Month Ten

This was one of the most wonderful months! Let's get right to it!

Growing:
     You are so becoming such a big girl now! You've been crawling, but this month was your first time crawling around outside, like on the grass! Daddy took you out for the first time on Easter and you seemed to find it weird at first, but then totally enjoyed it! Miss Jackie took you outside one day and took sequential pictures of you one the blanket, then starting to crawl off the blanket, then many feet away; you were on the move girl!

Crawling away from baby Peyton

     You have TWO teeth now! Chomp chomp!

     You had your first Family Girls Night. Both Grandmas and aunts were there. We all went to the Noodle Bar (Awesome btw, if you haven't been, DO IT!). You had a great time b/c grandmas enjoyed feeding you big girl food from their plates.

     You had your first big boo-boo. Daddy brought his Kettlebells in to work out, and left them around the living room. One night while he was at Uke club, mom was cooking dinner and you were playing in the living room, and I watched you crawl right into the kettlebell trying to make your way to me. Oh, it was pretty sad. You had a big bruise immediately!

     You also endured enjoyed your first Sunrise Easter service. I was really worried about how you'd handle it. But you seemed to handle it like a pro. It's like you know that your PK (pastor's kid) life is going to require lots of energy, stamina, and events and you're preparing yourself already. We got up super early and went to the sunrise service at 6:30am. You hung out in the little pouch on me while mommy and daddy led worship for those that came. Then we went home and prepared lunch for the potluck @ Aunt Jan's. Then we went straight to church to prepare for the first service. You were such a star throughout both services and then the potluck! This is when daddy took you outside to crawl around for the first time. And you wore such a cute little eyelet dress that mommy's friend Heather gave to you, which was perfect, b/c mommy had just gotten you an eyelet sunhat. You looked adorable!

And b/c we need a picture of you with Mommy too!

     Then we did something totally fun. You went with mommy and daddy to the Catalyst conference*  for a few days and spent the night in your first hotel room. We were a little nervous about how you might do, and you did such a great job. We were worried that since we'd be sleeping in the same room together, you might be distracted and have a hard time sleeping, but nope,  you slept wonderfully. Throughout the whole conference though, you found it a little hard. There was a lot of sitting quietly and listening to speakers and that was kinda hard for you. Mommy took you out several times to let you crawl around a bit. But, of course, everyone there was totally taken with you and thought you were just adorable! 

     On our way down south, we stopped at Downtown Disney for your first time and had some grub at the wonderful White Water cafe. You had such a great time. Hopefully some day we'll be able to take you to Disneyland for real, cause we were kinda depressed after we left, knowing that we never actually got to go inside the park. 

*I would just like to add as a side note, that I thoroughly enjoyed the gourmet lunch trucks that they brought every day. That was so super awesome. The first day we ate at a pizza place. We got some pork sliders and meat pizza. The pizza was okay, Grant thought the sliders were too fatty (I tried to warn him). We were mostly disappointed though since they were out of sweet potato fries. The second day we went to the Bacon Lovers truck... holy crap! super yum! We got some fresh crunchy fries with shredded bbq pork with beans atop. It had a topping of delicious coleslaw with spicy cream sauce and tangy bbq sauce all over it... and of course some bacon. This was so outrageous! I loved it more than Grant did. He got more of a chili cheese fries dish. 

Eating:
     This month we started enjoying something new! Daddy started juicing and we tried some out on you to see how you'd like it, and you loved it! Flashback: A few weeks prior, we were walking in Target with Aunt Beeb and you wanted to hold my Bucks drink, I turned back around a second later and you were drinking through the straw! I was so shocked! You wanted that Bucks!** Flash-forward: since you had mastered drinking through a straw, we started giving you cups of the juice with a straw and you just devoured it! You slurped that stuff up like crazy!
     On that note, you are starting to eat more solid food, like, not liquid foods. You are VERY interested in mommy and daddy's food! You love to drink whatever we have, and mommy has given daddy several dirty looks for giving you a sip of soda.

Can you see my green mustache?

**BTW, best Bucks drink ever: Passion tea Lemonade with Raspberry flavor!

You ate your first cookie, had a few lemons, and also checked the table out

Sleeping:
     Drum roll please!!!!!!
     You are sleeping through the night now! Here's the story:
     Mommy was starting to get uber frustrated getting up every 3 hours in the middle of the night. I was no longer feeding you at these times, but rather going in and trying to calm you. I'd lay you back down and give you your paci.  Or I'd try and rock you back to sleep, but of course, the second I laid you down, you'd wake back up and scream hysterically. I just didn't know what to do. If I didn't get up quick enough, your daddy would get up and try his turn at it. I just didn't see any end in site!
     I started researching and asking other moms for advice. The general consensus? Let her cry.*** Now, I was totally fine with this. I had done this a few times during the day a few months before and you cried for less than 30 minutes and then fell asleep. I just knew it would work. Your daddy on the other hand, not so convinced about this method. Every time I tried to talk to him about it, he was just nervous because we had always been told that if you were crying, something was wrong. However, you were NOT a baby anymore. You were 9 months old, and we needed a change. Daddy suggested that we get you on a schedule, but I tried explaining that you already were on a schedule, and this method was our last shot. Finally, he caved.
     I knew it would be really hard for your daddy, and it was. The next few days were not fun for him. Every time we put you down and you cried, he was just cringing and very restless. It was especially hard in the middle of the night. We were obviously woken up when you cried, and wanted to go back to sleep, and the easiest thing to do would have been to go sooth  you, but we knew that that would hinder the method. Those few days saw me sleeping with a pillow over my head.
     But, there was light at the end of the tunnel. It only took about 3 days and you were sleeping through the night! Every once in a while you would wake up and cry in the middle of the night, but within minutes you were fast asleep again. And your parents were eternally grateful for solid rest! And you got better rest at night as well.
     This had wonderful benefits! Not only were you sleeping roughly ten hours a night, but you were also taking longer naps. No more 30 minute naps, but rather 90 min. to 2 hour naps! It was so great! You were so much happier when you woke up in the morning, and from naps! And mommy had much more energy to play with you during the day! Thank you Lord!
     Oh, and when all was said and done, your daddy came and acknowledged that I was right. Which, to any women, is some of the best news to hear!

***I would just like to note that I know that the method of Letting-them-cry-it-out is VERY controversy. I understand that. But at nine months, I had tried everything that I'd researched, and every bit of advice I'd been given by others and nothing was working. This was my last hope. I know that this method doesn't and won't necessarily work for every infant, but for us, it worked like a charm. I would never do this at one or two months just to train them, but nine months is definitely past time for them to be sleeping through the night.

Month Nine

Growing:
     Well, this was one eventful month, that's for sure! Let's see, where to start?

     For one, we had a bit of a scare right at the start of the month. You were on the table sleeping in your car seat while the rest of us were decorating the church fellowship hall for our fun dinner. You apparently woke up, and no one noticed, so you decided to climb out of the car seat on your own, and you fell off the table, face first onto the floor. I ran to you and was so thankful to hear your screaming! That was very scary. While checking to make sure you were okay, I discovered that you were cutting your first tooth! Such a big girl!

You can kinda see if there on the bottom

     You have begun climbing... on everything. Jackie sent me a picture of you at daycare, you had climbed up onto the children's picnic table! You are fearless child! One day we were cooking in the kitchen and I guess the refrigerator was left open for a second and you squeezed your way in and climbed up into the fridge. Needless to say, I was pretty shocked! Any chance you can get to climb into the fridge you take!

You like to stand up in your bouncer and jump and make it bounce yourself!

Here you are climbing onto the Cornhole platform

   
     This month you also stayed with a babysitter for the first time! You've been to daycare before, and stayed with family and close friends for a few hours, but this was the first actual babysitter we had over to watch you while mommy and daddy went out to see The Hunger Games with friends. Miss Sam, from the high school, came over to watch you, and you had a blast! You were so good. I don't remember if you cried or not, and if you did, it didn't last very long. You were too busy checking Sam out. 

     You went on your first hike this month! We went with Tim and Marsha Lassen and their big poodle dog, Charlie. You enjoyed it when Charlie would come sniff you out. He is the biggest poodle ever, but you weren't phased by him in the least. This was our first time really getting some use out of the special jogging stroller. You seemed to have a great time. At one point, you even fell asleep, even though the trail was very bumpy at times due to the serious rocks in the way. We brought of sippy cup for you, but it fell along the way, so we let you drink from our water bottles, and you loved it! You don't like wasting time with those sippy cups at all! Afterwards, we went to Cheryl's for breakfast, and you enjoyed your first orange!

Ps. the dog in the first pic is not Charlie, it's another dog we met on the hike

     You LOVE listening to daddy practicing his Uke. You take notice right away and start bouncing up and down to the music. It's pretty cute to watch! Daddy's favorite song to sing you is Five Foot Two, except we change it to Two Foot Two since we're singing for you little munchkin! We also enjoy singing you Hello Dolly, but as you can probably guess, we change the lyrics to Hello Abby! 

Here's daddy singing/whistling you Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Eating:

     You pretty much like to put everything in your mouth at this stage. Now that you've begun eating big girl food and not just oatmeal anymore, you are ready to explore the world of food! The low of this month was when I decided to start giving you some nakey time. You loved it! You occasionally pee... right after I take the diaper off of course. But, you were getting used to nakey time and so you're not so used to knowing that when you don't have a diaper, you don't go to the bathroom... like poop. which you did. several times. and picked it up. and put it in your mouth. CRAP! You also found Anya's food. You kinda made a face at it, so I'm hoping that deters you from it in the future. Of course, I'm sure it won't.

     I decided to just post pictures of all the things that you've put in your mouth this month. One of the pictures, you have this glob of dark stuff on your chin. You were crawling around and came up to me and I freaked out when I saw your face! Then I realized that it was just car hair. Since you've been teething, you've super slobbering from drooling, and then you put your face everywhere when you crawl, and apparently you found a patch of Anya hair and... I guess tried to eat it? 

Sleeping:

     Your sleeping habits still stink! You still wake up every 3 hours. Eesh! But, here's a really cute picture of you falling asleep on your daddy's shoulder!

I just love that squished little face!

Starchless Dinners

G randomly decided early last week that he was going to go on a Live-it (NOT a diet)!
This is how it started:

     G called home asking if he should bring home dinner and said he was getting meat and veggies, and I responded with "I have some rice I could cook up with that" and he responded "I don't need any," and I proceeded to get a little worried.... you see, G is ALL about the meat and starch. I'd say he's a meat and potatoes kinda guy, but he actually doesn't care that much for baked potatoes... weird right? pretty much only mashed, although I do this really awesome roasty thing to fingerling potatoes that he digs.
     Anywho, point is, whenever we go to the store together, and I stop by the produce section saying I need fruit and veggies, he gets this cramped up look on his face and proceeds to tell me how pointless they are and why I shouldn't get them. So you can imagine my shock when he tells me that he's getting veggies for dinner, and DOESN'T need rice. I was slightly confused.
     When he got home, he explained he's changing it up and he's doing this new thing again. I'm so proud of him, it can be really hard to try to eat healthy when the other person in the house doesn't care to. But, this morning, when I suggested an apple with his lunch, he said, "ok." I love it! He, we both, want to create healthy lifestyles for when Abby comes, and the other future little runts that will be running around here. We want to promote an active lifestyle as well... which, we're still working on this step! ahahah! One step at a time guys!
   
     Therefore, I've been trying to come up with starchless dinners to make for us. (Let me just say, btw, that I am totally supporting my husband, however, I was very successful at losing weight when I included starches in my diet, so I'm not going to be following this plan. But I figure that I can support G by eating the same dinner with him, so for dinners, I'm going starchless as much as possible!) Anywho, others have been asking what I'm making for dinners for us. I'm trying to be creative and think of new things that I've never made before, and also figure out how to redo meals that we have always liked. So, if anyone has any starchless meal suggestions, pass 'em my way please!

Menu for last week:

Tuesday: Sauteed Sausage with bell peppers and onions

Wednesday: Broiled Hamburger patty (pre-made at our awesome butcher shop) with peas and corn

Thursday: Pork Tenderloin with sauteed squash

Friday: Sauteed Sausage with bell peppers and onions, topped with low-sugar spaghetti sauce

Saturday: Poor-man's Recreation of CPKs Thai Chicken Salad- Cabbage, chicken, carrots, jicama, avocado, scallions, and Light Asian Sesame dressing

Sunday: Baked Tuna stuffed Tomatoes with a slice of Provolone on top

Monday: Spaghetti sauce with ground beef and mushrooms

Tuesday: Spaghetti sauce leftovers

If you have any questions about any of these, just respond and I'll get you the recipe.
If you have any ideas and suggestions for new recipes as I try to make my new menu's, please respond as well! I can use all the help I can get.

Creative Snacks for Kids

     I came across this really cute website, Little Nummies, the other day about children's snacks. A mother of three girls began to get creative while making lunches for her kids. She started having fun and playing with their food to make fun creative meals of art that make food not only taste good, but fun to eat! I can only imagine what the other kids at school are going home and saying to their mommies about their friends' lunches!
    Since I'm going to need to start having snacks around for my little girl within the next few years, I thought it would be fun to find some other fun kids snacks and see what other ideas people are coming up with.
     I found this other gal's blog upon my search, The Hokey Pokey Kitchen, in which she makes snacks that coordinate with whatever book she is reading with her children. She has her four little kids brainstorm different snacks that would go with the book they are currently reading, and then they all make the snack together, encouraging them to read, cook healthy foods, and use their imagination all at the same time. I absolutely fell in love with this concept and her blog!

1. Pot o' Gold Snack Mix by Pillsbury. These are a mix of pretzels, chex mix, peanuts, and Lucky Charms!
2. Butterfly Snack and Craft by Family Fun. Baked Bree has pictures of her kids making it, which is oh so adorable, and makes it even more fun!
3. Chewy Granola Balls by Weelicious. Her website is all about food for the family and kids.
4. Children's Hands Cookies by Martha Stewart. This also gets the kids involved by having them trace their own hands before baking the cookie.
5. Leprechaun O'Riley by Little Nummies. This is the gal that plays with her food! I love it!
6. Retro Easter Eggs by Martha Stewart. Easter eggs are of course the most popular way to get kids involved  and having fun with their food!
7. Mango Coconut Parfaits by Martha Stewart. I love this one b/c it's simple, colorful, healthy, and parfaits are just beautiful to look at!
8. Yogurt swirled with Peanut Butter, Honey, and Graham Crackers by The Kitchn. And you can omit the PnB for small children... but for adults... this looks delectable as is!
9. Bugs on a Log by Weelicious. We've all had Ants on a Log before, but what I like about this is... I've never thought of using anything but raisins before. I like that she incorporates nuts and cranberries as well.
10. Lovebug by Little Nummies. Another one of these really cute ideas for playing with your food!
11. Peanut Butter and Fruit Sushi by The Kitchn. They used slices of fresh mango with coconut on whole wheat bread for one, and slices of fresh apple with raisins for the other roll. How creative!
12. The Grouchy Ladybug Kiwi and Strawberry Snack by The Hokey Pokey Kitchen.
13. Corduroy Whole Wheat Fig Bars by The Hokey Pokey Kitchen.


Do you have any fun ideas for snacks that you made with your children?

Week 27 and 28

     Some of you have pointed out to me that I failed to post for Week 27, you're right. I assure you that I feel awful! With our Bradley Classes being on Saturdays from 10-2, smack dab right in the middle of the day, it makes it difficult to post when I get home after the drive back up the canyon. And Sunday after church, we had a local community group come to use the church's mega screen for their children's double feature movie day. We inevitably stayed and watched the movies with them and helped out with the sound equipment. Needless to say, after being at church from 9 to 5, I was not in any particular mood to post, no take a picture for the post more importantly.

     Last week I had my check up at the doctor's, and by doctor I mean nurse, b/c I don't ever see my doctor. The appointment went well; we had a little laugh b/c baby girl was being so active that the nurse was having a hard time finding her heartbeat, all you could hear was baby girl swishing about actively! Finally she found her heartbeat, and said things look/sound great. She mentioned that all previous tests came back looking great. I gained 3 pounds this last month, putting me at 7 pounds (between my first two appointments, I lost 2 pounds, which is why it's not counting as more, as I gained 7 pounds alone my previous month). My nurse is very pleased with my progress, and even said, "You must be eating really healthy b/c you're doing great!" My response was to smile and not blurt out how I eat chocolate pretty much every day! ahahah! But I have been so cautious about my breakfasts and lunches the past few months, which I think is having a big impact.

     Looking at week 27: The Bump says that baby girl's nose is now unplugging and she is beginning to practice inhaling (she is inhaling amniotic fluid right now).

     Looking at week 28: I've made it to my third trimester now! Baby girl is still the size of an eggplant, but The Bump says that if born now, her lungs are developed enough, that with medical technology, she would likely survive. Baby girl is around 13.6-14.8 inches and 1.5-2.2  pounds. Amazing!

     Today is a big day: Not only have I begun the last trimester (only 3 more months to go before we get to meet our precious girl), BUT this morning, G also got to feel baby girl for the first time! She kicked me pretty hard this morning upon waking up, and I immediately moved his hand over my belly hoping she might kick that hard again (he hasn't been able to feel the small little kicks yet, so I've had to wait for some really serious kicking of hers), and he said... "I felt that!" Oh man, my heart leapt with joy! I have been waiting for weeks and weeks for this moment!

     Some things I've noticed the past few weeks: The heartburn is creeping back in every night, no matter what I eat, it's super frustrating! A few new stretch marks, which is fine, they match the collection. It's definitely time for a new bra, nothing to be excited about. I finally gave in and got some maternity pants last week; which have been GREAT! The BeBand lasted as long as I could make it, and it was a good friend to me, but when students at school are noticing the button and zipper line through the BeBand and shirt, it's time for some maternity clothes! My back has been hurting the past week, not sudden, intense pressure, just ongoing sore pain, which sucks. And if I sit and lean or hunch over, say the desk, I get a frustrating pain at the top of my abdomen, right under my bra, so I have to try leaning back and stretching out to make it go away.

     Progress:

My Fridge Has Become Full of Moldy Money

     I had my check up with the doctor last week week. I gained 7 pounds. That's right.... 7 pounds. Gah! (I will say that I typically go to the doctor's mid-day before lunch, but this time I went right after a very delicious stomach stuffing meal at Panda Express. They had way too many good looking options to choose from this time, that I could not say no to a two-item combo. So shoot me.). Now, I know I'm pregnant and that you gain weight while pregnant, however, I think that maybe 7 pounds in one month is a bit much. I was reading the suggested weight gain on Kaiser's website this afternoon, and it listed 1 pound per month throughout the first trimester, and 1 pound per week throughout the last trimester. And of course, if you're already overweight, cough cough ME, then you could/should gain even less.

     I have decided that one of the reasons associated with this slightly larger than desired weight gain, is the result of having dinner earlier than normal. The past several weeks, I have been making dinner earlier than our typical 8ish time. Eating dinner at 8 every night means that the idea of ice cream or dessert at 9 sounds appalling as I'm heading off to bed. However, eating dinner at 6ish each night makes dessert seem quite enticing around 8-9pm. So, while I wasn't having a huge bowl of ice cream each night, I was eating it most nights, or some other tasty treat, and that can definitely lead to some weight gain.

     Not to mention that during the day the past few weeks, I've been giving in to chocolate and chips more often. The exact freakin items that the monthly pregnancy pamphlet tells you to avoid. This could be related to the fact that I was long-term subbing this past month, January, and felt like the candy and chips were my reward for dealing with irritating and disrespectful students all day long.

     Now, I must mention, I am not really freaking about this, I'm just perturbed by it. Therefore, while at the store today, I ended up grabbing mostly healthy items. I got a LOT of fruit and vegetables. Now, this would seem like a real accomplishment for me, however, I typically go to the store and get these items with the intention of consuming them and losing 50 billion pounds as a result. The only problem is, several weeks later, as I'm trying to make room in the refrigerator for all the new fruits and vegetables I bought at the store, I end up finding all the old fruits and vegetables wilted and moldy, hidden away in the very back.