They Say It's My Birthday

So in about a half-hour (local time) I'll be 43.  Yes, you read that correctly. Forty. Three. Some of you will be shocked by that, thinking I'm younger (some people think I'm *much* younger than I am).  Some of you will think, "Are you sure you're not fifty-three, Gina?"  No. I just feel fifty-three most days. 

One of my sweet friends emailed me the other day and said she wanted to buy me a birthday gift to use for my baking endeavors.  She asked for a list of things to choose from so it could still be a surprise. I gave her a list of a few things and in the end told her, "Just walk down the baking aisle at Target or Wal-Mart - I'd love anything you choose."  So today at church she pulled me into the nursing moms room and gave me my gift.  It was a shoe box - "Oh, shoes! Just what I wanted!!"  I knew it wasn't shoes...okay, sometimes I act thirteen. :)   I was so surprised by my wonderful gift from her! And I can't wait to put it to use and bake her something - but since she reads my blog, I won't blog about it until after the fact.  :)  She gave me:  a new balloon whisk to replace mine that was so horribly bent out of shape I finally ditched the thing (the story she told about choosing it was hilarious); two different sets of prep bowls, 1/8th cup and what we decided were 1/4 cup; some vanilla beans (yay!!!!); and a wonderful resource that I can't wait to comb through: The Pastry Chef's Companion.   Such a wonderful, thoughtful gift from a wonderful, thoughful friend.  :)  Love you, Kathie!

And, another friend made me squeal with delight when, around the screen to the room, popped a little pumpkin hat for Harrison.  My friend, Kay, made this little hat for him - and you can pick up the pattern for free on Ravelry if you're a knitter or crocheter.  Harrison looks SO cute in it.  I've got to get a picture of him in it for Kay.  I'm going to see if he'll cooperate with me tomorrow.   Of course, I'll share the picture here!

Speaking of the BabyMan, his six-month well-baby visit was Thursday.  He's meeting all his milestones.  He weighs 14 pounds, 10 ounces (10th percentile, up from 3rd at his last visit).  He is 26 1/2 inches long (25th percentile, up from 10th at his last visit).  He had a big growth spurt over the past two months!  He is such a wiggle worm!  He has started "creeping" - or what we like to call The Army Crawl.  He isn't bridging up yet, but he uses his arms to pull and his feet to push himself across the floor (imagine an Army guy crawling flat on his belly - that's what it looks like).  He can really get himself around, too.  We doubled his Axid, thinking that his screaming is likely related to a return of his reflux but he's definitely teething, too.  We're holding on solids right now - rice cereal, squash and peaches. I'll probably add something green this week.  And, he *loves* to stand up. He doesn't want to be standing in his Exersaucer, though. No. That will never do.  He wants to be standing next to the sofa, next to the bed, next to the recliner.  I've gotten to where I'll prop him between my knees and "hold" him there with my legs so he can stand.  He looks around, smiles and squeals as if to say, "Look at me!"  Silly, silly little man.  He wants to be like his big sisters.  I can't believe how quickly the time is flying with him.  I know he's going to be pulling up and walking before I can blink. 

Preschool starts for Nin on Tuesday, it'll be green day for Annie, and Elizabeth will be on to Math Lesson 5 (she is really liking math).  Reading is getting better. The more words we read, the better she likes it.  I think us going to the library as much as we're about to start doing is going to be a good thing in that regard.