Abounding in Love

Kiptyn 2 Months

2011-08-30T15:40:00.004-05:00

Kiptyn is already 2 months old! I can’t believe how much faster time flies with two kiddos keeping us busy.

At 5 weeks old, Kiptyn went up to 5 ounce bottles, and we took away the 10:30 pm feeding to start a new schedule.

Kiptyn’s 5 Week Schedule

7:30- Eat 5 ounces
9-10:30 Nap
10:30- Eat 5 ounces
12:00-1:30 Nap
1:30- Eat 5 ounces
2:00-4:30 Nap
4:30- Eat 5 ounces
6:00-7:00 Cat Nap
7:30- Eat 5 ounces
8:00- Bedtime (From 5-7 weeks, he would wake up one time between 3 and 4 to eat a 3 ounce bottle. At 7 weeks, he started consistently sleeping until 7:30 each morning. 12 Full hours!!!)

After a week of sleeping 12 hours, we decided to move him out of his cradle in our room and into his crib in his own room.

At 2 months Kiptyn:

-wears 0-3 month clothes (very close to moving up to 3-6 months)
-wears size 1 diapers (very close to moving up to size 2)
-giggles and coos
-is a snuggle bug.
-is a very content baby
-loves to look at ceiling fans and his mobile
-is just starting to hold rattles and to show interest in toys and noises
-almost always is asleep when he rides in the carseat
-loves to eat and is very quick to remind us when it is feeding time
-goes from being very content to screaming as if someone is hurting him. There is no in between or warning with him.
-has started paying attention to his brother
-still really likes to be swaddled and have the soundspa on while sleeping
-has blue eyes!

His 2 month appointment stats:
Weight- 14lb. 1 oz (95%)
Height- 24 inches (95%)
Head Circumference- 60%

We love this little boy to pieces! I wondered what it would be like to be a mom to two little boys. Now I know and I love every bit of it! Wouldn't change it for anything! I'm so excited to see how my boys will grow up as brothers and as friends. Let the adventure begin! :)

Kiptyn’s 3 Week Schedule

2011-08-30T15:39:00.000-05:00

7:30- Eat 4 ounces
9-10:30 Nap
10:30- Eat 4 ounces
12:00-1:30 Nap
1:30- Eat 4 ounces
2:00-4:30 Nap
4:30- Eat 4 ounces
6:00-7:30 Nap
7:30- Eat 4 ounces
9:00-10:30 Nap
10:30- Eat 4 ounces

He’s up again to eat between 5 and 6 AM. I only give him 2 ounces and put him right back to bed. His fussy time is in the evening after his nap from 6:00-7:30. Sometimes he wakes up early from this nap and we have to hold him off with a paci till his next feeding. We will eventually take away the 10:30 feeding once he’s making it all night without getting up to eat between 5:00 and 6:00.

He loves to be swaddled and as long as he is wrapped tight and the sound spa is on, he puts himself right to sleep.

Kiptyn's Birth Story

2011-07-09T21:41:00.004-05:00

At my last doctor’s appointment on Wednesday, June 22 (39 weeks), the doctor was ready and willing to induce me the next morning at 7:00 am. She asked if we were interested in inducing the next day so that I would have plenty of time for my strep B IV medication. She also said she doesn’t just induce anyone, but she thought my cervix was very ripe and ready. She thought I was a good candidate for induction. I wasn’t so sure! I opted not to be induced on Thursday and asked if we could wait a few more days to see if baby came on his or her own. I had such a great labor with Orin- short and relatively little pain. We set up an induction date for Monday, June 27 at 7:00 am if baby hadn’t come by then. Ryan and I spent all weekend walking around town hoping to get baby to come on their own. He decided to stay put until Monday morning.

7:00 am- Monday morning, we arrived at the hospital at 7:00 am sharp. Right away, they hooked me up to the monitor to check baby’s heartbeat of 153. I also got my first round of IV drugs for strep B at 7:30. We waited for the doctor to arrive at 8:00.

8:00 am- Doctor checks my cervix. I’m still only dilated to 2-3 cm. Head is down lower than last week at my appointment and I’m completely effaced. Doctor placed the cytotec pill near my cervix. This is the first I've actually looked up cytotec and now I wonder what they did to me. I’ve ready enough about it that I won’t go that route again! I had to stay in bed for an hour to let the medicine absorb.
8:30 am- Started feeling minor contractions and had some lower back pain. We spend much of the morning listening to music on Pandora.

9:00 am- Ryan and I walked the halls for the next hour- not feeling much at all other than small contractions.

10:15 am- Doctor came in to check on me. I was dilated to 4 cm and 100% effaced. Doctor broke my water.

10:45 am- Spent the next hour in the whirlpool tub. Loved it!! It really helped ease the pain of my contractions that were gradually getting stronger. They were coming 3-4 minutes apart.

12:05 pm- Doctor checked in with me. I was only at 4-5 cm and 100% effaced. I went back to the whirlpool which was really the only thing that seemed to help with the pain. I felt like I should have been walking around and getting things to progress faster, but I really needed the pool to relieve the pain.

1:45 pm- I was 5 cm and I had a little cervix left on the right side. Not sure how I went from 100% effaced to having a little cervix left. Doctor recommended laying on my right side to even out my cervix.

2:35 pm- Back to the whirlpool tub (Can you tell I loved it?) Contractions were very strong- I was seriously contemplating an epidural. At this point, I told Ry that I’m never being induced again! It was a totally different and worse experience than I had with Orin. Although all births are different, I really don’t think if I had gone naturally it would have been like it was. I tried to encourage myself by remembering all the ladies I know who had chosen natural childbirth. It wasn’t helping much! I told Ry that I was going to ask the nurse to check me and if I was still only at 5 or 6, I was getting an epidural. I couldn’t take much more of the pain.

3:30 pm- Nurse checked me- still was only at 5 cm. I decided to wait a little longer and I chose to walk the halls to see if that would help with my progression. I asked the nurse if I could eat anything (I was starving at this point- very cruel to have magazines all around the waiting area with big juicy cheeseburgers on the covers!) She walked me to the mini kitchen where I picked out a jello and popsicle to eat. I scarfed down the jello in between stopping to breathe through contractions. I made it back to the laboring room and decided to ask the head nurse for an epidural. The head nurse notified my nurse to call the anesthesiologist. While I was eating my popsicle and using the birthing ball, my nurse came in to call my doctor to notify her that I’d like an epidural. I signed my life away for the epidural. At that point, I didn’t care about any of the risks or complications- just take away the intense pain! Nurse also wanted to hook me up to monitors- she said she could either do it while I was on the ball or I could get in bed to be monitored. I opt to get in bed- good thing I did with how fast the ending occured!

4:00 pm- Doctor came in to check on me and ask me about being ready for an epidural. She checked my cervix and I’m at 8 cm. At this point, I really want an epidural but am not sure I will get one in time. Ry informed me later that the nurses were discussing the fact that they couldn’t reach the anesthesiologist and that they had no idea where to find him. Sure glad I didn’t hear that conversation! During that time, doctor said I still had some cervix left on the right side and to lay on my right side to thin out. I rolled over and immediately felt the urge to push. Doctor had just reached the hallway and came racing back in as soon as she heard me yell that I’m pushing. She yanked off her sweater and pulled on a smock. She had one glove on catching Kiptyn’s head while asking the nurse for another glove. After my very first push, Kiptyn’s head was out (told you his head was very low!) and by the end of that contraction, he was born.

4:04 pm- Kiptyn arrived! 8 lb 2 oz and 20 ¼ inches.

Kiptyn- Newborn Life

2011-07-09T20:44:00.000-05:00

My baby boy has been such a great baby so far! He is the best newborn sleeper. The first two nights home, he was up every 3 hours to eat (10:00 pm, 1:00 am, 4:00 am, and 7:00 am). Ever since those two nights, he has gone to bed after his 10:00 pm feeding, waking once around 3 or 4 and then not again until I wake him to start his day at 7:30 am. Amazing! I really didn’t think it would be this great from the beginning.

Orin was a terrible eater. He fought each and every bottle only wanting to take 1 to 2 ounces at a time. Kiptyn loves to eat! He downs 3 ounces every 3 hours. He has a tendency to gulp it down too quickly and about one feeding a day, he will spit up. We struggle to get him to burp, but we try to burp him every ounce to try and avoid the spit up.

He’s been very tired and will sleep most of the time between feedings. Kiptyn is a very content baby. He lies around and sleeps or eats all day. He doesn’t have a fussy time of day, yet.

Most of the time, Orin will play without paying any attention to his brother. Every once in awhile, he’ll want to hug and kiss on Kiptyn, but for the most part he ignores him.

So far the grandmas have been here to help us during this transition. I’d have to say that things have gone very well adjusting to 2 kiddos. The biggest challenge has been watching the clock and getting used to a stricter schedule again. It’s hard to be back on a newborn/baby feeding schedule again and still finding time to take Orin outside and to entertain him.

Orin has been extra crazy and whiny since both grandmas have been here. He’s really testing us to see how much he can get away with, especially because he knows grandma won’t spank. It’s almost like he has to be silly and entertain the grandmas.

Orin has continued to do wonderfully with his pottying! He has been poop trained for several months. As far as pee trained, I joked that it would be awesome to have him potty trained before the baby arrives. We worked on the peeing in the potty and wearing underwear awhile back in spring, but I think with subbing and not consistently being home and working on it made us struggle and hold off for a while. I decided to wait until June. Beginning of June hit and we decided to try full days in underwear (minus naps and bedtime). He did wonderfully as long as I took him every hour. Rarely would he tell us he had to go, unless it was poopy. Then he would yell, “More poopy!” and take off running to the potty. During our friend vacation, mom continued to potty train him. And he’s just been doing great ever since. I still send him to the potty and have to watch the clock to make sure it hasn’t been too long. It’s an equal balance of me sending him and him remembering to go on his own. I’m so proud of him and I love not changing diapers on my toddler, especially now that I have a newborn to change every few hours!

Kiptyn Ryan

2011-07-02T15:20:00.002-05:00

Kiptyn Ryan arrived June 27 at 4:04 pm. He weighed 8lb 2oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. He looks a lot like his older brother did when he was born. We are busy loving on this new little bundle. I'll be back with pictures later!

Baby Number 2 Update

2011-06-15T15:57:00.000-05:00

April 20 (30 Weeks)- Baby's heartbeat was 141 at this appointment.

April 22 (30 Weeks)- We had an ultrasound at my mom's work. We wanted to check on the cyst. As far as the tech could see, the cyst was gone. She couldn't get a very clear and accurate picture because baby was so far down already. That explains all the pressure I've been feeling! We debated about finding out the gender, but in the end we both decided to wait and be surprised.

Beginning of May- I've experienced a ton of pressure- especially in my right leg/groin area. Sometimes I can hardly walk or move around. Baby moves a lot- much more than Orin ever did!

May 11 (33 weeks)- Baby's heartbeat was 140. Doctor said all looked and sounded good. We asked to cancel our 36 week ultrasound to check on the cyst. There's no guarantee they could see anything because of baby's low position, and we really didn't want to pay for it when there's nothing they can really do even if it is still there.

May 12 (33 weeks)- It's getting harder and harder to walk and move around with this pressure. Some days are better than others. We still love the two names we have picked out and can't wait to see who it is joining our family.

May 25 (35 weeks)- The groin pain/pressure is gone for now and has been for about a week. Doctor's appointment today went well. I got tested for group B Strep. Results will be back for my next appointment. Heartbeat was 138. Doctor also checked my cervix. I'm dilated to 1 cm, which is where I was with Orin at this time in my pregnancy with him. Baby's head is down and low. Orin always says it's a baby sister in Mommy's tummy. We shall see in just a few weeks!

June 9 (37 weeks)- Doctor did not check my cervix this week. Head is still down and centered. Heartbeat was 132. My group B Strep test came back positive, so I'll need to have an IV antibiotic for about 4 hours before baby is born. We discussed my labor with Orin and that I only was at the hospital in labor for about 3 hours. She said short labors would be better for baby so they have a limited amount of exposure to the bacteria. She said not to worry if we don't get two doses of antibiotics within 4 hours.

June 15 (38 weeks)- Doctor checked my cervix- I'm dilated to 2 cm and very thinned out. Baby's head is very low. I can definately feel that baby has dropped since last week. Heartbeat was 133. Only 2 weeks left!

Preggo Picture- Month 8

2011-06-15T15:56:00.001-05:00

Month 8: 35 Weeks

Preggo Picture- Month 7

2011-04-20T22:21:00.001-05:00

Month 7: 30 Weeks

Baby Number 2 Update

2011-03-30T21:08:00.001-05:00

March 2 (23 Weeks)- Had an appointment for baby. Heartbeat was 147 and I had gained 6 total pounds at this point. I've been craving lots of fresh fruits- pineapple (I ate a whole one myself only sharing a few pieces with Orin), grapes, and strawberries.

March 12 (24 Weeks)- I experienced terrible sciatic nerve pain to the point where I could barely walk and couldn't lift Orin. I had to lay around icing my back quite a bit.

March 19 (25 Weeks)- Ryan and I went away for the weekend to go to a Sugarland concert and to celebrate our anniversary early since we won't be going much of any place on July 14th- or at least not alone! Baby is moving a lot! On the way home from our getaway, we think we finalized our baby's name. We have a boy and a girl name picked out. Sometimes it's tempting to find out what this little one is so the naming process would be a little easier. But for now, we are leaving the gender a surprise! We only have 15 weeks left!!

March 30 (27 Weeks)- Today was the dreaded glucose test. And then off to see the doctor. I passed the glucose test, but was low on iron. Now I need to take an iron supplement. Baby's heartbeat was 140. And I am up to gaining 14 pounds.

Preggo Picture- Month 6

2011-03-27T22:13:00.003-05:00

Month 6: 26 Weeks

Preggo Picture- Month 5

2011-02-27T21:27:00.002-06:00

Month 5: 21 Weeks

20 Week Ultrasound

2011-02-14T14:34:00.003-06:00

We got to see our newest little one on ultrasound last Thursday. Baby was measuring right at 20 weeks. The heartbeat was 152 and all looked great. Here's a 3D profile view of their sweet little face:

Our nurse did call to tell us that baby has a cyst on it's brain. The medical term is Choroid Plexus cyst. Basically, it's nothing we should be alarmed about. Because the brain is growing at such a rapid pace, the excess fluid pools as a cyst on the brain. They are nearly all gone by the third trimester. There's no reason to be concerned if no other abnormalities are spotted during the ultrasound. We'll go back for a later ultrasound to make sure the cyst is gone.

We wanted to be surprised about our baby's gender. We'll find that out in about 19 weeks when we meet them face to face! Until then, we get to look at this sweet little profile and wonder if it's a he or a she doing all those acrobatics!

Orin's Latest Discoveries

2011-02-14T10:52:00.002-06:00

Orin turns 2 in one week. The second year seemed to fly by much faster than the first. Here are the latest updates on what Orin enjoys doing and how he likes to spend his time.

-lining up his cars/alphabet magnets/animals/trains/little people/etc.
-reading books to himself while sitting on his little couch
-bringing mommy and daddy lots of books to read
-sleeping in a big boy bed and not getting out
-saying bless you after he or anyone sneezes
-coloring with markers or crayons
-playing play-doh
-finally facing forward in his car seat
-saying “mommy come” when he wants me to come play with him
-after taking amoxicillin for his ears, saying “one more medicine”
-telling us when he has to go poopy and actually going on the potty
-after going poop, asking for treats and requesting certain colored treats
-knows his colors and will tell us the colors of anything he’s playing with without being asked
-loves farm animals and the noises they make
-favorite song has ranged from “I Love You” from Barney to “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” to “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” to “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.”
-Can count with us to 5- Once we start with number one, he’ll say 2, 3, 2, 5.
-Enjoys doing puzzles, especially those that make noise
-Sits at the kitchen table in a booster seat instead of in his high chair
-Loves to give group hugs to both mommy and daddy at the same time, and then finds it humorous to make mommy and daddy kiss by pushing our faces together
-very energetic and often lets that energy explode over into running, hitting, and wrestling
-hates to wear socks
-has no problem with us leaving him anywhere at anytime
-when daddy comes home it just makes his day! He instantly wants to wrestle and get tickled
-wears 2T and some 3T clothes
-Mommy brushes his teeth and then it’s Orin’s turn to brush his own teeth. We sing the ABCs for each turn.
-After mommy and daddy pray before bed, then Orin prays for what he is thankful for. This usually includes listing his cousins, papa, grandma, cookies, crackers, and shoes. Occasionally he mentions mommy, daddy, and baby.
-picks up mommy’s phone to call papa several times a day
-Takes a nap from 1-4, but usually wakes up sometime between 3 and 4. He lays in bed talking until I get him up out at 4.
-Sleeps with monkey and Wally
-Says “I love you more” in response to our saying “I love you Orin.”

Baby Number 2 Update

2011-02-07T14:12:00.002-06:00

I've been terrible at blogging about this new little babe. This week marks the half way point. I can't believe that we only have 20 weeks left till we meet our baby. Here is an update on what has happened so far in this pregnancy:

Thursday, October 21- We received a positive pregnancy test! We took a few more throughout the next several days and weeks. We called and told Ryan’s parents the night we found out. We waited to tell my mom in person since she was going to spend the weekend with us. And later that weekend, we skyped with my Dad to tell him the news. I was 4 weeks.

Monday, October 25- I had terrible back pain, cramping, and bleeding. I was sent in to check my blood levels. Levels were in the normal range, but a little low. They wanted me to come back in a few days to check again.

Tuesday, October 26- We skyped with my brother and sister to announce the news. Ryan called his brother in California. And Orin wore his big brother shirt to tell Ryan’s other brother’s family in person that night. I was almost 5 weeks.

Wednesday, October 27- Back to the lab to have my HCG levels checked. Levels had been doubling like normal and everything looked great! My levels were around 600.

Monday, November 1- We shared the news with our friends. I had ordered pink and blue frosted cupcakes that had “boy?” and “girl?” toppers on them. Everyone guessed who had brought them. We had a fun time announcing in this way!

Wednesday, November 3- I visited the lab again because of recurring back pain and cramping. Things looked great and there was no need to be concerned. My levels were around 8000.

Thursday, November 18- At 8 weeks, Ryan and I went to my first appointment. Baby’s heartbeat was 176. We got to see baby on an ultrasound. Due date was determined to be June 30. Everything went really well!

Friday, November 19- Right around 8 weeks, my nausea set in. It was the worst when I brushed my teeth in the morning. I was hit hard with nausea throughout the next 3 weeks. Every morning I was sick, and nothing really ever sounded good to eat. Many suppers were spent eating away from the kitchen.

Thursday, November 26- I had an ultrasound at my mom’s work. I was 9 weeks along. Baby’s heartbeat was 171.

Thursday, December 30- I had an ultrasound at my mom’s work again. I was a little paranoid and wanted to make sure all was well with baby. And of course everything looked excellent! Heartbeat was 157. I was right at 14 weeks.

Tuesday, January 4- My second prenatal visit at 14 ½ weeks. Heartbeat was 160 and I had lost weight since my last appointment. Doctor wasn’t so concerned since my appetite wasn’t the best with my nausea.

Saturday, January 8- Right around 15 weeks, I started feeling little flutters. I didn’t feel them every day, but they happened most often when I was lying on my left side. I didn’t realize how much I had missed those little kicks! Sure makes it real and worth all the nausea!

Saturday, January 22- Nausea in the morning is still present. Will it ever end?? I’m just over 17 weeks. Ryan still hasn’t decided whether he wants us to find out the gender. He’s leaning towards not finding out.

Tuesday, February 1- I had my third prenatal visit at 18 ½ weeks. Baby’s heartbeat was 150 and I had gained 2 pounds so far in this pregnancy.

Wednesday, February 2- I’ve reached 19 weeks. My morning nausea finally subsided around 18 weeks. Ryan has decided that we will be surprised with the gender of this baby. Our big ultrasound is scheduled for February 10- right at 20 weeks. Now that baby is bigger, I’m feeling lots of movement. Most of the little kicks happen in the afternoon and evening. Love them!

Cousins

2011-01-25T20:42:00.002-06:00

Here is the annual Cousins picture for 2010. I ended up hauling my equipment to my in-laws' home in order to take the picture. It worked out so well to take it at their house where all the kids felt comfortable and could run and get the wiggles out up till the exact moment of taking pictures. Ryan and Colin helped hold the backdrop, Kim and Corinne gathered the troops and posed them, I clicked the camera, and everyone else got the kids' attention. I'm so happy with how well the picture turned out. What a cute bunch of kids!

Preggo Picture- Month 4

2011-01-25T20:39:00.002-06:00

Month 4: 18 Weeks

Preggo Pictures- Months 1, 2, and 3

2011-01-06T11:02:00.002-06:00

Month 1: 6 Weeks
We found out we were pregnant right at 4 weeks and it took us a few weeks to get around to taking a picture. So technically I am through the first month here. In fact, each picture has been taken once I've gotten through that month of the pregnancy...mostly because we aren't on the ball this time around! :)

Month 2: 10 Weeks

Month 3: 14 Weeks

Surprise!!

2010-11-20T15:00:00.002-06:00

Orin has some big news to share...

I'm 8 weeks along and due June 30. We had an ultrasound Thursday and baby looked great. Heartbeat was 167. We are feeling so blessed and excited!

Shutterfly Gift to Bloggers

2010-11-11T20:03:00.004-06:00

I love, love, love Shutterfly! And no, I’m not getting paid to promote them here on the blog. I just love them! I buy all my 4x6 prints of Orin through Shutterfly and I’ve even made quite a few photobooks to send out as gifts. I love their pricing and their constant sales. And the quality of their products is excellent!

Here’s a deal for bloggers! Right now, Shutterfly is offering 50 free cards to bloggers! What a great way to save some money! The cards start around 2.99 per card and the more you buy, the lower the price goes. If you have a blog and would like to enter, go to this link. What a perfect way to get beautiful Christmas cards for the season!

Shutterfly has a ton of choices when it comes to Christmas card designs! Here are just a few of my favorites:

You can go to this link to check out other designs. They have so many great ones, it’s really hard to choose!

Shutterfly’s photo cards come in a variety of styles and sizes. You can order folded or flat cards in 4x8, 5x5 or 5x7 sizes.

A great Christmas gift idea is their wall calendars. Last Christmas, we gave one to my parents and to my grandparents. They love to flip to a new month and see which pictures of Orin are featured for that month. You can pick the style or design and whether you would like it to be a 12 month or 18 month calendar. And you personally design the calendar pictures to your liking. What a great way to preserve a year’s worth of memories! Go here to check out the details and to get started on making your own calendar!

My all time favorite Shutterfly product is their photo books! Orin’s grandparents and great-grandparents have received these books as gifts, and they just love them! Right now, you can save up to 30% on a photo book and get free shipping when you spend $30.

Shutterfly is a great place to get some Christmas shopping done! Head over to their website and get started today! And if you don’t already have an account, you’ll receive 50 free 4x6 prints just for signing up!

Our Little Monkey

2010-11-11T14:20:00.000-06:00

We took Orin out trick or treating last Saturday night. He enjoyed it much more than last year! :) We only went around a few blocks, but he quickly caught on to what you do. He would walk right up to the door and start saying "treat, treat." Now whenever he sees his treat bucket or the candy bowl that was used for all the other trick or treaters that came to our house, he asks for a treat.

Here are a few pictures of our little monkey.

Our family hosted a halloween costume party the same night as trick or treating. I dressed up as "Ryan," and Ryan was "Harry Potter."

Halloween Package

2010-11-10T14:15:00.000-06:00

Grandma and Papa sent Orin a package of goodies for Halloween. Since we live too far away to trick or treat at their house, they sent a bunch of treats our way.

He worked really hard to try to get the package open. He even used his muscles!

Finally, mama had to help him get it open. He was really excited for the crackers, raisins, and fruit snacks.

Thanks Grandma and Papa!

Little Pumpkin

2010-11-09T13:48:00.000-06:00

After going with Grandma to Pumpkinland, we made a special family trip for Orin to pick out his very own little pumpkin. We had quite the time finding the perfect pumpkin just his size, but we finally succeeded!

Of course we had to feed the goats and check out all the animals again.

After checking out all the animals, we headed out to the pumpkin patch to find a pumpkin.

And here are a few pictures of Orin at home with his pumpkin:

Pumpkinland

2010-11-08T13:36:00.004-06:00

A few weeks back, Grandma came to town to visit. The cousins and Orin wanted to take Grandma to Pumpkinland.

Orin loved to see all the animals! He got to pet little puppies and he got to get up close to rabbits, goats, llamas, and ponies. He really had a great time!

We went through the kid corn maze:

We took some pictures on the hay bales:

We took some silly pictures:

And a family picture:

4K Finished

2010-10-31T18:32:00.004-05:00

It's been a few weeks since our 4K!

We ran the full 2.5 miles in about 25 minutes. I can't remember our actual time. We weren't the fastest and we were closer to the end of the pack...But we finished!

Our husbands ran with us on the route. Next time, I need to purchase warmer running gear. I was used to running in the evening which tended to be warmer than the cool fall early mornings. Here's a picture (stolen from Maria) of us running.

4K

2010-10-01T21:00:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow morning, I will be running my first 4K race.

I'll be running with my sister-in-law, Kim, and our two husbands. We somehow talked them into joining us. I think the guys plan to run it along side us even though our pace is much slower than theirs. But we are all just running it for fun and for us girls to be able to say that "We did it!!"

Running 2.5 miles is an amazing feat for a girl who couldn't run 3 minutes just a few months ago!! I'm proud of myself and how far I've come in this running journey.

Cuteness Captured

2010-09-23T21:11:00.003-05:00

These pictures were taken a few weeks back after church one Sunday. We can't believe how big he looks standing there. I just had to capture all the cuteness in this 18 month old.

Flexible

2010-09-23T21:03:00.002-05:00

We have one flexible little boy! I walked into the kitchen the other day and witnessed Orin attempting to escape the confines of his highchair. Ryan and I were baffled by how he got in that position in the first place and how he could stay like that.

Snow

2010-09-23T20:54:00.001-05:00

Look out Snow!

Somebody

is ready for You!!

Tucker- One Year Photos

2010-08-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

Tucker came over a while back for indoor one year photos. I love his little smile and all his dark hair!

18 Months

2010-08-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

My boy can eat and eat and eat!! Seems like I am constantly finding him in the kitchen with a box of crackers or Kix. He just can’t seem to ever get full! He had his 18 month appointment this week. He is 33.5 inches long (75%) and 26 lbs 12 oz (50%).

He HATES the doctor’s office. He cries when he gets weighed. He freaks when his head circumference and length is measured. And he practically crawls under my clothes when the doctor tries to listen to his lungs and all the other stuff that she does. Neither a pacifier nor a snack helps the situation. It’s terrible taking him to the doctor! I just hope he grows out of this stage!!

He can now say several words…mama, dada, grandma, grandpa, papa, cracker, tucker, truck, yuck, love you, snack, shoe, flip flop, milk/cup, ball, no no, uh-oh

Orin is still going poop on the potty. Not every time, but he has started to “tell” us when he has to go. He will walk into the bathroom and start pooping. If we catch him, then he ends up going on the potty, but if we don’t see him go in there, then it ends up in his diaper. We ask him where we go poopy and he always points towards the bathroom.

This morning, I walked in to get him and I could smell poop. But he had no diaper on. I looked around to see where the poop was smeared. I found a very full and poopy diaper thrown on the floor by his bed with his pajama pants and blanket. As I’m cleaning up that mess, Orin stands up and starts peeing in his bed, on the floor, and down his leg. We had a wonderful start to our morning today!

Each day is something different with the potty, and it totally depends on if he poops during his nighttime or during his naps. He is definitely making great progress, and I never expected he would be this far along at this age.

This...

2010-08-27T10:36:00.003-05:00

This...

is why I sleep wonderfully at night!!

Couch to 5K

2010-07-27T15:43:00.002-05:00

I've been absent from the blogging world lately, and I have had a few people remind me of this. With the nice summer weather and two vacations in a row, I just haven't had time or the motivation to keep up with blogging. Vacation pictures and details will have to wait. Today I want to record my latest exercising adventure.

I am not a runner. I never was a runner. Not even in high school. When it came time for the dreaded mile run in PE class, I just felt sick. I never could run the whole thing. Heck, I don't think I could run one whole lap around the track. So when I heard a few of my friends had started training for 5K, 10K, and marathon races, I was a little intrigued. Back in the day, I wouldn't have classified either of these friends as "runners." And so to hear that they were running, I developed a desire to give it a try.

A few weeks back, I researched the Couch to 5K program. It's a 9 week program that starts off with walking and running a few minutes at a time and at the end you should be able to run 3 miles or 30 minutes solid. It's a 3 days a week program, but we run 5 days a week.

I asked my sister-in-law, Kim, if she had any interest in being my running partner, and we both decided to give it a try. The first few nights were really hard for me, but I can honestly say that each night gets easier. We are currently on week three.

Week one: 5 minute warm-up walk. Then run 1 minute, walk 1.5 minutes. Repeat the running/walking for 20 minutes.

Week two: 5 minute warm-up walk. Then run 1.5 minutes, walk 2 minutes. Repeat the running/walking for 20 minutes.

Week three: 5 minute warm-up walk. Then run 1.5 minutes, walk 1.5 minutes. Run 3 minutes, walk 3 minutes. Then repeat the running/walking one more time.

Week four: 5 minute warm-up walk. 3 minute run, 1.5 minute walk. 5 minute run, 2.5 minute walk. 3 minute run, 1.5 minute walk. 5 minute run.

Week five: 5 minute warm-up walk each day.
Day 1: 5 minute run, 3 minute walk, 5 minute run, 3 minute walk, 5 minute run.
Day 2: 8 minute run, 5 minute walk, 8 minute run.
Day 3: 20 minute run.

Week six: 6 minute warm up walk each day.
Day 1: 5 minute run, 3 minute walk, 8 minute run, 3 minute walk, 5 minute run.
Day 2: 10 minute run, 3 minute walk, 10 minute run.
Day 3: 25 minute run.

Week seven: 5 minute warm-up walk. 25 minute run.

Week eight: 5 minute warm-up walk. 28 minute run.

Week nine: 5 minute warm-up walk. 30 minute run.

I'm so proud of us for doing this. I could barely run for 1 solid minute before starting C25K. Now I'm up to running for 3 minutes straight. That's a huge accomplishment for me. Hopefully I'll make it to the end!

Beach Time

2010-07-10T09:00:00.000-05:00

We had a great time at the beach the other morning. We went with some friends and had lots of fun. The first thing Orin did, before I could set down any of our stuff, was run right into the water with his shoes and clothes on. He knew what we were there for! The water was warm and the sun was out which made for a beautiful morning at the beach.

Toy Box King

2010-07-09T20:00:00.000-05:00

Here is Orin's new favorite thing to do as of a few days ago. Instead of reaching in to pull out toys, he climbs into the toy box to play. And when he's done, he climbs back out.

Mr. Ornery

2010-07-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

We have one ornery little boy on our hands! Can you tell? Ryan asked me the other day, "Do you think you could love him anymore if you tried?" No, I'm one hundred percent positive that I couldn't!

July 4th

2010-07-07T15:14:00.003-05:00

We were tempted to go to my hometown's celebration for the 4th of July, but when we realized that traveling for that weekend would mean that we would be traveling every weekend in July, we decided to celebrate at home.

I'm so glad we did, because we ended up spending a very relaxing few days at home just as the three of us. Saturday, we packed up and went shopping for a few things and to enjoy a lunch out at Red Robin. It was Ryan's first time, and I think he plans to go back sometime. We also went to Old Navy and picked up flip flops for $1. All three of us got new flip flops to wear!

Sunday, we went to church in our red, white, and blue. I couldn't resist when I realized that it was possible for us all to coordinate. I couldn't figure out the timer on my old camera (my good camera is getting repaired), so we had to skip the family picture. This is what we got:

And Monday, we went to fireworks. It was Orin's first time seeing fireworks, and we weren't sure what he would think about them. We hoped he wouldn't get scared with the booms. He loved them! He would point at the sky each time he saw a new firework light up. The poor kid was so confused on why he was getting drug out of bed at 9:30. He held tight to his blanket and pacifier the whole time we were gone. And he conked out as soon as we got out of the parking lot to come home. He was one tired boy!

Father's Day 2010

2010-07-01T22:20:00.003-05:00

Ryan and I were away from our little man for a short vacation a while back, and it just so happened to fall over Father's Day weekend. We had a great time with all our friends, 8 couples to be exact, but we missed our little boy tremendously!! I wanted to make sure to do something special for Ryan as soon as we got home as a way to celebrate him being a great daddy to Orin.

Orin and I made up a bunch of clues and placed them all over the house. We gave Daddy the first clue and sent him off on the hunt.

Orin wanted to help Daddy look and gather the clues.

We found the presents!!

I'll help you open them!

This looks like a good place to plop down.

First Daddy opened the coffee mug from Orin:

Then he opened a very special painting:

I think it is safe to say that he enjoyed the hunt for the treasures!

Pacey- Newborn

2010-06-30T20:47:00.004-05:00

Pacey was my little model so that I could try out some new props I got for newborn photos. She was a wonderful baby to work with! And very adorable!!

Tucker- One Year

2010-06-30T20:40:00.003-05:00

Tucker came for his one year portraits. It was quite the challenge getting him to stay in one place, but I still think we captured his happy personality and his precious smile!

Play Hard, Sleep Hard

2010-06-28T14:00:00.000-05:00

Twice now,

I've caught a very sleepy boy

falling asleep at the table.

All this playing outside in the beautiful weather

must really wear him out!

Mommy and Daddy's Birthday Celebrations

2010-06-27T13:47:00.004-05:00

Ryan and I have birthdays within 15 days of each other, mine in May, his in June. About a month ago, my family came up for my birthday weekend to celebrate with me. Ryan took me out on a date Saturday night, and then Sunday was spent with my family eating birthday cake, opening presents, and reupolstering the chair. Here are a few pictures from that weekend.

Then just two weeks later, it was Ryan's turn to celebrate. Hazel's parents decided to take on the Orin challenge for the day so that Ryan and I could go on a date. We had to get some shopping done for vacation, but then we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening at a movie and dinner. Here are a few pictures of Ryan opening his presents the next day with his little helper.

Orin

2010-06-10T21:15:00.001-05:00

New Props

2010-06-10T16:13:00.003-05:00

Playing with Mama's new props! I have a new floor, rug, ladder, and basket/container to work with now. And in a few days I will be receiving many new newborn props...now I just need a baby! :)

Orin isn't a very still subject to practice on, but he still makes it pretty fun!

Going Poopy

2010-06-10T11:02:00.003-05:00

This ornery little boy has pooped in the potty 5 times over the last 6 days. We missed Sunday morning, because we were in a rush to get out the door for church.

I started putting him on the potty during the first week of June when I realized that he was pooping every morning right after breakfast. And since it is a much easier and less time consuming clean up if he goes in the potty instead of his cloth diaper, I decided to try it. After just a few mornings of not going or only peeing, he started pooping within the first 5 minutes of sitting on the potty. Success!!! Now every morning, after breakfast, we walk to the potty so that Orin can go poopy. At this point he gets lots of praise and no reward, because he doesn't fully understand what he is even doing yet.

I am no where near ready to potty train him, and he is definately no where near ready mentally. But this is a step in the right direction! Yeah for not having to dunk poopy cloth diapers in the toilet!!!

Muscles

2010-06-06T13:00:00.000-05:00

We are pretty serious about muscles around here...can you tell?

Big Shoes to Fill

2010-06-05T13:00:00.000-05:00

Somebody has big shoes to fill.
Somebody wants to be just like his daddy!

Young Love

2010-06-04T19:38:00.006-05:00

Hazel was Orin's little playmate the other day while her mommy worked. These two are quite mischievous and busy! But they play really well together, and they love to give each other hugs and kisses. We need to keep an eye on these two as they get older!

New Chair

2010-05-31T13:38:00.003-05:00

A month ago, Ryan and I found two free chairs by the side of the road. They were in perfect condition- very sturdy. The look just needed a little updating. And I had a vision for them after reading Remodelaholic about a chair reupolster project.

Friday night, Ryan and I set out to remove all the previous fabric and staples. This took a lot longer than we anticipated. We ended up working on it until midnight. I had to take care of one armrest the next day after we got some sleep. We tried to get out every staple (even from the bottom) and to remove the fabric still in tack just to make it easier to replace with the new fabric. When I do the next chair, I will not take that much time, because the staples on the bottom don't matter. And I did not refabric the chair in the same way so for next time, there will be no need to keep the old fabric in one piece.

I finished up the last armrest on Saturday morning, and then Ry sanded it all down for me. When my parents got here, my mom gave the chair the first coat of black paint. While Ry and I went out for my birthday, mom finished up the last coat of paint and got it ready for the fabric. When Ryan and I were out, we picked up foam, spray adhesive, and fabric.

On Sunday, we spent most of the afternoon stapling all the foam and fabric to the chair. I'm so pleased with how it all turned out! Looks completely different than before! It will be the perfect chair for my photography studio. So excited!

BEFORE (Don't mind the dusty seat- it's been in our garage):

AFTER:

Before and After

2010-05-27T13:40:00.003-05:00

I have never participated in the before and after that Monica at Pixel Perfect hosts on her blog. But I wanted to give it a shot today. I took these pictures of Orin playing outside this morning. I think he wants to be just like daddy!

SOOC(Straigt out of Camera):

Edited:

The photo was taken with a Canon 50D using my 50mm f1.4 lens. And I edited in Lightroom.

Head over to Pixel Perfect and check out more before and after edits.

15 Months

2010-05-27T10:52:00.002-05:00

Orin turned 15 months and had his 15 month doctor's appointment on the same day. He is learning and changing so much it is hard to keep track of what all he can do these days. He is really taking an interest in animal sounds (cow, duck, puppy, monkey, fish, elephant). He can sign please, more, and all done. He knows where his teeth, nose, hair, and feet/toes are. And he loves to do "so big" and to wink at us with both eyes!

He is a very busy boy and I can hardly keep up with him. He is constantly into something he should be such as the cupboards, the toilet, Daddy's papers on the office desk, Mommy's scrapbooking supplies, or just climping up on the fireplace. He's our little monkey and it is all I can do to keep him contained and entertained with his own toys.

He LOVES to play outside! It doesn't really matter to him if he is swimming, swinging, out back in the garden, on a walk, or playing at the park as long as he is outside.

We are still going strong with cloth diapers. They haven't even fazed him and there have been no leaks during the day or night. We are really pleased with the results and with how much money is being saved each time I put a new cloth diaper on him.

Here are the stats from his appointment:

Height: 32 inches (75%- no growth from his 12 month appointment)
Weight: 24.4 pounds (50%)

He is really starting to show his will and to throw fits when he doesn't get his way. If mom won't give him her cell phone or if dad won't share something that he is eating, or whatever it is that he seems to want at the time and doesn't get, he will definately let you know that he is not very happy.

But we love him so much and can't believe that he is ours. We are so thankful for his little life and can't wait to see what all he learns in the next 3 months before his 18 month old appointment.

2010-05-26T20:07:00.005-05:00

We are so proud of uncle Benny! He graduated from college a few weekends back and a few days later landed a great job in his major. We went home to attend the graduation and to celebrate with Benny. Little Man stayed home with my aunt and uncle. He would not have lasted for more than an hour, and it ended up lasting 6 hours by the time we drove there, waited, took pictures, and drove home. But here are the pictures from the weekend of those of us who were there at the ceremony.

Cloth Diapering

2010-05-24T15:17:00.003-05:00

Today is day 1 for cloth diapers! Everything has gone really well with them so far! No leaks and easy to put on and take off.

During my pregnancy, we had considered cloth diapering with Orin, but we were totally overwhelmed with the number of options available. And at that point, we thought Orin would be in daycare, and we knew that most daycares won't accept cloth diapers. So we quit researching and just stuck with the disposables.

The reason I'm considering switching now is because a sister of a friend from high school uses cloth on her baby boy. Now I had someone to ask about options and what works best for them.

I placed a small order of prefolds and diaper covers to try them out.

And today is day 1. So far, so good! The only big difference (other than the obvious differences) is the bulkiness of the cloth. This may cause problems with his smaller shorts (12 month), but I'm not sure yet as today he is wearing a 24 month outfit.

These diapers don't even seem to faze him. They add a whole new dimension of adorableness if you ask me. :) Oh, and as for the broom, it's his new favorite toy to drag all around the house.

Tulips

2010-05-20T20:42:00.003-05:00

Our town celebrated Tulip Festival recently. A time when the whole town slows down to enjoy authentic Dutch costumes, dancing, parades, carnival rides, and special Dutch treats. We had a crazy weekend with the festival and my brother's graduation, which meant that we had to cram all the fun into two days in order to make it back home for the graduation.

So Orin skipped naps and we made it to two parades, ate carnival food, and enjoyed lots of Dutch treats. Orin got dressed up and took pictures by the tulips and he even got to ride the carousel with his daddy. Orin did remarkably well sitting through the parades in his stroller. As long as we kept snacks handy and my water bottle, he was very content. He even danced when the bands marched by and smiled and laughed at the horses when they came through. It was fun to see his excitement for it all now that he is old enough to get something out of the celebration. Here are some pictures.

Orin and his little friend, Hazel, took pictures together in their costumes.

Orin and Daddy

Hanging out on the big wooden shoe

Family Picture

Orin with his cousins

Orin on the carousel!

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-19T20:41:00.005-05:00

I celebrated an unbelievably sweet Mother's day with my two men a few weeks back already. They really made the day special…well really the whole weekend was wonderful.

The weekend consisted of a date night for dinner Saturday night, church and brunch made by Ryan on Sunday, a long afternoon nap, and no dishes or cleaning for me to do all weekend. It was amazing! I loved just being able to play and love on Orin and Ryan without worrying about cleaning up the kitchen or making sure another load of laundry was going. We finished up the weekend with a quick photo shoot of my baby boy and me.

This boy

makes me laugh

and smile.

He keeps me very busy

chasing his silly little self around.

But I wouldn't change it for anything.

This little man

brings so much joy

and excitement to my life.

I'm so very

BLESSED

to be his mama.

I'm so thankful to God

for the gift of this little life.

I love you little man. All the way up to the moon and back down to the dirt. Times a million.

Garden

2010-05-05T15:36:00.008-05:00

This past Saturday, we spent most of the day outside planting our garden. We thought we would start small by only doing a few vegetables like tomatoes and green beans. But we ended up planting six things. We really like the "idea" of a garden, but not so much the work it takes to keep it up. So we'll see how it goes. We still need to fence the area before the rabbits come and enjoy all of our hard work.

I made signs for each of our vegetables. Ryan said it looks like we are part of an elementary class growing a garden. Hello! Who used to be a teacher?? I made them to help Orin learn about what we are growing and what all of it will look like. It doesn't matter that he is too young to understand anything about a garden yet. We'll hopefully keep them from year to year to reuse.

Here's what we are growing:

Orin had to check out what was going on and to make sure Daddy was doing it correctly. But really, Orin just wants to be wherever Daddy is. Can you blame him?

Offering Daddy his help with the shovel.

Orin wanted to do some planting too.

Orin helped Daddy water everything once we were done planting. The hose ended up not being able to reach far enough, so they used the watering can instead.

Now lets hope we grow some veggies!

UNmanual Guide

2010-05-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

Mom*Tog has the UNmanual guide done! It is for beginner photographers who use SLR cameras. She teaches about camera settings- aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, how to get great lighting, metering, white balance, and the difference between JPEG and RAW files.

She is giving one away to a lucky commenter. I would love to win and be able to learn so much more about my camera. Go here to check it out!

So exciting!!

Checking Out the New Place

2010-04-29T22:02:00.007-05:00

Captured

2010-04-27T21:13:00.006-05:00

This little boy

has completely and utterly

captured our hearts,

and we wouldn't have it

any other way!

New Home

2010-04-26T21:26:00.005-05:00

We’ve been busy around here. Too busy to even think about blogging. Busy moving across town. This was our 4th move in just under 3 years of marriage. We need to slow down a little bit! I’m getting pretty sick of packing and unpacking.

Saturday was a whirlwind of a day. A large crew, many helping hands, and several hours later, I think I can officially say that we are moved in and settled. The help was amazing! Everyone found their “place” and things went way smoother than expected. A few ladies in the kitchen unpacking and organizing, a large crew of men loading boxes/furniture and unloading into the appropriate rooms, a few ladies at the old house cleaning the rooms as they were cleared, Ryan’s parents working to clean up the garage and landscaping, my brother and dad working to install all the air conditioners, and a few ladies working in the bedrooms and bathrooms.

All that is left is a few boxes to break down. We are getting used to this house trying to get it to feel like “home”. Orin loves all the extra room. And we are enjoying our first “real” house with main floor laundry, three bedrooms, a photography studio, an office, and a newly remodeled kitchen and dining room.
To decorate our new home, I ordered a canvas gallery wrap print to hang in the living room. We love it! .

Sticks

2010-04-14T14:54:00.001-05:00

Here's more proof that Orin has been loving the outdoors lately. I'm really excited for this time of year to be able to take him swimming (eventually) and to the park. It will be so much more fun now that he is old enough to actually enjoy the activities.

This particular afternoon, we needed something to do other than just sit in the house with toys. So we went to the backyard and played with sticks. His daddy used to do the same thing as a boy. It was fun to see his curiousity and imagination at work.

Swinging

2010-04-13T20:43:00.007-05:00

This little boy loves to swing and to just be outside! He's been soaking up the nice weather and sunshine! Can you tell?

Orin-13 Month Update

2010-04-11T21:10:00.001-05:00

It seems like Orin has learned so much lately.

Right around 13 months, on Saturday the 27th, he started taking his first steps. Grandma and Grandmpa K, along with Ben and Molly, were up for the weekend visiting. It was Grandma's goal to get Orin to walk. Well sure enough, she stood him up and he took 3 steps. Each time he practiced, he got better and braver. By the end of the weekend, he was taking steps halfway across the room. It still seems a little crazy to see my baby walking around the room, but it was so sweet that he shared that milestone with his grandparents and uncle and aunt. He can now walk really well with shoes or without, on grass, cement, or carpet. And when he falls down, he is just as content crawling to get him to where he wanted to go in the first place.

He's been talking up a storm! Of course, none of it is really comprehensible, but we love all the babbling and "words" that come out of his mouth. You can tell that he knows exactly what he is saying. Again, around 13 months, he started saying "mama". So now his two consistent words are "dada" and "mama". "Dada" is said very excitingly and playful. "Mama" is said as more of a whine and cry. I don't know what that is all about! We have heard him say "sock", "yuck", "Sadie", and "uh-oh". We are really working on other words, but he just likes to smile and laugh when we try to teach him.

He loves to clap his hands, shake his head violently in the "no" position, and chew on his fingers. He goes to get a book when mama tells him to get a book to read. And he gets his Donald Duck animal when mama tells him to find Donald. He loves pens and will even scribble on paper or anything else for that matter, if allowed. Giving hugs and cuddles is a favorite of his, but not for too long of a time period.

When he brings us a book, we had better read it. He whines and gets crabby if we don't, and will continue to grab our hand and place the book in our hand. But when we do read it, he gets very excited and will sit and smile as we read.

He is getting his two eye teeth on top. They came in at the same time around 13 months. They aren't completely through yet.

At around a year, he started sleeping with two blankets in place of his sleepsacks. And we try to get him to drink at least 16 ounces of whole milk from a sippy. No more bottles after a year. He does really well with the milk on an every other day basis. We just try to give him plenty of yogurt, cheese, and other dairy to make up the difference. Around 12 or 13 months, he gave up the pureed baby food and could handle most everything that we eat. However, I'm trying to use up the rest of the babyfood so he still gets some occassionally. He is wearing 18-24 month shirts, and 12-18 month pants and shorts.

He is just growing and changing so much. I cannot believe how old he looks as he walks around in his big boy shoes and shorts. It is so fun to see how much he is learning and to see him developing into a little boy. But I would be okay if he wanted to slow down just a little bit!

Easter 2010

2010-04-08T12:04:00.016-05:00

We had a great Easter weekend away from home. We spent the long weekend with Ryan's family this year. On Saturday, we went to his Grandma's for Easter lunch and an easter egg hunt. Here are pictures of Orin finding his Easter basket hidden in the yard:

All of the great-grandkids that were there to celebrate Easter. Notice the two munchkins (aka Thatcher and Orin)eating all the candy.

Papa and Orin

Sunday: Family picture after church.

All the men and boys had plaid shirts on which just called for a photo!

Mommy helped Orin find his Easter basket at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Walking Machine

2010-03-31T10:33:00.005-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen...

We have a walker!

A few steps turned in to walking across the room.

And each new day brings more practice and improvement!

Mama will surely be busier and crazier now chasing someone around the house!

Photo Shoot- Hazel

2010-03-29T20:18:00.014-05:00

Orin's friend, Hazel, came over for a little photo shoot. It was so fun to capture her little personality! Enjoy!

Newborn Shoot- Taylin

2010-03-29T10:15:00.002-05:00

Taylin came for a newborn shoot last weekend. She was only two weeks old! We had lots of fun trying out all kinds of poses. Enjoy the pictures!

Toy Box Troubles

2010-03-22T17:00:00.001-05:00

I fell into my toy box,

and I wasn't very happy!!

I Love One!

2010-03-16T10:37:00.008-05:00

I love this age. Having a one year old. He is so much fun and I am easily amused and entertained by him and his new discoveries.

This past week, I got out the bubbles. He loved them! He would swat at them, stand by me and watch me blow at the wand, and get down on the ground to smash the bubbles. And when I went to put them away, he grabbed the bubble container, whined, and handed it right back to me as if to say, "Mom, I wasn't ready to be done yet!" Daddy got his turn with bubbles this weekend. See??

My one-year-old, many months ago, discovered the stairs. But only by leaning/standing up along the first or second step. A few weeks ago, he magically disappeared while I was down doing laundry. After panicing and scouring the main floor, I heard a little noise from up above. Sure enough, he had crawled up the steps and made it all the way to our bed. Amazing how quickly he picked up on that when he had never even tried before.

And lastly, a hair cut was in order for this weekend. He was beyond shaggy. And after paying to have it done just a few weeks ago (his hair grows fast, I guess), I decided it was mama's turn to learn how to cut baby hair. I'm cheap and trying to save $16 a month. I figured since I already cut Ryan's, I can do the same kind of concept with the buzzer on Orin's hair. It turned out pretty short, but I think he looks cute, cute, cute. Daddy said he looks like a bulldozer with those big cheeks.

Those big ol' cheeks are kissing cheeks and we love them!! We are constantly amazed at how much Orin is learning and discovering. He talks nonstop, and he is a crazy and ornery little boy.

One Year Pictures

2010-03-11T20:48:00.011-06:00

Monotony

2010-03-09T06:28:00.006-06:00

We've been busy around here. Busy with the normal, everyday monotony. Feeding, changing diapers, tickling, grocery shopping, giggling, snapping pictures, subbing, playing, and taking naps. Last week was just one of those weeks. Nowhere to go, but lots to do. So sorry that Orin hasn't made an appearance here in a while.

This is how he spent part of last week. Pants-less and climbing to look out the window for daddy. He kept taking off his pants. Twice, I put them back on, but they magically kept coming off.

Even everyday monotony is entertaining and amusing with this little man around. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

1 Year Appointment

2010-02-28T21:44:00.005-06:00

Orin went for his one year doctor’s appointment this past Thursday, February 25. His doctor and nurse couldn’t get over how big of a boy he was. Here are his stats:

Weight: 22 lbs. 6 oz (50%)
Height: 32 inches (90%)

His fourth tooth made its first appearance on Thursday, also. He hasn’t been too bothered by it. He does like to gnaw on things, especially his fingers. Doctor said his ears were all cleared up from his double ear infection a few weeks back. And she recommended we give up the bedtime bottle ASAP so that it doesn’t become a battle later on. So that night I packed up all the bottles. So sad! Here is his current schedule:

7:30- Breakfast and 5 oz whole milk
9:30-10:30- Nap
11:30- Lunch and 5 oz whole milk
1:30-4:00- Nap
4:00- Snack and whole milk
6:00- Supper and whole milk (between snack and supper, I like to have him drink 5 oz)
7:00- 5 oz whole milk while doing the bedtime routine
7:30/8:00- Bedtime

He tends to drink better with the nuby soft nipple sippy cups. He also does a little better with the hard nippled sippy cups if there isn’t a stopper in the lid. I still have to force feed him drinks between every bite of food. As of now, I'm leaning towards just using the nuby cups for awhile until he gets better at taking a sippy. I know that is a step backwards from the two months of using a hard nippled cup, but if that is a way he can get all his milk, that is what needs to happen

We are battling out the naps right now. It really started about two weeks ago with him taking great morning naps (I would have to wake him up each day at 11:30), but then he wouldn’t fall asleep until between 3:00 and 4:00 for his afternoon nap, when he usually fell asleep at 1:30. So I started cutting his morning nap short to only an hour. We are still in the transition stage, so I’m not sure how well this will go. Eventually he won’t take a morning nap, and he will hopefully nap from 1-4 in the afternoons. We’ll see!!

Here he is learning to ride the four-wheeler that Grandma and Grandpa gave him for his birthday. He LOVES it! He gives us a big toothy grin as soon as he sits on it. It goes 2 MPH and has one button to push to go forward. He knows how to drive it himself and how to get off all on his own. Now we just have to teach him how to steer!

Orin's Birthday

2010-02-26T09:23:00.008-06:00

Orin celebrated his actual birthday on Sunday, February 21. Ryan and I wanted to spend the day with our little man celebrating his life. And we wanted it to be extra special even though we knew he had no idea it was his birthday.

So he got to have pizza, apricots, green beans, and a special birthday cupcake to celebrate. He even got to eat in the living room while watching the Olympics!

And then he went to bed wearing his new monkey pajamas from Grandma and Grandpa.

Orin's 1st Birthday Party- Construction

2010-02-24T17:31:00.025-06:00

Here are several (too many) pictures from Orin's party this past weekend. The weather kept several family members from coming, but we still had a good time celebrating the birthday boy. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Birthday Banner I made for the little man.

A year of growth. Pictures from each month.

Decorations above the food table

We had construction signs hanging around the house.

The painting of Orin that he got for Christmas.

Balloons

Food table- "Build" your own sub sandwich, orange chips, black/yellow/orange pop

Pasta salad made with wheel noodles

Cupcakes for the guests served with cookies and cream ice cream

The guest of honor

Orin and his girlfriend, Hazel. He was all over her, tackling and kissing.

Orin's smash cake

Auntie Kim and daddy made sure to help him dive in and get dirty!

He loved it! He kept licking his fingers and grabbing more.

Orin's 1st Birthday Letters

2010-02-21T18:01:00.003-06:00

Orin, you’re one year old today, which is just so hard to believe. It was only yesterday that your mom and I were going to the hospital to meet you. Now you can crawl and play, squawk and laugh. In fact just today Daddy taught you how to ride your new electric four-wheeler. You were so thrilled as you were jerked forward and the four-wheeler took off. I never knew two miles per hour could seem so fast. When you were done riding and all tuckered out you crawled to me and pulled yourself up on my legs. I picked you up and held you, your arm and then your head resting on my shoulder. There are few things as rewarding for a father as to hold his son, to be his protector and his comforter. I love you my little man. Daddy will be your protector and your comforter for as long as and in as many ways as I can. But, I want you to remember that when I fail, your Heavenly Daddy will not. He can be your supreme protection and your supreme comfort. Happy Birthday, Buddy.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy! Mama can hardly believe that it has already been one year since we first got to hold you in our arms. We had no idea how much you would rock our world and how utterly amazing parenthood would be. You are a loving, smiley, giggly, funny, stubborn, ornery, and curious little boy. You are extremely strong willed…we have no idea where you get that from! We love everything about you and your personality and we wouldn’t have you any other way! I have LOVED being home with you every second of everyday to watch you grow and develop into the little boy you are today. You bring me lots of smiles and joy as I listen to your constant babbling, watch your curious mind at work, and when you crawl into my lap for kisses and hugs. Your smile and laughter just melts my heart and I can’t imagine anything more precious than you. You are a sweet, sweet little boy, and we are so thrilled that God has blessed us with your little life for the last year. Happy Birthday, Orin Dale! Mama loves you!

My-Almost-1-Year-Old

2010-02-19T00:17:00.007-06:00

I went into your dark and quiet room tonight and scooped you right up out of your crib.

I rocked you back and forth while smelling your shampooed hair and kissing your sweet neck.

You won't always be small enough to be cuddled and to be rocked. I want to cherish and remember this time with precious little you.

You are almost one my sweet child. Seems like just yesterday we were wondering when you would make your grand entrance into this world. But yet we can't even remember what our lives were like before you.

Although you won't be considered a "baby" for much longer, you will always be Mama's baby!

I love you so much, my-almost-one-year-old!

1st Newborn Photoshoot

2010-02-17T20:31:00.006-06:00

Makenzie came for a photo session a few weeks ago. She was 8 weeks old and wide awake the whole time. Love her little smile! Here is a little glimpse into the session.

Special Birthday Girl

2010-02-16T21:37:00.003-06:00

Happy 4th Birthday, Lilly Bell!!! You are a very special little niece and we love you so much!! We cannot believe how much you have grown in just four short years.

We loved you from the start...

And we continue to love you more and more each day!

Happy Birthday sweet Lilly!!

Roses, Snow Cream, and Diapers

2010-02-11T22:37:00.005-06:00

My Valentine hand delivered these the other day. He broke the rules. We agreed that the concert and dinner were our gifts to each other for Valentine's Day. He said he got these for me to enjoy before we leave for the weekend. I love them!

------------------------------------------------
After our chili and bread tonight, we had brownies and snow cream for dessert. I've never had snow cream before. I had read about it on a few other blogs and thought we should give it a try. You know, since we have feet of snow on the ground and tons more yet to come! It tastes a lot like homemade ice cream and it only takes 5 minutes to make. Ryan collected the snow and we mixed it up together. It was fun! And tasted great with our brownies!

Snow Cream
1/2 gallon snow
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 TBS vanilla
1 cup milk

The original recipe called for a gallon of snow, so we halved the recipe. We ended up having to add more milk than it called for. Next time, we won't be adding quite as much milk so it doesn't get watery. It was really good...you should try it!!

------------------------------------------------
And finally, I took the diaper plunge. I went to diapers.com and bought a HUGE box of size 4 diapers and a HUGE box of size 5 diapers. Bigger boxes than I've ever seen in the stores. And they ship fast! I placed my order on Wednesday and received them today in the mail. And my shipping was free because I spent over $49.

Here's the deal:
Go to diapers.com and place a $49 order. You'll get free shipping. If you enter this referral code KDXU8026 you get $10 off your first order. I will also get a referral credit too when you use my code.

Then, you can go to http://www.diapers.com/helpcenter/parenting.htm and get a $14.97 rebate. You can get a full rebate instead of the magazine subscription.

You can even mail in your coupons and they will credit your account. Great way to save some money when buying diapers!

1st Official Haircut

2010-02-10T21:39:00.008-06:00

Orin had his first official haircut tonight at the salon. He did great for being almost one year old. Ryan came with and had Orin sit on his lap during the haircut. At first he wanted to grab the scissors and comb. And then he was occupied with his pacifier, a few toys and the spray bottle. He also enjoyed looking around at the other ladies everytime he heard them talking. The hairstylist did a great job of cutting whichever side of hair was facing her regardless of how much Orin squirmed and wiggled around. At one point, he was standing up and trying to jump on Ryan's lap. Of course, he couldn't make it too easy for her! He needed a trim, but I also wanted his hair to be able to be gelled and spiked. At the end, she put gel in his hair and it made him look a lot like his daddy. My baby boy looks so grown up now. So sad!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

My Friend, Hazel

2010-02-09T22:19:00.012-06:00

Hazel came to play for the day on Monday. The two babes had a great time! It was so fun to see them interact and play together. I love that they are such good playmates and so close in age. I had to capture some pictures of Orin and his little girlfriend. :)

Checking out the TV buttons. Too cute!

Trying to give Hazel a nice hug from behind

Getting a little rough and aggressive

Mom told me to be nice. Maybe I should give Hazel a backrub?

Our moms better watch us in the future!

What's that in your hair?

I've never seen anything like it.

Uh Oh! Don't mess with a girl's hair unless you want to see her come unglued!

He's All BOY!

2010-02-09T14:17:00.003-06:00

How come I have a feeling I'm going to be experiencing several more Orin destructions in my lifetime?? I can hardly wait to see what he comes up with next!

This...

2010-02-07T22:41:00.003-06:00

is
what
happens
when
Mama
leaves
the
room.

Orin opened the drawer that stored some of my teaching stuff and found an overhead transparency. There was something written on it about favorite pizza toppings and creating graphs. All the talk about pizza made Orin hungry! Can you blame him??

Orin Update

2010-02-04T14:29:00.004-06:00

An update on Orin:

He’s almost one! I can hardly believe that it has almost been a year since we were in the hospital meeting him for the first time. We’ve been busy planning and preparing for his construction-themed birthday party. I think it will be a good time!

When he turned 11 months, I substituted his 4:00 bottle with 6 ounces of whole milk and a snack. He took a while adjusting and accepting the fact that he was never getting formula at that time again. I changed it up trying to get a good feel for things. Like sometimes I would put the milk in a bottle and other times I would put it straight in the sippy. Sometimes I would try to rock him with the bottle or sippy and other times I would put him in the highchair to drink and eat a snack. He didn’t really do well with either option for a while. Then about a week and a half after that, once he had gotten the hang of it, I switched his 11:30 bottle to whole milk and lunch. It took him a good week to adjust, in fact he has only had two days now where he finished the whole sippy of milk. I fill the sippy with 10 oz of milk. I give him that milk during breakfast, lunch, snack, and supper. For the first few days, he was only drinking about half of the milk. But the last few days, he has done super and finished all 10 ounces. Success! I haven't decided when to switch the other two feedings.

Here’s his current schedule:

7:30- 6 oz bottle and breakfast
9:30-11:30- Nap
11:30- Sippy of whole milk and lunch
1:30-4:00- Nap
4:00- Sippy of whole milk and snack (cheerios, puffs, raisins, crackers, cheese, etc.)
6:00- Sippy of whole milk and supper
7:30- 7 oz bottle

I also found another tooth last night! He decided to go out of order and pop the top tooth right above his other tooth. Ryan said, “Well, I hope that doesn’t mean he’s missing that bottom tooth!” Haha! Orin hasn’t really showed signs of teething other than being really clingy and cuddly. He did wake up last night before we had gone to bed, so I gave him some Tylenol and that was good enough to get him through the night. I’m thankful that he doesn’t get too crabby when he’s teething!

Here's a few pictures of the little man. He’s been helping me prepare for my photo shoot I have tomorrow morning.

I think he’s pretty sick of mama always taking pictures. Look at that serious face!

Thoughts that Flow

2010-01-27T23:14:00.003-06:00

I should be sleeping but I can't shut my brain off. I have too many thoughts racing around in my head. I've been tossing and turning since 10:30, and I realized it wasn't going to stop until I wrote out all of my thoughts. So here it goes!

My great-uncle, my grandpa Orin's only brother, passed away on Tuesday. That wasn't a phone call I was expecting. My dad called and left a voicemail asking me to call mom or him when I got the chance. I called right away knowing that something was wrong. But it still wasn't easy hear. I will miss him, but that's not even what makes this hard. We were like the only family he had. He loved and adored Orin, always asking my grandpa how baby Orin was doing, and hanging pictures of Orin on his fridge. He came to visit us soon after Orin was born. And we also went to see them several times, and they gave Orin a little wooden rocking chair. But what makes this the hardest is to hear and see how this is affecting my grandpa. As brothers and farming partners, they were attached at the hip. They did everything together. Farming was the big thing, their livelihood, but they also took a fishing trip to Canada every summer. Grandpa will miss that. I don't want to see my Grandpa upset and sad. That's why I'm not looking forward to going back home. I also feel bad for his wife, Lois. She's very frail and weak and there is no way she can live by herself in the big farm house. What is she going to do? I worry for her. I'm sad for her.

I know I should be rejoicing in the fact that Arlo lived 78 wonderful and long years on this earth, and that now he is living it up with Jesus. But I don't feel that yet. I think more about the people he left behind and how long it will take to heal and move on. Please pray for my family as we mourn the loss of a great man. Visitation is Sunday night and the funeral is on Monday. I think the hardest days are yet to come as we travel home for the arrangements and the reality of it all finally sinks in.

------------------------------------------------
Ahhh, that really helped to work through my feelings and put them on "paper instead of keeping them a jumbled up mess in my head. On to a much less serious and much more shallow and selfish note...

Maria and I have been working out EVERY morning. Besides the few mornings when we were utterly exhausted and cancelled, we have been exercising each morning since the middle of June. That is 7 months! When we moved to OC, I told Ryan that I was going to ask Maria if she had any interest in walking/exercising together since she was home on summer break from teaching and because we had babies at the same time and were both struggling to lose the weight. Little did I know she was thinking the same thing. I'm so glad it all came together like that. During the summer, we walked outside with our babes in the stroller. Hazel and Orin. They were really too young to know what was going on, but we walked 3 miles every morning around town. That was fun and I think there was a lot of benefit that came out of those mornings- becoming more fit and forming a much deeper friendship.

In November, once the weather turned crappy and the snow started flying, we needed a place indoors. The gym offered treadmills, elipticals, weights, bikes, etc. so we signed up. Each morning, we hit the gym (besides those few mornings) for an hour. It's fun to have a partner who is just as adament about losing baby weight as you are and it helps keep me accountable to get my butt out of bed and do something about it. Except for those few mornings. :)

I've decided to be open and honest about my weight gain through pregnancy and where I'm at today. I debated posting this for a long time...like since June when all this exercising started. But I figured that I needed some sort of record, and I think this can add more accountability to my weight loss if you all know where I started and where I'm at today. And I'm hoping it helps keep my hands out of the bag of oreos. :) Put for real, I couldn't have posted this a few months back because I wasn't happy with where I was at in this journey. But now I feel different. In October, when Orin was 8 months old, I got back into my pre-pregnancy jeans. And that's when I realized that what I was doing was working and I was seeing results...finally! So here it goes:

At the beginning of my pregnancy with Orin, I weighed in at 147. At my 40 week doctor's visit, I weighed 184. I gained 37 pounds during those 9 months. Ouch! But I had to remind myself that that is good and healthy and normal.

When we moved to OC, I weighed 174 or close to that. Today, I weigh 157. My working out is really paying off. I'm regretting not doing something before June to get off the baby weight. My goal was to get down to 155, which I thought was my pre-baby weight. I was quite discouraged when I realized I had even further to go than I originally thought. But I'm okay with that. My goal, now, is to get between 150-155. I think that would be good. But I do feel really happy with myself now and am so proud of all the hard work we have been doing each morning. It truly does pay off. Next time around, with the next baby, I'm going to exercise throughout the pregnancy. I think that will help. But for now, I'm going to enjoy my "almost pre-baby" body for awhile before thinking about having another babe. :)

------------------------------------------------
I've been looking for activities to do with Orin that will keep us busy during the day. I feel like everyday is the same and there is really no excitement in that. I feel like all we do all day is eat, change diapers, play, read books, and sing songs. I need more than that!! I want to feel like I'm actually making a difference and teaching Orin something! Any ideas out there for what we can do? It is extra hard now with the weather. We don't go anywhere because I hate to get him all bundled up and take him in and out of his carseat. One idea I found was to do water painting on the sidewalk, but we obviously can't do that until spring. So I would welcome any fun ideas we could do here at home until then.

------------------------------------------------
I have my first newborn photoshoot coming up in a week or two. We haven't set the date yet. I'm waiting to get all my equipment sent to me, and then I'll be ready. I'm really excited about this one! I can't wait to try out all the cute poses I have seen done before. I just love little babies. I can't wait!! It will be so much fun...but kind of scary at the same time since this is my first official indoor shoot.

------------------------------------------------
I was in a supper rut for a while. Last week I broke out of that. I made supper every single night last week- except Monday because Ryan was gone. Good suppers like Chicken and Rice casserole, homemade pizza, tator tot casserole, and chicken pot pie. This week was off to a good start- Monday we hosted Bible Study, which meant no cooking. Tuesday was a roast and vegetables in the crock pot, but tonight I failed. Somedays, there just isn't energy for all the thinking behind figuring out what to make, checking to see if I have all the ingredients, and then actually making it. So it was a frozen pizza night as requested by Ryan. That was just fine with me! Tomorrow, I think I'm pulling out the Red Beans and Rice from the freezer. Sounds good, huh??

------------------------------------------------
I feel so refreshed and energized after getting all that out of my head. I needed that tonight. Thanks for listening!

I'll leave you with a picture of the ornery one. He looks mad, but he really wasn't. He was just standing there talking to me while I worked in the kitchen.

Orin's How-To on Eating with One Tooth

2010-01-25T14:14:00.011-06:00

Step 1: Have the bib on. Wait patiently for mom to put down the pureed food and offer me some fruit cocktail.

Step 2: Move the fruit to the front of my mouth and chew and gnaw on it with my one little tooth.

Step 3: Oops it's making its way out!

Step 4: Bummer! I lost it!

Step 5: Oh well...I'll use my whole fist to push it back into my mouth.

Step 6: Check to make sure peaches aren't coming out my ears.

Step 7: And the process starts all over!

Dotted Duck Giveaway

2010-01-23T09:28:00.003-06:00

Just wanted to let you all know that my friend, Mary, at The Yellow Door Paperie is hosting a giveaway from the dotted duck. Hop on over here to enter to win a free towel bib or a hand-crafted Valentine's Day card.

You have until midnight on Sunday, January 24 to enter the contest. Good luck!

Bath Time Fun

2010-01-22T08:05:00.010-06:00

For Orin's bath last night, we did things a little differently. Usually I undress him while the water is running and then just throw him in the bath. But last night, Ryan and I let Orin play around a little bit before actually getting him in the tub. We needed to kill some time before bedtime, and a bath is always the best way to distract Orin and keep him busy for a while.

Here's our little curious monkey checking it all out.

Yes, he's holding on to the toilet which makes this germaphobe cringe, but he's about to get clean in the bath. And he was looking up at his daddy so happy and proud of himself.

A little naked fun. This didn't last long because someone (daddy) was afraid of a little mess. :)

He thought he was so cool when he stood up in the tub. Daddy sat him back down immediately...after Mama took the picture, of course.

11 Months

2010-01-21T14:19:00.009-06:00

My baby boy is 11 months old today! How did that happen so quickly? I would have to say that before Christmas, when all the decorations were spread all over the house, I hated this mobile, get into everything, stage. But now that we have officially baby-proofed our home and put up a gate, I’m really loving this age! Orin is so interactive and intent on making us laugh constantly. He’s one silly boy and we can’t get enough of his fun, loveable self. We seriously giggle all day long. I LOVE being able to stay home with him!!

I feel like over the past month, he has accomplished so many new skills. More than any other month. Here’s what he’s been up to:

-He is eating more and more table food. He especially likes mooching from Mama and Daddy’s plates.
-He has eaten crackers, raisins, dried fruits, cheerios, craisins, and puffs for snacks.
-He hasn’t accomplished the ability to use his pincher fingers to pick up food and put it in his mouth. Once he picks it up, I have to help him get it to his mouth. He’s never been fond of putting stuff in his mouth, which is really nice when it comes to him crawling around on the floor.
-He is saying Da-da and yuck. He learned that one from Grandpa K. He does all kinds of other babbling as well.
-He knows what balls are and what his “drink” is- when we say to get them, he will crawl over and grab his sippie or a ball. We are trying to teach him to say “ball.”
-He signs “drink”, which is really the sign for milk. I don’t call it “milk” because we only sign it when he is drinking water out of his sippie. He has started to sign it on his own when he wants a drink.
-He crawls and pulls himself up constantly.
-He gets really excited when daddy comes home. He will crawl to the gate with a big smile on his face and wait for Daddy to pick him up.
-He has started to take a few steps along furniture.
-He waves bye-bye.
- He loves to crawl after us when we leave the room (if he notices that we left). Or he will stand at the gate and watch me while I work in the kitchen. He doesn’t cry when we leave the room, and I hope he never gets to that point!
-He likes to be held by anyone and will reach for anyone even when Mom or Dad are holding him. He isn’t afraid of strangers…at least not yet!
-He doesn’t like to cuddle unless he is VERY tired. I would love to snuggle him after his bottle, but he practically climbs me to get down so he can go play. Mom…don’t you see all those toys on the floor??
-He is taking three 6 ounce bottles and one 7 ounce bottle a day. He usually always finishes his bottles. The feeding is still fought towards the end, but if he has a toy that makes music or has lights, the bottle time goes much smoother!
-The hardest time for him to drink a bottle is when we are out and about (in the car) or at someone’s house. He just wants to join in the party and move around and watch people instead of laying still to drink a bottle.
-He is wearing size 12-18 month clothes, and I have started putting him in 18-24 month clothes even though they are a tad big yet.
-He wears size 4 diapers.
-He gets a jar of fruit mixed with cereal for breakfast, and a jar of vegetables or meat for lunch and dinner. For most vegetables and fruit, I mix in cereal to thicken it up a bit.
-Lately I have been mixing a bunch of foods together in the blender to give him more of a balanced meal since he will be on whole milk soon. For example, I mixed spaghetti noodles and sauce, peaches, peas, and twice baked potatoes and filled two ice cube trays. And I also mixed tator tot casserole, black beans, peaches, cottage cheese, and yams to fill one ice cube tray. Next up is chicken and rice casserole, banana, and carrots. Sounds yummy huh? He seems to really enjoy all the foods mixed together. And it makes me feel good because I’m giving him a variety of food groups while using up the homemade baby food that he wouldn’t eat individually because of the texture.
-He loves bits of table food- especially mandarin oranges!!
-This past month, he popped his first and only tooth. .
-He sleeps from 8:00-7:30 each morning. Most days he is up between 7:00-7:30, but he will just lay there and talk until I come in and get him.
-He naps from 9:30-11:30 and 1:30-4:00.
-He just started playing peek-a-boo with his blankets or burp cloth.
-He likes to clap his hands.
-When he is told no-no and moved away from what he is doing that is wrong, he kicks his feet and grunts at us. We try to hide our laughter- it’s pretty darn cute even if we have a little stubborn booger on our hands!
-He LOVES bath time!! I have never seen such a sight in my life! He kicks and splashes constantly! He will lunge down into the water on his tummy and flail all his limbs and make quite a mess with the water. He plays with all his bath toys and even crawls around in the tub. He loves it!

Baby boy, we love you to pieces!! You bring constant smiles to our faces and joy to our hearts. We can tell already that you are going to be one ornery and stubborn little boy. But we love that about you, and we look forward to seeing who you will become as God continues to mold and shape you. We love you all the way to the moon and back down to the dirt…times a million!

The Dotted Duck

2010-01-19T09:14:00.006-06:00

The dotted duck is finally up and running!! My sister-in-law and I decided to start a business selling towel bibs and homemade custom greeting cards. Here’s some information about the items that we make and sell.

GREETING CARDS:

-We make all kinds of cards. Our most popular are birthday, anniversary, wedding, congratulations, baby, sympathy, and thinking of you.
-You can request a certain kind of card, and we can make it for you.
-You can purchase an already made card that we have available.
-The greeting cards are $3.00 each plus tax and shipping.

TOWEL BIBS:

-Bibs are made out of towels so they are very easy to clean.
-These bibs are a great size for all ages- 4 months up to 4 years!
-They tie behind the neck.
-They come in two styles: plain bibs or ribbon bibs
-Plain bibs are $7.99 and the ribbon bibs are $8.99. Plus tax and shipping.
-They come in a variety of colors. Right now we are offering bibs in aqua, blue, brown, green, orange, pink, purple, red, and yellow.
-Towel bibs make great baby gifts!!

Please be sure to check us out at www.thedottedduck.com!

Playing in the Snow

2010-01-12T15:45:00.007-06:00

Who wants to play in the snow??

I do, I do!!

I am not a snow lover by any means!! In fact, I would be just fine with no snow all year! But I wanted Orin to have his first "experience" with snow, and I wasn't about to get both of us bundled up to go outside. Because I'm a snow hater. So I brought in a little snow for him to play with in his highchair. It was good, clean, sensory fun for him. And I enjoyed the part where we were both still in our pajamas, we were inside a warm house, and the easy clean-up afterwards. We might have to do this more often!

First Tooth

2010-01-08T14:07:00.002-06:00

Orin finally popped his first tooth! We first noticed his swollen gum and the white tooth underneath his gum on December 31st at my parents' house. But last night, when the little mooch was begging for pizza, I felt the rough sharp tooth poking through. So finally, after more than 10 months, Little Man has a tooth!

Orin's Block

2010-01-06T09:39:00.005-06:00

Towards the end of the Christmas season, I decided I wanted to start a new decorating tradition next year. I thought it would be cute to frame a picture of our child/children from each Christmas and hang them as ornaments on a small tree. But then I found a better and cuter option for the same type of idea.

This is Orin's block from his first Christmas 2009. I used a 2 inch block, mod podge, scrapbooking paper, photo paper, ribbon, a screw hook, and my cricut machine to create the block. I think it turned out really cute. My plan is to make one for each child each year. And if more children come along, I might include a siblings picture on the block as well.

Year in Review

2009-12-31T22:22:00.039-06:00

January:

I was very pregnant with Orin. We were counting down the days until we would get to meet our little one.

February:

On February 21, we had Orin Dale. He was the most precious little boy. Life has never been the same since. We have been completely in awe of our baby boy. We love him so much and feel so blessed to be his parents.

March:

We had family pictures taken with Orin only three weeks old.

Orin turned one month old.

April:

Orin and I went to Molly’s Junior Prom.

We celebrated Easter with both families.

Ryan and I announced our decision to move back to OC and that I planned to resign as a teacher and instead stay home with Orin.
Orin celebrated his baptism.

May:

Orin slept through the night at 9 weeks just in time for me to go back to work.
I went back to teaching after 9 weeks of maternity leave. Daddy stayed home with Orin for that month.
I celebrated my first Mother’s Day. I never imagined how wonderful it would be.

We took Orin to his first Tulip Festival.

I celebrated my first birthday as a mom. It was so special to have my little man there with me!

June:

The big moving day happened.
Ryan turned 25 on the 14th.

Ryan’s first Father’s Day with Orin.

Cousin Tucker was born just over 4 months after Orin.

Orin spent a lot of time with his friend, Hazel.

July:

Orin’s first vacation to the cabin for the 4th of July.

Orin spent time digging a basement with Grandpa.

August:

Orin’s first vacation to Minnesota with all of my family.

Orin turned 6 months old!

September:

First trip to the park happened in September.

We went to watch Molly on the Homecoming Court.

October:

I had my first photo shoot.

Orin was a skunk for his first Halloween.

I started subbing one or two days a week.
We took family pictures for our Christmas cards.

November:

We paid off the car.
Orin’s feeding battles got tremendously worse!
Orin turned 9 months old.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family.

December:

Orin learned to crawl and get himself to a standing position.

We gave Orin his first haircut.

We spent a lot of time visiting family for Christmas.

Christmas with the Great-Grandparents

2009-12-31T21:49:00.007-06:00

We had Christmas with my grandparents on New Year’s Day. The big highlight was that Santa and one of his elves came to make a visit!! My uncle, Bruce, and his daughter, Jenna, dressed up to surprise Orin.

Orin was spoiled again with lots of gifts from Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma. He was such a ham and loved every minute of all the attention he received. He wasn’t too fond of Santa, though, which kind of surprised us. He usually takes to anyone and isn’t really fearful of strangers. Once he was back in Daddy’s arms, he was fine! Here are a few pictures of his visit with Santa and his elf.

Christmas with the Grandparents

2009-12-31T19:19:00.023-06:00

We were able to celebrate with both sets of grandparents over the Christmas holiday. We left town right when I was done subbing and made it just in time before the big snowstorm. We spent a few days with each side. Having both families within an hour of each other is a blessing, but it also makes it hard because we feel obligated to see everyone during the holidays. We seem to wear ourselves out with all the traveling, but it is always great to see everyone. Here are pictures from both celebrations.

Katie's Family Christmas:

Orin and his presents from Santa

Opening his big gift from Santa

A big dump truck that he can ride and push

Orin by the Christmas tree

Ryan and I with my siblings and Orin

Orin by a few of his gifts...he's pretty spoiled by his grandparents!!

My mom and dad had this canvas painting done for Orin. It was the big highlight!

Orin with his Grandpa and Grandma K.

Auntie Molls and Uncle Benny think Orin's pretty special!

------------------------------------------------------
Ryan's Family Christmas:

Lilly and I on Christmas morning

Orin following the string to his gift

He found it!!

Daddy helping Orin open his wagon.

Grandma D. and Orin

Grandpa D. and Orin

Decorating sugar cookies

Making a cement stepping stone with his little feet

As you can see, we had a blast spending time with all of our family. Orin was kissed and loved on a lot! He got much better at pulling himself up to a standing position and he is now a very speedy crawler! He also started clapping and sticking out his tongue.

Tomorrow, we have Christmas with my Grandparents. Orin will be meeting Santa!! Can't wait to see how he reacts.

Family Christmas

2009-12-31T11:24:00.018-06:00

We celebrated our small family Christmas on December 19th. With all the traveling we planned to do closer to the 25th, Santa had to come a week early. Orin was very spoiled with lots of new toys, books, and clothes. Here are quite a few pictures from our Christmas morning.

Santa's gifts to Orin- couch, books, blocks, fridge phonics, bath toy holder, movies and stocking toys

Orin crawled right over to all the new toys.

Daddy and Orin reading about the birth of Jesus.

Orin loved his new couch.

Orin's first Christmas ornament from Dad and Mom.

Fridge Phonics

Mommy helping Orin unwrap his tool bench.

What is it??

Looking at his new books.

Look at all the toys, movies, books, and clothes. Orin must have been really good this year!

Orin gave Daddy some pictures for his office.

Ryan got an Ipod for Christmas.

Orin gave Mommy a hot rocks massage.

And I got a new camera lens from Ryan! I was very excited!!

First Haircut

2009-12-31T10:12:00.006-06:00

Orin got his first haircut on December 20th. I was holding off until the last possible day, because I was slightly worried about doing it. I’m not very confident in my hair cutting abilities. But the day had come when I was sick of looking at his long wispy hairs in front and over his ears. It was time to get out the scissors. Daddy helped hold Orin down and kept his head still, and Mama did the clipping. He is just as cute as before. Even if he does look a lot older! We made sure to keep the little bit of hair that we trimmed to save for his baby book. Here are some pictures.

BEFORE:

Daddy and Orin

AFTER:

Merry Christmas!!

2009-12-25T08:00:00.003-06:00

Many greetings to you from the Doughan household
Another year of blessings that God did unfold
Giving us a son was the big highlight
In meeting Orin it was love at first sight
Crazy hair and full of smiles

Ornery nature beats all by miles
Forward to Orange City we decided to head

Charting new waters to an old homestead
Home with Orin Katie does stay
Raising the little monkey most everyday
Into the school she occasionally goes
Subbing and mothering keep her on her toes
The shingling, building, and breaking of ground
Make Ryan’s partnership of three busy year-round
As we gather for Christmas with presents and fun
Simply remember God’s gift of Jesus his son

Then and Now

2009-12-21T10:00:00.005-06:00

Then (December 2008):

and Now (December 2009):

So crazy how much changes in a year!! We wouldn't trade it for anything! We love you so much baby boy it makes our hearts hurt! Little man, you bring so much joy and excitement to our lives. Sometimes we wonder what we did before you. We love you all the way up to the moon and back down to the dirt. We cannot believe you are already 10 months!