Saturday Walk and Dinner Guests

Baby tights!!!!!

Last week we had some lovely weather in the 50s-60s and enjoyed going to the park and walking again on the Clear Creek Trail. Here's proof that Gemma-chan has some Japanese in her (just kidding).

She loves being in the stroller and seems very observant of her surroundings, turning her head when she hears birds and cars.

This week we had Yesenia and Malika over for dinner (and they brought dessert! Jim made some fantastic butternut-spicy sausage risotto). They are both in the same doctoral program as Jim (although with different concentrations/minors)and work at NSSE as well. Malika was one friend who had visited Gemma in the hospital when she was 2 days old, so of course she was amazed to see how much the Gem has grown. Yesenia was quite taken with Gemma (and vice versa) and started singing to her in Spanish and was able to get her to smile a lot. Then Malika said, "I want to sing to her in Russian!"

So then we got onto the topic of how babies & children learn languages and how their brains process sounds. Amazing to think about, isn't it! I was inspired and got some used books in German and Spanish from our library store, and checked out some African CDs. Hmmm. Hopefully she won't get overwhelmed. We need to have these two friends over again soon!

As you can see, the plastic spoon is still one of Gemma's favorite "toys" of late. She likes to chew on it, then pass it from left hand to right, fling it out to the side, turn it upside-down, and then throw it on the floor. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat...

Birthday and Valentine's Day Happenings

Last week Uncle Chuck and Auntie Jo "swung by" for a few hours on their way driving from New York state to Wheaton - hopefully for them the detour was worth it, because we really enjoyed getting to see them and introduce Gemma to them! Gemma was particularly taken with the necklace that Auntie Jo was wearing, which happened to be Uncle Chuck's baby bracelet with some bells on it. She got so excited grabbing it and chewing it that she spit up on Auntie Jo's sweater sleeve.

And for those of you familiar with the J&J birthday tradition, last week was my surprise birthday dinner and dessert prepared by Jim. He made Cape chicken curry (as in Cape Malay, Western Cape, South Africa) with peach chutney, kale with peanut sauce and low-fat carrot cake!! It was a good way to turn 32 (yikes). He also bought me a really awesome, chunky silver bracelet and some ABC blocks. Okay so those are for Gemma but I have been wanting to get them! And with some birthday money I bought a yoga mat, now that Melanie Brasher has invited me to join her at a Wednesday night yoga class. I've been twice and was sore after both times. Good workout.

For Valentine's Day we ventured one county over to Brown County State Park to investigate the park and lodge as a potential Gieser family reunion location. The park is pretty huge - great vistas, too - and has lots of trails for walking, biking and horses, plus the lodge with swimming pool and restaurant. Even in winter it was beautiful and we could see why the autumn colors would draw so many people. (and it is only 30 minutes away for us) Our first night away as a family sleeping in the same room!

At the entrance to the Park is Indiana's oldest covered bridge (brought here from its original location).

The highlight of the lodge was the indoor waterpark!! We didn't go down the huge winding slide or down the lazy river (next time, when Gemma is older) but we did have fun watching Gemma splash around in the 'fountain'. She loved putting her hands and feet into the fountain and even got a face full of water a few times, but she was happy and content the whole time. And she continues to be very observant of people and noises, and spent time looking around and intently watching the other kids.

Another look back

Superman Jim at 5 months (and Katie at 2 yrs). My favorite aspect of this photo is the doll's crazy hair.

Jul at 3 months (? photo was undated). Boy do I wish Mom had kept that outfit!

Now to something current...Gemma at 5 months, doing a nice push-up, slobbering all over a spoon, and actually smiling at the camera! (well, at Jim)

In case some of you are wondering what Jim is currently reading for class, here's a peek. As you can see, it is fascinating to all members of the family. (I'll let Jim fill you in on another post.)

What a happy day!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

Thanks for sharing your birthday with me for 32 years. If I was in Durham today, we could celebrate by:

• going out for birthday breakfast (not Shoney's anymore...someplace with good coffee and a nice egg & bacon biscuit sandwich and fruit salad, or oatmeal with all the toppings)
• renting a canoe and taking a trip down the Eno; hopefully spot some turtles and encounter a few rapids. Oh wait, it's February. Well, instead we could go to the gym and shoot some hoops together. And you could show me how to use the rowing machine for a 5 minute hard workout.
• rent a manual Subaru Impreza WRX and take it for a spin on some lonely roads in Orange County. We could compare shifting abilities. (It's been 16 years exactly since you taught me, at age 16!)
• enjoy a birthday dinner of your choosing and Mom's cooking (thanks, Mum), and then dessert of my choosing. Hmm, something chocolate, I think.
  

Have a wonderful Tuesday! I love you!

5 Months Old

Gemma and Mommy love wearing hats in the winter. Gemma finds this one to be particularly entertaining: she stares at it and grins whenever Mommy puts it on.

Wen and Yiran, two classmates and colleagues from NSSE, recently joined us for dinner. They were familiar with Gemma, due to the photos of her that I've put up at my desk. So they were happy to finally meet her and had fun giving her smiles and laughing at her antics. Over the meal we enjoyed talking about respective courses of study, our hopes for our future careers, about Wen's and Yiran's families in China, and about American desserts (and the fact that eating dessert, an institution in the States, is generally unpracticed in China). To punctuate that final point, Yiran brought along very rich iced brownies from Kroger, and Jul and I shared a bar of Lindt Dark Chocolate with Almonds. Yum.