Moving along

Yay for another three day weekend and 3 day work week! I ended up working last Thursday because I had piles and piles from being off the entire week before, but I plan on taking off this Thursday, and we're closed Monday anyway, so yay!

Friday was a really long day at work and I was just worn.out by the time I got home.  Have I ever mentioned that I have about an hours drive to and from work? Well I do, and that just adds to the worn-out-ness.  We were planning on going to my BFF's surprise b-day party Friday night (which is another hour drive, both there and back).   Instead, Eric and I just ended up going to dinner in town and when we got home, this is what we found:

 My poor baby was so tired that she passed out in her wagon while her aunt Yaya (not her real name, that's just what we call her) pulled her around the house.  This was just too cute for words.  I could just eat that girl up!

Gracie is cutting two teeth and I was up from 1-4 with her.  I'm ashamed to say this, but I just burst into tears!  I was so tired and all I wanted to do was sleep, haha.  I know this sounds so stupid because a lot of babies never sleep through the night and on the rare occasion mine doesn't I totally freak out.  Eric was already awake because he was going hunting and he tried to cancel his plans when he saw me crying.  He was really scared of the consequences he would face later in the day if he actually went, haha.  Maybe I need to add being nicer to my hubs so he's not scared off me to my list of 2012 goals =)

Being the good wife that I am (hehe) I told him just to go hunting. Gracie and I did some things around the house, she took a nap UNSWADDLED, yay!

It was NYE and we didn't have big plans.  We went to dinner with Eric's dad and step-mom, made it home by 7 and spent our evening hanging and ironing curtains, haha.  I'm a hot date, let me tell you!

This is the before:

Ignore my messy house please.  I wanted to lighten up a bit, so this is the first step.  Here is the after.  I would have taken a pic from the same angle, but Eric said he wasn't getting off the couch since he helped me iron curtains on NYE

Sunday we had plans to go to church, but G and momma had another rough night, so we slept in (until 6:30) and then Eric and I started reupholstering the chairs (you can read that story here) and we got a little further than this:

 We went to Eric's mom's house for lunch.  Here is my sweet girl who loves her big girl carseat still

We went over to my parent's for supper, and then headed home and crashed.  Gracie got lots of grandparent time and loved every bit of it.

 Monday, our good friends came over a play date, we had lunch and let the babies play:

Gracie is still cutting some teeth and she's happy as long as she has something to chew on.

After they left, we headed out to do some shopping to spend some gift cards we got for Christmas, came home and geared up for the week.  I am so not looking forward to going back to work tomorrow.  Do I sound like a broken record? ha! I did some sewing and embroidery projects that I hope to get posted later this week. 

In other news, all my shows come on this week again, and I watched The Bachelor tonight.  I don't know why but I always get sucked in! What is with all the crazies this season? Eric walked during a particular dramatic scene, and his response before he walked out was "You watch some stupid sh*t". ha!  

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!

2012 goals

I have so many goals for 2012.  I don't want to call it a resolution because I don't really feel like I need to "resolve" anything.  These really should be more like everyday goals I started long ago, but you know how that goes.  I feel like I need a fresh year to start.  I'm going to list these for myself to keep me accountable, and check back periodically to make sure I'm behaving =)

1. Color my hair at LEAST every 8 weeks.  I'm seriously seeing grey, y'all! You would gasp if you saw my roots up close
2. Use up all my gift cards for massages at the spa.  I have got to learn to make "me" time, something I haven't even thought of since I've had G
3. Get pedicures once a month
4. Stick to my to-do list and actually DO WHAT'S ON IT! (this really should be #1, makes my life so much easier)
5. Print the pictures I take and not just leave them on the computer
6. Do a load of laundry every day from start to finish.  Easier said than done
7. Get birthday cards for everyone I know
8. Study Scripture every day.  I love the learning bibles rather than just reading a verse and moving on for the day without really thinking about it.
9. Look for at least a little bit of positiveness, no matter the situation
10. Have NOT ONE bad thing to say about anyone. I need to make Ephesians 4:29 become my life verse
11. Pray together before meals
12. Take more vitamins
13. Work towards paying the house off so in a few years I will be able to stay home with my babies
14. Make the bed every day

That's all I can think of for now.  I'll add more as I think of it

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Mommy Questions

One of the hardest things for me after Gracie was born was figuring out if I was doing things right and normal.  Instead of sleeping when she slept, I would spend hours researching if this or that was "normal".  I finally snapped out of that bad habit and realized that what is normal for some people isn't right for others, and it was soon after that realization that we found "our normal" and I had much more peace of mind.  However, I still love to check out what other moms are doing and get advice and just pick what I want to take from it and leave the rest.  


I always have lots of questions I want to ask other moms but never want to bombard anyone with questions. I saw these questions posted on E, Myself, and I and I realized that a lot of other moms are like me, in that we want to ask each other these things, not to compare, but more to see if we can learn anything from one another and maybe see if something else will work better for our babies.  


I decided I'm going to post my answers to these questions and see if y'all wanted to do the same, either in the comments section or your own blog and just see if any of us are going through the same thing.  Also, I think it will be handy to look back on when I have my next baby because I already find it hard to remember what I did a few months ago!




1. When did you start giving your baby "solid" foods?  Did you start with rice cereal or something else?  What brands of cereal and/or babyfood did you use?


I started giving G plain rice cereal at about 5 months but she didn't care for it.  The next day I added in a bit of veggies and we never looked back! That girl was born an eater and still to this day plain rice cereal is the ONLY thing she will not eat.  And she has tried pretty much everything.


2. Did you let your baby cry-it-out?  When?  How could you tell the difference between night-waking out of habit and night waking because he (or she) was legitimately hungry?


I have let her cry it out, kind of.  It's not very often though.  Basically, I think this only works for some babies.  We read the book "On Becoming Babywise" before G was born and it's a big proponent of cry-it-out.  I just never felt comfortable to let her cry and do nothing about it.  I would go in there in 5 minute increments and soothe her, but not pick her up.  


For the second part of this question, Gracie slept in our room for the first 5 or 6 months in a cradle next to my side of the bed.  And she slept 10-12 hours through the night at about 7 weeks old.  So we didn't have a problem with her waking until about 6 or 7 months when she was so alert and nosy.  She just didn't want to sleep, she wanted to play and that was not allowed.  If she would fuss, I would let her fuss for a few minutes and she would normally soothe herself back down.  If she was legitimately crying I would always to in there to assess the situation.  She went through about a 2 month period where she was teething and super congested so I would not let her cry it out.  I always picked her up and comforted her.  If she was not teething or congested, I would go in her room, lay her back down (she would be standing) and scratch her head until her calmed down, then go back to my room.  Then I would repeat the process as long as needed.  For Gracie, it only took a maximum of 3 nights, sometimes only 1, and she would begin sleeping through the night again on her own.  I could tell if she was hungry because she would try to nurse if she was.  Most nights she wouldn't do that.


Also, I want to add that we do put her in her crib awake at night and she soothes herself to sleep. I rock her for a bit until she's good and sleepy, tell her that's she's such a good and precious girl, tell her I love her, give her a kiss and put her in bed.  She almost NEVER fusses at this time and within 10 minutes is sound asleep.  It's always about 2-4 when we have trouble.


I think the main thing is just to know your baby.  I KNOW that Gracie never cries for longer than a minute unless she needs something.  If she could not be soothed down by just me scratching her head, then I would evaluate the situation to see if she needed tylenol, fed, or whatever...


I do think every baby is different when it comes to this.  What I wrote above pertains to night sleeping.  I have tried to let her cry it out for nap times and she will cry for the entire 2 hours of her nap and not go to bed at all.  I still swaddle her for naps.  Yes, I swaddle my 10 month old =) Whatever works!


I could write an entire post about baby sleep, ha!

3. What did you give your baby for his/her first Christmas?

Not a lot actually! I didn't want to buy stuff just for the purpose of buying "stuff".  She got lots of clothes (naturally! And you need clothing anyway, right?), a ball pit, some books and puzzles, and an indoor riding toy, I think the Playskool bounce and ride.


She really doesn't need a lot and believe me, the girl doesn't hurt for things to play with!  One of the most overwhelming things to me as a parent is how to raise your child to be grateful, and not to focus on material and worldly things.  Although we could have bought her more, I want to plant the seed now that whether she has a lot or a little, she is blessed.  It's so easy in today's life to get caught up in what we want and who has what, and I want so bad for her to not focus on that. 




4. How strict were/are you about bedtime for your little one?  What time does he/she go to bed most nights?  What is your bedtime routine?


We are pretty scheduled around here most days and she goes to bed around 7 or 7:30.  I just watch for her tired signals and put her to bed as soon as she is sleepy.  She reaches a point where she is overtired and is almost impossible to go to sleep.  Sometimes that's 6:45

5. How often do you give your little one a bath?


She gets a bath every night.  We have done this pretty much from the beginning.  Her skin can get sensitive so I don't use soap and shampoo every night, but she does get at least washed off in the bath tub every night.


6. How often do you do laundry?


I try to do at least a load a day.  Normally, this does not include putting it up.  I really hate that part.  I am trying really hard to put it up each day so it doesn't get backed up, but it's hard to find time and the will power, ha.  But I do have to do laundry every day because Gracie always has something that needs to be sprayed and immediately washed.


7. Any tips for a stuffy nose?  How will I know if it's an ear infection too?


SALINE SALINE SALINE! There are times she gets saline every 30 minutes.  Sometimes I let the snot run out, and sometimes I suck it out, it just depends on how bad it is.  Sometimes she gets so frustrated with the aspirator and screams so much that I think it makes the congestion worse so that's when I usually let it just run out.


Gracie has only had one ear infection and she was just REALLY cranky and my baby is never cranky.  I'm not sure how else I would be able to tell...


8. Working mamas: Do you pay your babysitter when you are off?  What did you give the babysitter for Christmas? What does baby wear most days?  What do you wear to work?  (This is random, but I'm curious because I feel like I'm the only person in the world who doesn't get to wear jeans to work every day.)


I am a working momma but I am fortunate beyond words that my momma keeps G 3 days, and my mother in law keeps her 1 day.  We are able to wear jeans at work, but I rarely do.  I might do a What I Wore post of work clothes soon.  That would be fun!


9. How long did you breastfeed?


G is almost 10 months old and I still breastfeed twice a day.  She has one bottle of breastmilk while I am at work.  

10. If you pump, about how many ounces do you pump at each session?


I did pump at work every time she would eat until she was about 8 months old.  She would eat about 4 or 5 ounces per feeding and I would pump about 6 ounces per pumping session.  I moved to twice a day at work and got about 8 ounces per session, then moved to once a day and got about 10 ounces per session.  I stopped pumping all together about 6 weeks ago and just nurse in the morning and at night and my supply is still fine.


I have somewhere between 1000 and 2000 ounces of breastmilk stored in the freezer! That is not an exaggeration either! I would probably still nurse more if I didn't have that much of a stock built up!  For 5 or 6 months I would pump after I fed her in the morning, and after the last feeding at night and that's how I built up such a large supply.  


I was also obsessed with keeping my supply up so that's why I added in the extra pump sessions.  I would read horror stories of women and their supply when returning to work, but I was so fortunate that I never had a problem with it and my supply has always been fine.  Everyone is so different when it comes to this, but for ME, it was strictly a supply and demand thing, and extra water intake would ALWAYS make more supply.


Pumping and breastfeeding really are a post of it's own, I don't know if I have the courage to post it though so if you have any questions just let me know.  


Please let me know if you do a post on this as well, I would love to see other answers!

  The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  John 1:14

Crazy Beautiful Life

First of all, I gave myself a little bloggy make-over.  I wish I was better at this stuff and able to design myself a cool header in photoshop, but this is the best I can do =)

I've mentioned before that I was off work since last Wednesday and didn't go back until yesterday.  Six glorious days!! I sooo didn't want to go back, but that's just the way things go, right?

Gracie started off the week sooo sweet, as usual.  We played and went shopping and played dress up.

But then on Thursday she started getting really cranky! She was really clingy and would scream every time I left the room.  I didn't think much of it because I know all babies go through this, and I think she gets frustrated because she really wants to walk, but isn't quite there.  This is pretty much the only expression I got Friday - Sunday

Yep, that pretty much sums it up, crying and scowls, which is SOO not like my happy baby. WELL... Starting Sunday afternoon at Christmas lunch I noticed she was happier and more playful, and the same thing all Sunday night which is surprising because she was up way past her bedtime. 

Y'all, here's where the mama-fail part comes in because my baby was happy because everyone was FEEDING her!!  My poor baby must have been starving! IN MY DEFENSE.... Up until that point, she had been more than full with only 4 ounces of food per meal, plus bottle, plus snacks.  She never cried when I stopped feeding her, it was just quite a bit of fussiness on and off all day.

So Monday I pretty much fed her ALL day long, pretty much every 2 hours and she was just as happy as could be.  I just felt so awful.  I swear... these first children are just trial and error I guess!  =)  Let's just say her food intake almost doubled.  I'm thinking it's probably a growth spurt but we shall see!

I didn't get a chance to take a pic of all her Christmas goodies.  Here they are

My den has officially turned into her play room.  I haven't "fixed" it up like a playroom, but I'm gathering inspiration to start working on that soon.  Some of these toys were from before Christmas, but 90% of them are new.  And her b-day is in two months!!

Here is my sweet baby letting her new baby give her kisses.  She is so sweet.  She thinks her new babies are her little playmates.

I wanted to share this earlier on our Christmas post, but I totally forgot.  This is Gracie's dress that she wore to church on Christmas morning.  I am IN.LOVE! It reminds me of my wedding dress because of the sash and the bottom of the dress.  It took everything I had not to break out my wedding dress and take a pic of me in it and Gracie in this dress, haha.  My husband looked at me like I was about half psychopath when I mentioned it so I decided to wait until he's not home =)  And, this came from a resale shop

Another cute Gracie pic with her party pants I made her a while ago.  I can't get enough of these! She likes to sit in the sink and watch me put on my makeup.  She's getting to be such a big girl. **cue sad momma face**

Also, some of you commented and e-mailed about Gracie's Christmas dress.  First of all, thank you! And second of all, I made it! It's the same process as the ones I made here, but I just dolled it up a bit more with the ruffles and bow.

And lastly, baby G LOVES drinking from a cup! I don't know why I'm even using a styrofoam cup here, but regardless, she refuses to drink from her bottle and sippy if there is a regular cup around.  Silly girl

Okay, so this is probably the most random, rambling post ever.  Congrats if you made it to the end!
 
P.S. Has anyone been having problems with blogger taking like 20 hours to upload a single pic, or is it just me?

Wordless Wednesday

Just playing a little dress up with my favorite little girl 

that's all..

Christmas Recap

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I know we did.  I was off work starting Wednesday and I don't go back until tomorrow.  I enjoyed my time at home so much that I don't want to go back.  Who am I kidding, I never want to go back =)  I will do a post soon of how miss G and I spent our days.

We started our Christmas celebration Friday night at Eric's dad's house


Here is Gracie looking cute for the camera!





I don't have a good pic of her outfit, but this is the best I have




She got lots of goodies, but of course was most excited about the snacks...





and the boxes.  Figures!



She was pretty cranky all night and we weren't up that far past her bedtime so I wasn't sure what was up

Christmas Eve we stayed in our pajamas all day.  Here is the first pic I captured of G standing on her own like a big girl! She has been standing for about 30 seconds on her own for a while now and I have never had my camera with me.  This is when she was in the process of sitting back down, but still! We are so proud of her!



We pulled her around in her wagon all day inside because it was too cold outside and honestly I didn't want to change out of my pajamas either =)



We went over to my parent's house that night for supper and to let Gracie play with my niece Layla, they LOVE each other!



Here is my big girl in her new big girl car seat.  Still rear facing of course, but we could barely buckle her in to the infant carrier with her jacket on so it was time to move on. This pic looks like she is laying down flat on her back.  I assure you we put the car seat in correctly, and it's just the angel.  No DHS or CPS calls please =) thanks





I ordered her some really cute Christmas Eve pajamas but didn't get a good pic of them.  I really wanted a picture of her sitting in front of the tree, but my husband took it so this is the best I got.  Bummer!





This is a pic of her bounce and ride toy, stocking, and ball pit all set up by Santa for Christmas morning!  She got other smaller things as well like a bunch of clothes (duh!) books and puzzles





 This is kind of random but I really love it so I thought I would throw it in... I ordered a personalized family ornament this year for the tree and I'm in love with it.  Here is a close up.  The stockings say "Daddy, Momma, and Gracie" and the bottom says "Christmas 2011" so I will always know that was our first family of three Christmas ornament.





She woke up still pretty cranky on Christmas Day and was unsure what to think at first.  I think the ball pit intimidated her...







but then she gave it a try and had a good time!





of course after 2 seconds in the ball pit she crawled over to her cabinet and grabbed her snacks =)

I made french toast casserole found here the night before and popped it in the oven the next morning, and it was delicious y'all! I'm  not even kidding I could eat it every day! Instead of doing the slices, I pulled the bread apart in chunks and I omitted the praline topping.  I did make the butter and brown sugar mixture, kind of as a crumb topping and sprinkle it on top.



We went to my parent's house around 8 and opened presents there and had breakfast.  My momma also made a breakfast casserole.  Gracie will never need clothes again, that's for sure!  My mom and dad also bought her a baby and she loves it! We bought her a baby too, but for whatever reason, she loves this baby more.  It's so sweet because she will give her kisses on demand and then is so proud of herself for being sweet:







After eating breakfast there, we changed clothes and headed to church.

 

Our church normally has a Christmas Eve service but didn't this year, I'm assuming because Christmas was on a Sunday.  We did the candlelight service at the end of the sermon.  Of course I had to step out in the foyer with Gracie because the nursery was closed so everyone could attend the service and she was not having me trying to keep her quiet.




After church, she had her normal after church meltdown and napped for about two hours before we went back over to my parent's house for lunch.  Here are a few pics from there

 My sister, Gracie, Momma, me, and other sister

We only stayed there for about an hour or so before moving on to Eric's mom's house.  We are so fortunate that we didn't have to leave town to go anywhere.


Gracie got a lot more goodies that she loved, but of course, she was most excited about the snacks!





Surprisingly, she wasn't very cranky at all Christmas afternoon, which is surprising because she only got about half of her naps.  But she ate all her food I brought her, plus a little turkey, potatoes, green beans, and pasta salad.  Maybe a growth spurt?





Here is my little angel having fun with the nativity scene.  I am going to have to buy one for next year for sure.





We did all get a lot of gifts, but we are so thankful for the ultimate gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  As Gracie gets older, I look forward to telling her the story of the baby in the manger all those years ago and how he came to save the world.

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