I have a 6 month old!

Yes, it's gone fast, but yet, it hasn't. It feels like it's been 6 months. But when I think that's half way to ONE? I get a little sad. My big baby sort of robbed me of the tiny stage. He was never tiny haha. I don't miss the newborn-ness, not really. Not yet. James still wakes up 4-5 times a night and he still relies on us completely so I'm not at that stage yet. Although, it does seem like forever since Leah was a baby. I suppose that's the reality. They aren't actually babies for long.

This month has been crazy though. We made a trip to the hospital for his cough and the ER Dr. said he had Bronchiolitis. He got a puffer and yucky syrup. And thank you LORD, he is finally well!! Also, he got two teeth! (I think I'll need a whole other post for my opinion on the Amber Teething Necklaces.)


He weighs 21.5lbs! (uh, what?... Leah only weighs 34 haha)
He still doesn't roll over but he sits very well and almost never falls over.
He's been on table food for about a month now too. Some bottled baby food like strawberries and carrots and sweet potatoes. But also some "real deal" meals. My mom has an awesome food processor and just purees up a bunch of stuff for him and he LOVES it.
I was at the Doctor today and I brought up how often he feeds (at least every 2 hours) and she mentioned that perhaps he is using me as a "human pacifier". Which is probably the case. Probably why he is up 4 times a night.

I am just so excited for the warm weather to start so we can all just sit outside and play in the grass (and pick it out of a drooling baby mouth).

Happy Half-a-Year Birthday my sweet boy!!

Learning Letters and Such

As a small kid, my third home was the library (first being my own, second being my grandmother's). I remember the small chairs, the little table with the built in cubby in the center that held some children's books. I remember the bean bag chairs, the stuffed animals from classic stories lining the book shelves. I remember the dirty yellow carpeted floor (oh how interior design has changed - thank goodness!). I remember the smell; musty, wood, paper, and occasionally oranges. But that smell. That smell. The one that permeates from the pages of old authors into every library.

And this just came to me: my love for books, just like my love for Jesus was present and rooted in me at the earliest age. Funny how glimpses of your adulthood can be seen in certain childhood moments.

Every parent wants their child to be a reader. But, being a reader myself I feel like its crucial. To be able to sit down and have the rest of the world fade away while you dive in and swallow up a good book? Its a great feeling; relaxing, distracting, stress-relieving. Important. Imagination expanding.

So, I've been really working with Leah on her Alphabet and writing. We've started weekly Library visits where she spends about a half hour on the computer, and maybe 15-30 minutes playing with the trains. Obviously those things are distracting. Things my library never had when I was a child. But while she does this, I walk around and pick out books. Sometimes we cuddle up together in a chair and read a short story.

One that we just borrowed that she is really enjoying is My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet. She told me she had a dream about it last night. Its a small chapter book. I love old classics.

 

Another of her favorites is No, David! by David Shannon. She thinks this book is so funny and loves the faces he makes.

 

***

About a month ago, Leah didn't completely know her ABC's. She forgot half of them and mixed up the other half. I came up with an idea to do some fun things that involved letters to help her. I made giant cut-outs of letters and let her stick foam letters on and stickers of words that started with that letter. We also started making an Alphabet-print book where I use her hand or foot to create a picture of something starting with a certain letter.

I also went to the dollar store and bought her some foam letters for the bath tub and an ABC Garanimals game. I picked her up a couple work books from Wal-Mart too. So, yes I spent some money but since I started all this, she knows her ABC's, and can pick out certain letters when asked. She's interested in writing too. And this says spending the little bit of money was worth it. She's learning, and loves it.

I hope she grows up to love words.

Winter Can be Over Now

 

Winter. Bleh.

This Winter has seemed like the longest winter ever. Near the end of Fall Matt had said "I want to get a bunch of snow this year, like we used to get when we were kids".  Be careful what you wish for! We got it.

It was nice to finally have a white Christmas and be able to make a pretty awesome snow fort. And although Winter is almost (should be) over, we have yet to go sledding or make a snow man. But with the amount of snow we have? There's still time for that.

I don't hate Winter. It has it's moments of beauty and fun (occasionally), and every time it snows I watch for a long while, appreciating every snowflake. The uniqueness of every one, slowly falling from "the heavens". But? Still, I'm kind of over it.

It is hard lugging a 20+ lb. car seat out of a Jeep (that even I have troubles getting into sometimes) into the cold Winter air, walking through snow. Or the snow pants and snow boots. Every single morning. That's, like, five whole minutes longer it takes us to get ready to leave.

And the sickness. Oh, the sickness. Running noses, coughs, whiney babies. Sickness has not left our house since this cold weather hit. It has not let up. Poor James has been sick the whole 5 months of his life so far, pretty much. But, of course, I am grateful and thankful that this is all my children suffer from. I know there are parents out there sitting in a hospital room somewhere with their terminally ill children, eagerly waiting morning. And I think of them, and pray for them. Because, I can't even begin to imagine.

The wind is howling loud now and the trees are swaying, snow is falling and blowing so you see only white. And I just want health in this home.

 

  

Been Busy Bakin'

I love my sweets and homemade goods! But I haven't really been one to do it myself. I didn't even cook most nights, but I'll blame a newborn for that. We mostly ate quick things I could throw in the oven or something I could throw together in a dish and pop in the oven. Or pizza.

But lately? My oven has been getting spoiled. [speaking of which...I should probably clean it.] I've been baking lots of yummy Banana Blueberry Buttermilk Bread and muffins! So, so good!

 

Its kind of a family thing, since my great-grandmother, as far as I know. But I'm sure even before that. Homemade bread! By hand, not a bread maker. The old-fashioned way. The best way! I've never made it before so my mom came over to teach me the techniques. And lets just say it's MUCH harder than it looked growing up. But I'll be definitely getting her over here more so I can be just as good as her. We tried something for the first time though (my idea, obviously -cheese!), we made a cheese loaf. I also put some of the dough aside for a homemade, cheese-stuffed-crust pizza! Go ahead, drool. I won't judge. My house has been smelling heavenly!

 

 

And, I've also given the good 'ol Lactation cookies a shot. They turned out so so good. I'm now a new rolled oats fan. The recipe made so many cookies (48), I ended up freezing some. Although, that didn't make them last any longer. They were still all gone in less than 2 weeks. :)



My newest attempt? Cinnamon buns! Also from scratch. Also mouth wateringly delicious. Pretty simple too. Just look how pretty these are...

 

 

Tortillas! Not in the oven, but still, from scratch! And that's huge for me, especially with another baby...rolling out paper thin pieces of dough and frying it up in a pan. But they really are yummy and pretty! I don't think I'll buy the expensive store kind anymore - as long as I can help it anyways.

 

 

 

I'm kinda loving the whole baking-homemade-from-scratch thing! And I plan on doing it as much as I possibly can from here on. So you might just see more posts of my delicious successes!

 

4 AND 5 Month Update (oops!)

Life has been all kinds of hectic here lately. We've been sick (who hasnt been?). Matt worked 31 days in a row and most weeks pushing 55+ hours.

Also? Ive been cooking! Ha. Yeah, that New Year goal of mine is happening. We've been trying new recipes for suppers and baking cookies and tortillas. All kinds of fun stuff. More on that later. Back to my baby:

So, at his two month check up he was over 16 lbs. At his (late) 4 month check up only days away from him turning 5 months, he was over 19lbs and 27.5" long. Biiiiiig boy. It is so so relieving to know he is getting enough to eat and growing steadily. He has had a cold for a while now with broncitis prior to that. He's been put on antibiotics again now for a sinus infection (hes been getting bloody noses), although we are 7 days in and he's still getting dry bloody crusties in his. He sleeps with a humidifier so im not sure if this is something I should be concerned about since its cold and dry these winter months. For the last month though he has been the crankiest most grumpy baby. Its frustrating to say the least. For a few days he was terribly gassy but now he seems fine, just whiney. I think he's just about to cut his first tooth.

He has started to sort of roll over from his tummy to his back, only a few times. He seems content with not moving from his back though. He coos and chats up a storm. He can also sit up on his own now, although he will occasionally still topple over. His favorite person is Leah. Also, still waking up every 2-3 hours a night. He's a chatter box too. Sometimes when I put him back in bed he coos for another 20 mins. I love it.

He really truly loves his sister. And she really truly loves him. He lights up becomes a different baby when shes here.

I love being their mom. And most days I feel so complete with this family God has entrusted me with.

I cant believe he is almost a half a year old! Seriously. 

New Year Ambitions

New Year Resolutions are always so cliché. Lose weight, get healthy, get fit etc. etc. There's nothing wrong with it but I'm just not going to set the same goals that I strive to accomplish every. single. year.

2014 is going to have to be awfully juicy to live up to the amazingness that was 2013. I mean, I got pregnant, engaged, married, my little girl started school and had a birthday, and we had our sweet baby James and more. It was filled with so many amazing memories. I'm really just so thankful that 2014 is here and we are all happy and healthy (as far as I know... despite baby Bronchitis).

My new year ambitions are (in no particular order):

• that we do more things as a family
• read more books
• write a book
• spend less time on cell phones
• have more date nights... okay, okay...have a date night
• worry less
• be more patient
• get more massages
• trim some belly fat 
• read more of the Bible
• spend more time with God
• eat out less and cook more (I'm too lazy)

Let's see how much of this I can accomplish. Welcome 2014!!

 

My 3 Month Old Has Bronchitis

Three months new. Thats all he is.

It all started with a common cold. My cold. Then a stomach flu swept through our house. Luckily that skipped over James. With my cold still lingering even after the flu, my antibody casualties were probably at an all time high. Maybe thats why he got my cold...I didn't have enough antibodies to share, to help him. Or maybe he just got it. But it makes more sense to me this way. Why else did his little body not get the highly contagious stomach bug? Whatever. He got sick anyway.

But then the cough became more than a typical cough.

He started gagging when he coughed. More and more. I'm really not one to rush off to the doctor at the first sign of a cold, even though my mom always insists. It usually and almost always is just that. A cold. Something they get over. Grin and bear it. But when he started to gag and gag and cough at the same time, and turned dark red, I started to get concerned. He couldn't catch his breath. I wasn't sure if it was just the way he was coughing but I knew it wasnt right. And the next morning we were off to the doctor.

Going in I really didn't expect anything, but I was hoping the doctor could do something for his cough. For the chest congestion. The doctor seemed so relax and procedural (not our family doctor). Then he says "Bronchitis". It might not be a big thing to you, and ive never even had it myself, but I know what it is. And I wasnt expecting it. I was floored. And thats probably where my heart had fell to as well.

The doctor prescribed antibiotics and suggested I get a cool mist humidifier, so I did. This is something that he will always be more prone to getting now.

The poor little guy is also lucky enough to be teething, and bad. Red cheeks, drool for days, more poops, more cranky.More hard to please.

We are on our fourth day fighting this thing. And I haven't seen an improvement. He's still having coughing/gagging/hard to breathe episodes. I still wish I could just breathe for him. Cough for him. Clear his throat. He looks at me and knows I'm his Mama. I take care of him. I'm his. And I'm doing all that I can do. But its so hard not being able to do more.

Please pray for him. :)