Love

this.

Total Sweetness

Dear Little One,
I love you more than I can explain.
Your smell,
Your quiet squeak,
Your soft skin.
You melt my heart.
I sit and stare in awe of you.

God made you so tiny & yet so perfect.
He gave you 10 little fingers & 10 tiny toes, all perfectly formed.
He placed a perfect little nose on your petite round face.
He put the breath of life in you.
He gave you a mind, a heart & a soul.
He placed you on earth for a reason.
He has big plans for your life.
You are priceless!

It's a Girl!

Bristol Anne

She is precious beyond words.

I'll be back next week and hope to get her birth story written soon.

Scripture & a Snapshot

God knew exactly who He was creating when He created you.
He took special care with each little detail of your body.

He has a plan for your life.
He wants you to be all He created you to be.

Whether adopted or born into your family, He handpicked your parents and placed you in their arms.
You have value, a purpose a special place in this world.

33

weeks down!

This pregnancy has gone terribly fast.
I am ready to meet our little one, yet I am not ready for my pregnancy to be over.
I enjoy being pregnant.
I still feel very good.
I am sleeping well.

This baby is a mover and a shaker!
He/She seems to be moving all the time.
We have fun watching my belly do the wave & pop up and down.

I started digging through baby clothes today.
I want to get a few washed up and ready to go.
It was like a trip down memory lane.

Tiny baby clothes............ they make my heart smile.

Finally

this little one decided her big girl bed was cool.
She wanted NOTHING to do with it for days.
She wouldn't even sit on it without trembling and crying.
.No Clue why.

We told her the crib broke.

It worked!!!

She loves her big girl bed now.
She doesn't get out without asking.
She plays contently with her 'meemee' (aka stuffed monkey) until I tell her she may get up.
Score one for mama :)
Next step, putting both girls in the same room.
This one may be a bit more challenging...

Baby Names

9.5 weeks to go!
.I have never made it to my due date.
.Call me crazy, but I am praying I do.
.If I make it to my due week, I'll be thrilled.
.I don't like things unfinished, I guess.
.Not that my babies have ever been unfinished.
.It must be a mental thing.
.Or possibly a-loss-of-brain-cells-due-to-pregnancy-thing.
.I'm tired.
.My boys are, well acting like boys, caveman boys.
.I will N.E.V.E.R. understand, boys, that is.
.Oh, but the joy they bring into my life.
Love them to pieces!

Enough rambling...Lets talk baby names!!!
We have a few ideas, but nothing definite.

I'd love to hear your suggestions!
No rules or stipulations give me all you've got.

Personal care Products

Taken directly from The Environmental Working Group

Better products are truthful in their marketing claims and free of potentially worrisome ingredients. Some products might make claims like "gentle" or "natural," but since the government does not require safety testing, personal care product manufacturers can use almost any chemical they want, regardless of risks.

How to read a label
Every personal care product must list its ingredients. Here's how to navigate the label:

• Start at the end, with preservatives. Avoid:
  
  
• Words ending in "paraben"
• DMDM hydantoin
• Imidazolidinyl urea
• Methylchloroisothiazolinone
• Methylisothiazolinone
• Triclosan
• Triclocarban
• Triethanolamine (or "TEA")
  
  
• Check the beginning of the ingredients lists, where soaps, surfactants, and lubricants show up. Try to avoid ingredients that start with "PEG" or have an "-eth" in the middle (e.g., sodium laureth sulfate).
  
  
• Read the ingredients in the middle. Look for these words: "FRAGRANCE," "FD&C," or "D&C."

For grown-ups
Many parents pay more attention to their kids' environmental health than their own, but adult bodies can be affected by toxic chemicals, too. EWG's Safer Shopping List has nine common-sense tips to reduce everyone's exposures. For instance, buy fragrance-free, skip the nail polish and use fewer products.

Just for kids
Extra caution is in order for kids because, pound for pound, they are exposed to more contaminants in everyday products than adults. Their immature metabolism and organ systems are typically less capable of fending off chemical assaults. Even subtle damage to young bodies can lead to disease later in life.

Follow EWG's top five tips for kids:

1. Use fewer products and use them less often.
2. Don't trust ad hype. Check ingredients.
3. Buy fragrance-free products.
4. Avoid the use of baby powder.
5. Always avoid EWG's top six chemicals of concern for kids:
   
   • 2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3 Diol
   • BHA
   • Boric acid and sodium borate
   • DMDM Hydantoin
   • Oxybenzone
   • Triclosan

Brilliant Invention

.Good.

.Thing.

.Their

.Washable.

Magical

I wonder

do they make fish dishes big enough for me?
I think I'm missing out on some fun.
Because...
She keeps going back to the cupboard
digging it out
and sitting in it.
Her new thing is rocking it like a boat.

And...

Sometimes she gets it going
a little to much.

Don't worry
all is well
she pops up smiling.
Then...

Back in she goes.

I. Love.This.Age.

Happy Friday!

It's just more fun

to play in a dish that looks like a fish.

::MONDAY::

::TUESDAY::

Hummmmm a bucket.

No, it's a hat.

I think we have a problem

WW Little One

Sweetness

I'm going to be content playing,
I'm going to fuss until she picks me up...

I'm going to obey,
I'm going to unload the pantry...

I'm going to eat my peas,
I'm going to throw them on the floor to watch them bounce...

Oh, the decisions of an almost 1 year old.

WW Hey, it's raining in there!

My morning do

We're still learning to handle all the curls.
Any suggestions?

Teaching Tip Tuesday, Catapults

Need a rainy day craft for your older children?
Build a Catapult!
The instructions are clear and have pictures to show each step.
My boys did it without any help from me :)

We launched marshmallows, pennies, and...

Cheerios to the baby :)

The boys have several adjustments they are going to make when they build the next one.
Bigger and Better it will be! so they say...
It might be a while, but I'll be sure to share when they get it done.

Homemade Baby Cereal

My baby is 9 months old. I can't believe it!
Where does the time go...

A few months ago I wrote about making my own baby food and what foods I started with. I explained that I don't start with cereal, instead I start with avocados. Many Pediatricians use to recommend starting with rice because it considered one of the least allergenic foods. However, many Peds are now leaning toward starting with avocados, banana's or sweet potatoes. I do believe whole grains to be very nutritious and an important part of a babies diet, but until 6-8 months a baby's digestive system isn't mature enough to handle whole grains. The processed and refined rice cereal you purchase is not a whole grain, (the good stuff has been taken out and it has been 'enriched') which is why you can feed it to a very young infant.

Making baby food is very easy.
Fruits and vegetables simply need to be washed thoroughly, cooked/steamed and pureed. It is simple to do this in large quantities and freeze in freezer cube trays or small containers. Cereal takes slightly more time until you get a system down. There are several short cuts you can take to decrease the time cereal takes to prepare.

1. Blending whole grains into a powder in a food processor or blender will shorten the cooking time. As your baby grows, you can shorten the blending time resulting in a thicker cereal.
2. The powdered cereal you purchase from the store has been processed, refined, precooked and dehydrated, which allows you you 'just add liquid'. Cereal you make from whole grains must be cooked, even in a powdered state.
   
3. Making big batches and freezing extra cereal will cut down on preparation time.

Brown Rice Cereal

• 1/4 cup brown rice powder
• 1 cup water

Bring water to a boil. Add the rice powder, stirring constantly. Reduce to a simmer. Simmer 10 minutes, whisking consistency. Add breast milk, water or formula to desired constantly. Serve warm, add pureed fruits/veggies if desired. Freeze extra. Double or triple if desired.

Oatmeal
1/4 cup ground old fashioned oats, NOT instant or quick cook
3/4 - 1 cup water

Bring water to a boil. Add the oatmeal powder, stirring constantly. Reduce to a simmer. Simmer approximately 10 minutes, whisking constantly until cooked. Add breast milk, water or formula to desired consistency. Serve warm, add pureed fruits/veggies if desired. Freeze extra. Double or triple if desired.

NOTES:

• When making baby cereal, you are not limited to brown rice and oatmeal! Any whole grain can be make into cereal. A good general rule to follow is 1/4 cup powdered grain to 1 cup water. The smaller the grain, the more water you will need. Smaller grains pack together tighter making them more dense than larger grains.
• Around 7 months of age your baby can have mixed grains. Simply mix the grains and cook together.
• Around 9 months of age your baby can have beans/legumes. Grind beans in blender and cook with the grains. Two parts grains to one part beans/legumes equals a complete protein.
  
• The less powdery you grind the beans/legumes and grains, the longer the cooking time will need to be.
• If you are making rice/millet/barley/couscous/quinoa/beans... for your family, simply puree or mash after cooked and feed to your baby.
• Healthy add in's (wait until 8-9 months): brewer's yeast, kelp, wheat germ, flax

Remember, whole grains are a great way to start every one's day!
Ditch those boxed cereals, add some fruit, cinnamon and a little honey or sugar, and you've got a great breakfast for the whole family :)

When a 3 year old offers to get Cheerios

this is what you might find...

Scoop #1...

and then scoop #2...
More is better, right?

Cheerio Jackpot!

'Humm, how many can I scoop up to fit in my mouth?'

Oh, boy. Cheerio over load.