Thoughts that Flow

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.

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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. :)

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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.

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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.

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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??

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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.