A Hoosiers basketball game!

A good friend from church, Kevin Katerberg, had an extra ticket for a recent IU Hoosiers game vs. Central Connecticut State. It was only my second basketball game, so I was glad for the chance to go again. IU won, 100-69. What fun to be there, watching the #1 team in the country (at the time - they have since dropped in the rankings a bit) dismantle the opposition, from the 15th row of Memorial Hall. Some great dunks!

And why not add a pic of my and Timo?!

Small group White Elephant Party

Last Saturday night was our small group's Christmas party, with White Elephant gift exchange. What a great way to celebrate the end of the semester - and recount some of the amazing ways that the Lord has provided for each of our families in the last few months. Many of us have been in places of transition and challenge in the last year; we have appreciated the support system that this group has been for us.

on stairs: Justin and Sarah; Fred and Angie; Jordan and Holly; below: Wes and Erin; Andrew and Leah

Jim (with a tiny bit of help from me) made this amazing pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling for the party.  Moist and flavorful - definitely a recipe to re-do. (And we are inspired to make a Yule Log for Christmas, now that we know how easy these roll-up cakes are!!)

Of course no White Elephant party would be complete without some hilarity...
 

Timo, my son

As a dad, it is amazing to have a son now, in addition to Gemma. To have had a child at all, with Gemma, was an amazing, eye-opening experience. And now, to have a second, and for him to be a boy - another new, amazing, eye-opening experience. Here's Timo at 6-7 weeks old.

Father/daughter and Mother/son Time

Dad and daughter made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies together - yum! We've recently been making these cookies a lot. (Interestingly, we've discovered that Uncle Bill's aluminum pan works best to produce the ideal texture and exterior, better than the Air-Bake pans.) And Gemma has gotten very good at carefully placing chocolate chips on top of each cookie.

Meanwhile Mom and son get in a walk together (and then return home to eat more cookies). It's been pretty mild so far this winter and we've enjoyed being able to still go for neighborhood walks once or twice a week - always wish it was more, but I'll take what I can get at this point!

A smile? Slowly, slowly coming...

Timo is 6 weeks old!! And we are slowly, slowly seeing the beginnings of some smiles! We've been able to get the best 'early smiles' when he is in Jim's arms - maybe it's the happy, dark eyebrows or the scratchy, Daddy beard-chin. The same was true when Gemma was first learning to smile.

hey, cousin David, thanks for loaning me this sweatshirt!

Oh wait - what happened here?! Yep, our kitchen table and chairs are gone! (This was the scene at breakfast a couple of days ago. Note that I, Jul, am still in my pajamas and not yet able to even have my first cup of coffee before Gemma has chosen a book to read together. Oh and Timo is on the other arm.) 

We are starting to pack up more boxes and make lists: To Sell, To Keep, and To Give Away. This week we posted a few things on craiglist and were a bit surprised when the table & chairs sold the next day. But oh well, that is the point, right? We need to whittle down our stockpile of possessions in anticipation of our January 11 closing date!!!!
 

Saturday morning cinnamon roll scones, made by Jim. Oh yum.
 

Good bonding time for Dad and son: wiping off some spit-up dribbles.

"I'm a big sister now"

I haven't posted videos before, but this one is worth it! It was taken over Thanksgiving weekend, when Timo was 4 weeks old.

In case you can't catch it (over the racket of the camera moving around), here is some of the text of what Gemma is saying...

"Timo, Timo, let's read this book"

"Timo's a little baby...Gemma's a big sister now, Gemma have to read books to baby, a lot of babies."

"Timo's a little baby, I'm a big sister now!"

More fun with Nonna

Though Nonna left last Thursday, we are enjoying the photos and memories of her week here. This morning Gemma was talking again about the I Spy Quilt - a  3 year project (right, Mom? or how long?) that Mom finally finished when she was here, hurrah!! (see pics of that at bottom)

Good morning, Nonna! Gemma is ready to read books together! These days Gemma is reading a lot of books about learning to use the potty; about big sisters; about kindergarten; about animals getting ready for bed-time; and of course all her other favorites, like Dr Seuss and Noah's Ark and I Spy and anything by Richard Scarry. And this girl will read and read and read - and then move on to the next adult in the house who is available to read with her.

Nonna takes a self-portrait with Timo (guess that's where Jim gets it from...)

Special time for Nonna and Gemma together! They went to the library together one morning, and the next morning to our local science museum, the Wonderlab. Gemma loves both places, especially the Wonderlab, and often at home will pretend that she is taking her dolls or stuffed animals or toys there: "Come on, guys. Let's go to the Wonderlab!"

And of course no visit with Nonna would be complete without making cookies together. This batch was pumpkin chocolate chip.

Gemma very carefully placed one additional chocolate chip on top of each cookie.

Now for some bath-time pics of Timo, who is 4 weeks old here. He is definitely filling out his belly now, as you can see. And perhaps you can also see how much he loves bath-time (sink by himself or bath-tub with Gemma). He is so calm and alert and doesn't even mind having water poured on his head.

For perspective, here's our little guy getting wrapped in his towel. Yep, he's still pretty tiny.

Here is the famous, beloved I Spy quilt that Nonna made. It is covered with little pictures of different objects, like a cupcake or teddy bear or snowman or soccer ball. She likes to play a game with her granddaughters and ask them to "I Spy" certain objects and point them out. Once Gemma got the hang of it, she naturally made the game into "Speed I Spy" and tried to point as quickly and acrobatically as possible to each object, followed by a rousing round of applause from Nonna.

Thank you for visiting, Nonna! We love you!

Gemma learns about being a sister

Gemma is such a sweet, protective older sister. She loves to grab a pile of books and stand next to Timo, reading and talking to him. She loves to find his pacifier and try to get it in his mouth (even when he's peacefully sleeping...). And she frequently repeats sentiments like, "I'm a big sister now!" and "It's okay, Timo" (when he is fussing) and "Babies drink a lot of milk" and "He's awake!" and "I holding Timo's hand" (when riding in the car together).

This morning at breakfast she looked down at him in the bouncy seat, and said, "Baby brother Timo. I love my baby brother Timo."

Here are a few fun moments that Nonna captured during her visit.

One month old!

A good nap location (while the dryer is going). Gemma also loved this as a newborn.

This is how Gemma gives kisses: leans in with her head and gently touches.

"Timo, now it's time to learn about baking cakes."