Abigail Update: 3 yrs and 2 months

Abigail is 3 years and 2 months old. What can I say about my first born?! So many things! She's becoming quite an artist (see her smily face in the photo above). Here is a picture of her "Skyping" with Grandma Roro!

• She is a wonderful helper . . . getting me diapers, wipes, putting away toys, checking on her sister, (and many other things) any time I ask.


• She generally has a wonderful attitude when I ask for her help. She will occasionally say "I'm busy right now"!


• She is a sensitive girl! I explained to her just yesterday that being short and snippy with me hurt my feelings and wasn't honoring to me as her mother. She immediately burst into tears and when I asked what was wrong she said "I hurt your feelings". I hope she keeps this sensitive spirit!!


• She has a fantastic memory. She will bring up events from weeks and even months ago when I think there is no way she will remember something!


• She is a genuine mother! The girl would mother a rock if I let her bring one in the house! She mothers stuffed bears, stuffed dogs, her sister, friends, me and her daddy, and any other toy or object that has had a hard day and needs some love! So funny!


• She is turning out to be a smart little thing. She can write almost all of her letters and continually asks me and her dad how to spell things so she can write them on her white board or magna-doodle. She loves writing people's names in particular.


• She tends to be a bit of a perfectionist! When writing people's names, if she can't get a letter exactly right she begins to get frustrated and will ask me to write it for her. I will be honest when I say that this isn't a trait she got from either of her parents! :)


• She is the silliest girl I know. She cracks her own jokes and then laughs hysterically!


• A good example of her silliness was yesterday while we were eating dinner with her Nana. Abigail said, "Mama has a baby (in her tummy) and Nana has a baby." I said, "Oh really, who is Nana's baby?" Abigail says, "Jesus". . . and then laughs hysterically.


• She loves to be read to and to "read" to other people.


• She wears size 4t or 5t clothes and size 9 or 10 shoes. She is a tall girl!


• She has been potty trained since August but has recently been having potty accidents several times a week.


• She still wears pull-ups at night. I started working on talking about staying dry at night a few weeks ago but when she began to have day time accidents, I backed off.

Trying on Mama's Glasses!

I could really fill this blog up each day with the girl's activities. I need to do a better job of writing down the funny things she says!

Updates: Elsie and Baby #3

I have had so much fun reading through old blog posts to see what Abigail was up to when she was Elsie's age . . . and so forth. I have really be slacking lately to keep it update for Elsie, so I am going to try to do better! Elsie is almost 17 months old (in about a week) and it feels like she's turning into such a little girl now and not just a baby!

• She loves to feed herself!


• She can drink out of a regular sippy cup now (she know how to tip it back) and does great at getting lots to drink each day. I usually have to go on a sippy cup hunt when she's carried it off somewhere!


• She is saying just a few words but she acts like she desperately wants to talk and babbles constantly.


• She can say, "Mama, Dada (in direct reference to us), and Uh Oh". I think she says "more, all done, Nana, and Roro" but those are more guesses than anything else.


• She is fascinated with lights and can make the "l" sound pretty clearly but the rest of the word doesn't really follow yet so I can't claim she says "light".


• She is a fantastic sleeper! She got up a few times at night about two months ago due to extreme teething but other than that, the girl sleeps from 7 to 7:30 pm until anywhere between 7:15 am and 8:30 am (usually in the 7 o'clock hour). She's been sleeping through the night since we started giving her cow's milk to drink back in December.


• She did great playing with other kids (and was actually slightly more social than her sis) when we had a playdate here last week. One of the other mom's had a newborn and Elsie was crazy about the baby. Of course, I had to watch her like a hawk because she just wanted to poke the little baby in the eye. Yikes! What am I in for?!


• She wears 12 to 18 month size clothes and still wears a teeny tiny size 3 shoe! I haven't weighed her in a while so I will try to do that soon.


• She gets along so well with Dewey - much better than her older sis. Andrew even said he came downstairs a while back to see Dewey sitting right in front of Elsie and Elsie was scratching/patting his back!! :) This is good because I think we're going to try to have them share a room.


• She still wears a size 3 diaper.


• She can clap her hands on command, give high 5's, and give kisses when we ask.


• She often will go into the other room, get a book and bring it to us. It's pretty obvious she wants to be read to! She will sit quite still through a book at least once and sometimes more.


• She's still a Mama's girl but lately has confidently been able to go to Daddy and Nana for comfort as well.

• This picture was taken a few weeks ago. Around 30 weeks, I think. Sorry about the mess. This was taken in my closet!! :)


• I am 34 weeks and 4 days pregnant.


• It's getting difficult to breathe at this point! :)


• I am getting up 2 to 5 or 6 times a night to pee or to eat!! I guess my body's just getting used to being awake at night.


• Sleeping at night is becoming more and more uncomfortable. My main complaint is that my hips and legs ache a lot. It helps to lay in the Bradley position and to shift a lot - which is hard to do as well.


• I am having a little heartburn but it doesn't seem to be as extreme as it was when I was pregnant with Elsie. Maybe he'll be a smaller baby.


• My favorite thing is to take a bath everyday. I am definitely most comfortable there!


• It's hard to bend over to help dress little kids and to pick up toys. I'm thankful that Abigail is such a helpful girl and it has also been extremely helpful to have the changing table on the first floor. Much easier to use that for my little pooper, Elsie, than to change her on the floor or couch.


• I have had Braxton Hicks/Cramping for 3 or 4 months now. Can be pretty uncomfortable at times but it is good to know they don't cause any progression.


• I am also having a lot of pressure pain, especially when I am on my feet to long. I try to schedule laying down breaks and that helps a lot. I had this at the end of my pregnancy with Elsie (after 37 weeks) but this time it started in week #23 or 24.


• I think we've narrowed the naming possibilities down to 2 or 3 names. We probably won't officially decide until we get the baby in our arms but it's good to be on the same page!

I think that's all for now. I'll try to update Abigail's doings another time!

When you think you know it all . . .

I just assumed that pregnancy #3 would be easy. In some ways it is a little easier but there are still unexpected events that I assumed would never happen! Sunday found me wondering if I was "progressing" some. I have been plagued by random and yet painful cramps and pressure since January. I decided to go ahead and move my appointment from Thursday to yesterday "just to check". Thankfully the midwife found no progress at all. This is a GOOOOOOD thing. You see, my darling husband is leaving next Sunday for several days for a business trip and I really don't want to have a baby or even feel like I'm having a baby without him here. I'm just astonished most days that I can't do more. I can only be up for about 15 to 30 minutes before the intense pressure starts (maybe he's a big baby!) and I have to lay down. I'm trying to be smart and to just scale back on doing "stuff" that isn't necessary. That is an incredibly difficult thing for me to do with my "achiever" personality. So I have decided for the next six weeks to just do what I feel like I can do and nothing more. So here is my pledge . . . I will not (for the next six to ten weeks) . . . - feel guilty if my kids watch a bit too much TV. - feel guilty if I don't get the laundry done or cleaning done the way I think it should be. - feel guilty if I don't provide fun "outings" and other forms of entertainment for my kids (after all, it's a great life skill for them to learn to entertain themselves). - feel guilty if I take a bath everyday. - feel guilty if everything is not perfectly ready for the baby to come (like washing all the old baby gear - I've started but I move slow!). And last but not least . . . the VERY VERY hardest of all . . . I WILL ask for help before things become an emergency! That is so hard for me! Anyway, I'm off to take my bath now, lay on my bed, and perhaps fold some laundry while laying on my bed. It's nap time, ya know!!

Snappy Confessions!

Thanks for reading my rant from yesterday and for your support. I got several things done this morning so I'm feeling better in that department but I'm still sick of myself in another way.

I have struggled (at least since have kids) with my short-temper. Thankfully Andrew does not have this problem but I just am not patient and especially when I'm uncomfortable. I hate the fact that the more pregnant I become, the shorter and snappier I get with my kids. I HATE it! Hate hate hate! The fact that I'm uncomfortable all the time and unable to physically do things is not their fault (it's their daddy's fault!! ha ha!). Anyway . . .

I'm trying hard to be patient and kind, I really am but the snapper in me is coming out way too often for my liking.

Even just now it happened.

To make a long story that is not worth telling, short, I will just say that before her nap I discovered Abigail had hid her pacifier's in the basement. I should have let her nap without them (and I did leave her with the impression she wasn't getting them) but she was screaming her head off and I covet the daily nap time so I can . . . umm shower, sit down, perhaps clean a bit. So I went and got them but not before I snapped at her.

Ugh! This bothers me so much more than what she did - that I cannot control my temper (I didn't yell - however - and was proud of that) and my response to an innocent situation.

Guess I simply cannot do it alone and need to pray for patience and kindness in these last days!!

Balance? Is it possible?

I've been struggling so much with balance lately. . . balance between resting and work. I spent one day a few weeks ago working my tail off. I made lots of food and cleaned a lot. Felt fine that day but the next day - whoa! Not good. I even called and moved up a midwife appointment because I thought I might be "progressing" some. I am not.

I've tried to take it easier since then but it's hard when discouragement sets in. Whenever that happens to me, all I want to do is to try harder in order to get things accomplished.

For example: I meant to have the kitchen clean today (it was on Monday!) but instead I spent the morning . . . accidentally dozing on the couch, cleaning up dog vomit (I have very very little love left for that dog since he's adding work to my life), refereeing kids, kissing wounded kids (Abigail started running when I was asleep and fell and hit her head - she's fine), finding out we had hardly no food in the house for lunch, ended up making spaghetti only to find out that Abigail wouldn't eat hardly any (she took a few mandatory bites), and the list could go on.

All of this is piled on the fact that I had a rough night with pretty painful yet not consistent contractions/cramps. I know they are Braxton Hicks but that still does not help the fact that I cannot sleep when I have them.

Beyond that, Andrew leaves for a 3-4 day business trip to New York the week after next. I feel a bit more at peace about this situation after talking through some "what-ifs" with a friend of mine this week.

In the midst of all of this life stuff that makes me so discouraged, I am constantly reminded of how blessed I am! I have so much to be thankful for that I could not even begin to list it all here. I am trying to soak in every moment of this pregnancy and feeling the baby move (is it really movement at this point or more like the kid is playing a soccer game inside) because it's probably going to be the last one!

I'm not even sure where I'm going with this. These are just thought that bounce around in my head constantly. Always the push and pull of needing to keep things straightened up (after all - that's my job) and needing to rest so I don't feel awful later that night or the next day.

I guess the main thing is that I need to stop being so short-sighted. After all, I'm probably only going to be pregnant another 6-8 weeks (hopefully not 8!!) and so I will have plenty of time to clean and cook after the baby comes!!

Pineapple + Elsie = Don't Mix!

My apologies . . . these pictures are in reverse order. I forgot to upload them the other way and frankly, my time is limited so they'll have to stay this way!!

On March 9th, we started out the day like we do any other day, with fresh fruit for breakfast. I had a fresh pineapple in the fridge, so I cut it up and gave both girls a pretty good sized portion.

We finished our breakfast and I noticed Elsie's mouth was a little red and irritated looking.

The more time passed, the more I realized she was having a pretty nasty reaction. We had also eaten Oatmeal for breakfast and I really didn't think the reaction would have come from that. I called the doctor to ask about a dosage size for Benadryl and then watched her carefully all day.

Here are some photos from that day.

After the Benedryl and before her nap. She's looking better.

Abigail did not care for all the attention that was given her sister and was feeling sad . . . so I took her picture. :)

Mama and Elsie snuggling in the morning.

Such a pitiful sight! Poor girl.

Not feeling good at all. Later she even ran a fever for a few hours. I guess it was the allergen just fighting against her immune system.

So . . . if you're babysitting my kids - no peanut butter or pineapple!!!

Again?

I know I still have 7 to 8 weeks left (approximately) but this is the time in pregnancy where I really ask myself the question: Can I really do this again? Give birth, I mean. If I think too hard about it, I scare myself. If I don't think about it at all then I'm not mentally prepared.



Fine line!



I know I'll be fine and my confidence comes from the fact that I know I have the best birth coach a person could ask for: Andrew. Seriously. I absolutely give him full credit that I could not have drug-free births without his support, confidence, and calmness!!



The countdown is on!



32 weeks today!

If I go missing . . .

If I don't blog for the next 2 months, refer back to this post (I'm sure that won't happen but . . . you never know).

When I was pregnant with Abigail I was uncomfortable in the final stages but I remember lounging in the tub at 7 pm most nights. Watching movies on the laptop in bed and having my husband pick up dinner on his way home from work. Yes I was working too but my job consisted of me sitting in a chair, working on the computer and answering a phone.

When I was pregnant with Elsie I was uncomfortable but Andrew worked closer to home and was home more and I don't remember Abigail being that demanding at her age. I was still working and a few times I even took advantage of the fact that Abigail was at daycare, went home early, and had Andrew pick her up (maybe it was only once). I remember it being taxing with a little one but since the majority of my day was again. . . sitting at a desk typing and answering phones, not such a big deal.

This time around . . . . I had no idea how hard it would be to be pregnant with two small children and be a stay-at-home mom with them! I am wiped out! I am so thankful for my family and I wouldn't trade them for anything but it's just interesting to note that I didn't really realize how good I had it before (especially in my first pregnancy). :) Physical stuff, like picking up toys from the floor, carrying laundry, mopping, cleaning the tub, etc, is pretty much impossible at this point and I still have 8 weeks to go! My best defense is just to pace myself. So . . .

I'm off now to clean and rest, cook and clean and rest. Rinse. Repeat!

Abigail's Prayer

Abigail prayed before bed tonight and this is what she said:

"Dear God, Thank you for Elsie, and Mama, and Dada (whispering to me: "Mama, who else?" I told her to just pray for whoever she was thinking of), and Nana, and Uncle Brett, and RoRo. Thank you for their love. Amen."

I thought that was really sweet and wanted to write it down so I could remember it. I'm thankful for such a sweet and tender little girl!!

Soaked Whole Wheat Bread Triumph!

I have been trying for weeks now to bake bread for my family in order to save money and to be just a bit healtheir by avoiding many of the preservatives found in store-bought bread. It's been a struggle! Part of my problem is that I feel like I shouldn't struggle in baking. I honestly feel like a very experienced baker (from my 4-H days and just being a wife and mom) and that I shouldn't have flops. But alas, that's not true. I have killed the yeast and not let bread rise long enough, etc.

I think I have finally conquered the bread baking today! Yeah! I am particularly excited about this recipe because of several reasons.

1. It is a soaked bread recipe. If you don't know anything about soaking grains, I would encourage you to read this article. www.thenourishinggourmet.com/2008/03/nourishing-practices-soaking-grains-2.html.

2. It uses mostly whole wheat and spelt with just a little white flour. I was making all white flour bread with poor results so I'm thrilled these turned out so well with the whole wheat.

I cannot take credit for the recipe, so if you want it, you'll have to visit the blog I got it from. www.musingsofahousewife.com/2010/01/homemade-whole-wheat-sandwich-bread.html

Here is a picture of my finished product today. They were baked in two different styles of pan (I'm trying to switch to all glass or ceramic baking pans and get away from using teflon coated) which is why they look different. Yum!

Abigail's verdit was . . . yum! We'll have to see what Andrew's opinion is after he arrives home from work today.

Sometimes my cravings pay off!

Tonight I had a craving for fish!

I had some frozen cod and so I decided I wanted a little sauce for it.

So . . .

I made baked cod with a lemon butter sauce - yummo!! I also served it with Leek and Carrot Brown Rice Pilaf. The rice was a little sticky but still tasted great!

Sorry . . . no picture because I was too busy eating (and feeding) the meal!

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I also have to mention that I am oh! so! thankful! because my oldest daughter has become such a good helper to me. The child has always enjoyed cleaning but lately if I start her off on something (picking up her room - which can be TRASHED in one day) she'll do it all by herself - perhaps with a little guidance of where things go. This has been saving my back lately and really helping to keep the toy population a bit under control. She also checks on her sister if I ask, gets me diapers (and throws them away), and lets the dog outside and inside. There are many times that my weary, pregnant body just does not want to move another step to do these tasks so they are very helpful! I hope she'll continue to be helpful as she grows but I know she will! I've been talking a lot about all the tasks that a new baby will need help with so I'm hoping that she'll enjoy helping and not get too jealous when the time comes.

The great Paci Dilemma!

I have a confession to make . . . my 3-year old (who just turned 3 - 2 weeks ago) still uses pacifiers to sleep for naps and at night. She MUST have one in her mouth and one in her hand for complete comfort.

I thought she'd be ready at 3-years-old to give it up but now I'm not sure. I live by the rule in parenting that I try not to mess with a good thing unless absolutely necessary. Abigail was 2 1/2 when she moved out of a crib, a little older when we started potty training, etc. And it has worked . . . marvelously!

I am home alone with the girls a few days ago. I put Abigail to bed (maybe I'll post another time about how she's fighting bedtime like crazy these days!) and then headed upstairs to read in bed myself. About 1/2 hour later I hear her start to wail in her room.

I gave her a few minutes but she did not calm down so I went to check it out.

Her answer when I opened the door to ask what was wrong . . . . . . . . . "I can't find my PACI! Waaaaa!!"

Oh my goodness!

She got a scolding from me about how crying over a paci is not appropriate and that she is a big girl and can get out of bed and find the paci without disturbing me.

I had no problems with her after that.

Now . . . on to nap time the next day. Upon closer examination of the four paci's in her room - I found minuscule holes in all of them. I'm not about to let my child suck on a pacifier that has a hole in it so I threw them away. Bring on the tears!

I know that I should have been strong and just said, "Well, I guess that's the end of the paci's honey" but I wanted her to nap so I broke down and gave her one of Elsie's newer paci's. Ugh! She, of course, still continued to cry because she didn't have a second paci.

So . . . any other moms have experience with giving up the pacifier? We're about to give her a twin sized bed instead of a toddler bed and she wants it so bad. I'm thinking that might be good leverage for her to try and give them up all together - that a big bed means she's a big girl who doesn't use pacifiers.

I don't want to ruin the good pattern that I have worked so hard to put in place - a good sleeper (for the most part) - but I don't want her to have to bring a paci with her to sleep at college (okay, so I realize that's a big far fetched).

Ideas?

Naming the boy!

You knew I'd write about it sometime. Right? We have to name this little boy. Of course, Andrew and I have always been very tight-lipped about the final name chosen for our kids. I think several people guessed Abigail but as far as I know, nobody guessed Elsie's name! :)

However, we like to hear opinions during the process (just not on the final name) so . . .

I'm releasing our current name list!

Now, don't freak out too much when you see some of these. Some of them are names that I LOVE but Andrew has vetoed and vise versa. So, some are not really in consideration but 1/2 of this parenting team! :) Also, some of them are just funny to us so we put them on the list!

In no particular order:

Emmett Schechter
Eli Schechter
Matthias Schechter
Noah Schechter
Aaron Schechter
Levi Schechter
Eli Schechter
Titus Schechter
Henry Schechter
Judah Schechter
Tobias Schechter
Adam Schechter
Anders Schechter (Means Son of Andrew - ha ha ha ha!!)
Barrett Schechter
Cedric Schechter
David Schechter
Elias Schechter

Feel free to post your votes/thoughts in my comments section! :)

Abigail "isms"

She says funny stuff all the time. I'm afraid that if I don't write these down, I will forget!

Some of these are less funny and more just insightful.

• Today while driving around in the car she said, "Green means go, Red means stop, and Yellow means careful". I knew that she knew what the red and green meant at a stop light but I was shocked when she said the part about yellow.
• She stayed the night with her grandparents two nights ago and got them up several times for different "needs" during the night. When I asked her why, she explained that she had to go the bathroom (a ploy to get out of bed) and that her antics "made Papa very tired".
• A few weeks ago, I was sitting in Andrew's office while he worked and we chatted. Abigail was playing in the basement and lost her ball behind a few pieces of lumber. Andrew got the ball for her (which I guess I didn't see) and when I asked her if she had found her ball she said (in a very - "duh, mom"-like voice), "Yeah, Daddy's strong. He can get the ball for me." Ha!
• She has been playing more and more with her baby dolls these days. Lately she'll make one of the baby dolls come up and "hit" me and then she'll take the doll to have a "talk" and a 3-minute "time out". This is particularly funny to me because in all of the incidents in our house where Abigail has been in trouble, I cannot ever remember a time when she has hit someone or been in trouble for hitting!

Days like this

Have I used that title before?

Hmm . . .

I know I have talked about failure before so I'll skip the details.

Let's just say that the awful word . . . "failure" lurks at me around every corner - especially every mothering corner.

However, I am encouraged today knowing that it is in my failure and weakness that Christ can show His greatness. I don't have to be perfect (house, kids, looks, etc) to make a difference. I certainly need reminded of this today!

Phil 4:13 - I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

I am taking that verse to heart even though my efforts, next to those of others, (ugh! comparisons don't do anyone any good) look pitiful and dull.

Yesterday

So yesterday I managed to make a successful batch of "Grandma Bread" even though I ran out of flour. You see, she uses only bread flour. I started with that but only had 3 cups, so I switched to just white flour - which I ran out of, so I switched to whole-wheat pastry flour. I figured that it would be dense but it wasn't too bad - much better than my other attempts. I think the key was finding out from her the exact rising times because I can never tell when "double" is on a rising dough and that seems to have made a huge difference.

I also completed the banana bread - of which I think we've almost consumed a whole loaf already.

I also managed to complete the lasagna before 4 pm. I felt bad because a few points during that process I had a crying, fussy 15-month old sitting at my feet and grabbing my legs. I ignored her for a while, finished my task and then attended to her.

She's better (no fever and no runny nose) but man-oh-man she's been C.R.A.N.K.Y lately. My suspicion is that she has two front teeth and a molar also coming in. I gave her Tylenol finally today after hours of fussing and she perked up within about 15 minute. I don't like to medicate but even I have limits!

We were also able to celebrate Valentine's Day together after my generous mother-in-law offered to keep the kids so we could go out together. Andrew and I couldn't remember exactly the last meal we had eaten alone together but we think it was for his birthday - could have been November, though. We also saw "The King's Speech" which was an excellent movie. I think the last movie I had been to was last summer but I can't say for sure on that either!

Let me tell you, it just felt like pure luxury! I had the most delicious Crab-Stuffed Sole with Sauteed Veggies and Rice Pilaf for dinner - someone else made it and someone else cleaned it up and it was divine!! I also could just sit and eat without feeding anyone else or cutting anyone else's food! Woo!

When we got home I finished the marinade for the chicken, which I will finish up here in an hour or two.

I didn't get to the last thing on my list! Actually, shock-of-all-shocks . . . my husband reads my blog. I mean, I knew he read my blog . . . like as in once-a-month reading or something like that but when I talked to him yesterday he questioned me about the "surprise". Oops! Well, I didn't get it done.

He leaves tomorrow for his 5 1/2 day business trip! Wish me luck! I know I'll be fine with the girls. I'm trying to think of close attrations we can go to during the day to get out a little but it is hard to do in the winter and for free. :) I am looking forward to having my bed to myself for a whole week. Andrew is not a good sleeper and lately the tossing and turning has been keeping me awake too.

What I'm doing today . . .

Cooking! It wasn't really in the plan to make so much today but Elsie seems to finally be on the mend so I my hands and lap will be a bit more free today.

1) Making Grandma bread (Andrew's grandma) - if you live in this area you know how good this is! My last few attempts have been semi-flops but I found out from her that she only uses bread flour. I don't have quite enough bread flour for the whole recipe but I'm hoping that 1/2 will at least make it lighter. Oh, the main reason that I'm making this? . . . is that we're out of bread. I know I could just run to the store but I'm trying to do things cheaply.

2) Making Banana bread - I had some old bananas and I'm taking food to a couple in our church tomorrow who just had a baby, so they will get a loaf.

These two are already started at this point so they will definitely be done today. The following three could be derailed by children, my tired self, or any other number of things.

3) Making Lasagna - I'm trying to double several recipes and freeze half for when the baby comes. I know I'll have plenty of time and people who will bring be food but long after the food stops coming, I will still have 3 very young children and I know it will be nice to have some healthy homemade meals I can pull from the freezer and put into the oven. I already have a chicken pot pie made so lasagna is next on the list.

Anybody have any more good freezer meals? I have several others on my list but I'm going to try to make one a week for a while.

4) Start making Baked Chicken Breast Surpreme - this is what I'm making for the couple in our church tomorrow. It has to marinade overnight so I need to start it today.

5) Making A Suprise: I'm also trying to fit in the time to bake a special treat for my beloved husband - since it is valentine's weekend. He leaves on Sunday for 5 1/2 days in Boston so we won't probably get to celebrate valentine's day this year - not that we do much anyway. I can't remember the last time we had a meal alone together, November maybe. My memory fails me. Oh well, our time will come! :)

Whew! I'm going to go lay down while my bread is baking and the other bread is rising.

Happy Friday!

15-months old

Dear Elsie,

You are 15-months old and as fun as you can be!

Isn't that the cutest picture??!!

You are joy to be around with a very sweet personality. You started walking, I mean really walking (more than two steps) a two weeks ago and you have been on the move ever since. Now I rarely see you crawl. Sniff sniff! You are growing up so fast!

You love to be entertained by your sister, as long as she doesn't get too close, too loud, for very long. You are easily entertained by yourself, playing with a random plastic or wooden toy. It just makes it better if you can bang two things together. You LOVE to eat, I really mean EAT! Several nights at dinner I noticed that you had eaten the same serving size as me and your sister. Wow! You love to feed yourself and to make a mess with your food - which is a relatively new concept in this house but fun none-the-less.

Your doctor check up was yesterday and we found out that your head is still 95% (don't remember the measurement), you are 30 inches long - which puts you at about 50% for length, and only 18.5 pounds - which has caused you to drop off the chart for weight.

The doctor said that he is not concerned, however, because of how beautiful you look. You still have quite a bit of baby chub on your legs, belly and chin and you love to eat. I am going to try to help you gain a bit by increasing your milk to twice a day and be sure to let you eat until you're full. I try to do this already but it's hard to know with a 15-month old.

And today, my love, you are sick! This is only the 2nd time in your life you've ever run a fever and you just don't know what to do - except sleep! It was 101 when you woke up, 104 after your morning nap, and 102 after lunch and Tylenol. I'm trying to make you more comfortable by giving you some Motrin as well. I hope it works, poor sick baby! You don't seem to have the sniffles or an upset tummy and you even played for a bit downstairs.

I love you my darling, second-born daughter. Your sweet personality and joy greet me each morning and I am so thankful to be your mommy!

Feel better soon!

Love,

Mama

Work

Oh my friends, can I be real and honest with you for a bit? That is what our sermon was about this morning and while I certainly don't share everything on my blog, what I do write about is true and authentic.

Right now I'm struggling with something. . . for the first time since we got married, I will not be bringing in one dime of income for our family.

Wow. I didn't know giving this up would be so hard.

The first year of our marriage, I was still in school so Andrew worked to support us, yet, I still worked a part-time job. Then I was out of work for two weeks when we moved here, and I did quit my full-time job in November '09 to be at home with the kids yet since that time I've always found it possible to help out financially in some way - whether it was insurance money, voice lesson income, or a small part-time job.

I can't really figure out why this is so hard for me. My husband wants me to do it and I realize that as a mom with three very young kids, my priority needs to be at home right now.

These are just the possible reasons for feeling so challenged by this:

• In my generation, there is not much value placed on women who stay at home with their kids.
• I feel like I will have nothing of my own if I don't actually make an income.
• I will be totally dependent on another human for my needs (I know I have done this before but it's just different as an adult).
• I won't have an excuse to "get away" once a week or so to work.
• I feel a much bigger sense of accomplishment from completing a task for work than I do from cleaning out the dishwasher, laundry, or changing a diaper.
• I am an incredibly short-sighted person so while I know there will be many years for me to help contribute financially to the family, it's hard for me to see when these years of little ones with big needs will end.
• I manage the budget and know the household expenses. My husband is a very capable provider and I know he can make the extra we need to cover everything but I also want to be a help and to not place that extra burden on him.

I'm quitting to focus on my family and because I cannot put in the hours that my employer has requested. I know that is not fair to them.

Tuesday may be my last day at work. I'm not sure yet. On the bright side, I am looking forward to having my free time - a.k.a. nap time - available to do other things, like blog or clean or even relax (what a concept).

Anyway, I'd love to hear from you!

Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

It's really funny that I would follow up my last post with this one. Chocolate Chip Cookies are my favorite - especially if they are under-baked and gooey. Yum!

In my quest to eat a little better I have searched for an alternative chocolate chip cookie that wouldn't contain shortening, could be made with whole wheat, and less sugar or a sugar alternative.

I couldn't really find one that was good, honestly. The few I tried fell flat, literally. The cookies were runny, or flat or crispy.

So . . . I took my old favorite basic chocolate chip cookie recipe and simply modified it by changing the ingredients.

The verdit . . . . YUMMY!! The only problem with these cookies is that my mind thinks they are "healthier" so I tend to eat too many. Now keep in mind that they are still cookies. I wouldn't eat them for breakfast or label them as a health food but as far as a cookie goes, they are better than store-bought or your "regular" chocolate chip cookie.

Here's the recipe:

Jaime’s Healthier Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 stick real butter, softened (preferrably from grass-fed antibiotic and hormone-free cows)
3/4 cup Sucanat
1/2 cup pure cane sugar (can also use raw turbinado sugar)
1 fresh free-range egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (scant)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup unbleached white flour (sometimes I use all whole wheat pastry)
1 tsp aluminum free baking soda
1 tsp unrefined sea salt
1 cup chocolate chips (can find grain-sweetened chocolate chips)

Instructions:Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream butter and sugars. Add egg and vanilla and beat until foamy. Add flours, salt and baking soda. Stir just until mixed. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop in rounded balls onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 7-8 minutes (or perhaps slightly less). Remove from oven before they are fully done in the middle for a cookie that stays soft and chewy the next day.


If you make these, let me know what you think!!

Show Us Your Life - What do you feed your kids?

Show us your life is hosted by Kelly over at Kelly's Korner Blog. I have never participated before but since this is a subject near and dear to my heart - feeding my children healthy foods, I am going to share a bit.

I have always had a very strong conviction that kids need to be fed healthy and whole foods from the very start of life. To me this means breastfeeding . . . no matter what the cost.

I'm not going to turn this into a breastfeeding discussion and I know that there are honestly some people that cannot breastfeed due to medical concerns but those are few and far between. It wasn't easy for me either but it was a commitment that I made to myself and to my kids when they were born.

When my kids started "solid" food, I started to do my research. I learned that white rice cereal is probably not the best choice for a first food. First of all, it just contains simple carbs which the body will just turn to sugar. Also, if you are breastfeeding, you are taking a perfect and fatty food (which children desperately need for brain development) and substituting it for a food with no fat and very little nutritional value.

So I actually started my kids on bananas. We soon progressed to other mushy and fatty things like avocado and quickly added in fruits and veggies.

My oldest cutie pie, Abigail, learning how to eat!

I honestly think one of the main keys to success when getting a child to eat healthy foods is a very simple one . . . start as you mean to go on. I have consistently offered my kids a fruit and a vegetable at almost every meal, whole grains, and healthy meats. They don't know what white bread or white rice is so they don't ask for it.

Sweet Elsie!

Now . . . does this mean I feed my kids perfectly? Definitely not! Not only do I have a husband to contend with (sorry dear!) who tends to lean towards cheaper and not quite as whole foods as I prefer, and we are trying to do all of this on a budget. I also find it difficult to cook in early pregnancy and so I'm sure my kids ate their fair share of junk during that time (I don't really remember!)

My main line of defence when it comes to this is . . . cooking from scratch. My kids eat macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, and pizza but you won't find me opening a can or calling a store to get these items. I usually make it all from scratch. That way I know what goes into each food, I can substitute whole grains (like pasta) for the white ones and add or take out things that are "unhealthy".




Here are some of my favorite meals that are simple and easy to cook for kids:

Breakfast:

• Eggs and Toast - both my kiddos love scrambled eggs and buttered whole wheat toast for breakfast. Had it this morning - actually.
• Fruit - We usually have bananas, pineapple, pears, grapes, or peaches.
• Whole Wheat Pancakes or Waffles - I make these from scratch one morning a week, usually and we'll munch on them for the rest of the week. Use real maple syrup or honey instead of syrup containing HFCS.
• French Toast - yum. My husband usually makes this on the weekend - again usually with whole wheat bread.
• Smoothies - I don't get around to making these very often and the reason is because I don't often have a wide variety of fruit available. I always have fruit but it's usually just one or two options at a time. I want to start doing more of this, though.

*My kids don't eat much cereal. When they are babies I usually give them whole grain organic "o"'s to practice eating finger foods but beyond that we don't generally eat cereal in our house. My youngest daughter drinks a low-pasteurized, non-homogenized, grass-fed antibiotic and hormone-free milk once a day but my oldest daughter has never had milk - and now doesn't want it!

Lunches:

• Almond butter sandwiches! Lots of good protein and I do put a little jam on there for a sweet taste. You must read the labels or make your own on this to make sure it doesn't contain HFCS.
• Egg Sandwiches. A family favorite! I usually add a slice of natural cheese (not processed!) to boost fat content for the kiddos and calories.
• Peas, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green Beans, Carrots - these are our favorite veggies and we need to branch out a bit but both of my girls eat these really well.
• Macaroni and Cheese - yes I do this for lunch sometimes but I either make it from scratch with my own cheese sauce and whole wheat pasta or I use an Annie's Organic Box.
• We do occasionally have grilled cheese but again I only use cheddar or a similar cheese - not American.

Dinner

There are so many things I could put here but I will just write down some of our favorites.

• Meatloaf and veggies. I have a great recipe from Passionate Homemaking for Meatloaf. You make your own bread crumbs (the ones from the store can contain nasty stuff), and your own ketchup mixture for the top (again . . . regular ketchup is full of sugar and usually HFCS).
• Homemade Pizza. I buy nitrate free pepperoni and my pizza sauce from Whole Foods and I usually make the dough from scratch.
• Spaghetti. Again, I use a whole wheat pasta, organic jarred sauce and grass fed beef.
• Carol's Mexican Chicken. Yummy and easy mexican dish. Chicken breast in a crock pot with whole kernel corn and black beans. Mix in taco seasoning (again making your own - the store stuff has additives) and sour cream at the end. Yummy!

I'm sure there's more but that's all my ideas for now.

*Note on picky eaters: Perhaps I have been blessed by kids that are just simply not picky but my girls generally eat great. I think that a lot of it has to do with our expectations. I always try to cook foods that they are able to eat but not necessarily their favorites. For example, I refrain from making steak sometimes because it is hard for little girls to eat that. However we just expect them to eat what is cooked. My 3-year old does have preferences and after she has tried something she will say she doesn't like it. That's fine with me. I will simply put it away but if she gets hungry later, that is what is getting pulled out of the fridge.*

Again, in no way do I feed my kids perfect food. I strive to do my best and then I forgive the times when I might feed them something a little questionable (so long as it doesn't become a habit). I'm sure there are many things I could put more effort into and many other foods I could introduce them to at this point.

Happy Birthday, Abigail

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, silly, darling, facinating, dramatic and lovely daughter, Abigail!

What a wonderful and crazy 3 years it has been, darling. I'm looking forward to all the rest!!

8 days old.

Talking with Grandma RoRo a few weeks ago.

Trying on Mama's glasses - silly girl!

Post?

So I had a big post written about how the dishwashing detergent wasn't working as well as I had hoped. I'm going to try a few alterations and then I'll post the recipe.

I'm disappointed. I have read from many people about how the dishwashing soap is the hardest to make.

Oh well.

In other news, I have decided to give myself a break. I'm not stopping blogging because this is a great way to have an account of our lives as a growing family but . . . if I just don't have time to blog, I won't. I'm soon to be a mom of 3 kids under 3.4 years old and I've given myself a break on many things in preparation of this busy season at time (volunteering, work, etc) so I'm doing the same with my blog.

Perhaps I will find more time once I'm done with work but if not . . . oh well.

Walk on the Wild Side

Okay, for many of you, this may not be a big deal but it feels like it for me! I'm trying something new at our house . . .

Homemade Dishwasher Soap &

Homemade Laundry Soap

Needless to say our budget is tight (more about this in another post) with one income and my very small one to be going away soon and that is my main reason for trying these recipes. I have all the ingredients except for two and so I just ordered the two I was missing from Amazon for about $15. Close to what I spent on dishwasher soap alone in a month.

I hope it works. I'll let you all know what happens! Wooo! I hope that I can share the recipes with you and rave over them! We'll see.

Christmas Time Part 1

I cannot remember how much I have written about Christmas but probably not much, considering all my unplanned blogging breaks!

We had a wonderful Christmas! This year it was time to make the long trek to Kansas to visit my family for the holiday. It was an interesting experience with a 2 yr old, 1 yr old, and a pregnant lady.

Here is some of what happened:

Abigail loved taking pictures of people while we were there, so I have included some of those.

We left at 6 am on Wednesday before Christmas and our plan was to have the girls finish their nights sleep in the car. Well, didn't happen. I'm not sure if it was the empty stomach or the laying back in the car where she couldn't see out but our oldest, Abigail, ended up throwing up twice even before we were out of Ohio. I was sure we were in for a long day of this but once we had breakfast she was fine (praise the Lord!). Seriously!

We managed to drive out to Kansas . . . all 15 hours . . . in one single day. It felt like a week but it was nice not to have to pay for the hotel room and to just get it over with.

Abigail did really great with potty breaks on the trip. She never had an accident and her daddy even made her wait once after she said she had to go. She isn't afraid of strange or loud flushing toilets, etc.

My Dad. A picture by Abigail . . . isn't it cute?!

Tired Elsie in the car.

Abigail borrowing Mommy's sunglasses for part of the trip!

The way home was a bit more eventful, however. The night before we left Abigail started coming down with a cold. Just a croaky throat, sniffles, etc but she was up a lot!! She coughed a lot too. At 1:30 am her coughing woke up her sister. Elsie, finally figuring out we were in the room with her, would not go back to sleep.

I tried everything. In bed with us, letting her cry (which kept us all awake), rocking her to sleep and then laying her down (then she'd wake up). We were at the end of our breastfeeding journey at this point (more in another post) but I gave it one last shot. I just fed her and laid her down even though she was awake. Not another peep. Of course, it was almost 5 am by this time.

Tired!!

So, we leave the next day after lunch and drive until almost to St. Louis. This is a pretty good distance considering we have had little sleep and now have a kiddo with a fever and cold symptoms. She'd really either be sleeping or crying. It was sad!

Well we settled down for another night's sleep in our hotel room. Elsie in a crib, Daddy sleeping with Abigail to help her, and me in my own bed where I could tend to Elsie if needed. Elsie cried for a bit at first but then ended up sleeping all night.

Abigail was up a lot . . . again. This is so unlike her normally. She would tell her daddy that she had to use the bathroom, or she was coughing, or she was shivering from the fever. Terrible night. Finally at about 3:30 am, she tells her daddy that she feels sick. Before he can react there is vomit in the hotel bed (yes, Elsie slept through this!).

Let me tell you, being sick is no fun but being sick away from home is worse. Perhaps we're bad parents, I don't know, but we didn't have much choice. We simply cleaned up the bed with towels as best as we could, pulled up the clean sheet, and put her back to bed. Andrew moved in with me! :)

We finally got a little more sleep and the rest of the trip went fine.

Wow, it was so good to be home in our own beds.

Also, Elsie has slept through the night since we got home. Unbelieveable!

Okay, now that I have recorded that adventure, I'll leave you with a beautiful picture I took of my two loving girls before our trip to Kansas.

Alone!

Elsie (for the first time) and Abigail had a sleep-over at their Nana's house last night. Andrew and I calculated last night that this was the first night we'd spent alone in our own house since before Abigail was born - is that right? We had a little getaway to a Bed and Breakfast before Elsie was born so we weren't actually in our own home.

It was nice . . . and weird. I actually had a dream that I was waiting for my family at a concert (Andrew and the girls) and they never showed up. It was also weird and scary.

This morning I'm actually blogging for the first time in a while, am going to go relax in the bathtub, and leisurely head into work. I'll try not to get used to this!

Lately my mind has been way more ambitious than my body. My body is calling for rest, rest, rest, and my mind knows the entire to-do list and wants it done. It's a constant battle. :) My body is just more tired this time, having these two babies close together, so I have to be a little more cautious and careful with how long I'm on my feet. I still have 15 some weeks to go. Crazy! I have to be honest and say that it's hard to rest when kids are around. Especially Abigail always needs me to get up and do something (drink, snack, potty, change the TV settings, Elsie's doing something, etc). It's all about balance.

Well, that's all for now. I have more posts (and lots more recipes) rattling around in my head but they'll have to wait until later. I want to make sure I can relax a bit before going to work today.

Tests

For the first time I have found out a few tests I failed from the midwives. I'm in shock, seriously!

I failed my glucose test this weekend. I snuck in a piece of bread along with my hard boiled eggs so that's what probably pushed it over the top. Lovely, right? My sugar wasn't very high but it was slightly beyond the normal range, so that means I get to sit in a blood lab for 3 hours. Thankfully they're open on a weekend so my husband can keep the kids and I don't have to worry about fasting, getting to the lab, having four (yes four!) blood draws in that amount of time, and also schleping the kids out in the winter.

It's so hard to get everyone bundled up and out the door!

I'm also anemic. Lovely. Might explain some of my thethargy.

I failed a few other tests that I won't be sharing publically on my blog. Thankfully they are minor and can be easily treated.

Please pray that I pass the 3-hour glucose test. I don't think I will be allowed to go to the birth center if I have diabetes - makes a pregnancy high risk!

Randomness

• Yesterday was a big day in our family. It's my dad's birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!!), my dog's birthday, my in-law's anniversary, and the rememberance of my grandparents in-law's anniversary . . . if that makes sense. We celebrated by having a lovely dinner at a very nice place up here. Delicous! Anyway . . .
• I'm so thankful for my husband. He has really stepped up to take care of things when I wasn't feeling well lately. He came home early a few days last week and went in late on Wednesday (so I could go to the midwives) and Thursday (so I could go to the dentist).
• He's also doing childcare alone this morning so I can go have my glucose test done - just the 1 hour. I'm also thankful that the lab is open on a Saturday morning. That is so convenient for working mom's and for stay-at-home mom's - so the daddy can just stay home with the kids.

Speaking of that, I'd better get to it.

Weirdness!

Well, this blogging break was brought to you by my friend . . . my stomach.

I have been having very weird stomach pain since last Saturday. My appetite is finally back today and the pain after eating seems to have lessened somewhat. Yeah! I haven't actually eaten a whole meal yet today, so we'll see, but I'm less miserable than a few days ago.

I have no idea what it was. Neither does anyone else. The only thing weird was some tests from the midwives office yesterday. Those led them to believe I had a Kidney Infection or UTI but my symptoms didn't fit that.

Oh well, it doesn't matter as long as I'm feeling better. The baby is fine as well. He was checked all along the way!

Santa Clause

So Christmas is over but thoughts of Santa are still around. We are not a family who "does" Santa. I have no problems with good ole' St. Nick (the real guy) but I do have a problem when a fictional guy is the main focus of the season - over the miraculous birth of our Savior - when the fictional guy takes claim for all the expensive gifts my child gets - instead of using it as an opportunity for my child to express appreciation to the appropriate real-life people - and several other issues.

I don't want to be a stick-in-the-mud, I really don't. I don't want to ruin it for anyone and I will tell my children about St. Nick and his story. However, we won't do the traditional "Santa" deal.

So far we've just been able to ignore it. Abigail didn't know about it, we didn't talk about, we don't have Santa figures in our house so . . . no problem.

Then . . . today . . . out-of-the-blue my daughter was "reading" her Bible (which is her new obsession - yeah!) and she said to me, "Mama, this book is about Santa".

Whoa! Wait just a second. I tried, I think successfully, not to act shocked.

I said, "Oh really? I think it is mainly about Jesus. Remember baby Jesus who just had a birthday?"

My daughter answered, "Oh yeah."

Me: "Where did you hear about Santa?"

She said: "Mama, we saw Santa at the horse parade."

That was at the beginning of December. My girl is growing up and starting to really pay attention!

The matter was dropped and she went on to "read" her Bible and talk all about God, etc.

We might be talking about Santa sooner than I thought!

Little Tornados

Calling all stay-at-home moms. Do your days feel like mine?

I spent 45 minutes before my child's nap "cleaning" her room. I was putting away clothes, sorting and trying to organize toys, cleaning out clothes that were too small, etc (not really "cleaning"). When I went to lay her down for her nap I looked around and what did I see? A room that was just as messy or messier than before.

As I was working on cleaning Abigail's room I suddenly hear "splash, splash". Not good. I investigate, only to find the baby playing in the toilet water. Thankfully it had been flushed but still, ewwwwww! I washed her hands and set her down so she could play. As she was crawling after me she slipped with her wet hands on the floor and banged her face on the floor. She's fine but really. . . I'm in for a new adventure because my oldest would never in a million years play in the toilet water. I guess we're keeping the bathroom doors closed.

I am about to emark on another adventure, picking up my books, again, from my bookshelf (beside my bed). My kids (or kid - the almost 14 month old) has pulled them off for the 2nd time today.

It's no wonder that when I fall into bed at night, I feel like I have worked my tail off (and I have) but have gotten absolutely no where. I know this will pass and I will miss these days with sweet little ones, but honestly, I don't think I will miss cleaning the same mess over and over again.

Hey, maybe I just need to look on the bright side. I did get all the Christmas decorations put away today - finally, I thought it was never going to happen - with the help of a toddler and nothing was broken.

2011 Goals

Being that I'm using my body to grow a baby this year, I'm trying to make my goals easily attainable. Here they are:

Goals for 2011:
Read the one verse a day calendar - everyday.
Spend 30 minutes of uninterrupted time each day with children.
Accomplish monthly goal.
Have healthy baby.
Lose 15 pounds after baby is born (more if possible).
Go through entire character traits and manners with children.

Let me explain the monthly goal thing. . . Our house is no where near complete. There are many things, however, that I can do on my own without bothering Andrew. I'm the kind of person who likes to dive in head first and work hard at something. I have realized since becoming a mother, however, that if I start a house project and get interrupted by the demands of a little one, it makes me frustrated. My main job is to be a mother (and cook, maid, launderer, etc) so I can't let these little projects get in the way of that.

So . . .

I'm starting small.

I'm just picking one very small project for each month (except I will possibly skip May, June, July, etc - you get the picture) and have Andrew and I work together on a few things. That way I will have 30 days, give or take, to get something done and I will hopefully, not be bothered in the least bit by interruptions.

I may wait until the start of each month to decide on a project. We'll see.

January's project is to finish sanding, touch-up painting, and putting pulls on our drawers in our room. It's a project that should only really take an hour or two at best. I can do the sanding and painting part. :)

Welcome 2011!!

2010 Goal Review

Here is what I wrote for my goals last year. Let's see how I did.

Goals for 2010:

Read the 1 verse a day calendar. - I did this quite well until my kid got super sick in March. For some reason I just couldn't bring myself to catch up again.

Exercise 2x a week. - Nope - some weeks I did good but overall - nope.

Spend more quality time during my quantity time with my kids. - Schooling them. - I actually think I accomplished this. Abigail learned a lot this last year and I was pretty focused on it. She knows her alphabet, can write many letters, knows many numbers and is still very interested in more.

Work through Character qualities with myself and my kids. - nope - did not do this.

Lose 20 pounds. - this is the only one I totally accomplished. I actually lost about 35 pounds. . . then I got pregnant. I'm still down about 10 from last January so I'm happy with that.

Blessed Season!

Wow. Again . . . didn't meant to take a break in blogging. It just happened. The reason . . . it's been a whirlwind two weeks at our house.

On the 20th we found out were are having a boy! Then laundry, cleaning, packing, and early at 6 am on the 22nd we headed to my family Christmas in Kansas.

The trip didn't start out so well, with Abigail vomiting twice before we got to the Ohio border, but she felt better after that and the rest of the trip was decently uneventful.

We had a lovely time in Kansas and it was made even more special because all of the little babies got to be together. Abigail and Elsie had fun playing with cousins Alex and Isaac. Just wish we could all get together more often.

We headed home on December 27th but decided to break this trip up into two days so we arrived home on the 28th. The last two nights of our journey were especially hard. I think we got 3 to 4 hours of sleep each night. Abigail was getting a cold and Elsie just had realized we were all in the same room. Never has our home and own beds felt so good to me, despite missing our loving family. Both girls slept like well, I guess "babies" in in their own beds!

Then the next two days I took advantage of Andrew being off work and fit in two doctor's appointment, grocery shopping, running errands, etc. I felt like I didn't sit down for a minute. Repacking was also a priority because. . .

On Friday morning we got up and left for Columbus to attend Andrew's cousin's wedding. Abigail was chosen to be a flower girl for the wedding. I was a nervous Nelly with all the "special" stuff I had to remember to bring for her but we got it all done.

She only made it down 1/2 of the aisle before realizing that I wasn't coming with her and there were lots of people watching her. :) She stalled and started to get a little emotional before her daddy came to the rescue. Oh well, she's only 2!!

The wedding was beautiful. Andrew and I both really appreciated the choir they had and their beautiful church. Made me think that I might shrivel up and die if I don't find somewhere to sing soon but I'll just be content to sing "Mary had a little lamb" for the time being. Andrew said he felt the same way . . . some day.

The reception was also fun. We checked out about 6 pm to get our tired girls home. When I say tired, I mean I have never seen Abigail so moody or out-of-sorts before. Lots of excitement and not a very good nap makes one cranky girl. She's much better today.

So . . . there are pictures and video from all these happenings. After laundry, bills, and some cleaning I'll get around to uploading them and putting them on here.

Happy New Year!!!

It's a . . .

For those of you who didn't see my post on Facebook or aren't members of our family (anyone, anyone? - didn't think so), I thought I'd announce on my blog that we're having a . . .

BOY!!

I can't believe it. I really can't. I thought it would be a girl. I thought we'd have three girls. We're super excited!

Wishing . . .

Every so often I just wish my job would end at 5 pm (not that I was my kids to go away) but ya know . . . all the responsibility can.

I'm tired but at the end of each day I'm so thankful for my beautiful family and this wonderful opportunity to raise my beautiful and wonderful kids.

Sharing a Room

So . . . does anyone have advice on getting your kids to share a room?

We're thinking of putting the girls together in one room once this next baby is born. We actually have another room downstairs that could be used as Elsie's bedroom but we're considering putting them together.

I loved sharing a room with my sister (most of the time - I do remember nights being annoyed when she had a cough! ha ha!) and I want my girls to experience the same. I also think it really teaches children to be considerate and how to share.

Abigail is so loving and nuturing to Elsie (so maybe she'll get up with her at night . . . just kidding) and Elsie is starting to become a better sleeper. Elsie would be in Abigail's old crib (still in Abigail's room) and Abigail would be in her toddler bed or perhaps move up to a twin bed soon.

So any advice . . . horror stories?!

The bunny

Elsie has attached herself to a small stuffed pink bunny. I thought she might be attached to it several months ago but we learned the hard way that she will NOT nap without it (we tried at Nana's - no go).

Today while I was pumping (a little explanation below) I could hear her screaming her little heart out in her room while trying to take a nap. It didn't sound like her. She'll fuss and whine but rarely just screams. So I went in there and poor pink bunny had been lost over the side of the crib.

I think she's attached!

*We're still "breastfeeding" even though I'd bet she's getting less than 1 ounce per day. Nursing moms: You know those smaller Medela bottles you can pump into? Well, I don't hardly even cover the bottom of those with milk these days. I am feeling oh-so-sad about all of this. Every time my husband talks about it I can't help but tear up (see!). I just STILL feel like it's too early. It's not Elsie's fault that another baby is on the way yet she gets the short end of the stick. She'll be 13 months on Wednesday.

So . . . for now I'm just nursing her if she'll accept it (sometimes it's so frustrating she just gives up) and then I pump 3 or 4 times a day and give her the dinky amount I pump in her nightly bottle. I don't know how long this will last. My goal is probably one more month but at this point I'm not sure we'll make it.

So sad!

Great is Thy Faithfulness!

Unedited Christmas photo 2010

Great is Thy faithfulness,

O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee;

Thou changest not,

Thy compassions, they fail not;

As Thou hast been,

Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see.

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth

Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Thank you, Jesus, for all of the abundant undeserved blessings!!

Days Like This

Ever have days like this where you feel like you fail at everything? I never would have imagined feeling this way so consistently after becoming a mother. I guess that's why it's always a learning experience and why it's always challenging.

The snow is beautiful, though . . . now isn't it time for spring?! :)

Thanksgiving

Wow! I did not mean to take an extended blogging break. I guess the holiday just snuck up on me. We spent a lovely 4-day weekend together as a family. Seriously, a lot of the time it was just the 4 of us and it was fun!

I know thanksgiving is over but I don't want the spirit to pass me by!

This year I am particularly thankful for family. I am thankful for my husband, who puts up with me (usually cheerfully), provides for us without complaint, is a wonderful loving daddy, and is still my favorite person to be around. I am thankful for my children, who are wonderful, healthy, joyful, fun, energetic little people (i am so blessed!). For my extended family who provide so much (never ending!!) support to us - whether it is from a distance or around the corner!

Nursing Dilemma!

Normally I don't bring too many "private" issues to light on my blog. I don't necessarily think this is too private to talk about (obviously . . . or I wouldn't be writing this) but some of my readers might.

So . . . if you don't want to read about breastfeeding, please skip this post. Consider yourself warned!

So I have breastfeed both my babies. Neither one has had a drop of formula. It's hard work to put it in mild terms. But that's a post for another time.

I nursed Abigail until she was 17 months old. I got pregnant with Elsie when Abigail was 12 months old and so I had adequate milk supply until about month 15 but we kept on for a while. I felt very good about that experience. One morning (the morning of her 17 month birthday) instead of nursing her first thing, I just walked downstairs and fed her breakfast. She never batted an eyelash, so obviously it was time to quit. She hadn't been very interested for about a month anyway.

I have nursed Elsie now for 12 months (what I consider to be my personal minimum amount of time to nurse a baby). I got pregnant with this baby when Elsie was about 9 to 10 months old (still not quite sure on that timing). Anyway . . . I was hoping to also hit the 17 month mark with her. However, I have a problem. I have hardly any milk left!

I discovered this when I went to a movie with my husband on Saturday night. I missed a feeding (Elsie got pumped milk and drank 5 oz). I pumped when I returned home and wasn't even able to come up with 1 single ounce. Depressing!

Elsie currently nurses about 5 to 7 times a day, depending on whether or not she nurses at night and after her naps. I know babies are more efficient than a pump but she can't be THAT much more efficient. She's still probably only getting 1 ounce per feeding and I think I'm being generous there.

My ultimate goal is to find a way to boost my supply so that I can keep going a few more months. I'm drinking a lot (of water . . . ha!), eating oatmeal, pumping after almost every feeding and before I go to bed, getting as much rest as I can, nursing Elsie almost whenever she demands it. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

I know she's over a year-old and can turn to other foods for her nutrition so I don't need to turn to formula. I just feel like she's not ready to quit (I mean really . . . 7x a day!!!!!) and I want to keep going for a while too (for her sake). My body is just not cooperating.

This is on my list to talk to my midwives about. Perhaps they have some experience with this issue. They are very supportive of my decision to continue to breastfeed during pregnancy and don't see any problem with it.

I'm just not ready to quit yet and it kills me that I might have to. Some articles I have read today have given some ideas on how to increase supply and give encouragement to just keep going until it's gone. Some others say that there is no way to recover (sad!).

Any advice (positive that is) is welcome.

Boy/Girl Thoughts

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the gender of this baby. While I really don't care whether this baby is a boy or girl, I have secretly leaned toward having another girl.

Mostly because I know girls. I have two, I am one, and therefore I just know what they are and how they work. I also think it would be cute to have three little girls.

But today . . . after a long day of toddler drama and girl emotions, I'm wondering if a boy might bring some low maintenance balance to this family that is currently female heavy. (Not to say that toddler boys wouldn't come with their own set of challenges as well.)

Just some thoughts.

In all honesty, I will be thrilled either way!!

Elsie's 1 year check-up

I took Elsie to the doctor today for her 1-year check up. I forgot to write down her stats exactly (trying to manage a fussy baby!) so this will be from memory. I am going to call them tomorrow and ask exactly what her stats were for my own sake.

29 inches long (to me it looked like 29.5). I think she was at the 50% for height.

18 pounds (hasn't gained since her last appointment). 20% (guessing).

I don't remember her head but he said it had grown and was around 50%.

The concerns were definitely her weight! The girl eats and poops just fine but I guess she is just very active and doesn't eat a lot of fatty foods or protein rich foods. She essentially breastfeeds and then gets either fruits or vegetables at meals. I bought some baby food tonight with chicken and beef so we will be starting those soon.

He also recommended perhaps supplementing my breastmilk with cow's milk. Since I'm pregnant, I'm really not sure how good my milk supply is. I am very hestitant to feed babies cow's milk (Abigail has never had any).

Read an article here: http://www.greenourkids.com/natural-living/health/the-dangers-of-cows-milk-should-children-drink-cows-milk/

So I am looking into alternative choices for her that offer the same fat and vitamins that cow's milk supposedly does. We'll see. We used coconut milk for Abigail but I need to find an alternative to that that does not contain so many processed additives.

I had decided to give myself a break and gradually start weaning Elsie by not pumping in the evenings to store up milk for her. Now I'm thinking that it might be helpful for me to keep this up a while longer and feed her the extra milk I'm pumping the next day. It definitely won't hurt my milk supply to do this.

Also we discovered that she has a little baby "hernia" - although my doctor was hesitant to diagnose it as such - the word did come out of his mouth. :) He said that lots of babies have them and not to be concerned but that it should close up on its own.

I did my own research and apparently this is true. From what I found if the hernia goes back inside the body when the baby is resting (not straining) then it should close up by itself although sometimes it takes up to 5 years. We'll definitely be keeping our eyes on it!

The poor girl is still teething up a storm. Her top tooth finally did come in today (I think) and I can feel that the molar is getting closer and closer to the surface. I can't wait for this to be done because she woke up 4x last night. Poor girl!

Emotional Girls

We're dealing with something new at our house . . . jealousy! Seriously! When Elsie was born Abigail was really just fine with it. She didn't regress in any way (that we could tell) and she was very gentle and loving to the baby.

Now that Elsie can crawl and stand up (not walk yet) and demand my attention, jealousy is abundant in our house. I just spent the last hour keeping my kids up before their nap by holding both of them in my lap.

If I just had just held one, the other would be crying, believe me.

I have been talking to Abigail about her emotions. I just told her that I love her and that even if she can't get the same kind of attention as Elsie (after all, Elsie is breastfeeding still) she was still a special girl. I told her this and she burst into tears. Poor thing.

I think some special one-on-one time is necessary after Elsie goes to bed at 7 pm!

New Energy

Well folks, despite being also troubled by back/hip pain and sinus headaches I have found a renewed energy lately! Whew! It is about time.

My nausea is also better . . . not gone but better. I still cannot stand to think about or cook some vegetables but I've been able to throw together a few more meals for my family lately. I also haven't accidentally crashed on the couch in the middle of the day. Must mean the 2nd trimester is upon me. Yes!!!

In other news, Elsie has been really struggling (more!!) at night recently. She's been getting up every 2 to 3 hours. I fully expected her to come down with a cold or something else but it has been three days and she's fine.

It finally dawned on me last night that she did just turn 1 yr old . . . which means . . . molars! Sure enough, I felt around in her little mouth last night and it feels to me like she's working on getting 3 teeth in - 1 top front, 1 top right side, and 1 bottom left molar. I've been giving her motrin and orajel but it doesn't seem to last all night.

My darling, wonderful, helpful, husband is going to do a wonderful thing for me this weekend that is very exciting. I am going to sleep in the downstairs guest room (in the basement!!) and he is going to try to care for Elsie so I can get a full-night's sleep. He will just come get me if he thinks she's hungry. We'll see what happens!

It will be the only full-night's sleep I have gotten in one year except for about a one month stretch in the summer where she slept blissfully through the night. I wonder if I will wake up or if I'll just be able to crash.

Yeah!!

That's all for now. I'm just SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO glad to be feeling better! (Can you feel the energy?!)

Happy 1-Year Elsie Joy

Dearest Elsie Joy (or Pie),

How can you be 1-year old? It seems like only yesterday that you were in my tummy - a big baby for such a short mama - making me very uncomfortable! Ha! What a joy-filled child you are. I love to hear your laugh, see your smile and watch you dance.

I love to watch you learn new things and to watch you develop more and more into a little girl each day.

You are a mama's girl - big time. (In no particular order) . . . You love Dewey the dog. You are so gentle with him when you finally catch up and pat him. You love your sister. You love to play with her and to watch her do crazy and wild things! You love your daddy! You get so excited to see him and you've even started to reach for him. It's so sweet! You love our extended family and being played with, loved on and entertained by them!

We'll always have a special connection, dear girl. You see, I am also a second born girl. You are so very much loved, darling, but yes, it is just different for the 2nd. Just remember that in some ways, girlie, you have it easier than your sister. See, she is breaking us in - on the parenting front that is. You get the more relaxed and easy-going version of us because we've been there before! :)

My greatest desire as your mother is for you to grow up and know the love of Jesus Christ. It is so important, darling, that relationship. Never forget it and never neglect it.

Thank you for surprising us and for being in our family. I cannot imagine life without you, sweetie.

I am looking forward to watching you grow and discover new things every day!

Love,

Your Mama!

Elsie Joy

11/8/2009

2:53 pm

9 lbs 2 oz 22 inches long (BIG!)

Blue or Pink

At my last midwife appointment (last Tuesday) they went ahead and scheduled me for my 20-week ultrasound even though it isn't for quite a while. So we'll find out on December 20th what the sex of this 3rd (and in my opinion . . . final) baby will be.



So . . . any guesses?



If you guess right, you might get a prize! Ha!



I have thought about being creative and wrapping up something for the grandparents to unwrap at Christmas telling the gender of the baby. I'm not sure if I'll do that or not. It would require several days of waiting time and I'm not sure that will work in our family! :) Ha!

At-Home

Today marks the one-year anniversary of me becoming a stay-at-home mom. Wow! What a year it has been.

There have been moments, minutes, hours, and days where I have felt so blessed and lucky to be at home with these beautiful girls.

And to be quite honest, there have been moments where I certainly could have used a day of just sitting behind a desk with no bottoms to wipe, noses to wipe, food to make, behavior to correct, babies to nurse, house to clean, etc.

I wouldn't trade it for the world though!

I'll take the bad with the good because it means that I get to be the one to see it all . . . all the firsts and the cute things said . . . and all the temper tantrums and messes.

I also realized that I haven't had one month go by since quitting my full-time job that I haven't brought in some form of income for my family. I'm not sure this will always be the case but I'm glad to have been able to always help out.

So it was on this day one year ago that I quit my full-time job. (Elsie was born 3 days later!).

Swinging!

Elsie has been a pill lately but she loves her new swing! Unfortunately it is getting cold here so we won't be able to use it much until the spring time! Thanks for the swing Papa and RoRo!