Happy 1/2 birthday!

I can't believe my baby is 6 months old!!

That is half a year!

At six months old, John:

weighs 16 lbs

is inches 28 long

still doesn't have any teeth

reaches for toys

puts everything in his mouth

smiles constantly

grunts (is this a boy thing?)

pushes his chest off the floor

can almost sit up by himself

has finally started solids

although he isn't so sure he likes it!

has found his toes...and never lets them go!

is a musical prodigy



and in constant danger of being loved to death!

A Snellings by any other name...

We are a nickname family. Everyone has at least two or three permanent nicknames and several other evolving nicknames. We even like to make up songs to go with our nicknames.

The evolving nicknames are what my husband likes to call Indian Names and they tend to provide a current description of the person being named.

For example: Libby's permanent nicknames, i.e. the ones that will humiliate her as a teenager, are Libby Lou (or if I am feeling fancy, Libby Lou La), Libby Skibby and Liblet. Her current Indian name is Talks with her Hands. Past Indian names include Wilts like a Flower and U No Poo. (Okay maybe that's the one that will humiliate her as a teenager.)

Emma Jane's (and here is where the nickname's start to get weird) permanent nickname is Emma Jana-rain or (again if I am feeling fancy) Emma Jana-raina-tain. Sometimes we just call her Raina-tain. Luckily for her she is blessed with a much more normal nickname as well; we very often call her EJ. Her current Indian name is Screams at Strangers.

And then there is my precious baby boy, who had the misfortune to be nicknamed by his 2 year old sister. When he was a newborn, I started calling him bugaboo. Emma Jane, as with so many other words, completely butchered this and ended up dubbing him Wah-da-boo. And unfortunately for John, it has stuck. Emma Jane has never once called him John and so we are fairly certain that she doesn't realize that Wah-da-boo is actually NOT is name. I am sure the fact that Brad and I have also been calling him Wah-da-boo (because it is just so cute when she does it) has not helped the with the confusion. I am sure he will bless us for that someday!

And as if my poor son was not being abused enough in the nickname department, his intense oral fixation has led to the disposal of his first Indian name:

Always Needs A Boob.

Doesn't he look like he just got caught with his hand in the cookie jar?

Is there an Olan Mills sign hanging on my door?

So yesterday morning, Brad comes to me and says, "Can you take a picture of me? I need a head shot for the new website."

Oh wait, let me set the scene...

It is 8:15, I am half-dressed with wet hair, a crying baby who needs to eat and go down for a nap on my hip, and two preschoolers running up and down the hallway shouting "You can't catch me!" at the top of their voices. And I currently hate The Gingerbread Man!

(In case it isn't obvious, I am not a morning person and usually don't respond to unscheduled request prior 12pm.)

So into this chaos walks my sweet husband with a seemingly simple request. But of course, nothing is simple with my man!

I (grudgingly) agreed to take a quick pic so that I can get on with my day. Brad goes back to the bedroom to get dressed and comes back out wearing half a suit. Apparently since all he wanted was a head shot, he didn't feel the need to get fully dressed.

He then stands in front of the narrow portion of blank wall in between the dining room windows and gives me the Chandler smile. (Libby totally got that from him!) I lovingly remind him to smile normally and then take a picture.

And then the complaining helpful hints start. First he tells me to back up so that I get more of his torso in the shot. I point out that our backdrop is less than three feet of wall and unless he wants it to be obvious that he is in the dining room, it is going to have to be a close up.

So then he looks at the picture I took and he isn't happy with the amount of wall above his head. I told him it could be cropped out, but he thinks that the picture will be better if I just hold the camera up little so that it is level with his face. People, I am a foot shorter than this man and only standing two feet away from him. I would have to hold the camera over my head! I point this out and he says that he just doesn't want the camera angle to be looking up at him because it will make his face look fat.

Seriously? Are you a girl?!

By this point, the chaos in the background has reached supersonic levels. My camera battery is dead and so is my patience. And then he comments on the shadows behind his head. My eyeballs almost popped out of my head! I said, "Dude, I am not Nigel Barker. (Went right over his head, btw.) I do not have professional lighting equipment or even a decent camera. But you know who does? Your brofriend, Luke! The professional photographer!"

Brad wisely apologized for being a butt head and asked me to email him what I got. When he got home from work later he tells, "Those pictures you took were terrible. I think I am just going to call Luke and have him take some head shots for me."

Gee, why didn't I think of that?

For more "life is funnier than fiction" moments, head on over to Once Upon a Miracle.

I know I can't dance

But at least I am a lot funnier than the writers of the SYTYCD live tour "filler dialogue."

Last night, I went with my good friends, Ashley and Morgan, to see the So You Think You Can Dance tour show.

Here is a really bad picture of us before it started. I am not really sure what is going on with my chin?

Here is a cuter shot of me, courtesy of Ashley's camera:

In between every single number two of the dancers would come out on stage and do this little mini skit to introduce the next dance. These skits were clearly supposed to be funny.

But the weren't.

Even a little bit.

It was actually painful to watch at times.

Especially since no one in the audience laughed during the staged "let the audience laugh" pauses.

Plus, all of the chitty-chat made the show drag on for three hours! It was way too long when all I wanted was to relive some of my favorite dances from the season.

But as far as the dancing went, the show was awesome! And from the line up, it was pretty clear that Kayla should have won. She danced in every other number. Jeanine only danced like 3 times. (And I am not only saying that because I wanted Kayla to win...well, maybe not.)

Here is one of the (non-Kayla) highlights of the night: Evan and Randi's "butt dance."

(Also courtesy of Ashley's camera.)

Really, Evan is just so cute. I want to pinch him.

Over all, it was a really fun night out with the girls. And a few random guys that were dragged along by their girls. Or that secretly wish they could dance...

The audience was almost as fun to watch as the dancers! But I will save my thoughts on the importance of mirrors for another day.

Bangs or No Bangs - The Verdict

The results are in!

Okay, so they were in over a week ago. My bad for leaving you hanging!

Anywho...The vote overwhelmingly favored the no bangs look.

(And I am pretty sure the 3 votes in favor of the bangs belong to family members.)

So if I was following the rules, my daughter would currently have no bangs, right? Unfortunately, there was a vote that trumped all of yours.

You see, I asked Emma Jane if she liked it when Mommy pulled her hair off her forehead and she responded with, "No, I don't yike it. I need a hee-cut."

So we got a haircut.

Maybe next year we will go bangless.

Hosted by Cecily and Kelli

Body After Baby -Week 4

I'm back on the bandwagon. I missed this post last week because I was cramming my face with wedding cake out of town. But I'm back now!

This week Samantha at Mama Notes wants to know: When do you exercise?

I used to have a really easy answer to that question: 8:30 am, Monday thru Saturday. Everyday, I would drop Libby and Emma Jane at the gym nursery and then go to whatever 8:30 aerobics class was offered that day. Sometimes it was Step, sometimes it was weight lifting or kickboxing or yoga.

These days, it is a little harder. Seriously, this third kid (and his morning nap) is totally cramping my gym style! There is not a consistent time that I can go to the gym anymore. I have been working with a trainer some, but even that isn't consistent. Just this morning, I had to cancel because Emma Jane has a cold and couldn't go to the nursery. So I have just been going when I can. Sometimes in the morning, sometimes at night. Sometimes not at all! I would really love to go to the 6am class everyday and just be done with it, but until John is consistently sleeping through the night that is just NOT HAPPENING!!!

I do have a fabulous jogging stroller. Maybe now that the weather is getting cooler, I will actually use it and then I wouldn't need a gym membership at all! (That is probably not happening either!)

This week's challenge is sit ups. 50 sit ups = 50 points. My core is screaming in protest while my jeans are giving me a woot, woot! We will see in a week who prevails!

It shouldn't come as a surprise.

When you sick your finger in someone else's mouth...

You might just get bitten!

Just sayin'!

Going to the Chapel...for some Wedding Cake!

On Saturday, my mother remarried.

The weeks leading up to this blessed event have been emotional ones for me. It is just weird when one of your parents is in love with someone that isn't one of your parents. Don't get me wrong, I am very happy for my mother and I sincerely wish her and Dan all the best. But it was still hard watching her marry someone else.

Okay, enough of making myself cry. Moving on to the good stuff...

WEDDING CAKE!!

I ate 3 pieces.

(yeah, yeah...Body after Baby...whatever!)

Libby and Emma Jane couldn't wait for the ceremony to be over so that they could dig into the cake. They had to be watched like hawks until it was cut!

Libby thought it was so good, she didn't let a single smear of icing go to waste. (That's my girl!)

Emma Jane seems less impressed with her piece...although she might be crying because Libby got a little too close to her plate! My baby does not share food!

On a side note, I don't have any pictures of the ceremony because my cousin, Missy, was the official photographer but as soon as I get some I will post them. Until then, here is the only shot of my mom that I have. Doesn't she look beautiful on her wedding day!

Preschool Dropout

I am really not happy with Libby's preschool experience this year. Last year, school was wonderful. I was completely thrilled with her intro to formal education. She had a fabulous teacher and the best group of kids in her class.

This year...not so much.

It isn't the teacher. She seems very competent and Libby loves her.

It's the other little brats girls in her class. I feel like my daughter is going to school with Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan.

It all started a few weeks ago when Libby started talking about Emma. Everyday she got into the car talking about playing with Emma. Then one day the conversation went like this:

Me- Libby, did you play with Emma today?

Libby- Yeah, Emma pushes me. (she said this completely matter-of-factly, not upset at all.)

Me- Oh, did she push you on the swing?

Libby- No, she pushes me when I try to follow her.

*Say what?*

Me- What do you mean?

Libby- She told me have to stay right here.

Since she wasn't upset, I thought maybe I was misunderstanding, so I let it go.

The next day, I hear that Emma was running away from Libby when Libby was trying to play with her.

The next day, Emma told Libby that what she had for lunch was gross and now Libby won't eat one of her favorite fruits anymore. (Kiwi, in case you were wondering.)

So I called the teacher. Her teacher told me (in not so many words) that Emma is an aggressive child. That is all well and good for Emma, but my daughter is the opposite of aggressive and I don't want her being bullied or bossed.

So I told Libby that if Emma didn't want to play with her it was okay to find someone else to play with. Libby spent another week trying to play with Emma. It deteriorated to the point where Libby asked Emma to sit with her at lunch and Emma flat out said no. Libby was really upset and so I finally told her that Emma doesn't sound like a very nice girl and that she should stop trying to be her friend.

So today, Libby tells me about her new friend, Elyse. And she tells me that she wants to give Elyse a present. So I tell Libby that she can draw a picture for Elyse.

No, Libby wants to give her a book. I tell Libby that we are not giving Elyse one of our books so she asks me to buy Elyse a book. I said no, that Libby could draw her a picture and my sweet girl bursts into to tears. I asked her why she was so upset about this and she tells me that she has to get Elyse a present.

"Why do you have to get Elyse a present? Is it her birthday?"

Oh no! Apparently, this little mean-girl-in-the-making told Libby that she would be her friend if Libby brought her a present! WTH!!!

I am just so upset for my baby! My daughter is FOUR! And she is cute and sweet and funny. And this is preschool, not Melrose Place! She should not be dealing with rejection right now.

I am seriously considering removing her from school immediately.

Bangs or No Bangs?

For as long as she has had any hair to speak of, Emma Jane has had bangs. It is a good look for her because her hair is really straight and it grows forward into her eyes naturally.

The other day, I was cuddling with EJ and playing with her hair. I pushed back her bangs (which are in desperate need of a cut) and discovered that she has a pretty cute little forehead. So then I started to wonder whether I should take her for her long overdue haircut or just continue the laziness let her bangs grow out.

I cannot make this decision. I keep going back and forth and second guessing myself. So you tell me...which is cuter?

Bangs?

or

No bangs?

Please vote for Emma Jane's new hairdo in the poll to the right. Next week I will either cut her hair or start growing them out!

Monthly Craft Challenge

I have never participated in Heidi's monthly craft challenge before, because well...I'm not crafty. But I love Fall and (even though it is still weeks away) Thanksgiving so I decided to jump in for this month's Fall-themed craft fun.

These decoupage pumpkins are really cute and so easy to make! Emma Jane even helped me!

(Sidebar: I don't know if "decoupage" is the correct word for what I did to these pumpkins, because I don't actually know what decoupage means. Like I said, I am not crafty! But it sounds good and I like saying it, so that is what we are calling it!)

To create these adorable decorations you will need:

a small pumpkin (or as many as you want to make)

fall-themed cocktail napkins

Elmer's glue and water

Step 1. Tear the napkins into small pieces

Step 2. Mix equal parts glue and water. Paint pumpkins with glue/water mixture.


Step 3. Place torn napkins over pumpkins and press down.

Step 4. When glue is dry, paint pumpkins with glue/water mixture again and let dry. (again.)

And voila!

These should keep throughout the Fall season.

But when Thanksgiving is over and you start decorating for Christmas be sure to chuck these into the trash. Because pumpkins will eventually spoil and you really don't want to unpack your Fall decorations next year only to find rotten pumpkins have ruined it all! :)

Just call her Mia!

Libby started playing peewee soccer this year. Daddy is one of her coaches and I am officially a soccer mom! She was so excited about putting on her soccer uniform for her first game! Here she is all decked out:

Okay, I know she doesn't look excited, but she is! She just has sort of Chandler-ish tendencies when it comes to posing for pictures!

Her excitement about soccer ended with putting on her uniform. She was quite distressed when she discovered that she actually had to play!

Coach Gary (because she was not listening to Coach Daddy) had to physically carry her onto the field!

And then she just stood there...

looking lost and forlorn...

and like she would rather be anywhere but here.

Have you ever seen anything sadder?

And then she actually tried to crawl off the field.

After a short break on the sidelines...

Coach Gary brought her back out onto the field.

This time she decided to try actually participating. That is her on the far right.

No, not the big guy. That is the other team's coach!

She got to do a corner kick...

and throw in the ball!

(Okay so she is actually just running in with the ball over her head, but it's peewee league. They don't even keep score!)

By the end of the game, she was doing great!

Check out that defense!

So all in all...

I don't think it was the worst day of her life!