is this johnny cueto?

a few reds games ago, the giveaway was a pack of reds baseball cards. these have quickly become quite a popular "toy" in our house. the kids like to look at them and ask who each player is,what position they play, etc. they've gotten a lot of the names down, and it's hilarious to hear otto say things like, "is this brandon phillips? is this edinson volquez?"

baker's dozen

from RIGHT to left: greta, joe, otto, jessica, shamus, john, and roman. not pictured: melanie and selma.

so back in winter/early spring, joe had the foresight to purchase a set of reds tickets called the 'baker's dozen' after manager dusty baker. the tickets are for 13 (get it? baker's dozen?! ha ha) sunday afternoon reds games. even though the kids will miss their naps with the 1pm gametime, it's still probably the best option for taking kids to the games. joe went down and scouted out where our seats would be, and he picked out some perfect ones. right along the first base line (foul ball territory) and the seats are covered, keeping us out of the sun and rain. for our first game this season, my brother and his family headed with us to the ballpark and we had a blast!!
the kids enjoyed plenty of peanuts and cotton candy! and the coolest thing about these tickets is that it has made reds baseball, which joe and i both love, a big part of our family. the kids have been singing "take me out to the ballgame" and "god bless america" (which they call 'american') nonstop. greta also asked joe to teach her how to play baseball, and now she and otto will play....setting out bases and hitting triples and homeruns and then pretending there are fireworks. go reds!

snow white

i think someone needs a brother.

birthmark

selma has on her forehead what's called a hemangioma. our pediatrician noticed it at her 2 week check up. he mentioned it nonchalantly, and we thought nothing of it. i mentioned to him that i had one when i was a child as well, and dr. bird let us know that often they show up a few weeks after birth (which selma's did) and often fade away or break up by the time the child is 8 or 9. turns out, hemangioma's come in ALL SORTS of shapes and sizes, so we really have no idea how big selma's will get. so far it's stayed about the same size (about the size of a fingernail) and has gotten really red and raised. it's completely benign and doesn't cause any pain or harm....it's simply a birthmark. greta likes to kiss it, and it's so funny to see other children's reactions to it when they see selma for the first time. kids will often ask if she has a boo-boo or will simply point and say, "what is that?" and while i hope that it stays small, i think it actually is sort of sweet (is that weird) and i now can't imagine her beautiful little face without it.

sisters

greta is pretty into selma these days. even though greta is having some struggles that seem to be related to a new baby's arrival/change in family dynamic (more on that in another post), she really is great with her baby sister. greta is constantly wanting to hug her, kiss her, talk to her, show her toys, etc. in this picture greta wanted to read a book to selma. and she is so so gentle with her. i hope that they are always this loving with each other.

smiling selma

within the past week or two, selma has starting smiling and "talking". greta was one of the first things she smiled at, and since then greta will come up to her and say, "smile at me!! smile at me!!" in sort of a demanding way.
it's so cute to see selma watch greta and otto as they move around. and it amazes me to see selma really engaging with us....making eye contact, taking turns making sounds, etc.

boppy boy

otto is master of the art of sucking his thumb and snuggling. he loves to lay on pillows, be covered with blankets, that sort of thing. so when we brought out the boppy pillows for me to nurse selma, otto was in heaven. he is constantly saying, "i want to see selma", but i think he really just wants to lay on the boppy pillow with her. i thought he would have some jealousy issues when i was breastfeeding, but as long as there's room for him on the pillow he's content. here's a few pics (sorry for the poor quality...i'm unloaded the pictures from my phone) of him laying with selma. otto also has a thing for soft fabric. he likes to wear khakis ("they're soft") and hates corduroys ("they're scratchy") and will follow joe around when he has khakis on so that he can suck him thumb and feel the fabric of joe's pants. silly otto.