Our week in pictures

Last Sunday afternoon Mark left for a week-long work conference in Austin, TX. Boo Hoo. He reminded me that this is the first time he's had to travel in 2 1/2 years of working for his company, so I can't complain too much. Still, it was lonely with just me and the kids at home. Thankfully, my youngest sister, Lauren, flew in on Tuesday and is still here visiting. Hurray! Hurray! Having Lauren here has been wonderful and the timing couldn't have been better! By the time Mark returned Friday evening we had seven people staying in our home - the four of us, Lauren, Aubree's friend Cheyenne (her parents had an emergency and dropped Cheyenne off for the evening), and my friend's daughter, Amanda (her parents had to take an emergency trip to Alabama so she stayed with us for just a few days). Both Cheyenne and Amanda were a pleasure to have around and were incredibly well-behaved, but I'm afraid I would have been totally overwhelmed if Lauren hadn't been here to help.

Since Lauren's been here we've kept busy by going to the beach, swimming, shopping, sewing, cooking, playing games, and chatting. Aubree immediately attached herself to Lauren's side and wanted to do everything with her. However, when Amanda came Aubree wanted to spend all her time playing with her instead. Lauren admits to being a little jealous, but by then she'd convinced Bryce not to cry when she holds him (Bryce is such a momma's boy) so I think that helped ease the pain a bit. :)

Lauren playing dress-up with Aubree.

We took Bryce swimming for the very first time yesterday. He cried when we first got into the water, but relaxed very quickly. In fact, he fell asleep! As always, Aubree was a little fish.

Mark, Aubree, Amanda, Bryce, and Lauren playing in the pool
I think he likes it...
Looking so handsome after his morning swim (see the dimples in his chin and cheek?)

Here are some of the craft projects we've been working on:

Aubree modeling another dress converted from a button-up shirt.

Aubree wanted her baby to have a tutu like hers, so we made one!

Aubree wearing a "pillowcase dress" (yes, it's made from a real pillowcase).

Our other fun news of the week is that Bryce learned how to roll over from front to back. I'm not really good about remembering to give him "tummy-time," but he somehow figured it out anyway. I also finally figured out what color Bryce's eyes are: Army. As in, that brownish-green Army camo-color. Very cute. Aubree's eyes used to be blue, but now they're more gray.

Aubree likes to do tummy-time with Bryce.

Aubree really likes Disney movies. I've noticed that some of the phrases from the movies have begun to creep into her daily vocabulary and our conversations. For example, recently I've heard her say such things as, "I hear you" (from Cinderella), or "and if you can find something to wear," (also from Cinderella), or "Bravo, Bravo -BOO" (from Jungle Book). My favorite though...whenever she sits down to read a book to herself, she now begins by saying, "Once upon a dream..." Thanks, Sleeping Beauty.

I think Bryce missed his daddy.

Here's the latest anecdote related to Aubree's current love for Jesus stories... The other day she asked me, "Tell me a story of Jesus, the one about Tigers." "Tigers?" I repeated, confused. She thought for a minute, then answered, "no, the Ten Leopards."

Happy 4th of July! This is what the kids wore to church today. So festive!

Recent Happenings

Here is a brief synopsis of what we've been up to lately:

* Aubree, our little fish, started swimming lessons last week. Since she's not yet three, she is in the "water babies" class and has a parent with her in the water. Swimming lessons are every day for two weeks. As you might expect, Aubree loves her "swimming class" and would wear her bathing suit all day in preparation if I allowed it. I'm a little worried about how she'll react when the class is over!

* I posted a while ago about how Aubree asked me to tell her stories about Jesus. Perhaps she's trying to make up for lost time, because now she asks to hear stories about Jesus all the time. I am more than happy to oblige and am impressed with how well she listens and also how well she remembers the stories. Her three favorite/ most requested stories are:
1. "The Busy Woman" (aka - the story of Mary and Martha)
2. "When Jesus was a Boy" (aka - when Jesus was 12 and taught the men at the temple)
3. "The Naughty Lady" ( aka - the woman taken in adultery)

* Lately Aubree has been obsessed with dresses and skirts. Every morning she wakes up and says, "I want to wear a dress today!" Luckily, her desire to wear dresses has come at a time when I am really interested in making her dresses. Below is a picture of the most recent dress I made for her. It's made from an adult button-up shirt and is amazingly easy to make. That being said - I did make a bunch of mistakes on this dress. I consider it my practice dress and have a couple more on the docket. Here is the link to the instructions.

* Bryce, like his sister before him, HATES his car seat. I'm lucky if I can make it out of the driveway before he starts screaming. I hear stories of how other kids fall asleep as soon as the parent starts driving and I can't help but wonder what I'm doing wrong. On a positive note, Bryce is doing wonderfully with his sleeping. He consistently falls asleep around 7:30 pm and then doesn't wake up until 3:30 am. It's like he has an internal alarm. He's laughing more and more and has an adorable dimple in his left cheek. Here's a fun picture of him screaming.

* I am a den leader for a small group of cub scouts and Aubree adores her scouts. We recently went on a field trip/hike to a local wildlife sanctuary. Before the hike the kids got to learn about animals and nature in a mini-museum. Aubree especially liked making animal tracks in the sand:

* Here's a picture from a recent playgroup at the park. The kids are having a picnic on the blanket and it makes me laugh because all of the kids have funny faces. Now the weather is so hot we probably won't be going to the park for a few months. Instead, we'll try to have playgroup at the beach or a pool or inside. Yesterday for playgroup we took the kids to a free movie at a local movie theater. It was Aubree's first time in a movie theater (Bryce's too, of course). We saw Madagascar and she seemed to like it well enough. Can't beat free.

Cloth Diapers

A little over a year ago I went home to California for a visit and got into a fun discussion with some of my extended family. They were giving me a hard time because I was still nursing Aubree (who was around 15 months old at the time) and we started talking about being a "crunchy" parent. We found a quiz that gives a crunchiness ranking. (Click here for a link to the quiz - I'd love to know your results!) I believe at that time I scored somewhere in the 50's, which meant I was "sprinkled with granola." My aunt, in comparison, was in the "jello" range. Since then I've definitely become more "crunchy". I retook the quiz recently and scored 87 which means I am currently "Pretty Crispy." However, only three points higher and I would be in the "Mmm! Love that whole-grain crunch!" category.
One big change is that I decided to use cloth diapers with Bryce. Before you think I'm a total nutcase, it's important to know that cloth diapers have come a long way; these aren't your grandma's cloth diapers! First, though, let me answer the obvious question - "why?" I had two main reasons initially.
1. Aubree had (has) extremely sensitive skin. The only diapers that didn't give her terrible, itchy rashes were Pampers and she even had breakouts with those on occasion. Since eczema and other skin problems are genetically linked, chances were good that Bryce would have similar problems with disposable diapers. Cloth allows us to avoid the potential problems.
2. Cost. Although the start-up costs for using cloth diapers are a bit high, over time they are WAY less expensive than using disposables. Plus, I plan on having more children and can use the same diapers I've used for Bryce for future kids, which means the savings will be even greater.
Now that I've been using cloth diapers for over two months I have to admit that it's also a little fun. Yes, fun. There are so many different kinds of diapers and some of them are really cute. Here's a quick run-down with my adorable model, Bryce:

This is a picture of Bryce from the very first time I put him in a "prefold" diaper. These are the kinds of diapers that your grandma probably did use. However, the yellow thing you see is called a "snappi" and is used instead of pins to make the process super-easy. A prefold diaper needs a cover to be waterproof and covers come in all kinds of great colors, prints, and fabrics. Covers usually are attached using aplix (a higher quality Velcro). Prefolds are my work-horse diaper. I use them most of the time and am a bit surprised that I like them so much.

This picture shows a "fitted" diaper and it's actually home-made. Fitted diapers fit like a disposable (with Velcro tabs), but still require a cover. I wasn't planning on making my own diapers, but I mentioned cloth diapering to a friend who was also pregnant and she talked me into making diapers (which makes them even less expensive).

In this picture Bryce is modeling an "all-in-one" diaper. These diapers are the most like disposables in that it's just one piece that you strap on and you're ready to go. I didn't make this diaper, but I have made others like it. This particular diaper also has a "pocket" that allows me to put in extra padding to made it more absorbent if needed.

Finally, here is a picture of Bryce wearing my new favorite diaper cover - a wool soaker. Let's just say that wool is amazing and it's what we use every night nowadays.
I do have to wash the diapers every other day or so, and that can be a bit of a pain, but it's certainly not hard. We even bought a outdoor clothes drying umbrella-type thing and just need to put it up so I can start line-drying the diapers. Yes, I know I'm a little crazy and I suppose I'm okay with that.
With the cloth diapers we hardly ever have blow-outs. When Aubree was a newborn she would have blow-outs almost daily. I remember Mark used to spend a good chunk of time every day trying to scrub poo out of Aubree's clothes so they wouldn't be stained (what a great guy!). Bryce has only got poo on his clothes twice. And I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that one of those times was because I forgot to put a cover over his prefold (*blushing*).
Today we went to the beach and I decided to put Bryce in a disposable for the first time in months. I was surprised that the diaper felt so much like paper and plastic and I actually felt bad that Aubree had to have that against her skin 24/7 for almost two years. I like having so many options now.

Musings on Motherhood

When I was a teenager we had an activity where we put gold-leafing over pictures to use as Christmas gifts. I made a print for my mom that read:

Cleaning and scrubbing can wait for tomorrow,
For babies grow up, we've learned to our sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs, dust - go to sleep,
I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep.
I chose this poem as a compliment to my mom; I felt it epitomized her approach to motherhood. Certainly our home wasn't spotless, perhaps it could even be considered messy, but even as a teenager I knew, without a doubt, that we children were top priority.
Lately I've had that short verse run through my mind rather frequently. Instead of being a compliment though, it rings as a rebuke. I often find myself lamenting that I can't get anything done these days. Sometimes, for example, I'll be nursing Bryce and will look around and see so many things that need to be done and I find myself getting antsy and frustrated. Or, Aubree will ask me to play a game with her and I catch myself responding, "maybe after I do the dishes." Then I hear the words of the poem echo in my mind cautioning that those are just things and they're not nearly as important as my children. I try to take a deep breath and remind myself that if my kitchen floor hasn't been mopped in two weeks, so be it. This time in my life is so fleeting and I don't want to look back with regret and know that I focused my energy on things of naught. I'll admit that it still drives me slightly batty to not have my home as orderly and clean as I'd like, and to have projects piling up and errands left undone, but I'm trying to get over it!
I can't begin to express how much it meant to me to grow up knowing that I was a top priority for my mom. I think that knowledge filled me with tremendous confidence and motivation. I owe much of who I am now and the successes I've had thus far in my life to the love and attention of my wonderful mother. Likewise, I want my kids to know innately that they are one of my very top priorities - more important than a spotless house, or an exciting career, or expensive clothes, or any thing. For them to know that, I must act accordingly. I'm grateful for the poetic reminder from my youth to use my time and energies primarily on those things that matter most.
P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!!!

"Here's lookin' at you!"

First Blood

For Christmas, Santa brought Aubree a package of Dora band aids. Aubree was thrilled and wanted to put them on right away. Being the mean Mom that I am, I decreed that band aids could only be used when there was blood. Flash forward almost six months - Aubree still has not had a real opportunity to use a Dora band aid (Dad is much nicer than I am and has occasionally allowed Aubree to have a band aid just for fun). Almost every time we open the medicine cabinet to brush Aubree's teeth she sees her band aids and looks at them longingly. So, this evening as we were making dinner Aubree wanted to help open a can of refried beans. Her thumb got slightly pinched, resulting in the tiniest drop of blood. Although she cried initially, when she realized she got a band aid she was nearly celebratory! Here she is showing off her long-awaited band aid:

2-month Stats

Last Thursday I took Bryce to the doctor for his two-month well-baby visit. Here are his current stats:

13 lbs. 4 oz (90th percentile for weight!)
24 inches long (75th percentile for height)
When Aubree was 2 months, she was about the same length and weighed just shy of 11 pounds. Bryce is a big kid! Everything looks great and his thrush is gone - hurray, hurray! He did have to get four shots and that was traumatic (for both of us).

Super Slip-n-Slide

On Memorial Day we got together with friends for food and fun. Summer here in Florida started about two months ago (I'm not terribly certain it ever ended...), so we planned to get wet. We adults had fond memories of slip-n-slides from our youth, so our friend Amy bought one to use at the party. We also had a small kiddie pool. Aubree jumped right in and had a great time playing in the water. She especially liked drinking from the "sprinkler."

The kids seemed to really enjoy the pool and the slide, but the slide wasn't very slippery and the adults were disappointed to find a caution that read, "slide not designed for adult use." Boo hoo. Then our friend Adam came up with a brilliant idea. He remembered he had a HUGE roll of plastic sheeting and so the men-folk set out to create the ultimate slip-n-slide. Here are some pictures of the results:

In case you can't tell from the pictures, we had a fabulous time. In fact, we ended up eating really late because no one wanted to stop playing long enough to cook the food!