5 months old!!

It is so hard for me to believe that 5 months has come and gone since this beautiful baby has come into the world and joined our family!! WOW - the time is flying by

One of Bump's most favorite activities is having a bath and in the past few weeks has learned to kick to splash and he will also pat at the water some with his hands, too.

He is getting very close to being able to sit up on his own, but still needs this sponge/cushion to support him, for now.

He is grabbing at things and putting them in his mouth to chew chew chew... I know that those teeth must be wanting to come on through sooner than later with the amount of drool produced each day and the gnawing on all of his little toys, or washcloths in the bath!

He can and does roll over now and then... when he has the time ALONE on the floor! Seems as though the big kids all want to lay on the blanket, too and that makes for very little room to practice rolling over!

Oh - that... HAIR!! Bud and Blossom had peach fuzz on their heads for a full year, Bud's 1st haircut was at about 2 years old - and not because mama couldn't bare to part with some kind of beautiful baby curls! Blossom... well, we all know that hair growth is an issue with her! Branch had more hair than either of them, but nothing for length like this little guy has! He has some hairs that are getting long enough that they cannot be "spiked" as they fall right over!! This is a whole new ball game for us!

Bump's face is SO expressive and brings a smile to our faces! Here he was impersonating Elvis as I was massaging his scalp! He enjoys having his head rubbed to be washed or when I just put on lotion... he loves all the pampering drills we do.

Mostly, we just love him to pieces and can not get enough of him - any of us! His round plump cheeks call out to us for kisses, his pudgy toes for tickling, his plump fists for holding... He is a great treasure and we are so thankful for the last 5 months!!

My Daybook, Entry #29

FOR TODAY
Tuesday, April 20, 2010...

Outside my window... A light drizzly rain and only 52 degrees this morning.

I am thinking... the world of blogging is super fun! It is an outlet for me to share my life, meet other homeschooling moms and non-homeschooling folks as well. It is a twenty-first century front porch swing. Sit a spell and chat with me or some other new friend!!

I am thankful for... Pops. He rearranged his schedule AND provided chauffeur service so that I could meet The Pioneer Woman last night!!

From the learning rooms... doing a bit here and there this week... maybe some real life application for learning - that sounds SUPER important doesn't it?!?!!

From the kitchen... my "big meal" plans

Tues: Spaghetti

Wed: I want to try a new recipe... hmmm

Thurs: Stir Fry

Fri: left overs for me/out to eat for the rest of the fam... they are off to Portland to pick up cousins and Uncle Ikey!!

Sat: Pulled Pork

Sun: Pizza??

Mon: Steaks

I am wearing... Gray. Gray. Gray. yoga pants, tshirt, ponytail holder. ALL gray. What a boring look I have going on, here!

I am creating... a few gifts to send.

I am going... to want to have a spring hibernation next week!! I think that after all the busy-ness of this month, I will be craving some "hole-up-in-the-house" time!!

I am reading... I JUST finished "The Help" by some lovely author... it is a popular book right now, I could go look up the author's name, but you google "The Help" and you'll find it I'm sure! It is a yellow book. It is set back in the 50s/60s and is a story about the relationships between the affluent white people and their black maid/nanny. I really enjoyed it - but, plan to spend a fair chunk of time on it! It is looooong!! Now, I am reading a book about Birth Order by someone with some kind of boring descriptive title. The author's forward tells that he suggested a much better title (in my opinion, and his as well!) to the publisher, but they turned it down. Would you pick up a book titled, "Why Abel Had it Coming to Him"?? I think it sounds funny and shares more of the humor of the author than a title like "blah blah Birth Order blah blah book". But, no one asked me, I suppose! I am also reading over the recipes in The Pioneer Woman Cooks - I have tried several and have enjoyed them. I think I will try her rustic apple pie looking thing next. I don't recall its real name, but it looks tasty!!!

I am hoping... to make time this week to get a to do list written out and completed from top to bottom. Being realistic is a bit of a challenge for me in list making, at times!

I am hearing... local country radio, Van Zant singing ... hillbilly bong da bong da bong bong ... Yee Haw!

Around the house... company gone, company coming... freshen up! Sheets and towels need a-washin' and the sweeping needs to be done. OH, and where on earth did my kitchen counter disappear to? What? You say it is THERE? I just have to look UNDER and AROUND and I will find it? Well, I suppose that means I need to drag a large sized trash receptacle in there to attack THAT job!

One of my favorite things... that a totally normal, out in the country girl played around on her computer, did goofy things, shared how she cooked up a meal and WAH-LAH, wrote her recipes down, published her cookbook and now gets to go around exploring the countryside and meeting all her fans. HOW COOL IS THAT?!?!!! (and I realize that it didn't just POOF happen, she had to work at it...)

A few plans for the rest of the week... uh, see this post - I am not wanting to type it all out again!

Here is a picture thought I am sharing...

Bump tuckered out at the PW event last night... You can see The Pioneer Woman in the background - it is all fuzzy, but she is on the left hand side. More and better pictures to come!! (But, I need to find my kitchen counters, first!)

To read more daybooks or to join in the fun, head over to Peggy's.

Pioneer Woman Event!!!!

Oh my goodness!!! There are nearly a gazillion people waiting here
and it is blasted hot - even here on the floor with bump and branch!!!

I saw a blog (& in real life) friend, Angela... She's been here since
2:30/3:00ish!! And I've met some other super great gals.

Am I crazy for driving 3.5 hours to attend this? Dunno, but she'll be
here in 4 minutes!!!!

Later!!!!!

ELM
Sent from my iPod - lovin' WiFi in Portland!!!!

And the wheels just keep on spinning...

I have a LOT of catching up to do!! But, in the meantime, I will tell you:

Our first two rounds of company was GREAT... Pictures later.

Pops and my trip, while different than expected, was nice, calm and relaxing. We went to Gold Beach and stayed on the Rogue River in a great little lodge. R&R is exactly what we wanted and what we ended up getting (without the sun and warmth of Mexico).

We are gearing up again for another busy week! Today we are headed for the BIG city of Portland. Did you know that I have a bit of an obsession? Pops tells me that I am a stalker... The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, will be at Powell's Bookstore in Beaverton tonight at 6 PM and I guess I "need" to meet her so that I can meet her and not be a stalker but an IRL Friend (in real life, guys, in real life!) instead!! She'll wanna be my friend, right???

Then we have a full week of getting back on the school wagon. Thursday will be a very busy school day with a field trip in the morning with a group of homeshoolers and Bud has a Blue Knights meeting that evening.

Friday brings more company! Pops' brother, Uncle Ikey and his two oldest boys will be arriving at the airport in Portland and Pops and the big treekids will be riding up there to pick them up. Uncle Ikey is Bud's Godfather and decided it was a great idea to fly out for the weekend to help celebrate Bud's 1st Holy Communion on this coming Saturday evening with us!

SO - yes, it is a full week ahead and I hope to get some time to post pictures and tell a little bit about the craziness of the last couple weeks. As well, as all of the craziness of THIS week!

I'll be back soon~