8 months

8 months... already?!?

What is Wren up to?

Eats anything! Favorite is still avocado and sweet potato.

Sleeps great! 1-2 hour morning nap, 2-3 hour afternoon nap, 12 hours of uninterrupted night time sleep. We cut out the middle of the night feeding. :)

Will make it up on all 4's but hasn't quite figured how to crawl yet.

Sitting unassisted for longer periods of time.

Has said "Ma" a few times (usually when crying)... we are still waiting for a definite, but "Momma" might be her first word just like it was for her sister.

Signed "More" for the first time while eating

Will wave "bye bye"

Loves to have us carry her and us "chase" after Harper

Still really likes the paci... I try to limit it to naptime and bedtime if I can, but it also helps in church :)

Her top 2 teeth have broken through the gum

We moved her out of her infant car seat because I just couldn't bear to lift the thing anymore! She is pushing 20 pounds. She seems to like her new ride in her convertible seat. Still rear facing - which she LOVES because she can see Harper.

Sweet girls!

We took a family trip last weekend to visit my grandmother (the girls' great-grandmother). It was about a 4.5 hour car trip. They were great travelers on the trip there and great sleepers too.


We had one little hiccup in that our portable DVD player kicked the bucket on this trip. Harper was NOT happy! We worked in a trip to Wally World to pick up a replacement.



My grandmother sold her house and we helped get things organized for the big sale coming up. It is literally a house FULL of memories. This was taken after a day of work, and is a bit blurry... but this is 4 generations-


Chad had to work this weekend on Mother's Day, but on Saturday morning before he left he had apparently given Harper a "secret card" to hide in her room and give to me the next morning. I think it was about 30 minutes after he left that she was talking to herself and mumbled something about "the secret Elmo card daddy said is a secret" - then tried to tell me about it. I sort of brushed it off and she didn't say anything else. Until... she wakes up from her afternoon nap and I go upstairs to get her. She is standing at the door, holding up the card and vigorously liking the envelope saying "just wait I've got to be sure to get it sticked". Since nap was over, it equated to morning time to her and she would wait no longer to give me the card. It was sweet. And... Chad ended up finishing up a bit early and we went out to eat Sunday night after church (Mexican!) and then went for some frozen custard. Yum!

It was a great Mother's Day! I love all my girls!

not incredible...but...shrinking

Anyone remember that movie?? Random thought.

So a little recap on the New Year's rezzies. First off, I debated even posting about this except for accountability reasons ONLY. It's a pretty good motivator for me. Once I put it out there, I can't go back... right???

So...2012 started and I had a few goals, the main one was to shed some of the excess poundage I'd accumulated due to pregnancy (x3), bad habits, and just general laziness I assume. We stopped the mindless snacking, and started putting better foods in our bodies. I haven't been perfect, and yes I still cheat sometimes, but I am happy with the results...

I'm used to posting pics of the kids, so this is a little embarrassing! I had a hard time finding a 'before' pic, because...well... I just didn't like to have my picture taken. Not that I run to cameras now... but I wasn't happy with how I looked. I am my own worst critic and HATED to look at pictures of myself. Still do. In this before pic, (which, granted, compared to others' weight loss journeys I didn't have as far to go), but I am actually demonstrating how to use a baby as a human torso shield. Strategically turning myself sideways (not a bad tip in general, but I was constantly aware of how I would appear in said photo) so you wouldn't get a view of the hip width...ha! But my face... ah... I just didn't look like I felt well. And I didn't. And I can guarantee those pants were WAY too tight that day.

I'm still uncomfortable being in any kind of spotlight... but after losing 30 pounds I can say I feel SO much better. My moods are better, I enjoy being outside more and playing with the girls. I know that the size of my clothes and the number that is my weight in pounds... they are, just numbers. Each person is different and there is no perfect size, weight, nor should there be. I had just gotten to a point where I knew I wasn't healthy and needed a change. I am no poster child for weight loss AT ALL.

Funny enough, my gallbladder incident occurred a good month before I started this, and the kidney stone incident occurred just as I hit my goal... but I've had a few people comment on my "health problems" (this makes me laugh... ) contributing to my "rapid weight loss"... Actually, no. But humorous nonetheless. Even though I am typically the youngest patient at the urologist's office. ;)

We used the free Lose It App on our iPhones to track what we were eating and our calorie intake. That's all. Some days we splurged, yes. I still don't exercise like I should and drinking the amount of water I need to is still a challenge. Just remember, it's good for your kidneys. :)

Other resolution updates...

Watching what I spend... better. Still needing improvement. What can I say, the Target Dollar spot calls me in every time! I pinned this little dandy of a drawing because that is SO me...

For this reason I don't stare too closely at the Target logo. :)

De-clutter and organize... Ok, FAIL. Baby steps, baby steps.

House projects... just wrapping up on the message center/command station (I promise there is a post coming). Numerous closets to be cleaned out. Next big project will be the master bedroom/bathroom.

Sewing projects... I've done a few things but not a lot. I made Harper a little Easter outfit, ruffle capris, 2 shirts to match the pants, and a hair bow. I made the hair bow the week after the pic I got of the outfit, but here are the pics...

Blogging... not as much as I'd like. But I'm still here!

If you've made it this far... congrats. You may be one of the lucky few who get to read it, because I might just come back and delete it. Hard to believe we are almost halfway through 2012. We are ready for summer!

one minor detail... well, actually two

Yes, I completely left out Wren's TWO teeth that she started cutting over the past month. That should have been in her 7 month update...oops! This was the best pic I had of them-

So far she has only been maybe a little fussy with them, still sleeping well at night. She beat Harper by a few months in the teeth department. I was hoping we'd have a gummy grin for a little longer!

I have to be honest and say I'm not sad at all to say goodbye to April. My "little" bout with kidney stones (2 tiny ones, but which decided instead of passing, to obstruct things...which was a big problem) left me with 1 ER visit, 2 separate overnight hospital stays (and in 2 different hospitals!), 2 cat scans, and 2 times being put to sleep for surgeries/procedures...and another year of meeting our insurance deductible. Womp womp waaaa.... Yet again, I'm very thankful we have good friends here willing to help out, and family willing to drive to help as well. It's times like this that make being away from family a bit more challenging. Hoping for better things to come for the rest of 2012!

7 months...

The past 7 months have flown by!

Wren is such a happy baby and is doing great! We have finally gotten the sleeping schedule down... something that I never quite mastered with Harper. Wren nurses 6 times per day, and also eats with us at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Foods she has tried and the verdict:

Avocado - still a favorite
Bananas - likes
Sweet Potatoes - likes
Acorn and Butternut Squash - likes
Apples - not a fan, too tart perhaps
Peaches - hit or miss
Pears - likes
Green Beans - likes
Puffs - LOVES (shovels them in her mouth)
Oatmeal - likes

Harper has enjoyed helping me make Wren's baby food. It amazes me how much money it has saved us not buying jarred/packaged baby food. I am using this site as a guide and it's been really easy. I bought a few of these silicone pans to freeze the purees. Each square holds about an ounce. Once frozen, the cubes pop out and I store them in freezer bags.

This is butternut squash. Harper likes to help me push the buttons on the blender and help me pipe the pureed food into the squares.

Other things Wren is up to these days:

Laughing all the time at Harper
Rolling everywhere
Almost up on all fours in crawling position
Almost sitting unassisted
Has recently started taking a paci again - not sure how I feel about that!
Has outgrown the baby swing and bouncy seat :(
Has graduated out of the baby tub into the "big tub"
(our utility sink - where we love to bathe babies!)
Squealing (to hear her own voice)
Naps twice per day (afternoon nap is longer)
Sleeps 12 hours at night, with one waking to feed sometimes
Doesn't scream in the car pick up line when we pick up Harper anymore :)
Really wants to eat the food off our plate!

Harper's 7 month pic:

Wren has been wearing this outfit lately too. I still think they look nothing alike!

bullets

Oh, me. Let's just sum it up in list format. (with random phone photo dump)

Egg hunts.


Kidney stones. HORRIBLE. Still dealing with them after almost 2 weeks.
Apparently, 32 is the age where my body starts falling apart. ;)

My parents dropping everything and coming for a week to help out.


More egg hunts.


Harper having her pick of ANY Easter candy... and she chooses Pez. More Reese Eggs for me!


Making "Empty Tomb" rolls with Harper.

Wren cuts 2 teeth. A.K.A. - It feels like we have a newborn again.



Wren can do push ups. (It's pretty funny)

Loving my freezer meal group. This saves my sanity.

An Easter bomb exploded in the house.
I am overwhelmed sometimes with the constant clutter.
I hope Hoarders doesn't call.



Yummy Easter lunch with good friends (who are also our neighbors)




Harper loves her hand-me-down tap shoes Nanny found for her.
We have performances on the front porch.



Wren is doing well on the baby food - all of which I have made myself so far.
Lots easier than I ever thought it would be.

Working on a little home project, an "organization station" of sorts. Pics to come.

iPhone photo frenzy

Last week was spring break. Harper was out of school, and rain was in the forecast. Chad was headed out of town for the week. Here are a few pics from our week!


This is about half of our stash of bibs. We go through them a lot now! I bought a pack of 10 "bummy/around the house" bibs at a consignment shop. Some are boy colors and say things about being handsome. We spit our food on those too.



Aunt Crystal and cousin Skylar decided to come spend the week with us while Chad was out of town. When the cat's away...the mice will play!!! We had so much fun.



Harper's buddy G came to visit and we baked cookies. We made trains, airplanes, cars...and Easter bunny cookies. :)



I slept upstairs while Crystal and Skylar were here. It worked out well...the girls are playing in this pic while I was getting ready one morning.



My parents were here the week before and also slept upstairs. Mom arranges my pillows neatly in the corner. I just left them that way.

I learned that at 3am, however, the pillow arrangement looks a bit different-



Yes, he has a knife. Look out.



We chased down the ice cream man! Harper begged me to let her hold the money...which I did. As soon as the truck pulled up, she quickly hands it back to me and said "you hold the money. I'm not going to talk." silly girl!



We went on a nice long walk as a family along the river. We let H out of the stroller to walk for a bit on the bridge...


Accident prone? Possibly. It bled a lot but she is fine. We had a hard time getting it to stop bleeding completely, so we rigged her up before nap-


Nice!!


She didn't forget that Daddy had promised ice cream while she was crying.



Someone likes squash!



Back to school today!

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the half birthday!

Look who is 6 months old!

Half a year already! Our little Wrenny is growing so fast! At her six month well visit she was 17lb 14oz (75th%) and 27.25 inches long (93%). What she's up to these days:

Loves her feet
LOVES to watch Harper to anything
Rolling over, except still struggles with her arm in the way
Laughing
Grabbing anything she can get her hands on
Putting everything in her mouth
and...

Sleep... finally!

Ever since we moved her to her room we have really worked at getting her on a good schedule. Two naps per day (afternoon is usually longer), and goes to bed at 7pm. She usually wakes once to eat and will sleep until 7am in the morning. Loving this!! She's much happier too. She did well with the time change, even though when she has been going to bed it hasn't even been dark yet.

And... as customary in this house... when you turn 6 months old you get to start solids!

Ready to go! Let's see what this is all bout!

We skipped the rice cereal this time, and went first with avocado.

Hmmm....

I think it was a success. She ate it up!

So far I am trying to make her food myself and have been stocking the freezer with cubes of pureed veggies. We are waiting a few days between foods just to make sure there are no crazy reactions. After avocado, on the agenda: bananas, sweet potatoes, squash, oatmeal.

Chad had a birthday on Monday and we celebrated with him too! He got a little mini-cake that Harper helped me make. We cooked him dinner with his all-time favorite food: Mac & Cheese. I made Pioneer Woman's Macaroni and Cheese and it was fabulous!

Harper is singing 'Happy Birthday' in this pic. She helped him blow out his candle.


Happy Birthday to Chad! Happy 3 1/2 to Harper! Happy Half to Wren!
Happy ??? to me? Oh well, I'm happy too!