Saturday, May 1, 2010
All Done
I can't believe it but Grace is officially all done nursing. She doesn't need me anymore. Or at least in the eating from me sense. But she does need my hugs, smiles, support, encouragement, and love. And that is why I was surprisingly totally fine with it when she had a cup of milk for breakfast this morning instead of nursing. She sat on my lap and drank the milk. One time she pulled on my shirt but she didn't even fuss and she seemed to forget about what she was looking for quickly. Then we moved on and ate breakfast. No complaints.
Happiness Is...
....making your bed every morning. I recently saw a news story that reported people who make their bed every morning are happier than they would be if they didn't. I love to make our bed and when I don't (which is only like 5 times a year) my day feels a whole lot worse. Maybe more people should try it. Maybe we'd have less road rage, fewer angry customers, fewer angry sales associates and overall more world peace. And don't give the excuse it takes a lot of time. It will take less than a minute. Happy bed making:)
Monday, April 26, 2010
Birthday Fun!
I wanted to make sure to blog about what we did for Grace's birthday. I'll start with her actual birthday. Things were pretty much normal with a couple fun activities. We usually get together with our neighbor and her daughter Annie (18 months old) about once a week so I invited them over on Grace's birthday. It was fun to do something with another person even though Grace didn't know the difference. It was also cool because Grace borrowed Annie's birthday dress so they got to see it worn again and actually see Grace wearing it. Matt and I took Grace out to Red Lobster for dinner that evening. This was more of a treat for me than for Grace, but I am the one who went through labor and delivery.
Then on Friday Matt's brother, his wife and 2 kids came to town. We got to spend some quality time with them which was nice. Some of the highlights were I got to shop with Yvonne, the boys got to play with Jared's new Wii a lot, and we got to swim at their hotel. On Saturday both sets of Grandparents and Matt's sister joined all of us. I made pulled pork for lunch, the babies took naps while the adults sat around and chatted, we had some cake and Grace opened presents, and then we went out for some yummy Mexican food. I would say it was a perfect birthday weekend!
Then on Friday Matt's brother, his wife and 2 kids came to town. We got to spend some quality time with them which was nice. Some of the highlights were I got to shop with Yvonne, the boys got to play with Jared's new Wii a lot, and we got to swim at their hotel. On Saturday both sets of Grandparents and Matt's sister joined all of us. I made pulled pork for lunch, the babies took naps while the adults sat around and chatted, we had some cake and Grace opened presents, and then we went out for some yummy Mexican food. I would say it was a perfect birthday weekend!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Earth Day Project
Since Grace was born on Earth Day and will always celebrate a Bearthday I think it would be awesome to incorporate some kind of activity into her Bearthday celebrations to help take care of the Earth God gave us (1). This year she is only 1 so I did the project during her nap. Anyway, I came across a fun and EASY project. Reusable tank top bags. I had just gone through a bunch of clothes and sent a pile including several tank tops to our Goodwill basket (2). So I went out to the basket and reclaimed my tank tops and have 2 fun shopping bags. All I had to do was sew a seam across the bottom. It was so easy that I'm willing to make these for anyone as long as you supply the tank top.
(1) As a side note I get the impression that saving the Earth has become somewhat of a religion in America. While I think it is very very important to take care of the Earth I have to wonder if some of the passion people feel towards the Earth is misdirected. We should express passion towards the God who gave us this great place to live and take care of it because that's what God called us to do. It just saddens me that so many people don't know the God who made this planet and them.
(2) A helpful tip I learned from my mom to keep your closets less cluttered is find an easily accessible place in your house to keep a laundry basket deemed the Goodwill basket. As you come across things you want to get rid of take them out to the basket. Then when the basket is full make a run to Goodwill or sort the stuff to give to whomever or wherever you'd like. Our Goodwill basket is in the garage so it's easy to run stuff out there and my clutter stays to a minimum. You can also teach people about your basket so they can "basket dive" and pick out stuff they might want. My sister and I always do this at my parents house.
(1) As a side note I get the impression that saving the Earth has become somewhat of a religion in America. While I think it is very very important to take care of the Earth I have to wonder if some of the passion people feel towards the Earth is misdirected. We should express passion towards the God who gave us this great place to live and take care of it because that's what God called us to do. It just saddens me that so many people don't know the God who made this planet and them.(2) A helpful tip I learned from my mom to keep your closets less cluttered is find an easily accessible place in your house to keep a laundry basket deemed the Goodwill basket. As you come across things you want to get rid of take them out to the basket. Then when the basket is full make a run to Goodwill or sort the stuff to give to whomever or wherever you'd like. Our Goodwill basket is in the garage so it's easy to run stuff out there and my clutter stays to a minimum. You can also teach people about your basket so they can "basket dive" and pick out stuff they might want. My sister and I always do this at my parents house.
12 Months Old
This month has been crazy. I feel like things have changed so rapidly with Grace that I don't even know where to begin. Except for the fact that I update you faithful readers with categories every month so I will begin there:)
Sleeping: Last month I shared that Grace was having some trouble staying on a good schedule with her naps. After careful consideration and experimentation I realized that she would be much better taking only one nap a day. She sleeps for 2 to 2.5 hours everyday now starting around 12:30. This transition has gone very smoothly. Taking only one nap has changed Grace's bedtime a little bit. We are putting her down around 6:30 now and she sleeps until around 6:30 or 7.
Nursing: Grace is on the way to being fulling weaned. Over that last couple of weeks I have been dropping her nursing times and replacing them with whole milk. We just dropped the 3rd one this week and only have her morning one to go. It hasn't seemed to bother her one bit. I'm a little hesitant to drop her morning feeding just because she eats a lot and seems to like starting her day that way but my goal is to drop it by or in the begining of May. I'm just thrilled that I was able to nurse Grace for a whole year. I remember being so nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it, how hard it was at the beginning and how draining it could be at times. But, it was totally worth it and I'm proud of myself for accomplishing this.
Eating: Grace still loves food and eats a ton. No changes here:)
Playing: It's been fun to watch Grace play this month. She continues to amaze me everyday with what she knows and can do with her toys. She likes knocking big things over, is really struggling with sharing, and loves it when I play with her. She has been struggling a little when I'm doing something else around that house and won't pick her up to play. I know it is developmental to go through that but I feel bad when she's clinging to my pants and I'm trying to fix lunch or something. Hopefully this stage won't last too long. Grace has also become very affectionate with her toys. She loves to hug her dolls, shovels, trucks, blocks, and even Mommy and Daddy. Her snuggles are so great.
Walking: I can't believe it but we can officially say we have a walker. This last week has been amazing to watch Grace's confidence grow and her determination to walk increase. I don't think I've seen her crawl more than a handful of times over the last few days. She gets up and walks everywhere. She doesn't always make it from one side of the house to the other without falling but she keeps getting up and going again and again. And the more she practices the less she falls.
Communicating: Grace added a couple of words to her vocabulary this month. She says baby and bye bye now. When we first realized she could say bye bye we left the room over and over again just to get her to wave and say bye bye. We haven't done anything else in sign language. She has gotten good at panting for dog, making kissing lips for fish and making an elephant noise.
Sleeping: Last month I shared that Grace was having some trouble staying on a good schedule with her naps. After careful consideration and experimentation I realized that she would be much better taking only one nap a day. She sleeps for 2 to 2.5 hours everyday now starting around 12:30. This transition has gone very smoothly. Taking only one nap has changed Grace's bedtime a little bit. We are putting her down around 6:30 now and she sleeps until around 6:30 or 7.
Nursing: Grace is on the way to being fulling weaned. Over that last couple of weeks I have been dropping her nursing times and replacing them with whole milk. We just dropped the 3rd one this week and only have her morning one to go. It hasn't seemed to bother her one bit. I'm a little hesitant to drop her morning feeding just because she eats a lot and seems to like starting her day that way but my goal is to drop it by or in the begining of May. I'm just thrilled that I was able to nurse Grace for a whole year. I remember being so nervous that I wouldn't be able to do it, how hard it was at the beginning and how draining it could be at times. But, it was totally worth it and I'm proud of myself for accomplishing this.
Eating: Grace still loves food and eats a ton. No changes here:)
Playing: It's been fun to watch Grace play this month. She continues to amaze me everyday with what she knows and can do with her toys. She likes knocking big things over, is really struggling with sharing, and loves it when I play with her. She has been struggling a little when I'm doing something else around that house and won't pick her up to play. I know it is developmental to go through that but I feel bad when she's clinging to my pants and I'm trying to fix lunch or something. Hopefully this stage won't last too long. Grace has also become very affectionate with her toys. She loves to hug her dolls, shovels, trucks, blocks, and even Mommy and Daddy. Her snuggles are so great.
Walking: I can't believe it but we can officially say we have a walker. This last week has been amazing to watch Grace's confidence grow and her determination to walk increase. I don't think I've seen her crawl more than a handful of times over the last few days. She gets up and walks everywhere. She doesn't always make it from one side of the house to the other without falling but she keeps getting up and going again and again. And the more she practices the less she falls.
Communicating: Grace added a couple of words to her vocabulary this month. She says baby and bye bye now. When we first realized she could say bye bye we left the room over and over again just to get her to wave and say bye bye. We haven't done anything else in sign language. She has gotten good at panting for dog, making kissing lips for fish and making an elephant noise.
Happy Birthday, Baby!!!
Grace is 1 today! I can't believe it. I think I've been more excited for her 1st birthday than most of my own. I'll leave you with 2 pictures. One from her literal birthday and one from her birthday today sitting in her new chair.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Grace's New Chair
For the past several weeks I have been on the lookout for a kid's chair for Grace. She loves to climb in and out of her Bumbo seat but gets one leg stuck and it just doesn't look comfortable. I found that either I'm looking in the wrong places or cheap and cute chairs just aren't out there. Pottery Barn has an adorable chair (pictured below) but I wasn't willing to part with the $ for it.
So I began looking for something cheaper and again also cute. I kept coming across character chairs that I hated and that were still running $25 plus. I found one (that wasn't that cute) at a consignment sale for $14 and passed it up but was beginning to wish I bought it because I really couldn't find anything I sort of liked cheaper.
This past weekend I was sharing my chair perils with my friend Emily and she offered to give me (for FREE!) the Spiderman chair she had in her classroom at school. Since she is having a baby and going to be done teaching in a few weeks she has no need for it anymore.
Of course I'm not a fan of a Spiderman chair for Grace and figured it was worth the time to cover since it was free. But as soon as I got it I was pleased to see that it would be an easy fix. I had the perfect fabric to replace Spiderman with. So, I ripped out Spiderman and sewed in a $2 swatch of fabric I bought a while ago just because I loved it. So, 45 minutes and $2 later Grace had a new chair. I love it!!!!
So I began looking for something cheaper and again also cute. I kept coming across character chairs that I hated and that were still running $25 plus. I found one (that wasn't that cute) at a consignment sale for $14 and passed it up but was beginning to wish I bought it because I really couldn't find anything I sort of liked cheaper.
This past weekend I was sharing my chair perils with my friend Emily and she offered to give me (for FREE!) the Spiderman chair she had in her classroom at school. Since she is having a baby and going to be done teaching in a few weeks she has no need for it anymore.
Of course I'm not a fan of a Spiderman chair for Grace and figured it was worth the time to cover since it was free. But as soon as I got it I was pleased to see that it would be an easy fix. I had the perfect fabric to replace Spiderman with. So, I ripped out Spiderman and sewed in a $2 swatch of fabric I bought a while ago just because I loved it. So, 45 minutes and $2 later Grace had a new chair. I love it!!!!
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