What to say, what to say...

I don't enjoy their being such a span in my posts, but it's kind of tough to work around when there is only one working computer in the house and the hubby is using it for business. I guess that's more important.. Ok, it is. But that means for very limited usage of the computer and the time spent on it. So, here I am, wasting my time about my limited time...
Hm...

Well, first off, allow me to update on our baby's newest feat: She has learned to clap. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, our 7.5 month old learned to clap yesterday and very proudly showed off her new skill. She is still trying to figure out how to crawl, however!, she can masterfully pull herself by grabbing onto something, eloquently push with her big toes and successfully get up on to her knees. That's as far as it gets but it's something and you couldn't ask for prouder parents than we.

As for my Bryan, well, he is working very hard. I am proud of him and all that he does. He loves what he does and you couldn't really ask for more than that. He's also doing his darndest with the Worship Team at church as well as being on the team for finding our church a new pastor. Not to forget that he also works with the youth on Wednesday nights as a sponser... Man, he's busy. I guess I never really realized.

Me, well, I've been sick these last couple of days, but other than that I am part of a Mom's Bible study on Thursday mornings. I haven't been part of one in a long time and I am fully enjoying it. I'm anxious for us to get further into it and better established since it's new and still getting its bearings. I really like it though, and the women are so beautiful. It's so nice having other mom's who are more experienced than I but are still learning themselves.
I've also been blessed to hang out with Jolene on some days. It's so nice to have a good friend that's home during the days as well. Less loneliness.
This weekend our family is taking our friends, the Pitts', down to my grandparents farm. We're hoping it will be a blessing to get away and relax in such a calm and peaceful environment. We love being down there so we can only hope that they'll enjoy it as much as we do.

If you think about us, pray for our health, that whatever sickness I have will leave with me and won't pass on to any of my family or friends, pray for our travels, and for our church as it goes through a transition right now.

Anyway, hopefully I won't take as long to post again. Hope you feel loved today.

Lately...

My daughter will be 7 months in two days... It's hard to believe. She is growing like crazy, physically and mentally. She's so smart and cute and lovable. It's hard to get enough of her some days.
She gets so frustrated that she's not mobile yet. She tries to get around, and she can, by paddling herself in circles, going backwards and then turning around, stretching, and pushing off of things. Sunday, she showed us a new trick by forming an "A" shape with her body -sticking her butt up in the air, while being on her tippy toes and her forearms. It was cute.
This last weekend really took it out of her too. Bryan had Friday off so we hung around being lazy, then ran around doing errands -shopping and such. Then I got to hang out with my sister, Courtney
Then on Saturday we hung out with friends all day. First Jolene and B, and Courtney. Then we headed off to Keith and Em's for dinner and a bonfire with s'mores. It was a very good day.
Sunday, we headed to church, enjoyed Easter service, then headed to Bryan's parents for lunch and Jolene and Dave's for dinner. We had such a good time that we didn't leave until 11:30 at night!
So with all the craziness of the weekend, I thought I should give Amelia a little break. So what did we do yesterday? Nothing. And it was swell. Well, not nothing, we did sleep. From 10-1 and then she again from 2:30-4:30. Then down at 8.
I had to let her cry herself to sleep last night. The past few nights have been bad... Up every hour, sometimes not wanting to go back to sleep. I couldn't take it. So we let her cry for 20 minutes and then I went in there to let her know I was here, that I loved her and that she was OK. So, I stroked her hair, kissed her and let her hold tightly to my arms as she sniffled herself to sleep. It was painful but let me tell ya, she slept for three hours at a time! PTL. I just pray for the will to do it and keep reminding myself that it's worth it and it's good for her however painful it may be for myself.

Anyway, I'm off to have some steak for lunch. Enjoy your Tuesday and hopefully it won't take me another 2 weeks to post again!

I know, I know.

It's been a while.
I'm a slacker.
But I've got a 6 and a half month old who requires an awful lot of attention and will cry at whatever means necessary to get that attention!
So, last Saturday I threw an adoption party for our dear friends, Mr. and Mrs. Keithy Weithy. If you didn't see my blog before, just scroll down a few posts and you will see that they got to adopt their third and (quite certain) final child. Very exciting. So, in lieu, of this wonderful event, I threw a party in their honor with the help of some very extrordinary and wonderful baking women. We had some wonderful food made, fantastic people to celebrate with and a very pretty guest of honor in her sweet little green dress. The party was fun, folks. Let me tell ya. ...I guess I just did.
What else... what else...
Nothing super exciting has really happened this week. I get to spend my days with my darling daughter. Watch her grow, learn, explore. I couldn't ask for a better job. And to get paid in slobbery kisses!!
I have switched to cloth diapers. I put it off for so long because I could never find the vinyl/plasticy covers that go over the cloth in her size at the time. First they were too big, now too small. So I went ahead and bought some size 12m just so I could get going on doing my part to help the environment. I am definitely going to look into getting something better. Nothing like hearing the crunching of plastic coming from your child.
Her teeth have come to a halt at where they stand. They're there. The tops of them anyway. Maybe they are just making their entrance very slowly. Yeah, that's probably it.
(strumming fingers on keyboard)
Tonight we all three went to Bryan's parents house. We had dinner and celebrated his brothers and wife's birthdays. We got to hang out with the whole family, which is a rareity anymore since Bruce is off in Chicago most of the days for school. Pleasant evening.
Tomorrow, Bryan and I are starting back up on the Maker's Diet. It was hard to do the first time, so be praying for us this time around. Since I have hypothyroid, this is the only way for me to lose weight. And since I still have some baby weight left on me, I felt it was about time. Plus, I swear my 65 y/o grandparents are in better shape than I am, so exercise routine, here I come.
For the first four weeks we'll be in phase I and II, and in those phases we can't have cow products, only goat (like milk and cheese) nor breads of any kind. This is to clean out your system to introduce the healthy, earthy foods, like sprouted grains and organic dairy. It's hard. But I want to be healthy and I want to teach my child(ren) good eating habits as well as exercising the body.

Anyway, that's all of an update for now, I suppose.

Just so you know, I haven't blogged in a while because our laptop is down and since my husband works from home I don't see much of the computer. It's all right, just longer gaps in my posting.
Have a good night!

6 tupperware boxes later

For the last couple of days I have been pulling out tupperware boxes that are full of clothes to sort through. Amelia has grown so much that I needed to put her 6 months and smaller away and start pulling out the 6-9 months and bigger.
Three huge tupperware's sorted through and the 6-9 now in her drawers, it was time to put away her teeny's away. I went through the big box of clothes that was in her room. This box that I have slowly filled with her teeny clothes as she out grew them. It was time since the box was overflowing.
I sorted through the ones I wanted to keep, the ones I didn't want, and the ones I wanted to treasure. I saved four outfits for Amelia alone. No one else will wear. Four tiny outfits for me to treasure and her to one day have.
Her newborn outfit that I took a picture of her in and sent it out as an announcement.
Her ducky outfit which seemed to swallow her at one time.
Her burgandy outfit with a sweet bunny stitched on it's side and
Her Christmas dress and shoes.

I always say, I'm sad how fast she growing but I'm thankful that she's growing.

She is such a funny little creature lately. She has such a beautiful, joyous little personality and it is the sweetest thing to be around. She loves to scream at you and to get you to scream back at her. She'll bend over while you're holding her to pick something up that she wants. She's pretty good at putting her paci into her mouth. She gets the biggest grin on her face when she sees someone or something that she loves. She'll peek around to look at someone or something. She's a grabber. She reaches out to be held. She's a very good cuddler.

And she has the cutest fake cry.

"Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principal one was that they escaped teething." -Mark Twain

This last Wednesday, Amelia was feeling very off, ill, not well. I felt so bad for her and it was frustrating because I really didn't know what I could do for her but to watch her cues and help her in the best way, and any way, that I could.
Over the course of the day, I had tried three different times to give her Tylenol, all resulting in her throwing up. The last one was the worst. She had nothing in her belly but I knew it was coming. She kept gagging and her poor little face was so disgusted. So I grabbed her, turned her over on a towel to prepare for what was to come [up].
I don't know what was more painful. For her to dry heave twice before turning red and throwing up what little she could muster, or me, having to watch my baby go through that. I about couldn't contain myself.
Since Bryan's mom is a nurse, she offered us some advice to try to avoid the throwing up and to get some medicine down into her. She suggested to sit her up (to avoid the gagging), have her suck on her paci, insert the dropper in the side of her mouth and give her just a little at a time. Ta-da.
I did know this at one point in time. I really did.
She was so much better the next day. She looked better, felt (no fever) better and acted more like her self. It was sweet joy.
On Friday, I talked to my friend, Jolene, who has a two year old herself and she said that her daughter would always be ill just when she was about to cut teeth. So come Monday or Tuesday she would bet that Amelia would have her first tooth (or signs of it).
Sure enough, on the way home from the other side of Iowa, Courtney felt her gums and there were signs of soon-to-be teeth. I can feel her gums cutting.
My sweet, gummy baby will soon be not toothless, with tooth, to be with teeth. It's happening. It's been happening. She is growing so fast.

Did I tell you all that she is now reaching her arms out for me to hold her. She wants me to hold her all the time.


Have I mentioned how much I love watching her grow.