29 December 2013
Bonus Post: Side-by-Side
Merry Christmas! Since we have been (and still are) traveling, I haven't really had time for an update. To hold you over until next week's post (which will cover two weeks), I've put together a picture-heavy (read: only pictures) side-by-side view of the girls. I'm really last to the party on this one, as several others have done it already. Regardless, here it is:
22 December 2013
December 15-22
We're trying to get Olivia to eat better vegetables. After a rough start a couple of weeks ago with a carrot soup that she absolutely refused to touch, we broke out the raw veggies and dips. First termites on a log (because all I had was golden raisins), then carrots and peppers with dips. She's now progressed to willingly taking at least one bite of whatever raw or steamed veggie I put in front of her, though soups still send her running. We're also trying to cut out the demands for different food and we've discovered that she eats better when foods are presented one at a time, so we've evolved a kind of course system to dinner. Closest to Olivia is the night's vegetable, followed by the main dish, with a fruit or bread option on the other side of the table. She can move on to the next thing after she's had a bite or five of whatever is in front of it. It's been going well, and meals are much more peaceful. As a bonus, Bryan gets the sides he's always wanted. :)
Some time ago, Olivia decided she absolutely could not sleep unless there was a light on in the room. We had a small lamp, so we used that to keep her from turning on her bedroom light. Over time, though, it became apparent that she does not sleep as well with a light on (shocking, I know). Since we're also hoping to night-potty-train her eventually, I decided to get her a toddler clock that doubles as a night light. To keep her from turning on the bedroom light, I rearranged the room so the bed is in a different corner. Her new clock changes color (from yellow to green) when she's allowed to leave her room in the morning. Once she gets used to that, we'll be able to take the gate down so that she can go to the bathroom whenever she needs to. The only problem? She unplugs the clock. At least she's sleeping in the dark again, though.
Olivia made the bread for dinner the other night. This is where you say, we know, Johannah, that Olivia helps you make bread. There was a 15-minute video about it once, remember? That's not what I meant, though. Reread the first sentence, pretending that you don't know that Olivia is only 2, and you'll have a better idea of what actually happened. I measured the water for her (3/4 cup in a 4 cup container so she wouldn't spill getting it to the table), helped her remove some especially sticky dough from her fingers, and provided verbal direction. That's it. Olivia measured the yeast, salt, and flour, stirred everything up, kneaded the dough, put it in a pan, used her fingers to poke holes in the top of the loaf (for some reason known only to her), and put it in the (still cool) oven. We ate it for dinner that night and it was delicious.
Lest you think something happened to Gretchen, we still have her. She had a lull this week and didn't really do any new and exciting things, so I don't have any stories. I took some pictures, though, so that you can see that we don't completely ignore her! :)
Pictures:
Some time ago, Olivia decided she absolutely could not sleep unless there was a light on in the room. We had a small lamp, so we used that to keep her from turning on her bedroom light. Over time, though, it became apparent that she does not sleep as well with a light on (shocking, I know). Since we're also hoping to night-potty-train her eventually, I decided to get her a toddler clock that doubles as a night light. To keep her from turning on the bedroom light, I rearranged the room so the bed is in a different corner. Her new clock changes color (from yellow to green) when she's allowed to leave her room in the morning. Once she gets used to that, we'll be able to take the gate down so that she can go to the bathroom whenever she needs to. The only problem? She unplugs the clock. At least she's sleeping in the dark again, though.
Olivia made the bread for dinner the other night. This is where you say, we know, Johannah, that Olivia helps you make bread. There was a 15-minute video about it once, remember? That's not what I meant, though. Reread the first sentence, pretending that you don't know that Olivia is only 2, and you'll have a better idea of what actually happened. I measured the water for her (3/4 cup in a 4 cup container so she wouldn't spill getting it to the table), helped her remove some especially sticky dough from her fingers, and provided verbal direction. That's it. Olivia measured the yeast, salt, and flour, stirred everything up, kneaded the dough, put it in a pan, used her fingers to poke holes in the top of the loaf (for some reason known only to her), and put it in the (still cool) oven. We ate it for dinner that night and it was delicious.
Lest you think something happened to Gretchen, we still have her. She had a lull this week and didn't really do any new and exciting things, so I don't have any stories. I took some pictures, though, so that you can see that we don't completely ignore her! :)
Pictures:
15 December 2013
December 8-15
If you're receiving this by email for the first time, see the beginning of this post.
I remember having little cupcake crayons when we were kids. Mom would take all the broken pieces, toss them in a muffin tin, and melt them down into new crayons for us to use. Olivia has a lot of broken crayons, so I decided to do this. I wasn't able to mix the colors with the same reckless abandon that my mother did, but I did pair a couple up to fill the tins a bit more. This ended up being a good thing, because I didn't know how long (or how hot) to bake the crayons, and managed to melt them down until the colors were completely mixed. So instead of the swirly colored crayons we had, Olivia ended up with some new solid colors. At least I was cautious, so she didn't end up with six shades of brown. She was intrigued by them and seems to like using them better than her regular crayons.
Gretchen has been practicing her consonants. She's especially good at mamamamama. Her other favorite right now is ba (usually just one at a time). She held up a ball the other day and said, "ba," sounding especially smart. We'll just ignore all the other things she labels as "ba." :)
A follow-up appointment for a second flu shot and a check on her ear infection gave us the opportunity to weigh Gretchen again. At 7 months, she was 16 lbs, 10 oz, which is still over a pound lighter than Olivia was at six months. This surprised Bryan, because Gretchen eats meals like she might never get fed again. She puts away more food at one meal than Olivia does in a week. Apparently she also burns it off faster.
Olivia sounds more like a big person every day. I'll call her from the other room, and she'll answer with, "yes, mommy?" She also says, "bless you, baby Gretchen" when Gretchen sneezes, says thank you without being prompted (not all the time, but sometimes), and asks Bryan to "brush the girl's hair" when he puts her to bed.
It's cookie walk time again, so I have more Spritz notes:
-I use medium eggs and the chocolate recipe calls for 2 large eggs. This year my batter seemed especially dry, so I put in an extra medium egg. This was a good decision.
-Soften the butter in the microwave before adding the sugar.
-Roll the dough into a log. It's not that hard, and the time saved is tremendous.
-The chocolate batter is easier to work with if it is slightly chilled. Do not chill the vanilla batter. The recipe didn't lie to you. (Side note: If you're one of those people who buys the Pillsbury cookie dough just to eat the dough with no intention of every baking it into cookies (that's everybody), you should make vanilla spritz and put the dough in the fridge. I tasted mine, and I'm pretty sure that's how Pillsbury makes their cookies.)
-Don't be afraid to use more than one click per cookie. One and a half is often the magic number.
Also some notes about Austrian chocolate balls:
-Double batches are very workable. Larger than that would be unwieldy.
-The recipe says to dip each ball in the frosting, but I get impatient and stir them all into the frosting instead. (Bonus to this method: the whole cookie gets a chocolate coating, instead of just the top.) Six batches at a time is a bit much for this technique, though. Actually, how does using some sort of frosting tip sound? That might be easiest.
-Large eggs make the batter a little too moist and the cookies flatten in the oven. Add a little extra flour and you're good to go.
Pictures and Video:
I remember having little cupcake crayons when we were kids. Mom would take all the broken pieces, toss them in a muffin tin, and melt them down into new crayons for us to use. Olivia has a lot of broken crayons, so I decided to do this. I wasn't able to mix the colors with the same reckless abandon that my mother did, but I did pair a couple up to fill the tins a bit more. This ended up being a good thing, because I didn't know how long (or how hot) to bake the crayons, and managed to melt them down until the colors were completely mixed. So instead of the swirly colored crayons we had, Olivia ended up with some new solid colors. At least I was cautious, so she didn't end up with six shades of brown. She was intrigued by them and seems to like using them better than her regular crayons.
Gretchen has been practicing her consonants. She's especially good at mamamamama. Her other favorite right now is ba (usually just one at a time). She held up a ball the other day and said, "ba," sounding especially smart. We'll just ignore all the other things she labels as "ba." :)
A follow-up appointment for a second flu shot and a check on her ear infection gave us the opportunity to weigh Gretchen again. At 7 months, she was 16 lbs, 10 oz, which is still over a pound lighter than Olivia was at six months. This surprised Bryan, because Gretchen eats meals like she might never get fed again. She puts away more food at one meal than Olivia does in a week. Apparently she also burns it off faster.
Olivia sounds more like a big person every day. I'll call her from the other room, and she'll answer with, "yes, mommy?" She also says, "bless you, baby Gretchen" when Gretchen sneezes, says thank you without being prompted (not all the time, but sometimes), and asks Bryan to "brush the girl's hair" when he puts her to bed.
It's cookie walk time again, so I have more Spritz notes:
-I use medium eggs and the chocolate recipe calls for 2 large eggs. This year my batter seemed especially dry, so I put in an extra medium egg. This was a good decision.
-Soften the butter in the microwave before adding the sugar.
-Roll the dough into a log. It's not that hard, and the time saved is tremendous.
-The chocolate batter is easier to work with if it is slightly chilled. Do not chill the vanilla batter. The recipe didn't lie to you. (Side note: If you're one of those people who buys the Pillsbury cookie dough just to eat the dough with no intention of every baking it into cookies (that's everybody), you should make vanilla spritz and put the dough in the fridge. I tasted mine, and I'm pretty sure that's how Pillsbury makes their cookies.)
-Don't be afraid to use more than one click per cookie. One and a half is often the magic number.
Also some notes about Austrian chocolate balls:
-Double batches are very workable. Larger than that would be unwieldy.
-The recipe says to dip each ball in the frosting, but I get impatient and stir them all into the frosting instead. (Bonus to this method: the whole cookie gets a chocolate coating, instead of just the top.) Six batches at a time is a bit much for this technique, though. Actually, how does using some sort of frosting tip sound? That might be easiest.
-Large eggs make the batter a little too moist and the cookies flatten in the oven. Add a little extra flour and you're good to go.
Pictures and Video:
08 December 2013
December 1-8
Justine recently discovered how to send out the weekly blog post in an email to specific people, so I added a couple of names to that list. If you've started getting emails of the blog posts, that's why. There are opportunities for change:
-If you don't want to receive emails for any reason (you already visit the blog on your own each week, my witty writing incapacitates you for prolonged periods of time, you can't handle the insane amount of Olivia and Gretchen propaganda, etc), let me know and I'll remove you from the list.
-If you currently visit the blog periodically but would prefer to be on the email list so that you don't have to remember to check for your weekly pictures, let me know and I'll add you.
-If you know people who would appreciate the emails (probably because they don't have a gmail account, so logging in to read is unreasonably difficult), give me their email addresses and I'll add them to the list.
We have something outside one of our windows that Olivia refers to as "the mouse." Bryan and I cannot figure out what she means. We've speculated that it may be one of the few stubborn leaves still clinging to the tree, or perhaps the bump on top of the street lamp... No amount of questions or examinations provides enlightenment. Almost every day, though, Olivia comments on "the mouse" that she sees outside. (At least she specified that it was outside... The first time she brought it up I thought maybe she found a mouse in the house!)
In addition to recognizing most of the alphabet, Olivia also recognizes several numbers. She has a book that has numbers only on the even pages, and she was pointing out all of the numbers to me as she read (nevermind the story, mom, look at these numbers!). She went through 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and then got to twelve and said, "Oh, a ten and a 2!" This does lead me to wonder whether she thinks that 1 is called "ten." However. I told her that a ten and a two was twelve, and she replied with her typical, "oh, okay" before turning the page. "A four and a ten!" "That's fourteen." "Oh, okay. *page turn* Look! Mom! A six and a ten!" "Sixteen." "Oh, okay. *page turn* Mom! Eighteen!" That's right. She said "eighteen," not "eight and ten." We haven't had this discussion again, so I'm not sure if it was a fluke or not.
-If you don't want to receive emails for any reason (you already visit the blog on your own each week, my witty writing incapacitates you for prolonged periods of time, you can't handle the insane amount of Olivia and Gretchen propaganda, etc), let me know and I'll remove you from the list.
-If you currently visit the blog periodically but would prefer to be on the email list so that you don't have to remember to check for your weekly pictures, let me know and I'll add you.
-If you know people who would appreciate the emails (probably because they don't have a gmail account, so logging in to read is unreasonably difficult), give me their email addresses and I'll add them to the list.
We have something outside one of our windows that Olivia refers to as "the mouse." Bryan and I cannot figure out what she means. We've speculated that it may be one of the few stubborn leaves still clinging to the tree, or perhaps the bump on top of the street lamp... No amount of questions or examinations provides enlightenment. Almost every day, though, Olivia comments on "the mouse" that she sees outside. (At least she specified that it was outside... The first time she brought it up I thought maybe she found a mouse in the house!)
In addition to recognizing most of the alphabet, Olivia also recognizes several numbers. She has a book that has numbers only on the even pages, and she was pointing out all of the numbers to me as she read (nevermind the story, mom, look at these numbers!). She went through 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and then got to twelve and said, "Oh, a ten and a 2!" This does lead me to wonder whether she thinks that 1 is called "ten." However. I told her that a ten and a two was twelve, and she replied with her typical, "oh, okay" before turning the page. "A four and a ten!" "That's fourteen." "Oh, okay. *page turn* Look! Mom! A six and a ten!" "Sixteen." "Oh, okay. *page turn* Mom! Eighteen!" That's right. She said "eighteen," not "eight and ten." We haven't had this discussion again, so I'm not sure if it was a fluke or not.
Gretchen desperately wants to be crawling, but can't figure out how to get her knees to stay underneath her. She is not helped by the cold weather, because her pants slip all over our wood floors. Olivia learned to crawl when it was warmer out, so her sticky little bare knees couldn't get away from her. As compensation for not being able to crawl, Gretchen is discovering alternate methods of locomotion. On a soft surface (such as the bed), she tends to just roll all over the place. No edge is safe from Gretchen's exploration. On hard, smooth surfaces, she sits and watches the world go by, spinning herself around on her rear to better catch the action. By the end of this last week, she was also attempting to pull herself along the floor (while still sitting).
Pictures and Videos:
01 December 2013
November 24-December 1
We took family pictures last Saturday, which was an adventure. Of the 75 pictures snapped, Olivia was smiling in exactly two of them, and those two were individual shots. We did manage to find one group picture where Gretchen was smiling and Olivia seemed more contemplative than whiny, so we ordered that one for the Christmas letter. As Jacque (who was visiting) and I looked through the pictures, she pointed out that at least Bryan and I smiled the whole time. The photographer agreed, noting that we were often looking at the camera as well. We're so talented. :)
Last week we traveled to Bryan's parents' house for Thanksgiving. We were able to spend four days there, and got to see his brother and sister in addition to some extended family. He also got to see some exciting football games, which made him happy.
Olivia is potty trained. She's worn diapers only at night-time for a little over a week now and has been (mostly) accident free. We did have some trouble during naptime at Grandma and Grandpa's house because the house was so big that we couldn't hear her quiet waking up noises in order to catch her and stick her on the potty right away. Other than 2 naptimes, though, she's been fine. I even have a nifty waterproof pad that I made for her carseat in case of leaks in the car.
Gretchen loves food. You already knew this (I think), but it bears repeating. To date, she's enjoyed green beans, carrots, zucchini, sweet potato, spinach, yellow squash, pumpkin, mango, pears, peaches, applesauce, oatmeal, apricot, and zweiback. She's tried leeks, but not enough times to be convinced she likes them. This is in addition to whatever soft foods we happen to have on our plates when she's finished her food (bananas, tomatoes, mushrooms, lasagna...). She also happily takes bites of whatever she can grab out of her mother's hands, which means she sampled melon, bread, and crackers when I wasn't paying attention.
Enough updates. Time for pictures.
Pictures and Videos:
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