Homeschooling that is! Am I the only one who finds myself looking at curriculum already? I know it's going to be a little while still, but I can't help it...I get so excited when I think about homeschooling my little Peanut Butter Cup, and have already been giving thought to what curriculum I want to use, when I want to start, and how I'd like to do it. Does anyone else out there do this?
I personally LOVED being homeschooled. It was such an awesome experience and provided me with so much more flexibility than other kids who went to formal schools. And no, I wasn't friendless and un-socialized, thank-you. :-p I had lots of friends...goodness, we even had our own softball league (which I know some of you reading this were on at some point or another -- or had a sibling who was on it -- good times). :-)
Anyhow, I was just curious as to whether I am the only one who is already getting excited about teaching my little one. I'd love to hear what everyone else is thinking!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Bananas!
Okay, so I actually got a chance to sit down today and go through, pick out, and then edit several photos of Peanut Butter Cup's first experience with solid food. Enjoy!
"Hey, why am I in this thing?"
"Ooo, Mommy's finger!"
"That's not Mommy's finger!"
"Eeewww! What was that?!"
"Mommy, what are you trying to do to me?"
"No more, please. Ever."
Bananas and HE SAID MA-MA!!
This has been quite an eventful week for my little Peanut Butter Cup -- first we decided to go ahead and introduce solids Monday morning, so I mashed up some banana for him (I'll have to post some pictures of his expressions from that first foray into the world of solids after I get a chance to go through them and pick out a couple), then this morning he was holding my finger (and talking to it apparently, ha ha) and he said "Ma-Ma." I know he doesn't associate me with "Ma-Ma" just yet, and he hasn't said it again since then (not together anyhow, he has said "Ma" with other baby coos and such since then), but that still doesn't lessen my excitement over the fact that he said it. His first word!! Unless of course we count when he said "Rawr" plain as day sometime last month. That was so funny -- his face after he said it was priceless. :-) Though I guess "Rawr" doesn't really count as an actual word.
I wonder when he will say "Ma-Ma" again? I can't wait! :-) He melts my heart (though I think that has probably been a pretty common occurrence around here since his arrival!).
Oh, and today Peanut Butter Cup is 24 weeks old!
Well, I just wanted to share! Hope y'all are having a good evening!
I wonder when he will say "Ma-Ma" again? I can't wait! :-) He melts my heart (though I think that has probably been a pretty common occurrence around here since his arrival!).
Oh, and today Peanut Butter Cup is 24 weeks old!
Well, I just wanted to share! Hope y'all are having a good evening!
Monday, April 26, 2010
The Weekend and More Photoshop
The weather was rather unpleasant here on Saturday, so we postponed our trip to the zoo until next Saturday (hopefully the weather will be nicer then!) and stayed at home after running a couple of errands around town.
Sunday, however, was a BEAUTIFUL day! We weren't able to make it too church unfortunately, but that may have been a blessing in disguise in a way. Apparently the storms from the day and night before blew open the gate to our backyard (I'm not sure how, but it was wide open -- when I went to look at it), I didn't realize that when I let Quigley out into the yard just before 7:30 am. Around 10:20 am my neighbor down the street called and told me that Quigley was in our front yard. When I heard that I had all sorts of things going through my mind ranging from "How on earth?!" to "Oh my goodness! What if he mauled Logan?" Logan being the neighbor's 2 1/2 - 3 year old son (I wasn't thinking straight initially, because I think if Quigley had mauled Logan, Katie would have told me, ha ha). Quigley absolutely hates Logan because Logan antagonizes Quigley from his side of the fence and he won't stop (which is driving me nuts because I'm not sure I can trust Quigley around Peanut Butter Cup anymore because of Logan). There have been at least two times that I know of (and I'm sure there have been more occasions that I haven't heard happening) where Quigley has gotten so angry with Logan he starts trying to get at him through the fence...and from the way he sounds when he's doing it, I think he would seriously injure Logan or worse if they didn't have that fence between them. Thank God it is a tall wooden privacy fence. Anyhow, all that to say: Quigley was out and about the neighborhood for who knows how long and if we hadn't been home he probably would have come into contact with Logan (who seems to enjoy kicking and hitting not only his own dogs -- which I've watched him do repeatedly on numerous occasions from my kitchen window -- those two dogs must be VERY good natured) as apparently Katie and Logan had just gone out to their front yard (which is how she saw Quigley), and I'm not so sure that would have turned out well. Thanks be to God that Quigley was in our yard when they came out!
That afternoon we went out to spend some time with the horses (and it was a perfect day to do so!). Our friends (another couple who are currently stationed here) had been out there for a while already along with Jodi, the farm's owner -- and the spunkiest old lady I know (all I can say is I hope I have as much spunk and energy when I am 73 as she does!) -- and they were waiting for my husband, Peanut Butter Cup, and myself to arrive. As soon as we got out we were asked if we'd noticed the new pony, which we had, and Joey wanted to see what I thought he looked like...he isn't the most attractive pony and it was kind of hard to see much of any one breed in him at first -- until after Joey started giving me some hints of how he'd been behaving before we'd arrived. We decided that he is most likely a Quarab, which is a cross between an Arabian and a Quarter Horse. Not my favorite cross by a long shot, but that is besides the point. :-p
Anyhow, it was 'worming day' for all of the horses on the farm as my husband and I finally remembered to bring the dewormer with us (we've had it at our house for the past 2-3 weeks). Though there were only eight horses it took us about two hours to get them all done because the Quarab (who is a rescue) was rather skittish, and the mini, Peanut, didn't want to be caught and it took quite a while to get him to warm up to the idea of letting one of us get near him and then put a halter on him. He's such a funny little fella...I need to post some pictures of him in the near future...he's too cute. Oh, and did I mention he's a stallion? And the Thoroughbred mare is in season. Thank goodness they are in separate pastures (even though they couldn't really do anything that wouldn't stop them from being crazy).
Speaking of pictures...here are a couple I was working on earlier this afternoon that I took 2-3 years ago. My free trial of Photoshop is about to end so I wanted to get at least a couple more pictures experimented on -- let me know what you think!
Sunday, however, was a BEAUTIFUL day! We weren't able to make it too church unfortunately, but that may have been a blessing in disguise in a way. Apparently the storms from the day and night before blew open the gate to our backyard (I'm not sure how, but it was wide open -- when I went to look at it), I didn't realize that when I let Quigley out into the yard just before 7:30 am. Around 10:20 am my neighbor down the street called and told me that Quigley was in our front yard. When I heard that I had all sorts of things going through my mind ranging from "How on earth?!" to "Oh my goodness! What if he mauled Logan?" Logan being the neighbor's 2 1/2 - 3 year old son (I wasn't thinking straight initially, because I think if Quigley had mauled Logan, Katie would have told me, ha ha). Quigley absolutely hates Logan because Logan antagonizes Quigley from his side of the fence and he won't stop (which is driving me nuts because I'm not sure I can trust Quigley around Peanut Butter Cup anymore because of Logan). There have been at least two times that I know of (and I'm sure there have been more occasions that I haven't heard happening) where Quigley has gotten so angry with Logan he starts trying to get at him through the fence...and from the way he sounds when he's doing it, I think he would seriously injure Logan or worse if they didn't have that fence between them. Thank God it is a tall wooden privacy fence. Anyhow, all that to say: Quigley was out and about the neighborhood for who knows how long and if we hadn't been home he probably would have come into contact with Logan (who seems to enjoy kicking and hitting not only his own dogs -- which I've watched him do repeatedly on numerous occasions from my kitchen window -- those two dogs must be VERY good natured) as apparently Katie and Logan had just gone out to their front yard (which is how she saw Quigley), and I'm not so sure that would have turned out well. Thanks be to God that Quigley was in our yard when they came out!
That afternoon we went out to spend some time with the horses (and it was a perfect day to do so!). Our friends (another couple who are currently stationed here) had been out there for a while already along with Jodi, the farm's owner -- and the spunkiest old lady I know (all I can say is I hope I have as much spunk and energy when I am 73 as she does!) -- and they were waiting for my husband, Peanut Butter Cup, and myself to arrive. As soon as we got out we were asked if we'd noticed the new pony, which we had, and Joey wanted to see what I thought he looked like...he isn't the most attractive pony and it was kind of hard to see much of any one breed in him at first -- until after Joey started giving me some hints of how he'd been behaving before we'd arrived. We decided that he is most likely a Quarab, which is a cross between an Arabian and a Quarter Horse. Not my favorite cross by a long shot, but that is besides the point. :-p
Anyhow, it was 'worming day' for all of the horses on the farm as my husband and I finally remembered to bring the dewormer with us (we've had it at our house for the past 2-3 weeks). Though there were only eight horses it took us about two hours to get them all done because the Quarab (who is a rescue) was rather skittish, and the mini, Peanut, didn't want to be caught and it took quite a while to get him to warm up to the idea of letting one of us get near him and then put a halter on him. He's such a funny little fella...I need to post some pictures of him in the near future...he's too cute. Oh, and did I mention he's a stallion? And the Thoroughbred mare is in season. Thank goodness they are in separate pastures (even though they couldn't really do anything that wouldn't stop them from being crazy).
Speaking of pictures...here are a couple I was working on earlier this afternoon that I took 2-3 years ago. My free trial of Photoshop is about to end so I wanted to get at least a couple more pictures experimented on -- let me know what you think!
Here is the original:
And here is the enhanced version:
SNAKE WARNING!! He was a friendly snake though, so no worries.
Original:
Enhanced:
Well, I guess that is it for now...I really should head off to bed now so I can get some sleep before my little Darlin' wakes up. Goodnight all!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Bad News and Good News
The bad news is that there are supposed to be "Strong Storms" all day tomorrow, so I'm pretty sure that we will have to postpone our outing to the zoo. That's okay though, it's not like the animals are going to go anywhere. :) Maybe next weekend the weather will be better...or maybe when we check the weather in the morning it won't be so bleak and we will still be able to go (not likely, but hey, you never know :).
Now for the good news: a friend of mine who lives in the area where I am hoping to be able to leave my horse while we are stationed overseas, may have found a farm for my boy! She is going to check it out this Sunday and will let me know what she thinks after that. I will feel SO much better once we get Titan taken care of and I know that he is going to have people that I know and trust keeping an eye on him for me. So, please pray that this will work out if it is the Lord's will -- and that if it isn't, that that will be clear and we will be able to find a good and safe place to keep him while we are gone.
Oh, an update on the blackout curtain and sleeping...this morning Peanut Butter Cup decided to wake up at his normal time (right around 6:50) and then not let me put him back down after that...so who knows which morning was the fluke? I guess only time will tell...I'm hoping that he will have a better night tonight. We shall see....
Goodnight everyone!
Now for the good news: a friend of mine who lives in the area where I am hoping to be able to leave my horse while we are stationed overseas, may have found a farm for my boy! She is going to check it out this Sunday and will let me know what she thinks after that. I will feel SO much better once we get Titan taken care of and I know that he is going to have people that I know and trust keeping an eye on him for me. So, please pray that this will work out if it is the Lord's will -- and that if it isn't, that that will be clear and we will be able to find a good and safe place to keep him while we are gone.
Oh, an update on the blackout curtain and sleeping...this morning Peanut Butter Cup decided to wake up at his normal time (right around 6:50) and then not let me put him back down after that...so who knows which morning was the fluke? I guess only time will tell...I'm hoping that he will have a better night tonight. We shall see....
Goodnight everyone!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Of Blackout Curtains and a New Poll :)
So, last night my husband and I put up a blackout curtain in our bedroom to see if it would help Peanut Butter Cup sleep a little bit longer in the mornings as he's been waking up between 6:30 and 7:00 most mornings. My theory was that when the morning light came into the room and he would wake up be able to see stuff it stimulated him too much and he wasn't able to fall back asleep after that point. Putting up the curtain last night was kind of an experiment of sorts, and I have to say that I am impressed. Now, this morning could have been a fluke (though I'm really hoping that it was not!), but he didn't wake up (for the day) until 7:50. I was pretty excited about that when I looked at the time (I didn't have the slightest idea what time it was when I heard him moving around because the curtain blocked out about 95% of the light -- if not more). Pretty exciting! Hopefully it was not a fluke....
In the case that the song on the blog has been annoying anyone, I created a poll that should be directly to the right. So, here's your chance to let me know if it has been driving you nuts. :-) You have until the evening of May 1st to vote. Please let me know what you think!
Let me know what you think of the new blog background, fonts, color of header font, etc. if you want to as well! If something seems out of place, and I'm just oblivious to it, then feel free to point it out. I don't bite, I promise. :)
Goodnight!
In the case that the song on the blog has been annoying anyone, I created a poll that should be directly to the right. So, here's your chance to let me know if it has been driving you nuts. :-) You have until the evening of May 1st to vote. Please let me know what you think!
Let me know what you think of the new blog background, fonts, color of header font, etc. if you want to as well! If something seems out of place, and I'm just oblivious to it, then feel free to point it out. I don't bite, I promise. :)
Goodnight!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
23 Weeks Old Today
My little munchkin is getting so big! It's strange to think yet another week has passed and very soon we will be introducing solids into his diet. Though it's a bittersweet thought for me, I think he is going to L.O.V.E. that milestone. :-) It's going to rock his world.
My husband's last day of academics was today (woo-hoo!), so now he only has about 8 more hours of flying left to do and then he is DONE! So, not too much longer.... After he finished his test today he was able to come home for a few hours before he had to go back in, and while he was home we decided that we are going to try to go to the Montgomery Zoo this coming Saturday. I'm pretty excited -- Peanut Butter Cup's first trip to the zoo! I've already recharged both of my camera batteries, ha ha. Can you tell I'm excited? :-p
My husband's last day of academics was today (woo-hoo!), so now he only has about 8 more hours of flying left to do and then he is DONE! So, not too much longer.... After he finished his test today he was able to come home for a few hours before he had to go back in, and while he was home we decided that we are going to try to go to the Montgomery Zoo this coming Saturday. I'm pretty excited -- Peanut Butter Cup's first trip to the zoo! I've already recharged both of my camera batteries, ha ha. Can you tell I'm excited? :-p
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Genealogy Anyone?
Today I was adding some of my relatives to my family tree on MyHeritage.com and I made several interesting discoveries, one being that both my sister and myself share birthdays with two of my maternal grandmother's brothers. I had already known that I shared a birthday with my Great-Uncle Ernie, but none of us has realized that my sister was born on Great-Uncle Jefferson's birthday. I found it rather ironic -- not that we shared birthdays with relatives, but that two sets of siblings shared birthdays. Maybe I'm just weird and it's not that big of a deal, but it was a surprising discovery for me.
I also found out that one of the girls (Mildred) listed as my maternal grandmother's sister was actually her cousin. Apparently her mother had when she and her siblings were very young and her and her brothers were 'doled-out' among the aunts and uncles who raised them as their own children. My mom told me that Mildred always referred to her real father as "Uncle ..." when growing up as she didn't know that he was really her father. When they eventually told her the truth (if my mom remembers correctly what her mom told her), it created a huge rift between Mildred and the rest of the family. Isn't that sad?
So, there are some random facts I discovered during my family-tree making quest...one of these days I'm going to join a genealogical website so I can delve farther back and learn more about my family history. I want my children to know where our roots were.
Does anyone else reading this have as much of a fascination with genealogy and family history as I do? What have you done to learn more about your roots?
I also found out that one of the girls (Mildred) listed as my maternal grandmother's sister was actually her cousin. Apparently her mother had when she and her siblings were very young and her and her brothers were 'doled-out' among the aunts and uncles who raised them as their own children. My mom told me that Mildred always referred to her real father as "Uncle ..." when growing up as she didn't know that he was really her father. When they eventually told her the truth (if my mom remembers correctly what her mom told her), it created a huge rift between Mildred and the rest of the family. Isn't that sad?
So, there are some random facts I discovered during my family-tree making quest...one of these days I'm going to join a genealogical website so I can delve farther back and learn more about my family history. I want my children to know where our roots were.
Does anyone else reading this have as much of a fascination with genealogy and family history as I do? What have you done to learn more about your roots?
Monday, April 19, 2010
One Week Down...Three to Go!
Of the last phase of my husband's school that is.... I'm so excited about him being done and us (hopefully) being able to spend more time together as a family without the stress of him constantly needing to study. Not to mention the fact that sometime soon after that we will be moving! We are so ready to leave this place though we still don't have an exact date yet of when we will be leaving. I'm not sure how much longer after graduation we will be hanging around here to get things done around the house to prepare it for being rented out. Hopefully we will be able to get a lot done in the two weeks between classes ending and graduation so that we won't have to be here much longer afterward. I need a change of scenery.
There is still so much left to do before we move however. For example: sell the xTerra, find homes for the cats (Panda = YAY! Penny = :'( ), find someone to watch Quigley (our Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler) for a couple of months until his FAVN bloodtest comes back negative and then stick him on a plane bound for Hawaii, find a place to board my horse for the next 3 or so years (I'm sad that I have to leave him for so long, but there is no way I can afford to have him shipped to and from Hawaii and he's such a good horse -- albeit untrained currently -- that we aren't really willing to part with him) -- and then drive him to wherever that may be, replace the carpet in the house, and find a property manager for the house. I'm sure there are many other things to be done in the next five or six weeks, but those are the highest on my priority list right now. I know that everything will come about in God's timing, I just can't wait until all of the animals are accounted for (they are my main concern).
On a totally different topic...one of my cousins had her second baby today -- a BEAUTIFUL baby boy! I'm so thrilled for them! They already have a little girl and she'd told me before that looking at pictures of Peanut Butter Cup was making her excited about having a boy. :-) I think being on the mom side of things now makes me more thrilled when I hear about someone else having a baby than it ever did before...maybe that is because now I understand and know how much love a parent has for their child and how amazing the whole experience of being a parent is. Babies and children are such a blessing! I'm so excited for my cousin, her family, and the new addition -- I can't even put into words how happy I am for them!
Speaking of precious baby boys...my little Peanut Butter Cup is still teething with no sign of the 'toofers' (ha ha) yet. Since I've never experienced a teething baby before I'm not sure if this means anything as to how much longer it will be before a tooth emerges, but for the past few days he has been pulling in his lower lip over his lower gums and just holding it there. Also, if I try to gently push his lip down so I can see the gums, he will pull his lip in like I just described and squeeze his mouth shut (it's so cute when he does it). If he decides that he wants my finger in his mouth though, in it goes. Yesterday he had my hand and he tried each of my fingers one by one -- starting with my pinkie and working his way towards my thumb. :-) He would put one finger in his mouth for a couple seconds, pull it out, look at it, grab the next finger, look at it, put it in his mouth, and so on and so forth. It was too funny! He was concentrating so hard. :-)
Well, I guess I'd better go try to get some sleep before Peanut Butter Cup wakes up. Goodnight everyone!
There is still so much left to do before we move however. For example: sell the xTerra, find homes for the cats (Panda = YAY! Penny = :'( ), find someone to watch Quigley (our Australian Cattle Dog/Blue Heeler) for a couple of months until his FAVN bloodtest comes back negative and then stick him on a plane bound for Hawaii, find a place to board my horse for the next 3 or so years (I'm sad that I have to leave him for so long, but there is no way I can afford to have him shipped to and from Hawaii and he's such a good horse -- albeit untrained currently -- that we aren't really willing to part with him) -- and then drive him to wherever that may be, replace the carpet in the house, and find a property manager for the house. I'm sure there are many other things to be done in the next five or six weeks, but those are the highest on my priority list right now. I know that everything will come about in God's timing, I just can't wait until all of the animals are accounted for (they are my main concern).
On a totally different topic...one of my cousins had her second baby today -- a BEAUTIFUL baby boy! I'm so thrilled for them! They already have a little girl and she'd told me before that looking at pictures of Peanut Butter Cup was making her excited about having a boy. :-) I think being on the mom side of things now makes me more thrilled when I hear about someone else having a baby than it ever did before...maybe that is because now I understand and know how much love a parent has for their child and how amazing the whole experience of being a parent is. Babies and children are such a blessing! I'm so excited for my cousin, her family, and the new addition -- I can't even put into words how happy I am for them!
Speaking of precious baby boys...my little Peanut Butter Cup is still teething with no sign of the 'toofers' (ha ha) yet. Since I've never experienced a teething baby before I'm not sure if this means anything as to how much longer it will be before a tooth emerges, but for the past few days he has been pulling in his lower lip over his lower gums and just holding it there. Also, if I try to gently push his lip down so I can see the gums, he will pull his lip in like I just described and squeeze his mouth shut (it's so cute when he does it). If he decides that he wants my finger in his mouth though, in it goes. Yesterday he had my hand and he tried each of my fingers one by one -- starting with my pinkie and working his way towards my thumb. :-) He would put one finger in his mouth for a couple seconds, pull it out, look at it, grab the next finger, look at it, put it in his mouth, and so on and so forth. It was too funny! He was concentrating so hard. :-)
Well, I guess I'd better go try to get some sleep before Peanut Butter Cup wakes up. Goodnight everyone!
Friday, April 16, 2010
More Photoshop experimentation today....
Okay, so thanks to my friend Shaina and my husband, I have come to the conclusion that the enhanced photo of the plumeria (which is now in the blog header) was superior to the original straight-out-of-the-camera photo that I once thought was rather pretty and now seems somewhat bland (my poor photo! Ha ha). So with that in mind I decided to play around with Photoshop again today and then post the results here to see what you have to say (if anyone has anything to say at all that is :). I'll post the original first and then the two enhanced photos below it. Can I say in advance that I'm aware of the fact that the lines around the clover leaves are not perfect...I couldn't figure out how to go back and correct the 'overflow' of green. If anyone reading this can tell me how, please do!
I know it's not necessarily the most attractive photo to begin with, I just saw it as an opportunity to experiment with...gosh, I don't even know what this result in a photo is called.
Anyhow, thanks for looking and for any feedback you may have (good or bad -- I don't mind if you critique my pictures because that is how I will be able to improve).
Alright here is the straight-out-of-the-camera photo:
Now, here is the first enhanced version (what I did before my husband came home and gave me his input, ha ha):
And here the one my husband likes (because the green "pops" out of the picture more):
I know it's not necessarily the most attractive photo to begin with, I just saw it as an opportunity to experiment with...gosh, I don't even know what this result in a photo is called.
Anyhow, thanks for looking and for any feedback you may have (good or bad -- I don't mind if you critique my pictures because that is how I will be able to improve).
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Ooo -- two posts in one day! :)
This will just be really quick as I really should be sleeping.... I've been meaning to post this for the last week and a half, but hadn't had a convenient time to do so until now.
Easter Sunday the choir at church sang a song called "Unto the Lamb". I had never heard it before and it was absolutely beautiful...after some searching, I was able to find the song on GrooveShark (awesome site to listen to songs for free -- it's like a customizable radio!), and wanted to post the lyrics and link to the song on here so that others may be as blessed by the song as I was (listen to it here: Unto the Lamb -- it is the version by Christ for the Nations Institute).
Easter Sunday the choir at church sang a song called "Unto the Lamb". I had never heard it before and it was absolutely beautiful...after some searching, I was able to find the song on GrooveShark (awesome site to listen to songs for free -- it's like a customizable radio!), and wanted to post the lyrics and link to the song on here so that others may be as blessed by the song as I was (listen to it here: Unto the Lamb -- it is the version by Christ for the Nations Institute).
Unto the Lamb
I can see Jesus, high and exalted,
My eyes are fixed upon his face,
It shines like the sun,
I can see Jesus, clothed in glory,
He is high and lifted up,
And his train fills the temple,
And all of the angels cry holy,
All the saints cry holy,
All creation cries holy,
Holy is the Lamb,
All praise unto the Lamb,
Who sits on the throne,
Honor and power, dominion and praise,
Unto the Lamb, Who was and is, and is to come!
Goodnight!
I'm scared...
...of Photoshop. That's what I discovered today when I decided to do some experimenting with my free trial of CS4. Aside from having hardly any clue as to what I was doing, I constantly second guessed anything I did to the picture I was playing around with. After a while I decided to compare what I'd done to the original -- I was so surprised initially at the amount of difference between the two photos (I didn't realize just how much the original was lacking in color until that moment). I guess what I'm getting at is: how do you know how much is enough -- and when you've overdone it? I don't want my pictures to turn out looking artificial because I went crazy with 'fixing' it. I decided I'd post the before and after here to see if anyone could give me any suggestions.
So, if anyone is still reading this blog, and if you know anything about Photoshop, photography, or just want to add your two cents on which picture you like better -- please, give me feedback! I'm still undecided about whether I like how the picture turned out or not. Does it look too enhanced?
Here is the original:
And here is what I ended up with:
So, if anyone is still reading this blog, and if you know anything about Photoshop, photography, or just want to add your two cents on which picture you like better -- please, give me feedback! I'm still undecided about whether I like how the picture turned out or not. Does it look too enhanced?
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Update on last night....
First of all, please allow me to apologize for my little 'outburst' at the end of last night's post. I was frustrated and didn't mean to come across as harshly as I believe I did. I realize that each individual family has it's own parenting style, and what works for one family may not work for another -- just as what works for one child may not work for another within the same family. That being said, please allow my husband and me to grow and evolve our own parenting style that works for our family without criticizing the choices that we have made or are making. Please trust that we do not take our occupation as parents lightly and are trying to be the best parents that we can be and are constantly striving to improve and better (was that redundant?) our parenting. Criticism is not helpful and only serves to distance us from the criticizer. I think it is safe to say that is the last thing any of us want. Helpful advice, however, is not to be confused with criticism and is welcomed unless it becomes overbearing. *Please don't think that by writing any of this that I am writing this to anyone in particular...I'm simply trying to write out my thoughts.*
Now, for my update on last night....
I ended up trying for three hours to get Peanut Butter Cup to fall asleep in his crib without any success. My husband (who is currently on a night schedule), gave it a try when he got home (also without any success) and so we decided to just go ahead and swaddle him again. Oh blessed relief! After he was swaddled and fed one more time my husband set Peanut Butter Cup down in his crib, where he fussed for maybe 10-15 seconds and then promptly fell back asleep. Praise be to God!
We've since decided to hold off on unswaddling him at night until he is beyond teething as right now having those two things thrown at him at once may just be adding insult to injury. We definitely don't want to compound any discomfort he may be experiencing by removing the comfort and coziness he has when he is swaddled.
Tonight when I put him down he didn't even wake up (and he was in bed just after 8:30 woo-hoo!). Such a huge difference (and relief!) compared to the past couple of nights! Despite the fact that we are eventually going to have to 'break him' of the swaddling (and who knows if given the chance if he would eventually wean himself of it sometime down the road), I highly recommend swaddling as it has definitely helped my little one to sleep better at night (I've never swaddled him for naps, but I know that many parents do). After he outgrew his blankets that we were using to swaddle him we transitioned to the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe (see picture below) and it has been amazing. It works very well and has been an awesome tool in getting our little one to sleep at night.
Well, I guess I'd better take this opportunity to get some sleep before Peanut Butter Cup wakes up and wants to eat. Have a goodnight!
Now, for my update on last night....
I ended up trying for three hours to get Peanut Butter Cup to fall asleep in his crib without any success. My husband (who is currently on a night schedule), gave it a try when he got home (also without any success) and so we decided to just go ahead and swaddle him again. Oh blessed relief! After he was swaddled and fed one more time my husband set Peanut Butter Cup down in his crib, where he fussed for maybe 10-15 seconds and then promptly fell back asleep. Praise be to God!
We've since decided to hold off on unswaddling him at night until he is beyond teething as right now having those two things thrown at him at once may just be adding insult to injury. We definitely don't want to compound any discomfort he may be experiencing by removing the comfort and coziness he has when he is swaddled.
Tonight when I put him down he didn't even wake up (and he was in bed just after 8:30 woo-hoo!). Such a huge difference (and relief!) compared to the past couple of nights! Despite the fact that we are eventually going to have to 'break him' of the swaddling (and who knows if given the chance if he would eventually wean himself of it sometime down the road), I highly recommend swaddling as it has definitely helped my little one to sleep better at night (I've never swaddled him for naps, but I know that many parents do). After he outgrew his blankets that we were using to swaddle him we transitioned to the Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe (see picture below) and it has been amazing. It works very well and has been an awesome tool in getting our little one to sleep at night.
Well, I guess I'd better take this opportunity to get some sleep before Peanut Butter Cup wakes up and wants to eat. Have a goodnight!
Monday, April 12, 2010
Has it really been FIVE months? Already? HOW?
Peanut Butter Cup turned 5 months old yesterday, and I am still in a state of disbelief that it has already been nearly half a year since he arrived and changed our lives forever. How has the time gone by so quickly? I don't think it would be as hard to believe if it had only been 3 months -- but five? That means we are only about a month away before I feel okay about beginning to introduce some solids into his diet. At the risk of sounding repetitive, I am astounded that we are almost to that point. The introduction of solid foods is a HUGE milestone to me and to be so close to it is almost unnerving in a way. Besides, it still seems like it was just last week when he started letting us know that he was VERY interested in trying the foods Mommy and Daddy were eating (when he was just over two months old), and I was telling him, "I know you want this Sweetie, but you have to wait for about another 3 1/2 months."
I think the upcoming solid food milestone coupled with the fact that he will be a year old in seven months instead of ten is what has hit me the hardest since yesterday. My little baby is well on his way to being a toddler, and while I know that particular milestone is still a little ways off it is fast approaching the horizon and will soon be in sight. Each passing day brings it closer and closer while I am powerless to stop it's approach. No one ever prepared me for the bitter-sweetness of watching my precious baby grow and change. The song, "In My Arms" by Plumb (see lyrics below and listen to it here) never fails to bring tears to my eyes because it is so very true.
I'm sorry if this post is ridiculously sentimental...that's what happens when your baby starts growing up on you -- you become ridiculously sentimental, or at least, I DO. Ha ha! :)
Moving on to a less sentimental topic and on to one that has caused some frustration the past few days....
Since Peanut Butter Cup has become quite proficient at rolling over, he has been rolling over at night and trying to sleep on his tummy instead of his back now. This I wouldn't mind so much as he has good head control and can prop himself up on his arms and move around, but up until a few nights ago we were still swaddling him as it helped him to sleep better. Obviously, when he rolled over while he was swaddled he didn't have the same range of motion as he would if he was not swaddled. With that in mind, about four nights ago I decided to try him in his sleep sack after one of the night feedings and see how he would do and thereby begin to get him adjusted to sleeping without the swaddler. He stayed asleep when I put him back down in his crib, but about 40 minutes later he woke up and was fussing as he rolled around in the crib. After that I re-swaddled him after feeding and changing him again as it seemed like that was the only way to help him go back to sleep. After talking to my mom the next day and her encouraging me to just work through all of the frequent wake-ups for a few nights while he adjusts to not being swaddled and being 'free', I hesitantly decided to go ahead and work on it over the weekend. The first night Peanut Butter Cup woke up A LOT (and he tried to sleep on his face once too!). The second night I decided I was going to try putting him in a onesie instead of the sleep sack so he wouldn't get it twisted around his legs if he rolled around a lot again. I forgot initially so I ended up changing him to the onesie after he woke up the first time. He woke up more than usual again, would fall asleep nursing and then as soon as I would set him down he would roll over thereby waking himself up again and start to fuss. I tried rubbing his back, singing our special lullaby, keeping my hands on him, letting him hold my hand -- all to no avail (except for one time when he fell back to sleep for about 40 minutes after I rubbed his back for a few minutes). After a few minutes of him working himself up and me realizing he wasn't going to go back to sleep, but was just going to keep fussing and rolling around the crib I'd pick him up, nurse him, and then try again. At one point last night it took four tries over a period of an hour before he went back to sleep after being set down.
So far tonight, we are working on attempt #3...here goes....
Well, that was a no-go...I tried for twenty minutes, without success. I think the worst thing about this besides the lack of sleep for Peanut Butter Cup and myself is that we had finally gotten bedtime established as being between 8:30 and 9:00 (but tonight for example, it's nearly 10:30 and he isn't in bed yet -- and my first try at setting him down was right around 8:30). I'm at a loss...any thoughts or advice are welcome (besides "letting him cry it out" as recent research has shown that method does more harm than good, and I am just not comfortable with it. Period. End of story. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but I'm tired of having my method of parenting criticized -- along with all of the reading and research I've done being called into question...I can assure you it has been extensive).
Anyhow...this post has become a lot longer than I originally intended it to be, so I guess I should end it before it gets any longer and I bore you to death (that is, if you've even made it this far! Ha ha!).
Goodnight Everyone!
I think the upcoming solid food milestone coupled with the fact that he will be a year old in seven months instead of ten is what has hit me the hardest since yesterday. My little baby is well on his way to being a toddler, and while I know that particular milestone is still a little ways off it is fast approaching the horizon and will soon be in sight. Each passing day brings it closer and closer while I am powerless to stop it's approach. No one ever prepared me for the bitter-sweetness of watching my precious baby grow and change. The song, "In My Arms" by Plumb (see lyrics below and listen to it here) never fails to bring tears to my eyes because it is so very true.
Your baby blues, So full of wonder
Your Curly Que's, Your contagious smile
And as I watch, You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight, Knowing
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Story books, Are full of fairy-tales
Of kings and queens, And the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see, The truth for lies
When the
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
Cause you are never all alone
Cause I will always
Always love you
Hey I
Hey I
Will always love you
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
In my arms
Your Curly Que's, Your contagious smile
And as I watch, You start to grow up
All I can do is hold you tight, Knowing
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Story books, Are full of fairy-tales
Of kings and queens, And the bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see, The truth for lies
When the
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
Castles they might crumble
Dreams may not come true
Cause you are never all alone
Cause I will always
Always love you
Hey I
Hey I
Will always love you
Clouds will rage in
Storms will race in
But you will be safe in my arms
Rains will pour down
Waves will crash all around
But you will be safe in my arms
In my arms
I'm sorry if this post is ridiculously sentimental...that's what happens when your baby starts growing up on you -- you become ridiculously sentimental, or at least, I DO. Ha ha! :)
Moving on to a less sentimental topic and on to one that has caused some frustration the past few days....
Since Peanut Butter Cup has become quite proficient at rolling over, he has been rolling over at night and trying to sleep on his tummy instead of his back now. This I wouldn't mind so much as he has good head control and can prop himself up on his arms and move around, but up until a few nights ago we were still swaddling him as it helped him to sleep better. Obviously, when he rolled over while he was swaddled he didn't have the same range of motion as he would if he was not swaddled. With that in mind, about four nights ago I decided to try him in his sleep sack after one of the night feedings and see how he would do and thereby begin to get him adjusted to sleeping without the swaddler. He stayed asleep when I put him back down in his crib, but about 40 minutes later he woke up and was fussing as he rolled around in the crib. After that I re-swaddled him after feeding and changing him again as it seemed like that was the only way to help him go back to sleep. After talking to my mom the next day and her encouraging me to just work through all of the frequent wake-ups for a few nights while he adjusts to not being swaddled and being 'free', I hesitantly decided to go ahead and work on it over the weekend. The first night Peanut Butter Cup woke up A LOT (and he tried to sleep on his face once too!). The second night I decided I was going to try putting him in a onesie instead of the sleep sack so he wouldn't get it twisted around his legs if he rolled around a lot again. I forgot initially so I ended up changing him to the onesie after he woke up the first time. He woke up more than usual again, would fall asleep nursing and then as soon as I would set him down he would roll over thereby waking himself up again and start to fuss. I tried rubbing his back, singing our special lullaby, keeping my hands on him, letting him hold my hand -- all to no avail (except for one time when he fell back to sleep for about 40 minutes after I rubbed his back for a few minutes). After a few minutes of him working himself up and me realizing he wasn't going to go back to sleep, but was just going to keep fussing and rolling around the crib I'd pick him up, nurse him, and then try again. At one point last night it took four tries over a period of an hour before he went back to sleep after being set down.
So far tonight, we are working on attempt #3...here goes....
Well, that was a no-go...I tried for twenty minutes, without success. I think the worst thing about this besides the lack of sleep for Peanut Butter Cup and myself is that we had finally gotten bedtime established as being between 8:30 and 9:00 (but tonight for example, it's nearly 10:30 and he isn't in bed yet -- and my first try at setting him down was right around 8:30). I'm at a loss...any thoughts or advice are welcome (besides "letting him cry it out" as recent research has shown that method does more harm than good, and I am just not comfortable with it. Period. End of story. I'm sorry if that offends anyone, but I'm tired of having my method of parenting criticized -- along with all of the reading and research I've done being called into question...I can assure you it has been extensive).
Anyhow...this post has become a lot longer than I originally intended it to be, so I guess I should end it before it gets any longer and I bore you to death (that is, if you've even made it this far! Ha ha!).
Goodnight Everyone!
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