A Quiet Sunday

Well, it is Sunday morning; and we are home.  It feels pretty strange.  Kyla is not feeling well this weekend; so in the spirit of not spreading jerms, we decided we had better stay put.

It is really a beautiful morning.  Although clear skies were forecast, snow has been lightly falling since we got up.  I am enjoying a very peaceful morning with my family.

Although Kyla had a rough night, she was happy this morning after she got some milk in her tummy.  :)

Daddy and Kyla had a fun time at the breakfast table this morning.  I had to get out the video camera to capture the silliness.

Speaking of fun videos, here are a couple that I took a week ago:

I hope that you have a wonderful day, however you spend it!

A Day of Rest

I just LOVE Sundays.  For so many reasons.

First, our family is almost always together on Sundays.  Bryan never has to work, so we get the whole day together.  We eat breakfast together then go to Sunday School and church.  It is so great to get together and worship with all of the wonderful people at our church.  And of course the God we worship is pretty awesome, too.  :)  For those who think church on Sunday is a chore or a waste of time...well, I feel bad for them.  They are missing out.  Big time.

I love to dress Kyla up in one of her pretty dresses to go to church.  Sometimes she stays in the nursury during church, but often she sits with us.  I love the cuddle time.  She is very good about falling asleep and taking a nap through the sermon.

After church, we enjoy a relaxing lunch together.  Often Sunday afternoon means a nap for me.  Bryan might take a nap or might get some stuff done outside.  I did get a nap in this afternoon

Sunday evenings are the perfect end to a great day.  We usually have a supper of popcorn, fruit, and whatever else we find to go with those.  We might watch a movie or just some TV.  Kyla plays on the floor nearby.  We watch her and laugh at her silly antics. 

Tonight was a little change in the Sunday evening routine.  We went a community supper at a church in a nearby town.  Broasted chicken, potatoes and gravy, dressing, corn, coleslaw, cranberry sauce, and pie.  It was delish!!  Kyla had her first taste of lemon meringue pie (sans meringue).  She looked at me like "I don't know what that was, Mom, but it was GOOD!"

Anyhow, it was a great day.  Here's a picture of Kyla before we left to go eat supper.

Kyla is 8 Months Old!

Eight months ago today, this was me:

Fifteen hours and fifty-three minutes after checking in at the hospital, I got the first real-life look at the beautiful child that had been responsible for so many strange happenings over the previous nine months. 

Now, eight months later, I cannot imagine my life without that child in it.  Every day is a new adventure in learning, watching, and marveling.

In case you read this someday down the road, Kyla, here is an abbreviated look at your life at eight months:

• You love to eat crackers, cheerios, bread, applesauce, squash, and sweet potatoes.  You are very skilled at picking up even small pieces of food with your fingers and putting them in your mouth.
• You have no teeth and no sign of any showing up anytime soon.  I have heard that the later the teeth come in, the better they are.  You are a smart girl.  You must know that.
• Your favorite thing is pulling yourself up on anything that you possibly can.  You grin that goofy smile and look as pleased as can be about your accomplishment.  Then you scope out the new above-ground territory to see what you can now reach.
• You sleep much better now that you are in your crib upstairs in your bedroom.  You only woke once last night.  You had a nipple snack and went right back to sleep.
• You never mind riding in the car.  You usually take advantage of the time to catch up on a little sleep.
• You wear primarily 6-9 month clothes but are starting to outgrow some of them.  You fit some of your 9-12 month clothes.  When you wear a disposable diaper, you wear size 2; but in a pinch size 3 works too.
• You thoroughly enjoy your baths.  You crawl from one end of the tub to the other jabbering the whole time.
• Speaking of jabbering, you are starting to form more sounds.  You are adding consonants to your vocabulary.
• You are a morning girl, just like your Mommy.  You wake up early and happy.  By late evening, smiles are much fewer.
• You are best friends with your pacifier, though we usually only let you have it when you are either in bed, in the car, or someplace where we'd really like you to be quiet (like church!).
• You love to put on a show for anyone who's watching.  Strangers in Wal-Mart stop to talk to you all the time because you give them such a big smile.
• You are learning what you are and are not supposed to do.  When I tell you, "No," you scrunch up your face looking for all the world like your favorite kitty just got run over.
• You are not a cuddlebug.  The only time you ever cuddle with Daddy or Mommy is when you are asleep and entirely unaware of what you are doing.  We wish you liked to cuddle more, but we understand that there are much more exciting things in your world.
• You are such a happy, beautiful, smart, sensitive little girl.  You are Daddy and Mommy's princess, and you always will be!

We love you so much, Kyla Grace!

Cutting the First Apron Strings

Gasp!  Two posts in two weeks!?!  Yes, friends, things are finally slowing down a bit around here...for me...not so much for my hubs.  He puts in very long hours these days, but he loves the chance to be running a tractor that is actually working correctly.  Except for last week when the tractor started on fire.  Then I guess he had to use his manly fire-fighting skills.

We had a major break-through at our house this week.  For 4 or 5 weeks now, Kyla has been waking up more and more often during the night.  She used to only get up once a night to eat and go right back to sleep.  Then it became twice, then three times, four, and finally SIX times a night on both Sunday night and Monday night.  (Insert frustrated Mommy scream)  Something had to change.

Ever since she was born, Kyla has slept in our bedroom in her Pack-n-Play.  The reason is that her bedroom is upstairs, where ours is on the main floor.  I didn't like the thought of having to run upstairs every time she woke.  Honestly, I wasn't ready to let her sleep that far away, either.  (When we decorated the nursury, I never imagined it would be an issue for me.  I never thought I would be one of those moms who woke up all the time just to see if her baby is still breathing, either!)

On Tuesday night, Kyla spent the first night in her bedroom upstairs all by herself.  She cried for the first 20 or 30 minutes after I put her in her crib.  But eventually, she fell asleep.  She only woke twice the whole night!  And the daycare provider said she slept so much better than she usually does at daycare that day, too.  Wednesday night:  She didn't cry at all when I put her to bed, and she only woke ONCE during the night.  Something worked...whether it was the bigger bed, soft music that plays all night, or just the newness of everything that shocked her system right out of its bad habits.

I actually think Kyla handled the move much better than her Mommy did.  I have never slept so far away from my baby, and I don't think I got a lot of sleep that first night.  I laid awake for long periods of time, and when I slept I dreamt of my little angel upstairs.  Bryan made a pretty accurate observation of the situation.  He said that maybe we could just have her sleep in her Pack-n-Play in the living room for a few nights before she moved upstairs to "wean us off of her."  NOT to wean her off of us.  So true.  We are very attached to our little girl.

We are all adjusted now.  Running upstairs in the middle of the night isn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be.  Bryan and I enjoy being able to talk in more than a tiny whisper and even being able to turn on a light in our room after 8:30 p.m.  Our little girl is growing up. 

I guess we just need to get used to it.

September...no wait, October! Already?!?

Ok, I admit.  I'm not very good at this blog thing...  Sorry to disappoint anyone who has checked the blog in the last couple months and has found nothing new to read.  I will try very hard to do better...to write more often...to have something to say when I write...really.  I promise.  Or something like that.

This morning it was 39 degrees.  I really, really, really love fall, so part of me is rejoicing in the cool-down.  Bryan is busy helping my uncle with harvest, which is yet another sign that fall is truly here.  Of course, the influx of Asian beetles that will soon invade my house is a sign I could definitely go without this year, given the choice.  I'd like to say that as I write this, I am sipping a cup of hot apple cider.  But I'd be lying.  I do, however, have cold apple cider in the fridge.  Pardon me while I go warm up a mug.

Ok, I'm back.  Hot apple cider.  Check.  I overheated it in the microwave, though, so it will be another couple of paragraphs before I can enjoy it.  As I was saying, it is brisk this morning.  The house is just a tad chilly, as the sun has not yet had a chance to warm it up.  So, the question of the morning:  Do I dare turn on the heat?  We live in an old farmhouse that has electric baseboard heaters throughout.  Kyla, who will be 8 months old next week, has yet to learn the meaning of the word HOT.  Once I turn on the heaters, though, she will be forced to learn.  So I decided to start small.  I brought our little bathroom space heater into the living room and plugged it in.  Sure enough, Kyla immediately crawled to it with every intention of checking it out.  I firmly told her no.  She did it again.  And again.  This time I accentuated my "no" with a slap on her beautiful little hand.  She was devastated.  Tears poured down her cheeks, and snot ran out her nose.  She gave me the "Don't you love me, Mommy?" look.  Here she goes again.  I will report.

Ok, here's how it went.  Reach.  Touch.  "Kyla, no."  Two beautiful brown eyes look up to meet mine.  Reach.  Touch.  "Kyla, no!"  No response at all this time.  "Kyla, no!"  Hand slap.  Kyla sits back on her butt and immediately bursts into tears.  But...she quit trying to touch the heater...for now.  Ahh, sometimes it hurts to be the Mommy.

Last night Kyla and I went to visit my aunt Kathy for the evening who was watching three grandchildren.  My cousin Nikki was also there with her two children.  So, between us three adults, we six children to watch, ages 5, 2, 1, almost-8-months, 4-months, and 3-months.  Supper time, bath time, snack time, bed time.  Hilarious...sorta.  The 1-year-old, who had just gotten out of the bath, ate her root beer float with her hands and had to be washed from head to toe again.  The 2-year-old sat as quietly as a sleeping infant watching the chaos around her.  When everything had finally quieted and most of the kids were in bed, she very quietly announced to her mother, "I'm ready to go to bed now."  What a kid!  The 5-year-old and 1-year-old sisters were put in the same bed.  The 1-year-old has a favorite singing glowworm that must accompany her to bed.  When checked on later, her 5-year-old sister had fallen asleep with hands over her hears and eyes scrunched tight.  When I was ready to leave, Kathy and Nikki stated that they were keeping Kyla and sending one of the crying children home with me.  I believe Kyla only stayed quiet because there were enough other children to handle the noise-making responsibility for the evening.  As soon as we were in the car, Kyla began to cry incessantly...until she fell asleep from the sheer exhaustion of it all.  Favorite quote from the evening:  I brought along Kyla's little chair that attaches to the side of the table or island counter.  Kathy looked at the chair and asked me "What holds that chair on there?"  Without missing a beat, Nikki promptly replied, "Prayer."

An update on the heater situation.  We are making process.  Kyla crawls to the heater.  I firmly say, "Kyla, no."  She skips right to the bursting into tears part without even getting her hand slapped.  But, as soon as I say no, she pulls her hand away from the heater.  Of course, I won't leave this heater here without supervision, so eventually we are going to have to move on to the baseboard heaters. 

Perhaps tonight.

Camping

Ahh.  Nothing says summer better than a weekend spent camping, swimming, picknicking, visiting the zoo, mini-golfing, and roasting marshmallows over a campfire.  Unless, of course, it is doing all of the above with a 100-degree heat index.

The best part of our camping trip was, however, time spent with family.  Caleb and Hannah flew into Omaha, where Caleb got to meet Kyla for the first time.

From the airport, we traveled to our campground - Eugene T. Mahoney State Park.  It is located about 20 minutes from Omaha.  They have a large water park of which we took advantage a couple times.  Kyla got her first experience swimming in a big pool. 

Such a big girl!  On Saturday, we toured the Omaha Zoo.  So many amazing animals!  We loved the monkeys, elephant, giraffes, and sea creatures best.  Kyla spent a good part of the day in the stroller, but she did get to pet a goat!

Uncle Caleb spent some quality time with his niece trying to teach her to walk.  But when she got tired, her Aunt Hannah was there to cuddle with her.

In the jungle, Kyla had fun with Grandpa and Grandma. 

And Mommy and Daddy even got a little time to themselves!

Back at camp, after Hannah finally got her lost luggage back from the airport, she gave Kyla an adorable pair of Dora watershoes!

How cute are those!!  That evening we had a Farkle tournament.  We simultaneously played Pass the Baby.  We are talented.

The next morning, Grandpa lent Kyla his hat.  It added a touch of class to her Sunday outfit.

After an outdoor mini church service led by our very own Pastor Dad, we headed out for 18 holes of mini golf.  (Not everything that day was done in mini proportions.)

Then we hit the water park again.  It was only 100 degrees in the shade, but the water was warm.

When she got tired, Kyla took a nap with Grandpa.

It was a great vacation, albeit the heat.  Next year we are thinking...maybe the mountains??

A Woman of Many Hats

On this date number of years ago (exactly how many shall remain unspecified herein) a great lady was born.  After graduating college, she began her career in nursing.  A few years later she married a terrific guy who would give her three sweet, beautiful children.  Most recently, she added a Grandma hat to the many hats she wears on a regular basis:  wife, mother, daughter, nurse, mentor, Pastor's wife, MOPS leader, musician, chef, Bible study leader, and babysitter to name a few.  So here's to you, Mom!  I hope you had a wonderful birthday!

It's harder that I thought to get a 5-month-old to hold a piece of paper for a picture.   She didn't have much respect for the time I spent making the sign, either.

 

Laughter: the more you have, the better it gets!

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  It's been a while since I've written. I was afraid this would happen. I would start a blog but never make time to update it. Ahh, so it is. My excuse: summer is busy! A week ago, I started a post but never completed it. So now I am recapping. We went through our first bout of sickness with little Kyla. This was taken about a week ago. Happy to report that she only looked this bad for a day!

Poor little girl! It's just heartbreaking to see my baby look at me with that "What is happening to me, Mommy?" expression.


Since then, I co-hosted a bridal shower in Winner, went to Sioux Falls to do some shopping with a friend and see my mom and grandparents, worked a couple days, made 14 quarts and 23 pints of pickles, canned 13 pints of beans, and had family pictures taken by my cousin Amy.  (If you're in the area and looking for a great photographer, check out her website:  http://www.eyeofastormphoto.com/ !)   Today was my first down-day in a couple weeks, and it was wonderful!


Bryan has been home the last couple of days and spent most of both days with Kyla and I.  I so appreciate him!  He helped me make pickles yesterday, spent lots of time playing with Kyla, watched a movie with me tonight, and generally made me laugh...a lot.  Ironically, though, what made me laugh the hardest was done with no intent on his part whatsoever.  I had leftover vinegar-and-salt brine in the fridge in a pitcher.  Thinking it was tea, Bryan poured himself a glass and took a big drink!  You can just imagine...  He didn't even complain about it!  What a guy!  ;)


Here's a snapshot of the fun we were having this morning before church.   It makes me laugh every time!  Hope it does the same for you!

Fuzzi Bunz

If cute was a requirement for diapers, these things would sell themselves.

Last summer at the State Fair, I happened upon a booth selling cloth diapers.  My idea of cloth diapers was the kind my mom used.  Fold, pin in place, and finish with a plastic pull-up cover.  Then there was the rinsing in the toilet and storing in a bucket of bleach water.  NOT FOR ME!  However, the new "high-tech" cloth diapers are nothing like what they used to be.  There are numerous types of cloth diapers:  all-in-ones, pocket diapers, fitteds, and pre-folds to name a few.  And for each type, each brand has its own variations.

The more I researched, the more interested I became.  The cost savings alone made cloth diapering a very appealing option.  The apparent ease of these new cloth diapers was also very encouraging.

After much research on the part of both me and my mom, I decided to go with Fuzzi Bunz pocket diapers.  Pocket diapers do not require a cover.  They have an external water-proof shell lined with fleece.  Absorbant inserts are stuffed into a pocket between the fleece and external shell.  I use the Fuzzi Bunz one-size diaper, which means that with 8+ size settings around the legs and 4+ around the waist, these diapers will fit from birth through potty training.  There are also multiple snap settings.

Ok, but they're a lot of work, right?  Nope.  Granted, I nearly always have a laundry basket sitting around with diapers ready to be stuffed, but that is due more to my lack of motivation to stuff than to any difficulty in doing so.  Basically, after I take the wet or soiled diaper off Kyla, I separate the insert from the diaper and put both in my mess-free diaper bag.  It hangs on a door knob and has a zipper in the bottom.  When it gets time to wash diapers, I unzip the bag, shake the diapers into the wash machine and throw the bag in as well.  Then I wash the diapers as directed, using an incredibly tiny amount of soap.  "What about the poop?", you ask.  Since I am breastfeeding and there are no solids, everything just goes right into the wash.  It's not as gross as you might imagine.  :)  After they come out of the wash, I hang them out on the clothes line to dry, if at all possible.  The sun takes care of any lingering stains and makes them smell nice and fresh.  The inserts can be thrown in the dryer, but I've read that it is best not to dry the diapers themselves.  Once dry, simply stuff the inserts back into the diapers; and you're ready to go!

Benefits:  Obviously the cost savings is huge.  They are an investment at the beginning, but it's an investment that you will recover in no time, especially if you use them nearly exclusively.  Second, Kyla is nearly five months old, and she has never had a diaper rash.  Yep, never.  I can't say I even know what one looks like.  Lastly, the negative effect of disposable diapers on the environment is enormous!  For those interested in reading more, visit http://www.diaperjungle.com/why-use-cloth-diapers.html.

Now, I realize that cloth diapers aren't for everyone.  I still put disposables on Kyla when we are away from home, though I eventually may use them on the run some too.  It's just a matter of bringing them home to wash, which really isn't that inconvenient.  Also, since she is so small, they are a bit bulky on her at this age.

Overall, I rate my experience with Fuzzi Bunz so far at a 9.5.  I experienced some leaking overnight for a time; but now I double-stuff her night diaper and have had no more leaking, even when she is in it for up to 12 hours.

Now, you can't tell me those aren't the cutest diapers you've ever seen!

http://www.fuzzibunz.com/

What does it mean to be Mommy?

I have officially been a Mommy now for 142 days.  Not very long in the scheme of things but long enough to begin my definition of Mommy.  Here's what it means so far:

Mommy means having shift duty at least every three hours and being on call the rest of the time.  It means your day off no longer exists.

Mommy means that you get to furiously wipe up the urine running down public seating area at the doctor's office after you changed your daughter's diaper only to have her pee at the exact moment when one diaper is coming off and the other is going on.

Mommy means that you have an instant bond with every other Mommy that you meet.  You catch the sympathetic glances when your baby is the one screaming at the top of her lungs in Wal-Mart, and you smile knowingly when someone else's child launches a stream of spit-up onto her mother's Sunday outfit.

Mommy means crying when your baby gets her first shots.

Mommy means it no longer really matters what you look like when you go out. People are only going to notice your baby anyway.

Mommy means learning exactly what takes pumpkin-colored poop out of a pink-and-white dress.

Mommy means that lunch with a friend may consist of standing beside the booth half the meal bouncing a very tired baby while spending the other half trying to eat a very messy chicken caesar wrap with one hand while holding said baby in the other hand.  (It's probably good that my friend had to return to work before I got to the second half of my meal since watching me struggle with the first half was no doubt enough for one day.)

Mommy means that perfect strangers will rush to hold the door for you at the post office.

Mommy means having an infinite number of excuses to sit and cuddle with your baby even though laundry needs to be folded, dishes are sitting on the counter, and the trash is starting to stink.

Mommy means you get to watch your husband turn into Daddy and your parents become Grandpa and Grandma.

Mommy means being the presence that can turn your baby's wail into a make-your-day grin.

Tell me what being a Mommy means to you!

Why Write?

Here as I write my first blog post, I ponder the everlasting question: "Why?" Why write? And more importantly, why blog? Why not just keep a personal journal as generations of women did before me? Why let others in on my thoughts? And then again, why not?

Some guy named Don Delillo said, "Writing is a form of personal freedom. It frees us from the mass identity we see in the making all around us." That, and much more, in my opinion. Writing helps me make sense of the plethora of thoughts tumbling 'round in my head from the moment I awake until, sometimes, long after I should be asleep.

Perhaps someday my daughter will want to read her mother's thoughts and musings from years past, maybe as a way to help her along on her trek. And then again, she might not.

I hope you find this blog somewhat enjoyable or, at the very least, not boring. Please leave your comments. After all, aren't we all learning life?