Thursday, September 24, 2009

First Night in the Big Girl Bed!



Yeah! We are so excited! Maria spent her first night in her Big Girl Bed. We decided not to get a toddler bed (b/c we didn't want to buy another crib mattress)and went straight for the twin sized bed. It's been in her new room since April, but until last night, she's continued to sleep in her crib. We put the monitor in her room and Gerry read her some books. Then he tucked her in and told her she had to stay in her bed. He turned a night light on for her. I didn't think it would last very long...but she fell asleep at 8:00pm and I didn't hear from her until 6:00 this morning! Great Job Maria!

Surprise Trip to the Park

This past Tuesday night, Gerry called me from work and told me not to make dinner. He said he wanted to pick up dinner for all of us and then do something fun with the kids. I was very excited because I didn't have to cook and because we are usually so busy during the week that we rarely get time to do anything fun like this. So, Gerry came home with P'sgetti's. (yum) After we ate, we all loaded up into the van. Then, we went to a cute little park in Fenton that had a perfect sized playground for Maria. She loved it! The 3 slides were all small enough for her to go down, but big enough to make them fun! Gerry took her for a little walk on one of the trails that led to a nice little lake while I fed Naomi. It was a lot of fun...we really need to do that kind of stuff more often. Both of the girls slept really well that night ;)

Maria and Naomi's Dedication

On Sunday, September 20th, 2009, Gerry and I dedicated our daughters before God and the church.

A Baby/Child Dedication is a ceremony in which believing parents make a commitment before the Lord to submit a child to God's will and to raise that child according to God's Word and God's ways. Christian parents who dedicate a child are making a promise to the Lord to do everything within their power to raise the child in a godly way, prayerfully until he or she can make a decision on his or her own to follow God. (http://christianity.about.com)

This was a very special event for both Maria and Naomi, as well as Gerry and I. We recently joined this church and we love it, so it was a great way to start off our membership- by making one of the most important commitments to God for our children.

Our part in the ceremony was very short, but to the point. Surprisingly, Maria and Naomi both did very well while we were up on the stage. We were also very lucky to have our family there. We really appreciate Karen, John, Bobb, Laura, Olivia, my mom, Galen, my dad, my grandma, Jeff, Kelly, Hailey and Gerry's mom showing their support and being there for us on this special day.

After the service, we invited everyone over for lunch. We ate ham, mostaccioli, garden salad, potato salad and banana bread. It was great! Maria and Naomi received some very nice gifts including some books, toys and clothes. They also each received a beautiful wooden personalized cross from their Uncle Bobb, Aunt Laura and Olivia.

We couldn't of asked for a better day!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Naomi is 4 Months Old!!

On September 8th, Naomi turned 4 months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone by! Over the past few days I have been putting all the summer clothes away and getting out fall/winter stuff. It makes me sad to put away the cute little clothes that Naomi has already grown out of. It makes me wonder if I will ever see them on another child of mine...makes me sad to think Naomi MIGHT be our last baby, maybe our last girl.(tear) Some of the clothes have such sentimental value. I think sometimes I am in denial that she has outgrown them. The size might be 0-3 months, and I think maybe I can get her to wear it just one more time before I have to put it away.

Well, whether I am in denial or not, Naomi went to the doctor for her 4 month check up and the proof was there. She's growing like a weed. She weighs 13 pounds, 5 ounces and is 25 inches long. She is still 50th percentile for her weight and 75th for height. Her personality is coming through more and more every day! She is so smiley and giggly. She has the funniest laugh that makes me laugh harder every time I hear it. She lights up every time she sees Maria and cracks up at her when she starts dancing around. We are constantly telling Maria to "Show Naomi how you dance" just so we can hear Naomi laugh.

One of her new talents is grabbing her feet and putting them in her mouth. She also likes to have two fingers in her mouth all the time. She is trying roll over but she will get stuck on her side. She still hates tummy time but we are making her do it more every day. We think we have her acid reflux under control (for now). After switching bottles and putting her on soy formula, the doctor told us to try thickening her feedings by adding rice cereal to her formula. This seems to help tremendously! However, she doesn't always finish her bottle b/c the cereal is filling her up. But, she's not screaming bloody murder anymore at night, so I'll take it!

Speaking of cereal, the doctor also told us we can begin giving her cereal from a spoon. We tried it for the first time last night and she didn't really know what to think of it. She didn't hate it though. Here are some pics of her at 4 months and eating from a spoon.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Maria's First Day of School

Back in February, Gerry and I decided to take a look at some pre-schools that offered a one or two day a week program to give Maria something to do during the week. With Naomi on the way, we knew that Maria would need some time to get out and socialize with other people and kids. We found one that we absolutely loved and Maria had her first day there today! Leaving her with the speech therapy group on Wednesdays has totally helped prepare her for this day! She didn't hesitate one bit when walking in the classroom, nor did she care that I was leaving. I was a little sad and wondered won't she even miss me a little bit?? No, really, I am very proud of her independence and confidence.

When I picked Maria up, her teacher said she had a great day and was all smiles all day long. She gets a note sent home every day and today's read that she was "happy and had a great day"; they also wrote that she is "full of joy, participated in all the activities and especially loved the playground!" She also ate most of the food I packed in her brand new Kai-Lan lunch box. She was very sleepy by the time we got home and had no problem falling asleep for her nap! What an excited day. I hope she continues to do well every week! Here are a few pictures from her first day:





Labor Day Weekend 2009

First I need to start by announcing my good news: I went to the dermatologist on Wednesday, 9/2 and everything looks good!!! Whoo hoo! We have had a very exciting week. Labor Day weekend was fun...and I was very excited to have Gerry home for 3 WHOLE DAYS! Friday night, my buddy Erin came over and we had fun eating burgers and drinking wine. Saturday, we were going to go to Grant's Farm, but the rain changed our plans. Instead we ventured out to the mall and to Target with both kids. They both needed new clothes for the fall/winter and Maria desperately needed new tennis shoes. We were lucky to find some cute things at The Children's Place and we got Maria's shoes at Journeys for Kids. The we decided to go to the Target in the city and we met John and Karen there. We hadn't seen them in a long time so it was nice to chat with them for a while. After church on Sunday, my mom came over to watch the girls so Gerry and I could stop by an old friend of mine's 30th birthday party. Natalie and I used to work at Kennelwood together a long, long time ago. Then she up and moved to Texas. We lost touch over the years, but we reconnected thanks to the magic of Facebook. Her family still lives here so she came in town for her b-day! It was great seeing her again after so long. Monday, Gerry and I spent the day cleaning and rearranging things. I FINALLY put all of my maternity clothes away and Gerry was able to move all the rubbermaid tubs back in to the basement. We moved them all out to the garage before construction started downstairs. Now Gerry can park in the garage again! Later that day, Jeff and Kelly came over and brought all the fixins for BLTs. It was great considering we had been working around the house all day and didn't really have any plans for dinner. Thanks, guys!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Angel Babies

The Washing Machine is My New Best Friend!

So the big event that recently took place in our home was the big switch over to CLOTH DIAPERS!!!! This is something I've wanted to do ever since Maria was born, but never got motivated to do it. Since Naomi joined our clan, we are spending so much more on diapers and it was just getting really annoying. Before Maria was born, I had done some research on cloth diapers. The only ones I had even heard about were the traditional pre-folds that most people, today, use as burp cloths. That's when I discovered BumGenius!!! BumGenius created a diaper that is all in one and get this: one size ADJUSTABLE diaper that grows with your child! Gone are the days when you had to safety pin the diapers together and put those creepy feeling plastic pants on your baby. These diapers do it all, except wash themselves, of course. The come with a multi-layered , absorbent insert and a waterproof outer shell that velcros together. Adjustable snaps make it easy to change when your child grows a little bigger. My sister-in-law, Laura, has been using them on Olivia since she was a tiny baby and she loves them. Upon hearing this idea, most people look at me and ask "why would you do that???"

Well, wonder no more because here's why:

1)MONEY: We were easily spending around $60-$70 a month in disposable diapers. Although it's a big investment up front, it will only take us 6-7 months to re-coup that cost with the cloth diapers.

2)HEALTH: Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper bleaching process. It's a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. In small quantities, dioxin causes birth defects, immune system suppression, skin and liver diseases and genetic damage in lab animals. It is banned in most countries, but not the US. Disposable diapers contain Tributyl-tin, a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. They also contain Polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer, which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. This chemical can cause skin irritations and severe allergic reactions including vomiting, staph infections and fever.( Every mom has seen those nasty little gel blobs on their kid's bottoms every once in a while...that's what those are)

3)ENVIRONMENT: Your baby will need anywhere from 6,000-9,000 diapers during the first 3 years of life. Over 92% of all single use diapers end up in a landfill. No one knows how long they take to decompose, but it is estimated to be about 250-500 years.
(All of these facts came from www.DiaperShops.com)

So, those are my top 3 reasons. Am I doing a little more laundry...YES! Does it take more time to fold the diapers...YES! Is it a pain to have to change their diapers a little more often...YES! However, I am a stay at home mom, and I am willing to deal with these inconveniences to save my family money and protect my kids from as many unhealthy chemicals as possible. Besides all this, they look really, really cute on their little bums! See for yourself!

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Yo Gabba Gabba!





These pictures were taken just goofing around one day. We all know how much Maria loves Yo Gabba Gabba! Of course, Naomi had to get in on the action as well! They were too cute so I had to post them!
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