Merry Christmas 2022

 

I know I haven't updated you lovely readers on any of the things that have happened since Halloween- I didn't post any costume tutorials, I didn't update you about Bean turning 18 months old, or Miss Chief turning 9 (!), or our 10th wedding anniversary (!!)- but here we are at Christmas, so enjoy this photo of this toddler in awe of the Christmas lights and her siblings in awe of her.

Merry Christmas,

The Geeks

Happy Halloween from Sonic and Friends!

 

Gotta go fast!

Happy Halloween from Knuckles, Sonic, Cream, Amy Rose, and Tails, who really just wants to fly around and doesn't want to pose for pictures.

I hope you and your family zoom from door to door collecting candy this evening!

What are you dressing as for Halloween?

Much love,

The Geeks

Concerning Hobbits

 

This weekend, we attended the Maryland Renaissance Festival for the first time since before the pandemic.  We don't always attend in costume, but it's always more fun when we do.  This year, I was inspired to dress us all up as Hobbits- specifically, Sam and Rosie and (a few of) their kids.

The weather was beautiful, but a little chilly, so we only posed barefoot for a handful of pictures.  The rest of the day, these Hobbits wore sneakers!

These pieces were all upcycled from clothing and non-clothing things I picked up at a local thrift store, as well as some items from my stash and scrap from other projects.  There were a couple of things, like ribbons, hardware, and cording, that I needed to pick up to create cohesive looks (not to mention matching thread) but all in all these were probably 90% upcycle, which I feel good about.

Now it's time to put together Halloween costumes!

Do you have a renaissance faire near you?  Do you like to go in costume?

Much love,

The Geeks

Currently, Peanut is... {5 years}

 As ever, I'm late with the birthday update, but I think Little Man will forgive me.  Five is such a momentous occasion, so we celebrated twice- once with family, in a giant joint celebration with my sister and me, since we both have birthdays in late June, and then again on the actual day with a trip to the movie theater, the toy store, and an ice cream parlor (for some oat milk ice cream).  Here's a look at just how much this kid has changed over the past year.

Celebrating 4th of July 2021 with his grandparents and baby cousin

Currently, Peanut is a rising Kindergartener at our parish school.  He will tell you he's not excited for Kindergarten, but I think secretly he is.  Pre-K turned out to not be a nightmare after all- he loved his teacher, he met a bunch of wonderful friends, and he worked on his handwriting, drawing, and speaking skills.  His report card showed a slight regression in progress when it came to his behavior during class, but that regression was tied directly to his opening up and making friends- turns out he was such a good listener at the beginning of the year because he was too scared to talk to anybody!  Kindergarten is going to be a lot of fun, even if he doesn't know it yet.

Halloween 2021, dressed as Ezra from Star Wars: Rebels

Currently, Peanut adores being a big brother- and a little brother, too, although maybe that's not quite as much fun.  He will go to great lengths to get a giggle out of his baby sister, even causing himself slight injury, but it's all worth it for him to get that smile out of her.  He wants to hold her and love on her, even though she doesn't want to be held and sometimes feels smothered.  The middle child struggle is definitely real, since he's constantly being told he's too old for X but too young for Y, but he seems to balance in that tension rather well, all things considered.

Last day of Pre-K

Loving: his baby sister; Pokemon cards; Sonic the Hedgehog; Spiderman; dinosaur chicken nuggets; board games; watching too much TV.

Hating: any dinner that is not chicken nuggets or spaghetti with meatballs; bed time; turning off the TV.

What is your little one up to lately?

Much love,

The Geeks

Crafting Adventures: Star Wars Dress

 

May the 4th be with you!

...and with your spirit.

Wait, no, sorry, that's not the appropriate response.  

But little Bean did in fact wear her brand new Star Wars dress to the Saturday evening vigil Mass this weekend and she certainly looked adorable in it!

A peasant dress is really the perfect design for a quick, easy garment- easy to sew and easy to put on and take off of squirmy babies.

I used the free peasant dress pattern from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom in the 12-18 month size and I love the fit.  My little string bean is tall and thin for her age, and she's very mobile, so this tea-length is perfect.

I chose to do a simple hem on the short sleeves with no elastic, and rather than the 1" hem in the tutorial, I just trimmed the hem with a package of bias tape, so the overall dress is a tad bit longer than it would be if I had done a traditional hem.

I am committed to busting my stash this year- having to pack up my sewing room to move across town opened my eyes to exactly how much fabric I've been accumulating over the years.  This fabric in particular was purchased way back when I was pregnant with my oldest (who is now 8!).  It's a simple quilting weight cotton I picked up at JoAnn, and I had intended to use it to make a sheet for the crib to match her space-themed bedroom, but I ended up using a simple galaxy print instead and then running out of energy to make anything else.  I still have a bit of this Star Wars print leftover, so big brother might be getting a Star Wars neck tie soon.

How are you celebrating Star Wars Day?

Much love,

The Geeks

Currently, Bean is... {1 Year}

 Goodness, I can't believe it's been a whole year since our little Bean first shouted for the world to hear.  Honestly- she hasn't really stopped shouting!  But she has to be loud to be heard over her big siblings, who are so excited to celebrate her first birthday.  Here's a look at the last three months.

Growing so tall!  She might end up the tallest kid when they're all bigger, who knows?  With each growth spurt, she she gains height quickly and weight more slowly, so her pants are way too short before the waistbands are too tight.  It's so fun to see her wear the big kids' hand-me-downs- it's such a stark reminder of how much bigger they are, now, too.

Eating when she's in the mood for it.  She doesn't seem to dislike any particular food, but if she's not in the right mood, she'll just throw everything on the floor.  If she starts swiping her hands in the air when you offer her something, it's best not to even put it on her tray- whatever it is won't be getting near her mouth.  We recently took her to an allergist to confirm some suspicions about food sensitivities, so we're avoiding eggs and dairy in her diet (and, by extension, mine, since she's still breast feeding).  I've found a few different vegan muffin recipes to whip up for breakfast that please everyone, but I think she likes steamed vegetables even more than muffins.  Still, if given the choice, she would nurse for every meal- unlike her older siblings, she's not showing any interest in giving that up any time soon.  I'm going to try and wean her from day time feeding but continue to let her nurse when she wakes up and when she goes to sleep (and any time she wakes up in the middle of the night) and hopefully she'll accept the fact that there won't be bottles at daycare anymore in a few weeks...

Talking in her own little language, all the time.  She makes sounds like "Daddy" and "Mama" and even some that sound like "happy" and "baby" but I'm pretty sure she's just babbling sounds that feel good in her mouth, not attempting to use words with real meanings.  She will have long conversations with us, or her toys, with no intelligible words, but boy does she know what she's talking about!  And like I said above, she does shout an awful lot (particularly in church, or in the middle of the night) but it's a happy sound, so I don't like to shush her.

Making facial expressions exactly like her brother, it's uncanny.  Although, after hanging out with her cousins at Christmas, she started making a mischievous face, where she scrunches up her nose and shows you her teeth behind her little grin, and it looks exactly like the way her older cousin grins when he's proud of himself, so we like to think she learned that from him!

 Listening to every word her siblings say (and then babbling right back at them).  And she loves to dance to music, even if it's just the theme song to whatever cartoon the big kids are watching on a weekend morning.  

Sleeping when Mommy is not around, apparently?  Because she certainly doesn't sleep at night, and she certainly doesn't sleep in her own bed.  Our daycare provider assures me she takes long naps in a bed on her own without being held, but I don't know, I'll believe it when I see it.  Mr. Geek keeps saying, "Don't worry, she'll start sleeping through the night soon...any day now..." but I think he's jinxing us.

Loving being held; nursing; loud music; grabbing Mommy's glasses off her face; walking; climbing the stairs; chasing the big kids at the playground; broccoli; carrots; hearing her voice echo.

Hating shoes; having her diaper changed; getting undressed; getting dressed; sitting in the car seat.

So here we are!  I can't wait to see what she thinks about cupcakes at her birthday party this weekend...

Much love,

The Geeks

Currently, Bean is... {9 months}

 Holy moly she's 9 months old- I know it's cliche to ask "how did that happen?" but seriously how did that happen???  I'm still constantly sleep deprived so the days just sort of...run together and now all of a sudden she's not this tiny, squirmy newborn, and her first birthday is right around the corner.  Let's talk about the last three months...

Growing at a slower pace now, so I can keep up a little better.  She's still very tall- pants are always too short for her- but she's not super chubby like she used to be.  Now that she pulls herself up to stand (!!) it's always so shocking to see how tall she is.

Eating breastmilk still, and she's really gotten the hang of solid foods.  We had sort of a relapse with our bottle feeding problems after Christmas break- 2 weeks of just nursing whenever she wanted spoiled her a little bit, and she really fought the bottle on her first day back at daycare.  She's back in the swing of things, though, and will drink the whole bottle without a fight (so long as the right person is feeding her- literally only one person in the world can give her a bottle without her fighting it- and so long as it's the exact right temperature and so long as she's allowed to hold the bottle but the person feeding her is not allowed to let go and so long as...)  She doesn't have time for your spoons and purees- if something is being served with utensils, she'll hold them, thanks.  She will tolerate applesauce in a pouch, but only if she's allowed to hold it.  She likes things she can gnaw on, like carrot sticks and broccoli florets and even pizza crust.  She really likes picking up those little star-shaped puffed rice snacks; she'll concentrate on it and pick up one in each hand, pinched between tiny fingers and thumbs, and then hold them out and show them to you.  And then she'll giggle and put them in her mouth and crunch with her two tiny, sharp teeth at the front of her mouth.

Talking a lot now, surprisingly- at least a lot more than her brother was at this age.  She loves to whisper "dadada", but she'll also say "nuh nuh nuh" while you change her diaper and "guh guh guh" while she plays with her siblings.  She doesn't blow as many raspberries nowadays, but when she does, she seems to be timing them for comedic effect.  There's still lots of squeals and sometimes she'll just sit in her high chair at the dinner table and just...yell.  Just open her mouth and scream one long, continuous sound, like the lead singer of a metal band.  You will not have a conversation without her.

Making facial expressions like the little clown she is.  She got to play with her cousins over Christmas, one of whom is just over a year old than her.  He scrunches up his nose when he smiles, and I guess she liked that so much that she's started doing it, too.  If she does something mischievous or otherwise thinks she's being particularly clever, she'll scrunch up her nose and squint her eyes and smile with her whole face, just like her cousin.  It's a purposeful expression, different from the way she smiles when something makes her happy or when she laughs.

Listening to every word her siblings' say, studying the sounds they make and the way their mouths move.  She's not quite parroting them yet, but any minute now I expect I'll be hearing her repeat them.  For now, she's definitely taking notes.  She also pays attention when we say family prayers; she definitely recognizes Grace Before Meals and will get excited because it means food is coming, but she also likes when we say bedtime prayers.  She doesn't seem to mind when I sing to her anymore- for a while there she seemed to not like it, but now she just laughs.  

Sleeping at daycare for naps, but not at home.  At home, she'll only nap if she's being held, and we're still struggling through the night 2 hours at a time (sometimes 3, but that's it).  We're full time co-sleeping again because it's just too much of a hassle to get out of bed so many times during the night.  Surely, one day she'll sleep through the night.  Surely....

Loving her singing red panda that was a Christmas gift from her big sister; the multitude of teething toys she now has at her disposal; standing up; crawling away too fast for you to catch her; feeding herself; her two older siblings.

Hating diaper changes; putting on clothes; getting buckled into the car seat; bedtime; jackets.

Much love,

The Geeks