comb herself. Now she looks a lot like my childhood pictures. It's so weird; I keep staring at her, but I'm gradually getting used to it.



And lastly, I celebrated my birthday. Dominic gave me the Cake Wrecks book and shoe shelves! Now our shoes are organized and not scattered over the floor. My mother-in-law gave me kitchen gadgets (thank you).

The morning started off with my turn teaching Benjamin's preschool class. Except when Benjamin cried because people were playing with his toys, we all had fun. What a bunch of cute kids! After lunch I got to take a nap. Aahh ... until I woke up and saw the mess the kids made. Drat. The one gift I ask for every year is to not make dinner. This year we ate at IHOP. We had a coupon for a free movie ticket on your birthday, and we saw "Where the Wild Things Are." (It was well made and exciting, but left me with a feeling of melancholy. I like the book better ;) Overall the day just felt fun, easygoing and a bit carefree. Mostly due to Dominic's efforts, it was a wonderful day.

Oktoberfest

Today we held our 1st annual celebration of Oktoberfest. We started off with several episodes of "Hogan's Heroes." Next we headed to a local military store to learn more about Dominic's heirloom item, a Nazi youth knife, which his grandfather acquired during WWII from a soldier who no longer needed it.



Now we know how to get rid of the rust, how to keep it in good condition, and the picture on the back is considered trench art. Interestingly, the knife's value would increase if we knew anything about the soldier or the girl.




Dinner featured brats and rootbeer, while we taught the kids a few German words, and some historical and cultural tidbits.

I ended the evening by telling the story of Hansel and Gretel. I realized that wasn't the best choice when the boys started crying. Perhaps next year I'll go with Little Red Riding Hood.