WARNING : THIS POST IS PHOTO/VIDEO FREE. I HOPE TO HAVE A PHOTO/VIDEO ONLY BLOG POST SOON! happy reading :-)
Goodbye 1st Trimester!! What a wonderful phrase to say!!! In case you’ve wondered where I’ve been with all my cute AK updates and Damato family business - I’ve been SLEEPING! I certainly do not remember being as tired when I was pregnant with little AK - but then again we tend to forget the hard parts of pregnancy and childbirth after they are over.
The “morning” sickness hasn’t really been bad at all - there is the occasional day that I just don’t feel my best - but overall I have felt great - except for the pure exhaustion! Somewhere around week 10.5 I began to get my “energy” back - or should I say I felt less tired than before.
Poor Matt and AK had to eat at lot of take-out in the past several weeks, and walk on dirty floors, and dig around in the laundry room for their clothes - I just couldn’t muster up enough energy to do anything but sleep! These last weeks have made me so grateful to have a child that naps 3-4 hours in the afternoon! I’m not sure what I would have done if she wasn’t a good napping baby!
In the last 12 weeks my baby bump has certainly become just that - a nice bigger than I expected BUMP!
I had always heard you show faster the 2nd time around, but I guess I didn’t think it would be instant! I tried to wear the largest size of regular pants I had the other day - I did wear them, but when I got home from work I quickly changed and committed to never try that again! I’ve pretty much been in my maternity clothes for about a month now! Its going to a itchy belly summer with the heat and maternity pants stretched over my bump this soon! Oh well -its par for the course - and I do admire my own little bump (at least in the beginning stages anyway). It a great badge of honor to carry around - it proudly proclaims that the Lord has blessed me!
I’m sure you are wanting a picture, and by the time I actually post this blog I may have one - but for now I have no photo of the growing bump - sorry to disappoint!
There are probably so many funny and cute AK stories that I need to tell you since its been so long since my last post. She has had a developmental growth spurt in the last month or two - she is quickly growing out of “baby” mode and into toddler/child mode. It’s so hard to comprehend when you look at her because she is still so petite and pretty much bald. She does have beautiful strawberry tinted blond hair rapidly growing on her precious head - but in comparison to other girls her age she is still lacking. I love her precious “baby” hair though - keeps her looking younger than she is.
AK’s vocabulary has increased exponentially in the last weeks. These are just a few of the words she uses regularly: Nut-nut (the dog), Lucy (the other dog), Princess (the neighbor’s dog), Dog (can you tell she loves dogs?), Hi, Bye-bye, Daddy, Mama, Yum Yum, Night-Night, Tickle -Tickle, Thank You, Please, Milk (her version anyway), More, No, No-No, Ball, Baby, Hot, Oww, Bubble, Jesus, Bath, and Diaper.
She can imitate the sound to the following animals : Dog (but of course), Cow, Tiger (she gives a mean growl LOL).
She can point to her head, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, teeth, belly button, toes, and wiggle her fingers.
She can “sing” Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (sometimes with hand motions), she loves to dance and keep rhythm to music.
She has amazing facial expressions and a great sense of pure humor!
We moved AK from the crib to the toddler bed which is essentially the crib without one side of rails. After a rough couple of nights that landed her in our bed for the duration of her sleep - we decided it was time for her to have a bigger bed! She is now in a full size bed! Granted its just the box spring and mattress on the floor so it is not too high off the ground - but still! I can’t believe my tiny girl is sleeping in such a big bed! We originally planned to move her to a twin bed, but my mom worries got the best of me and I decided the full size bed gave her less opportunity to roll off onto the floor because it had so much more surface space!!
She has done amazingly well with the transition! Its worked out fabulously since AK is not into being rocked to sleep anymore. She just wants you to lay near her while she falls asleep on her own, another reason why the bigger bed is better for us! We can all pile in her bed as a family for bed time! Its been such a sweet time for the 3 of us. The best part is, she has yet to escape her bed (it does have a small guard rail on it to prevent roll offs). She does not attempt to get up in the middle of the night and explore her dark room. Maybe we’ve just not gotten to that stage, or hopefully that’s just how it will be - either way - right now it’s great!
There are so many thoughts and stories running through my head - I don’t know where to begin or when to stop! Its been amazing to notice AK’s own fascination with babies! She doesn’t even grasp or understand what we are saying when we tell her there is a baby in mommy’s tummy - but she sure does know what a baby is, and that babies ride in baby carriers and strollers! She can spot a baby carrier in the grocery store and aisle away! She loves to sit and stare at the babies. This is strange to me because she is not even the slightest bit interested in any of her own baby dolls - just real life babies!
AK moved up in her age group at school to a new class room. The first day of “summer” school they did art. I had to walk down the preschool hall for my job, and I noticed coloring sheets outside her classroom door. Each sheet had a child’s name on it, so naturally I looked for my child’s sheet. All the sheets were brightly scribbled on - except one - AK’s!! I got so tickled at this! Very typical of my child - she wants to eat the crayon not draw with it! She would much rather turn on music and sing and dance than write or draw!
Ever since summer started I went to a 4 day a week work schedule, which has turned out to be such a blessing. Between this new pregnancy, and a desire to spend more time with AK - having Fridays off has been a dream come true! We haven’t ventured out too much since I’ve been so tired, but we did visit the zoo once. We try run a few fun errands before afternoon nap time -but mostly we just enjoy snuggling and giggling!
Matt got a great reward at work this week! He was given a brand new company truck! This is an answer to prayer in so many ways. First of all its so rewarding to see him honored for his hard work and dedication at his job. Secondly and most excitingly it gives us an opportunity to eliminate a car payment - helping us get to our goal of debt free driving that much faster! We are going to sell his car, which has been such a great car for us - but thankfully for Matt he is now in a brand new truck! I am so proud for him and so proud of him! He works so hard to provide for us and make sure we have almost anything we want. This is why for Father’s Day I me and AK splurged and bought him a road bike! Now to the average person this means nothing at all - you probably don’t even realize that there are different types of bikes out there or that they could cost much at all! Think beyond the bike rack at walmart or even your local sports store - think LANCE ARMSTRONG - racing bike!
We surprised him by purchasing the bike early - he had been saving up overtime money and selling things on eBay, as well as doing handy man jobs on the side to earn this money. I splurged and spent the rest of the money he needed to make his cycling dreams come true! So I guess really Matt got 2 brand new rides in 1 week! We’ll just call it even since he splurged and let me get the mini-van I really wanted.
As June comes to a close and turns into July I’m excited to see what the rest of our fun summer holds. We are headed to Chicago in August, while AK goes to visit her BeBe for a week. This should be a lot of fun for us, with the new baby on the way I’m sure travel, especially long distance travel will come to a halt for about a year, just as it did before with AK.
Sorry if this post seemed to bounce all over the place - I shouldn't let a month go by in between writing my blogs! I hope to get some time this weekend to upload some pictures and videos for your viewing pleasure!
Until next time - Be Blessed and Be a Blessing!
This blog is to help keep friends and family posted on the things going on in our life. Look for updates on AK and find out what we've been up to lately.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
One Damato, Two Damato, Three Damato, FOUR!
In case you haven't heard - we're expecting the 4th member of our family - our second child!
We have experienced so many emotions since May 2nd when I found out I was pregnant. We have gone through shock, excitement, overwhelmed, joyful, and even fear. But we could not be more excited about this new addition to our family.
We immediately got to work on making room in our little house for another person. We have a garage sale fast approaching to eliminate some "extra" furniture that we do not need and do not have room for!
Next we immediately got to work on researching bigger cars! Yup that's right, I let go of my "dream" car for the comfort and SAFETY of our growing family. I'm not even 30 and I bought a mini-van! Laugh now, but then come experience all that my van has to offer and you may be trading in and up before you know it!
Today I had my first ultrasound to see the tiny baby and hear his/her heartbeat. Its always such an amazing experience to see and hear your child's heartbeat for the first time. Today was even more special as we rushed in 2 days early in fear that something may or may not be wrong. Thankfully all is well and our baby has a strong little heart beat at 142 beats per minute.
I am 7 weeks along in my pregnancy, meaning this little Damato is due in the beginning of January! Yup that's right, January is The Month of the Damato! New baby is due on the 10th, our 7th anniversary is on the 15th, and AK will turn TWO on the 21st!!!!
I guess we will spend all year saving for January for the rest of our lives!
We are so proud to say that we accomplished this pregnancy without the help of one doctor, without the heartache of one failed attempt, and without the pressure of fertility problems! The Lord really showed himself to us through this go 'round!
I will always be grateful for the journey it took to get AK here and the testimony of her existence. She is a miracle in her own right, proving to the world that modern medicine was not necessary after all and that God truly would receive all the glory. This new baby is also a miracle on its own showing us that God will bless those who wait upon him. The conception and birth of each of our children now have their very own victorious testimony of overcoming, defeating, and accomplishment. We are so excited about the journey ahead of us. We are still trying to fully wrap our minds around this idea that is really a reality and are so thankful for all those who have supported us over the past 5 years in our journey to become parents. Please pray with us that this will be a full term healthy pregnancy. We had some minor blood pressure complications at the end of the last pregnancy and we do not want to experience that again! Please pray that we can smoothly make the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4. Pray that AK will easily take on her role as big sister and that our marriage will only strengthen as we increase in number.
God is so good and we can't wait to see what the next year will look like for us!
We have experienced so many emotions since May 2nd when I found out I was pregnant. We have gone through shock, excitement, overwhelmed, joyful, and even fear. But we could not be more excited about this new addition to our family.
We immediately got to work on making room in our little house for another person. We have a garage sale fast approaching to eliminate some "extra" furniture that we do not need and do not have room for!
Next we immediately got to work on researching bigger cars! Yup that's right, I let go of my "dream" car for the comfort and SAFETY of our growing family. I'm not even 30 and I bought a mini-van! Laugh now, but then come experience all that my van has to offer and you may be trading in and up before you know it!
Today I had my first ultrasound to see the tiny baby and hear his/her heartbeat. Its always such an amazing experience to see and hear your child's heartbeat for the first time. Today was even more special as we rushed in 2 days early in fear that something may or may not be wrong. Thankfully all is well and our baby has a strong little heart beat at 142 beats per minute.
I am 7 weeks along in my pregnancy, meaning this little Damato is due in the beginning of January! Yup that's right, January is The Month of the Damato! New baby is due on the 10th, our 7th anniversary is on the 15th, and AK will turn TWO on the 21st!!!!
I guess we will spend all year saving for January for the rest of our lives!
We are so proud to say that we accomplished this pregnancy without the help of one doctor, without the heartache of one failed attempt, and without the pressure of fertility problems! The Lord really showed himself to us through this go 'round!
I will always be grateful for the journey it took to get AK here and the testimony of her existence. She is a miracle in her own right, proving to the world that modern medicine was not necessary after all and that God truly would receive all the glory. This new baby is also a miracle on its own showing us that God will bless those who wait upon him. The conception and birth of each of our children now have their very own victorious testimony of overcoming, defeating, and accomplishment. We are so excited about the journey ahead of us. We are still trying to fully wrap our minds around this idea that is really a reality and are so thankful for all those who have supported us over the past 5 years in our journey to become parents. Please pray with us that this will be a full term healthy pregnancy. We had some minor blood pressure complications at the end of the last pregnancy and we do not want to experience that again! Please pray that we can smoothly make the transition from a family of 3 to a family of 4. Pray that AK will easily take on her role as big sister and that our marriage will only strengthen as we increase in number.
God is so good and we can't wait to see what the next year will look like for us!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
First REAL Trip To The Beach
So, last year little AK visit the beach about 4 times from the month of April through January, but none will compare to this first interactive day at the beach!!
We drove down to FL to visit all my parents. We stopped to see my Dad first and enjoyed some much needed catching up. We took AK over to see her Papa (her great grandfather) and that is always a sweet time.
After that visit we headed down to land of emerald green waters and white sandy beaches!! We did a little retail therapy on Saturday - and attended a great worship service at Destiny Worship Center. The best part about attending Saturday night church on a your traveling weekend is that you get more time to enjoy your Sunday before you have to head home on a 3+hour drive!
We rolled out of bed Sunday morning, ate waffles and put on our suites. I must say I probably really had no intention of actually getting wet or really staying long. Since this was AK's first "real" trip to the beach I didn't know what to expect. We stopped at one of those beach junk stores and got AK a set of sand castle bucket toys - you would have though we had given her a million dollars. She was so proud to carry that bucket around the store. We bought her a tourist t-shirt that said "Destin,FL" on it and then headed towards the coast.
We somehow managed to find amazing public parking and access that lead us straight to private beaches! We squeezed in between the two resort signs and set up our chairs, our tent, and all our bags and toys. AK was very unsure of the dry white sand under her toes. I'm sure it was because the sand is almost fluid and not a solid surface. I went straight to the water, which had a red flag(dangerous rip current) to test out the temperature. Being May 1st I knew it would probably be chilly - it was a little cool at first touch, but as I found out later - it was really quite nice!
Since AK wasn't a fan of the dry sand I thought I would take her down to the harder wet sand. This was more pleasing to her sense of touch - but once she saw that water we were done for. I think I must have a fish for a baby b/c she went straight for the waves breaking on the shore! She loved the splash of the cool water onto feet! Next thing I knew I was having to hold her tight as she treaded further into the red flagged water!
I insisted on taking a break b/c I was so overwhelmed by her excitement of the water and I was honestly not prepared for her desire to dive right into the roughest ocean I had seen in a while. We headed back to our spot on the sand, this time we laid the beach sheet out giving AK a more solid surface to stand on and this seemed to do the trick. Mom packed a lot of snacks (such a good grandmother!). We gave AK a baggy of goldfish and I'm not sure I have ever seen such delight in my baby's eyes as she ate that snack - sandy hands and all! Like any curious baby AK did have her fair share of sand eating that day -but mostly by default of playing in the sand, nothing compared to the day we discovered she liked to garden!
Matt went back to the car and got his good camera, so we headed back to the water for a little memory catching!
Keep in mind that I never intended on getting wet. In fact I never even took my swimsuit cover-up off b/c I just didn't see the need....
Over all it was an amazing experience, red flag, and all! I cannot wait to get her back down to that water on a much calmer day.
My favorite part of her excitement was the high pitched scream of "WOO" every time a wave washed up on shore and splashed us. I fall more in love with my special gift from God everyday. She truly amazes me. From the moment she wakes up, she is the most joyful child I have ever seen. She loves to play "tickle" and even says in her best sneaky voice "tickle, tickle" when she wants to play! She dances even where there isn't music! She sings her own words when she hears a tune on the TV or radio. She gets excited like a kid on Christmas when she discovers a round object in public and scream "BAALL" as loud as she can until we acknowledge that she is correct! She loves to eat, whatever is on my plate (even if it's the exact same food) and she loves to drink, from my cup instead of hers! When she sees any animal she calls them over by making kissy sounds and patting her leg as if to say "come here, come on..." She is truly a blessing from above and I thank God for her daily. I thank him for the journey it took to get her here - She is an answer to prayer in every way!
Until next time....
BE BLESSED and BE A BLESSING!
We drove down to FL to visit all my parents. We stopped to see my Dad first and enjoyed some much needed catching up. We took AK over to see her Papa (her great grandfather) and that is always a sweet time. After that visit we headed down to land of emerald green waters and white sandy beaches!! We did a little retail therapy on Saturday - and attended a great worship service at Destiny Worship Center. The best part about attending Saturday night church on a your traveling weekend is that you get more time to enjoy your Sunday before you have to head home on a 3+hour drive!
We rolled out of bed Sunday morning, ate waffles and put on our suites. I must say I probably really had no intention of actually getting wet or really staying long. Since this was AK's first "real" trip to the beach I didn't know what to expect. We stopped at one of those beach junk stores and got AK a set of sand castle bucket toys - you would have though we had given her a million dollars. She was so proud to carry that bucket around the store. We bought her a tourist t-shirt that said "Destin,FL" on it and then headed towards the coast.
We somehow managed to find amazing public parking and access that lead us straight to private beaches! We squeezed in between the two resort signs and set up our chairs, our tent, and all our bags and toys. AK was very unsure of the dry white sand under her toes. I'm sure it was because the sand is almost fluid and not a solid surface. I went straight to the water, which had a red flag(dangerous rip current) to test out the temperature. Being May 1st I knew it would probably be chilly - it was a little cool at first touch, but as I found out later - it was really quite nice!
Since AK wasn't a fan of the dry sand I thought I would take her down to the harder wet sand. This was more pleasing to her sense of touch - but once she saw that water we were done for. I think I must have a fish for a baby b/c she went straight for the waves breaking on the shore! She loved the splash of the cool water onto feet! Next thing I knew I was having to hold her tight as she treaded further into the red flagged water!
I insisted on taking a break b/c I was so overwhelmed by her excitement of the water and I was honestly not prepared for her desire to dive right into the roughest ocean I had seen in a while. We headed back to our spot on the sand, this time we laid the beach sheet out giving AK a more solid surface to stand on and this seemed to do the trick. Mom packed a lot of snacks (such a good grandmother!). We gave AK a baggy of goldfish and I'm not sure I have ever seen such delight in my baby's eyes as she ate that snack - sandy hands and all! Like any curious baby AK did have her fair share of sand eating that day -but mostly by default of playing in the sand, nothing compared to the day we discovered she liked to garden!Matt went back to the car and got his good camera, so we headed back to the water for a little memory catching!
Keep in mind that I never intended on getting wet. In fact I never even took my swimsuit cover-up off b/c I just didn't see the need....
My favorite part of her excitement was the high pitched scream of "WOO" every time a wave washed up on shore and splashed us. I fall more in love with my special gift from God everyday. She truly amazes me. From the moment she wakes up, she is the most joyful child I have ever seen. She loves to play "tickle" and even says in her best sneaky voice "tickle, tickle" when she wants to play! She dances even where there isn't music! She sings her own words when she hears a tune on the TV or radio. She gets excited like a kid on Christmas when she discovers a round object in public and scream "BAALL" as loud as she can until we acknowledge that she is correct! She loves to eat, whatever is on my plate (even if it's the exact same food) and she loves to drink, from my cup instead of hers! When she sees any animal she calls them over by making kissy sounds and patting her leg as if to say "come here, come on..." She is truly a blessing from above and I thank God for her daily. I thank him for the journey it took to get her here - She is an answer to prayer in every way!
Until next time....
BE BLESSED and BE A BLESSING!
Friday, April 29, 2011
It's Not TOO LATE
We had blast at the trunk show yesterday - the jewelry peices are amazing!!! With Mother's Day and Graduations fast approaching I know you all could use some good gift ideas!!
You purchase comes within 2-3 days and it's already packaged for gift giving!!
I bought some great pieces, so I know you will find some too!!
If you aren't too much into jewelry or you would rather make a donation straight to the Godwin's you can send your tax deductible check per the instructions below:
Lifesong has graciously set up a fundraising account for us to raise funds to help pay the "ransom" to bring Zoe home. If you would like to be a part of God bringing Zoe to Himself through our family, you can send your tax-deductible gift. Lifesong is a trusted organization administering the funds on Zoe's behalf, and will pay the adoption expenses out of fund received. They truly are amazing people and a God send!
Steps to do this:
-Please make checks payable to: "Lifesong"
-You should write "Godwin/#1549" in the memo section.
-You can then mail your check to:
Lifesong for Orphans
Att: Godwin/#1549
Post Office Box 40
Gridley, Illinois 61744
Thank you for supporting this great cause! We can't wait to meet Zoe Grace!!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Holy Week, Birthday Parties, Egg Hunts, and Easter Sunday
You can tell by the title that this last week has been BUSY!!
Just like many of you, our week was filled with many church activities celebrating what we call "Holy Week". This is the week leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the week that seals what we believe in our Christian faith. Its a celebratory week for followers all across the world. We are reminded of Jesus' preistly role, his brotherly role, his human role, and his sovereign role in all of our lives.
The week started like any other Holy week, a blow out excitement filled service Palm Sunday experience, then on Maundy Thursday we experienced a traditional seder meal at church. It was a very enlightning experience to say the least. A well known scholar, Dr. Jim Fleming, visited our church to walk us through the reason behinds the traditions. He taught us many things that just reading from the Bible would not teach us. He has done all his homework and literally brought the stories of the New Testament to life.
Friday was Good Friday, we opted to not attend the Good Friday service at our church, we typically have not attended this service through the years. I'm not sure why we choose to not attend, but its a service remembering Jesus' death experience on the cross.
We hosted a birthday party at our house in honor of a dear friend who moved away last year. His birthday fell on Good Friday this year and they were in town to celebrate Easter and his birthday with family. It was such a wonderful feeling to have our home filled with great friends and sweet baby girls running around everywhere! Its moments like that reminded you how much the Lord has blessed us in our lives.
Saturday was the big 1st egg hunt for AK! We decided Friday night that we would get up head to Old Navy to take advantage of their "One Day Wonder" sale on Polo's for just $6 each, and then go for special breakfast out with our last stop being the church for the big Resurrection Celebration and egg hunt! What we discovered was that on special sale days our Old Navy opens super early! I had Matt call the store when we woke up at 7am to find out what time they opened. We were expecting a recording to give us the hours, when much to our surprise the store clerk answered the phone!! They were already open at 7am!! WHO KNEW?! So we decided with the sale being so good that we shouldn't wait - we hopped out of bed, rushed to put on some comfy clothes, grabbed a sleepy AK and went shopping. We of course never intended to end up at the church without going back to shower and clean up and we never ever intended to run into people we knew!
We scored huge at Old Navy, not just on the polo shirts for Matt (this is his work wardrobe), but they had a grown up version of an egg hunt in the store. They had bar codes hidden throughout the store that you had to scan with your iPhone or droid - when you scanned the bar code it entered you for a chance at $50,000 but it also gave you chance for an instant win of several thousand dollars or coupons.
There were 15 bar codes to find in the store, I think we gave up after 12 - we didn't win big money, I'm sure that since we didn't find the last 3 codes they were probably instant 5K winners, but oh well! We did each score a great BOGO coupon. We also found an amazing clearance rack that had blue jeans in Matt's size for just $6! We walked out of Old Navy with 6 polo shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts, and 2 t-shirts for less than $100 - in fact we saved over $100 from all the sales and coupons. This amazing shopping experience of course took us longer than we thought it would so we rushed over to Chappy's Deli for a special family breakfast out.
Just as we got settled into our booth (which is our new trick to keep AK satisfied out to eat) we see some friends from church walk in the door. Being the sweet friends that they are they asked if we wanted to join them for breakfast. Much to our surprise 2 more families were joining us that morning. They were all heading to the church after breakfast with their baby girls for the egg hunt as well. The only difference is they were all dressed up and ready to be seen by the world. Remember we hopped out of bed to run an errand and didn't shower before we left! We were so unprepared for the entire breakfast experience. All the baby girls were dressed so beautifully in their smocked bunny dresses and then there was my sweet AK literally still in her PJ's! We had no highchair cover b/c we originally intended to seat in a booth! AK does not sit in the highchair for more than 5 minutes so this was a bad scene from the get go. Matt and I ended up passing AK back and forth from one lap to another. Anything to keep her happy - all the other sweet baby girls were behaving so nicely, seating in their highs chairs and not making any sort of scene! My child was literally climbing across the table to get to things out of her reach! She wouldn't drink her own drink but rather insisted on drinking from my cup or worse yet her daddy's coffee mug! She saw the packet of creamer and was immediately entertained by this plastic yet squishy object. I tried to tell Matt discretely that he may feel a trickle liquid run down his arm b/c she was gnawing on this creamer container, but he was talking and I couldn't seem to interrupt him. Before I could say a word or give a warning "POP" she burst the container and liquid creamer sprayed everywhere! "OH NO" I was so embarrassed!! Not only did creamer run down Matt's arm, but it sprayed across the table touching every nicely dressed person in it's path. It was sort of funny until I realized the bulk of the cream landed square on the forehead of one of this precious, well behaved little girls. I was so upset that my insatiable child caused this major commotion at the breakfast table. Our food came and she refused to eat, making it hard for us to enjoy our meal and fellowship with these other families. We rushed out of the restaurant realizing that our time had really gotten away from us now that we ate with a large group of people. We needed to be at the church like right that moment to fully enjoy the activities of the day. We rushed home, changed clothes - which was inspired by those other young couples at breakfast and dressed AK in her bunny dress I sewed a month before. We did make it to the church just in time for the egg hunt.
The egg hunt was so much fun. We had tried to practice hunting eggs for a couple of weeks before, but in true toddler fashion AK was only interested in breaking the eggs apart. She did collect quite a few eggs - but eventually gave up on the egg hunt. They had inflatable eggs and balls for the little ones to hunt, and those were the biggest hit when all was said and done.
That afternoon AK had her first experience with Easter candy. She tasted smarties for the first time, and then accidentally discovered the jelly bean!
The next morning she woke up to a stuffed Easter basket filled with all kinds of goodies. Crayons, bubbles, toys, and peeps!! We dressed in our best Sunday clothes and pearls and headed to church to celebrate our Risen Savior.
I had put a roast on and when we got home I put the finishing touches on our meal. Roast, potatoes, carrots, a side of pineapple casserole, and roasted asparagus. While the casserole was cooking, Matt hid a few of the Easter eggs in the front the yard flower beds - AK went out in her Sunday best and hunted eggs. It was such a fun day filled with first time memories!
Just like many of you, our week was filled with many church activities celebrating what we call "Holy Week". This is the week leading up to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is the week that seals what we believe in our Christian faith. Its a celebratory week for followers all across the world. We are reminded of Jesus' preistly role, his brotherly role, his human role, and his sovereign role in all of our lives.
The week started like any other Holy week, a blow out excitement filled service Palm Sunday experience, then on Maundy Thursday we experienced a traditional seder meal at church. It was a very enlightning experience to say the least. A well known scholar, Dr. Jim Fleming, visited our church to walk us through the reason behinds the traditions. He taught us many things that just reading from the Bible would not teach us. He has done all his homework and literally brought the stories of the New Testament to life.
Friday was Good Friday, we opted to not attend the Good Friday service at our church, we typically have not attended this service through the years. I'm not sure why we choose to not attend, but its a service remembering Jesus' death experience on the cross.
We hosted a birthday party at our house in honor of a dear friend who moved away last year. His birthday fell on Good Friday this year and they were in town to celebrate Easter and his birthday with family. It was such a wonderful feeling to have our home filled with great friends and sweet baby girls running around everywhere! Its moments like that reminded you how much the Lord has blessed us in our lives.
Saturday was the big 1st egg hunt for AK! We decided Friday night that we would get up head to Old Navy to take advantage of their "One Day Wonder" sale on Polo's for just $6 each, and then go for special breakfast out with our last stop being the church for the big Resurrection Celebration and egg hunt! What we discovered was that on special sale days our Old Navy opens super early! I had Matt call the store when we woke up at 7am to find out what time they opened. We were expecting a recording to give us the hours, when much to our surprise the store clerk answered the phone!! They were already open at 7am!! WHO KNEW?! So we decided with the sale being so good that we shouldn't wait - we hopped out of bed, rushed to put on some comfy clothes, grabbed a sleepy AK and went shopping. We of course never intended to end up at the church without going back to shower and clean up and we never ever intended to run into people we knew!
We scored huge at Old Navy, not just on the polo shirts for Matt (this is his work wardrobe), but they had a grown up version of an egg hunt in the store. They had bar codes hidden throughout the store that you had to scan with your iPhone or droid - when you scanned the bar code it entered you for a chance at $50,000 but it also gave you chance for an instant win of several thousand dollars or coupons.
There were 15 bar codes to find in the store, I think we gave up after 12 - we didn't win big money, I'm sure that since we didn't find the last 3 codes they were probably instant 5K winners, but oh well! We did each score a great BOGO coupon. We also found an amazing clearance rack that had blue jeans in Matt's size for just $6! We walked out of Old Navy with 6 polo shirts, 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of shorts, and 2 t-shirts for less than $100 - in fact we saved over $100 from all the sales and coupons. This amazing shopping experience of course took us longer than we thought it would so we rushed over to Chappy's Deli for a special family breakfast out.
Just as we got settled into our booth (which is our new trick to keep AK satisfied out to eat) we see some friends from church walk in the door. Being the sweet friends that they are they asked if we wanted to join them for breakfast. Much to our surprise 2 more families were joining us that morning. They were all heading to the church after breakfast with their baby girls for the egg hunt as well. The only difference is they were all dressed up and ready to be seen by the world. Remember we hopped out of bed to run an errand and didn't shower before we left! We were so unprepared for the entire breakfast experience. All the baby girls were dressed so beautifully in their smocked bunny dresses and then there was my sweet AK literally still in her PJ's! We had no highchair cover b/c we originally intended to seat in a booth! AK does not sit in the highchair for more than 5 minutes so this was a bad scene from the get go. Matt and I ended up passing AK back and forth from one lap to another. Anything to keep her happy - all the other sweet baby girls were behaving so nicely, seating in their highs chairs and not making any sort of scene! My child was literally climbing across the table to get to things out of her reach! She wouldn't drink her own drink but rather insisted on drinking from my cup or worse yet her daddy's coffee mug! She saw the packet of creamer and was immediately entertained by this plastic yet squishy object. I tried to tell Matt discretely that he may feel a trickle liquid run down his arm b/c she was gnawing on this creamer container, but he was talking and I couldn't seem to interrupt him. Before I could say a word or give a warning "POP" she burst the container and liquid creamer sprayed everywhere! "OH NO" I was so embarrassed!! Not only did creamer run down Matt's arm, but it sprayed across the table touching every nicely dressed person in it's path. It was sort of funny until I realized the bulk of the cream landed square on the forehead of one of this precious, well behaved little girls. I was so upset that my insatiable child caused this major commotion at the breakfast table. Our food came and she refused to eat, making it hard for us to enjoy our meal and fellowship with these other families. We rushed out of the restaurant realizing that our time had really gotten away from us now that we ate with a large group of people. We needed to be at the church like right that moment to fully enjoy the activities of the day. We rushed home, changed clothes - which was inspired by those other young couples at breakfast and dressed AK in her bunny dress I sewed a month before. We did make it to the church just in time for the egg hunt.
The egg hunt was so much fun. We had tried to practice hunting eggs for a couple of weeks before, but in true toddler fashion AK was only interested in breaking the eggs apart. She did collect quite a few eggs - but eventually gave up on the egg hunt. They had inflatable eggs and balls for the little ones to hunt, and those were the biggest hit when all was said and done.
That afternoon AK had her first experience with Easter candy. She tasted smarties for the first time, and then accidentally discovered the jelly bean!
The next morning she woke up to a stuffed Easter basket filled with all kinds of goodies. Crayons, bubbles, toys, and peeps!! We dressed in our best Sunday clothes and pearls and headed to church to celebrate our Risen Savior.
I had put a roast on and when we got home I put the finishing touches on our meal. Roast, potatoes, carrots, a side of pineapple casserole, and roasted asparagus. While the casserole was cooking, Matt hid a few of the Easter eggs in the front the yard flower beds - AK went out in her Sunday best and hunted eggs. It was such a fun day filled with first time memories!
Monday, April 18, 2011
promised pictures!
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| looking at the zoo animals |
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| She must be Italian! |
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| coolest animal I've ever seen! Reminds me of peanut in a weird way! |
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| have you ever seen a giraffe bend down? |
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| swinging at the zoo playground |
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| wee!! |
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| look at her sense of pride as she rides that big kid toy! |
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| we bought this for $1 at the youth auction fundraiser! Best $1 spent ever! |
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| the new water acitivity table |
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| leraning how it works with Daddy |
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| splish splash |
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| did the car run out of gas? |
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| i think so! |
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| all ready for church |
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| happy girl! |
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| whats so funny? |
Just a little update...
We decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and head to the zoo bright and early Saturday morning! Our zoo has a great deal where you can get a years membership for only $35. This covers the cost of 2 adults any day of the year and little AK goes for free until the age of 3. Its such an amazing deal because it would normally cost us $20 to get in without the membership. Now, AK and I a can head to the zoo any day of the week. This will come in handy when we start having Fridays off together this summer. It is also nice because we will be able to bring anyone with us as our guest on our membership. This means any time a grandparent wants to join us for a zoo trip we've got you covered!
I am in the process of uploading the pictures from the weekend right now. I may have to come back and do a post with just photos when they are done. I've never uploaded the pictures from the big fancy Nikon camera before, so hopefully I am doing it correctly. Apparently you have to transfer the files and then convert the files to jpegs so you can share them. Its totally confusing to me, but its supposedly the way to get the best quality photograph. In fact I just checked on this process and I will definitely have to come back to upload an entire post of just photos, its only on number 11 of 125 in the conversion process!
The weather was almost down right chilly for the zoo, but we made the best of it! It was not crowded which was fabulous for us! AK even got to play on the big kid playground there at the zoo. We are always trying to teach her new things. I've learned that it takes a good 2-3 days of going over the same new word before she totally gets it. We started really working on "What does a dog say?" The very first time she attempted to say it, she was in the bath tub. She responded with "braf braf" and then proceeded to giggle harder than I have ever seen her laugh. For two days after that experience, if you asked her "what does the dog say?" she would just laugh and laugh some more. If you were really patient she would eventually say "braf braf" but mostly she would just laugh. I knew she finally got it when she answered this morning during her breakfast time. She just amazes me at how absorbent she is. She can now tell you what a cow says and what a dog says, and rarely mixes the two up when you ask her.
In the last week she has become the funniest little person I have ever been around. She loves to play chase with her Daddy. He will tell her "I'm gonna get you..." and she immediately takes off running while looking back over her shoulder to make sure he is really coming. She gets so tickled at trying to out run him she usually trips over her own feet and falls into complete hysterical laughter. Because of this new found love for the game of chase she also enjoys hide and seek. You run and hide while she is watching and she will come seek you out. She giggles the entire time until she "finds" you when she sees you she says "baa" which is really suppose to be "BOO!"
I've totally enjoyed each and every stage of her life, but so far this has to be the most fun stage there has been. Watching her learn and discover new things brings such a joy to my life.
AK must have her Daddy's engineering blood running through her veins because the most entertaining thing for her to do these days is put tops on things, or build blocks. If an item has a lid or top she is not satisfied until she has properly fit that lid or top onto that item. When she accomplishes her task she is quick to applaud herself with claps and a big "yaaay" followed of course by her precious giggle.
We took her to toys r us this weekend to get an activity table for the backyard. After starting at all the option and prices we decided on this Little Tike's water table. I was so excited for her to have a fun activity for the backyard that I couldn't wait for her to play with it. Now remember, it was a chilly Saturday at the zoo, which means it was still a chilly Saturday at our house - but we played anyway! I didn't realize how WET she would get splashing her hands around in this little activity table! We had the best time playing outside with her. Matt bought a $2 kite while we were at the store and amazingly AK was interested in watching that kite fly across the sky. She followed her Daddy all around the front and back yards as he flew his kite.
Sunday we went to church and then went to eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries with some friends afterward. Our friends has a little girl around 3 years old named Mason. Mason loves AK and gets so excited when she is around. Mason was eating her hotdog and dipping it in ketchup before each bite. AK got so interested in what Mason was doing she reached right over and stuck her french fry into Mason's ketchup. I want you to know that I have been trying to get AK to eat ketchup for a few months now. She has never been interested in this condiment! But I'm pretty such after Sunday's lunch ketchup has become her new favorite side item! We decided to give AK her own container of ketchup to dip her fries in, but instead of the fries she skipped right to her finger and enjoyed the taste of ketchup without any food! It amazes me, how one small person can influence another!
Be looking out soon for a post with just photographs from our fun filled weekend. Now that I now how to use the new camera you may also find some pictures of many other fun things that happen around our house!
Until next time, Be Blessed & Be a Blessing!
I am in the process of uploading the pictures from the weekend right now. I may have to come back and do a post with just photos when they are done. I've never uploaded the pictures from the big fancy Nikon camera before, so hopefully I am doing it correctly. Apparently you have to transfer the files and then convert the files to jpegs so you can share them. Its totally confusing to me, but its supposedly the way to get the best quality photograph. In fact I just checked on this process and I will definitely have to come back to upload an entire post of just photos, its only on number 11 of 125 in the conversion process!
The weather was almost down right chilly for the zoo, but we made the best of it! It was not crowded which was fabulous for us! AK even got to play on the big kid playground there at the zoo. We are always trying to teach her new things. I've learned that it takes a good 2-3 days of going over the same new word before she totally gets it. We started really working on "What does a dog say?" The very first time she attempted to say it, she was in the bath tub. She responded with "braf braf" and then proceeded to giggle harder than I have ever seen her laugh. For two days after that experience, if you asked her "what does the dog say?" she would just laugh and laugh some more. If you were really patient she would eventually say "braf braf" but mostly she would just laugh. I knew she finally got it when she answered this morning during her breakfast time. She just amazes me at how absorbent she is. She can now tell you what a cow says and what a dog says, and rarely mixes the two up when you ask her.
In the last week she has become the funniest little person I have ever been around. She loves to play chase with her Daddy. He will tell her "I'm gonna get you..." and she immediately takes off running while looking back over her shoulder to make sure he is really coming. She gets so tickled at trying to out run him she usually trips over her own feet and falls into complete hysterical laughter. Because of this new found love for the game of chase she also enjoys hide and seek. You run and hide while she is watching and she will come seek you out. She giggles the entire time until she "finds" you when she sees you she says "baa" which is really suppose to be "BOO!"
I've totally enjoyed each and every stage of her life, but so far this has to be the most fun stage there has been. Watching her learn and discover new things brings such a joy to my life.
AK must have her Daddy's engineering blood running through her veins because the most entertaining thing for her to do these days is put tops on things, or build blocks. If an item has a lid or top she is not satisfied until she has properly fit that lid or top onto that item. When she accomplishes her task she is quick to applaud herself with claps and a big "yaaay" followed of course by her precious giggle.
Sunday we went to church and then went to eat at Five Guys Burgers and Fries with some friends afterward. Our friends has a little girl around 3 years old named Mason. Mason loves AK and gets so excited when she is around. Mason was eating her hotdog and dipping it in ketchup before each bite. AK got so interested in what Mason was doing she reached right over and stuck her french fry into Mason's ketchup. I want you to know that I have been trying to get AK to eat ketchup for a few months now. She has never been interested in this condiment! But I'm pretty such after Sunday's lunch ketchup has become her new favorite side item! We decided to give AK her own container of ketchup to dip her fries in, but instead of the fries she skipped right to her finger and enjoyed the taste of ketchup without any food! It amazes me, how one small person can influence another!
Be looking out soon for a post with just photographs from our fun filled weekend. Now that I now how to use the new camera you may also find some pictures of many other fun things that happen around our house!
Until next time, Be Blessed & Be a Blessing!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Help With Gardening
As promised earlier - Here is the story of AK helping us with our gardening.
Saturday we decided to use our first free weekend at home doing a little yard work. We headed out the Southern Home and Gardens store to pick up a variety of spring flowers so we could do a little gardening. AK fell asleep on the way home, which gave us a chance to get a good jump start to our project. After she woke up from her nap we brought her outside and set up her pack and play with her favorite toys. Immediately a delivery was brought to us from the mailman. It was an expected package from AK's LiLi (my Mom) that had a few new pair of pajamas, a new swimsuit for the summer, and a surprise pair of sunglasses!
We played with the sunglasses and checked out the new pj's, and then went on about our business. AK got restless in the pack and play and it was lunch time so the two of us headed in to get a bite to eat. When lunch was over we headed back outside and this time I let AK roam the yard in freedom. I was spreading mulch in the freshly spruced up front bed and my sweet girl decided she wanted to help, you can see the video of my little helper lending a hand.
After we spread the mulch we had just one project left - planting some flowers under the maple tree. This project required a fresh pile of potting soil and peat moss to make for a good foundation. Again My little helper was reading to "dig" right in. Next thing you know AK has a mouth full of fresh potting soil and peat moss! OH NO - Parent Panic sets in and we immediately scoop her up and take her straight for the water hose! Please note - it was a beautiful warm day, but only warm, like 75 at the most. Matt begins gushing water in AK's face trying to get her to rinse her mouth out. Eventually her mouth was clean of all dirt, but in the meantime our little princess was having a blast playing in the frigid water hose water! She was drenched - so off her shirt came, and then her leggings - uh oh - water + a diaper = bad idea! Genius strikes and I run for the new swimsuit - so here we are on a warm spring day hosing off our baby with cold water in the driveway, stripping her down naked, and putting her in a swimsuit. It was quite the scene! Needless to say, we our panic was probably overrated, but hey AK got a thrill out of it!!
Let's just say that delivery at lunch was made just in time!!
For the World to See & a Few Updates...
My first post as a guest blogger is up! I cannot believe a real dream of mine is coming true. I have been wanting to share my story of fertility struggles and victory for quite sometime now, and now the process has really begun! Before you click the link above to read my first written post - know in advance there are a couple of typos I did not catch, I promise I read over it 3 times before I submitted it - but I guess it happens. As I read the post this morning I also realized I used some bad grammar (I know I should know better since my step-mom is an English teacher...) I will try better next time to catch those "uh ohs".
I will let you know each time I have a post on www.theuncontainabletruth.com, but consider following this blog yourself. Christen and Raleigh Price have a wonderful story of their own about and victory. Their hearts are to share the love of Jesus Christ with the world through their website and I think they do an amazing job!
I did something very brave this week, I signed up for a 5 week fitness camp! It started on Monday night - and boy was I shocked to find out just how out of shape I am! Sometimes my mind still thinks I'm back in my college cheerleading days or even in my high school cheerleading days, where I was exercising daily and very much in shape. But this week my body has let my mind know that I am not in shape at all! Monday was apparently "leg" night - and boy do my legs know they worked out! Tonight is the second night of the camp, and I am excited and yet nervous for the workout to come. I am anticipating it being an arms and upper body workout, which scares me so badly! I will be the first to admit my fear of "the push-up"! I hope I can survive tonight's workout and still want to return next Monday night! This is a really big deal, because I always start something like a workout routine, and then never follow through and finish. I also hate rooms full of people I do not know. Thankfully I do know a few of the other students in the class - so that is helpful. I can say I laughed more on Monday night while I was working out than I ever imagined was possible. The trainer is nothing like those "Biggest Loser" trainers that yell and scream fear into your workout. In fact he is quite the opposite! He teased a lot, and made the experience fun - which is good, because the first time I get yelled at will be the last time I go back - hahaha!
The most interesting part will be the outcome. He recorded my body fat, weight, and measurements on the first night, and I hope to see some positive results on the last night! Either way - I know that I am doing something good for my body. We have taken a healthier approach to our food and eating recently, which will be good for my attempt at fitness camp!
The most interesting part will be the outcome. He recorded my body fat, weight, and measurements on the first night, and I hope to see some positive results on the last night! Either way - I know that I am doing something good for my body. We have taken a healthier approach to our food and eating recently, which will be good for my attempt at fitness camp!
Speaking of food, you have got to check out this blog, http://www.chloegibbs.com/. My friend Chloe is conducting a fast food experiment that will make you want to never eat fast food again! The thought of her ongoing experiment has kept me from driving through McDonald's even when I was desperate for food with no time for anything else. She has had a McDonald's Happy Meal sitting on her counter for over 50 days and it has yet to decompose. In fact - it still looks just as edible as the day she purchased it! Can you believe it is legal to make, sell, and feed people food packed with so many preservatives? No wonder America is "fat"!
Anyway - that was my soapbox for the day!
AK Update:
Last night Matt was showing AK pictures in an attempt to teach her new words. As he pointed out the boat in the picture, he asked her "What's this?". My sweet girl replied, "Jesus". LOL We have been learning about Jesus from the book "Jesus Loves Me"
My Mom bought this book for AK's 1st birthday, and we read it at least 6 times a day if not more. Did you know there are like 6 verses to the song "Jesus Loves Me"? Well, there are 6 verses, and we almost know them all by heart now! AK loves the illustrations in this particular book. It is filled with colorful images of children and animals. If you remember from before, my smart baby can point out a dog - and in this book there is the same dog on almost every page in almost every illustration. But now we know who Jesus is, and she can even say His name. What a precious sound to hear your 1 year old child call on the name of our Lord!
Speaking of sweet AK, we are home today recovering from a cold and minor double ear infection (again!). She had a rough day at school yesterday, so we are home recovering and resting. Pray she gets better quickly. We cannot avoid things like getting cold germs, especially during this time of the year, and with little ones there isn't much you can do but just ride out the symptoms until they go away. She really is OK, no need to fear grandparents, but those sniffles and coughs can just make you feel so sad for such a little person. Pray she recovers quickly and gets all the rest she needs.
She finally slept through the entire night last night - this is the first time since the wedding weekend almost 2 weeks ago!
I'm going to do a separate post soon on the adventures of gardening with AK - it was a fun time for all!
Until then, Be Blessed and Be A Blessing!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Birthdays, Weddings, and Bronchitis?
Well, one week ago today was my birthday which was also the kick off to the Damato/Whitfield Wedding Weekend! Who knew you could cram so many events into one weekend!
Thursday night my sweet husband threw me a birthday party with some great friends. We enjoyed a baby free night on the town, which was wonderful. We don't get too many baby free nights around here. Friday we headed to Birmingham with AK and my Mom in tow to help celebrate the marriage of Matt's little sister Ashley and her now husband, Kevin.
My sweet Mom arranged for my for my grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and cousins to join us for a late lunch at the cheesecake factory to celebrate my birthday. It was such a great way to spend my birthday during such a busy time. After lunch we began all the wedding weekend festivities. We had rehearsal, after rehearsal dinner, then Saturday of course we had photographs, wedding ceremony, and reception. Sunday we followed all the celebrating with a family brunch before we headed home.
Friday night we enjoyed a wonderful meal Italian style with family and friends. My Mom so graciously took on the role of traveling nanny so Matt and I could truly enjoy sharing these special moments with his family. Its a good thing AK is so easy going and that my Mom loves her role as grandma - because her and AK spent a lot of time in close quarters at our hotel. Wedding day was filled with lots of excitement and tons of pictures! Everything went perfectly for the bride and groom! The church was packed with friends and family, and the ceremony was filled with fun and laughter. I had a great time meeting old family friends during the reception, and hearing funny stories about Matt when he was a young boy. We really enjoyed the catch up time we had with Matt's family from the Chicago area. I only had the chance to meet most of them 2 years ago, so its always a pleasure to spend time with them making new family memories of our own.
We partied hard Saturday night, until we could hardly stand any longer - unfortunately for us, AK was not interested in a solid night's sleep on Saturday night which led to no rest after our long marathon day.
The brunch on Sunday came fast after a lack of good sleep - but boy was that food delicious! I thought Sunday would never end though. We were so exhausted and still had a 1.5 hour drive home!!! Of course sweet AK slept all the way home with no interest in sleeping once we arrived. I'm not sure how we managed to stay awake or how we managed to keep AK occupied, but we all three crawled into bed for the remainder of the day and night on Sunday. Prior to the trip I had begun battling allergies from all the pollen accumulation here in the deep south. At first arriving in Birmingham seemed helpful to my sinuses because the pollen build up was not so intense there, but I guess with the late nights and lack of good rest my body didn't react well. By Monday night my throat was on fire and a unsettling cough had settled in. I hate going to the doctor (so much so I don't even actually have a primary physician), but I got myself to PriMed (our local doc in a box) to find some relief! I just knew I had strep throat, thankfully I did not! But an hour wait, one strep test, a chest x-ray, and a sinus x-ray later the verdict was in. Sinus infect and bronchitis - yuck!
This has been a rough week of recovery for little AK as well - she hasn't slept straight through the night since the Saturday night of the wedding. However, thankfully for me that means she naps good, long, and hard during the day - which allowed for me to catch up and get my body some much needed rest. I don't think I've slept as hard and deep as I have during the day this week! I'm not back to 100% but I'm proud to say the nasty ongoing cough is gone as well as the firery throat pain. I'm just left with a few sniffles and no more desire to crash in the middle of the day! WOOHOO for God healing our bodies and allowing us to have medicine to clear out the germs!
I never dreamed it would take us an entire week to recover from all that partying and celebrating! I'm sure the newly weds are thinking the same thing right now as they are relaxing in Mexico this week!!
While I've been recovering, AK has been exercising her voice and language skills. She has become quite the little chatter box these days. I'm not quite sure what it is she is saying, but she has a lot of it to say! She reacts when you discipline her (which makes it hard to keep a straight face when she mutters what sounds like "Don't" or "Stop" with her bottom lip poking out in a overdramatic frown, while you discipline her).
We have mastered that the cow says "oooo" and now we are trying to learn that dog says "ruf ruf" or in AKese "oof oof". We are learning where our nose is - which is often mistaken for our teeth or mouth. But at least thats near your nose, progress...right?
The weather has been so dreary this week, probably contributing to our long deep afternoon naps - but all the rain has really helped wash the yucky pollen away. The sun finally made an appearance today - I was all ready to take AK to the playground after school but she was out like a light before I could crank up the car to head home!!!
My favorite clothing store is having a storewide 50% off sale and I have birthday money burning a hole in my wallet - so I'm going to treat myself for the first time in a long time!! Last spring I had to buy a post-pardum wardrobe to fit my re-shaping body - so as you can imgaine, I don't have a lot to choose from for this year's spring wardrobe. I always tend to find that when you have money to spend you find less of what you want and when you don't have money to spend you want everything you see - hopefully I will be successful with this little shopping trip.
Keep a lookout on http://www.theuncontainabletruth.com/ for some blogs by yours truly. I have teamed up with a fantastic couple from our church who maintain this wonderful website. I will be listed as a guest blogger and I'm using this outlet to reach others through my fertility testimony. I've never put my full story into words, but have felt called to do this for quite sometime. I don't know how many posts it will take me to get the full story out there, but after I get my story out there I will be sharing ways to be encouraged or ways to encourage those going through the same journey Matt and I went through. Please pray for me as I write this story and words of encouragement. My prayer is to help others see they are not alone, but also to educate those who don't know much about the process. I want to make sure God gets all the glory for the mighty works he did in our family during our time of both struggle and victory. I thank God daily for the struggle it took to get AK here because it changed who we were as people, Christians, and who we were as a family. Hind sight is always 20/20 - but as always my God knew exactly what he was doing when he delayed my wants for his will!
I know my blogs tend to be boring without pictures - but sometimes I am doing good to just get a moment to write my thoughts...until next time BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING!
Thursday night my sweet husband threw me a birthday party with some great friends. We enjoyed a baby free night on the town, which was wonderful. We don't get too many baby free nights around here. Friday we headed to Birmingham with AK and my Mom in tow to help celebrate the marriage of Matt's little sister Ashley and her now husband, Kevin.
My sweet Mom arranged for my for my grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, and cousins to join us for a late lunch at the cheesecake factory to celebrate my birthday. It was such a great way to spend my birthday during such a busy time. After lunch we began all the wedding weekend festivities. We had rehearsal, after rehearsal dinner, then Saturday of course we had photographs, wedding ceremony, and reception. Sunday we followed all the celebrating with a family brunch before we headed home.
Friday night we enjoyed a wonderful meal Italian style with family and friends. My Mom so graciously took on the role of traveling nanny so Matt and I could truly enjoy sharing these special moments with his family. Its a good thing AK is so easy going and that my Mom loves her role as grandma - because her and AK spent a lot of time in close quarters at our hotel. Wedding day was filled with lots of excitement and tons of pictures! Everything went perfectly for the bride and groom! The church was packed with friends and family, and the ceremony was filled with fun and laughter. I had a great time meeting old family friends during the reception, and hearing funny stories about Matt when he was a young boy. We really enjoyed the catch up time we had with Matt's family from the Chicago area. I only had the chance to meet most of them 2 years ago, so its always a pleasure to spend time with them making new family memories of our own.
We partied hard Saturday night, until we could hardly stand any longer - unfortunately for us, AK was not interested in a solid night's sleep on Saturday night which led to no rest after our long marathon day.
The brunch on Sunday came fast after a lack of good sleep - but boy was that food delicious! I thought Sunday would never end though. We were so exhausted and still had a 1.5 hour drive home!!! Of course sweet AK slept all the way home with no interest in sleeping once we arrived. I'm not sure how we managed to stay awake or how we managed to keep AK occupied, but we all three crawled into bed for the remainder of the day and night on Sunday. Prior to the trip I had begun battling allergies from all the pollen accumulation here in the deep south. At first arriving in Birmingham seemed helpful to my sinuses because the pollen build up was not so intense there, but I guess with the late nights and lack of good rest my body didn't react well. By Monday night my throat was on fire and a unsettling cough had settled in. I hate going to the doctor (so much so I don't even actually have a primary physician), but I got myself to PriMed (our local doc in a box) to find some relief! I just knew I had strep throat, thankfully I did not! But an hour wait, one strep test, a chest x-ray, and a sinus x-ray later the verdict was in. Sinus infect and bronchitis - yuck!
This has been a rough week of recovery for little AK as well - she hasn't slept straight through the night since the Saturday night of the wedding. However, thankfully for me that means she naps good, long, and hard during the day - which allowed for me to catch up and get my body some much needed rest. I don't think I've slept as hard and deep as I have during the day this week! I'm not back to 100% but I'm proud to say the nasty ongoing cough is gone as well as the firery throat pain. I'm just left with a few sniffles and no more desire to crash in the middle of the day! WOOHOO for God healing our bodies and allowing us to have medicine to clear out the germs!
I never dreamed it would take us an entire week to recover from all that partying and celebrating! I'm sure the newly weds are thinking the same thing right now as they are relaxing in Mexico this week!!
While I've been recovering, AK has been exercising her voice and language skills. She has become quite the little chatter box these days. I'm not quite sure what it is she is saying, but she has a lot of it to say! She reacts when you discipline her (which makes it hard to keep a straight face when she mutters what sounds like "Don't" or "Stop" with her bottom lip poking out in a overdramatic frown, while you discipline her).
We have mastered that the cow says "oooo" and now we are trying to learn that dog says "ruf ruf" or in AKese "oof oof". We are learning where our nose is - which is often mistaken for our teeth or mouth. But at least thats near your nose, progress...right?
The weather has been so dreary this week, probably contributing to our long deep afternoon naps - but all the rain has really helped wash the yucky pollen away. The sun finally made an appearance today - I was all ready to take AK to the playground after school but she was out like a light before I could crank up the car to head home!!!
My favorite clothing store is having a storewide 50% off sale and I have birthday money burning a hole in my wallet - so I'm going to treat myself for the first time in a long time!! Last spring I had to buy a post-pardum wardrobe to fit my re-shaping body - so as you can imgaine, I don't have a lot to choose from for this year's spring wardrobe. I always tend to find that when you have money to spend you find less of what you want and when you don't have money to spend you want everything you see - hopefully I will be successful with this little shopping trip.
Keep a lookout on http://www.theuncontainabletruth.com/ for some blogs by yours truly. I have teamed up with a fantastic couple from our church who maintain this wonderful website. I will be listed as a guest blogger and I'm using this outlet to reach others through my fertility testimony. I've never put my full story into words, but have felt called to do this for quite sometime. I don't know how many posts it will take me to get the full story out there, but after I get my story out there I will be sharing ways to be encouraged or ways to encourage those going through the same journey Matt and I went through. Please pray for me as I write this story and words of encouragement. My prayer is to help others see they are not alone, but also to educate those who don't know much about the process. I want to make sure God gets all the glory for the mighty works he did in our family during our time of both struggle and victory. I thank God daily for the struggle it took to get AK here because it changed who we were as people, Christians, and who we were as a family. Hind sight is always 20/20 - but as always my God knew exactly what he was doing when he delayed my wants for his will!
I know my blogs tend to be boring without pictures - but sometimes I am doing good to just get a moment to write my thoughts...until next time BE BLESSED & BE A BLESSING!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Search My Heart....or maybe not?
Investigate my life, O God,
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
Psalm 139:23 (The Message)
This has been my theme for several days now...and I'm saddened to say I haven't been too thrilled about it. It sounds like good logic, and even the right thing to want - but boy is it hard in reality!
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Psalm 139:23 (New Living Translation)
Be careful what you ask for - God is willing to give you the good things you need - and He will happily do this for you!
You know - I didn't even specifically ask for this recently - but I know I have asked and searched deep in the past - the difference this time is that the Lord allowed a big bright light bulb to ding over my head without me asking for it - which probably makes this harder for me!
My heart revealed itself these past weeks in a way I'm shameful to admit. It came out black and hard. I literally have a vision of what my spiritual heart looks like right now and it is so ugly and not healthy. I have walked around for many months now allowing my heart to get harder and harder and blacker and blacker. I have allowed bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness to settle into my spirit and boy is that junk nasty!!! It has affected my attitude, my relationships, and even my day to day functionings. I hate that I didn't realize this was happening, or even worse that maybe I did realize and I chose to do nothing about it.
While, this heart problem does not have an instant quick fix or even an overnight fix I am so thankful for a merciful Savior who loves me unconditionally and who offers me forgiveness through His own death on the cross and new life through His resurrection.
Psalm 139:23 just keeps replaying in my mind over and over and over again - and I felt it was important to confess my sins, repent, turn away and even ask forgiveness from YOU!
If you have been the reciepient of my black heart in recent months I apologize to you and am begging for your forgiveness. I am so sorry that I have been prideful in thinking that I'm the only one that knows best, and that I'm the only one with any sense, and that I'm the only one who could possibly know what it feels like to do or go through something (fill in the blank here, I'm sure I've had an opinion on it!)
Anyway - It was important to me to openly confess these things and let you know where I am. There is no better way to get yourself whipped back into shape than openly confess your wrong doings and then ask the world to hold you accountable!
I'm not sure what brought this revelation on in my l ife - possibly the 40 days of gratitude challenge from my dear friend Brad Goode, or maybe it was our small group lesson by Andy Stanley we did this week, or maybe it was even in the midst of my mini crisis yesterday when I totally lost the only set of keys to my car, but whatever it was it has whapped me so hard across the head that I cannot focus on much else.
I am embarassed by my behavior recently, more in the last weeks than anything. I read a blog this morning that really struck me and an even bigger ah ha moment hit. My new focus is going to be on freedom in Christ, not being distracted by evil ways, and learning the fruits of the spirit. All of this can be found in Galatians 5. I would ask again, that you would forgive me for my wrong doings, pray for me, and help hold me accountable in the most gracious and merciful way you know how.
My prayer is that I can release my recent hurts, and receive healing for the deep wounds that I have allowed to become infected with pride and even jealousy, I pray that I can release the tension of unforgiveness from my body. My physical body acutally aches to what I now believe is unforgiveness. I want so badly to be able to say to you today "I forgive you" - and maybe by the end of today I can say those words.
Praise the Lord for his correction in our lives and for the Holy Spirit who sometimes has to yell or whap us across the head to get our attention. I'm so glad the Lord does not relent until he has all of who we are. He never gives up on us and His love never fails, no matter how many times my love fails Him. I am so richly blessed in so many many ways, and I am excited about what the Lord has in store for my future. Thank you for letting me confess my sins as it says in James 5:16.
I hope this is not just a confession on my part, but an urging for you to have God examine your heart, test you, and correct you where you need it!
find out everything about me;
Cross-examine and test me,
get a clear picture of what I’m about;
Psalm 139:23 (The Message)
This has been my theme for several days now...and I'm saddened to say I haven't been too thrilled about it. It sounds like good logic, and even the right thing to want - but boy is it hard in reality!
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
Psalm 139:23 (New Living Translation)
Be careful what you ask for - God is willing to give you the good things you need - and He will happily do this for you!
You know - I didn't even specifically ask for this recently - but I know I have asked and searched deep in the past - the difference this time is that the Lord allowed a big bright light bulb to ding over my head without me asking for it - which probably makes this harder for me!
My heart revealed itself these past weeks in a way I'm shameful to admit. It came out black and hard. I literally have a vision of what my spiritual heart looks like right now and it is so ugly and not healthy. I have walked around for many months now allowing my heart to get harder and harder and blacker and blacker. I have allowed bitterness, anger, and unforgiveness to settle into my spirit and boy is that junk nasty!!! It has affected my attitude, my relationships, and even my day to day functionings. I hate that I didn't realize this was happening, or even worse that maybe I did realize and I chose to do nothing about it.
While, this heart problem does not have an instant quick fix or even an overnight fix I am so thankful for a merciful Savior who loves me unconditionally and who offers me forgiveness through His own death on the cross and new life through His resurrection.
Psalm 139:23 just keeps replaying in my mind over and over and over again - and I felt it was important to confess my sins, repent, turn away and even ask forgiveness from YOU!
If you have been the reciepient of my black heart in recent months I apologize to you and am begging for your forgiveness. I am so sorry that I have been prideful in thinking that I'm the only one that knows best, and that I'm the only one with any sense, and that I'm the only one who could possibly know what it feels like to do or go through something (fill in the blank here, I'm sure I've had an opinion on it!)
Anyway - It was important to me to openly confess these things and let you know where I am. There is no better way to get yourself whipped back into shape than openly confess your wrong doings and then ask the world to hold you accountable!
I'm not sure what brought this revelation on in my l ife - possibly the 40 days of gratitude challenge from my dear friend Brad Goode, or maybe it was our small group lesson by Andy Stanley we did this week, or maybe it was even in the midst of my mini crisis yesterday when I totally lost the only set of keys to my car, but whatever it was it has whapped me so hard across the head that I cannot focus on much else.
I am embarassed by my behavior recently, more in the last weeks than anything. I read a blog this morning that really struck me and an even bigger ah ha moment hit. My new focus is going to be on freedom in Christ, not being distracted by evil ways, and learning the fruits of the spirit. All of this can be found in Galatians 5. I would ask again, that you would forgive me for my wrong doings, pray for me, and help hold me accountable in the most gracious and merciful way you know how.
My prayer is that I can release my recent hurts, and receive healing for the deep wounds that I have allowed to become infected with pride and even jealousy, I pray that I can release the tension of unforgiveness from my body. My physical body acutally aches to what I now believe is unforgiveness. I want so badly to be able to say to you today "I forgive you" - and maybe by the end of today I can say those words.
Praise the Lord for his correction in our lives and for the Holy Spirit who sometimes has to yell or whap us across the head to get our attention. I'm so glad the Lord does not relent until he has all of who we are. He never gives up on us and His love never fails, no matter how many times my love fails Him. I am so richly blessed in so many many ways, and I am excited about what the Lord has in store for my future. Thank you for letting me confess my sins as it says in James 5:16.
I hope this is not just a confession on my part, but an urging for you to have God examine your heart, test you, and correct you where you need it!
Thursday, March 17, 2011
A New Hobby...and Some Pictures!
When Matt and I went for premarital counseling nearly 7 years ago...we took a compatibility "test" to see what areas we need to to work on and make improvements in. Well, we seemed to pass with flying colors except for one little part. Hobbies...you see my sweet husband has many many many hobbies - cars, fixing cars, woodwork, home improvements, music, photography, his fish, etc... I have none!The counselor suggested I find a hobby to help balance things out or we might encounter a problem down the road. While we've never really encountered a real problem, Matt's hobbies have had a tendency to get of my last nerve or cost me some $$. For years now I've tried to enjoy cars with Matt, but they still bore me to tears as they always have. I've tried selling Mary Kay, I've tried scrapbooking, I've tried gardening, I desired to try photo editing (as the photoshop stares me in the face I realize I've never used it and don't know how!) Well today I am proud to announce my lastest hobby venture, sewing, seems to be a success...for this week anyway!
Our parent's always ask us what we want for Christmas and every year it gets tougher and tougher to make a "wish list". This year I randomly threw out there to my mother-in-law that I thought I might want a sewing machine so I could learn to make cute clothes for AK. Well friends, ask and you shall receive! I got my sewing machine back in December, and for almost 3 months that machine has haunted me. I was scared of it! Scared to open it, scared to touch it, scared to try anyting with it. My mechanical engineer husband, "Mr. Hobby" proudly opened it for me, and even set it up - 2 months ago! He drug me out to the fabric store to get scrap fabrics and some threads. Before I could even say "let me try" he had sewn the scraps together - and I quickly gave up on the idea of sewing.That machine sat by my kitchen table for weeks on end. Every time I looked at it I felt this great pressure that I needed to produce a piece of clothing. I wanted to take a class - but was too nervous to go alone. My hopes of learning to sew were quickly fading into the background and I was getting ready to mark that off my list of possible hobbies.
My mother-in-law graciously gave me her old sewing cabinet/table a few weeks ago, sparking my interest once again. This time my problem was that I had no place to put another piece of furniture in our house. Well, with the recent purchase of new furniture and some rearranging in our closet, I was able to fit the new sewing cabinet in our master bedroom closet. I moved that big cabinet all by myself this week to get it in position and ready to use.
Our parent's always ask us what we want for Christmas and every year it gets tougher and tougher to make a "wish list". This year I randomly threw out there to my mother-in-law that I thought I might want a sewing machine so I could learn to make cute clothes for AK. Well friends, ask and you shall receive! I got my sewing machine back in December, and for almost 3 months that machine has haunted me. I was scared of it! Scared to open it, scared to touch it, scared to try anyting with it. My mechanical engineer husband, "Mr. Hobby" proudly opened it for me, and even set it up - 2 months ago! He drug me out to the fabric store to get scrap fabrics and some threads. Before I could even say "let me try" he had sewn the scraps together - and I quickly gave up on the idea of sewing.That machine sat by my kitchen table for weeks on end. Every time I looked at it I felt this great pressure that I needed to produce a piece of clothing. I wanted to take a class - but was too nervous to go alone. My hopes of learning to sew were quickly fading into the background and I was getting ready to mark that off my list of possible hobbies.
My mother-in-law graciously gave me her old sewing cabinet/table a few weeks ago, sparking my interest once again. This time my problem was that I had no place to put another piece of furniture in our house. Well, with the recent purchase of new furniture and some rearranging in our closet, I was able to fit the new sewing cabinet in our master bedroom closet. I moved that big cabinet all by myself this week to get it in position and ready to use.
Maybe it was the boost of self esteem from all the spring clean up and clean out, or just the fact that sewing now had a literal place in my home, but I decided to google how to make a simple dress, known as a pillow case dress. Keep in mind I had and still have no idea how to go to the fabric store and pick a pattern and buy supplies...I don't even speak sewing "language". I found this youtube video...how to make a pillow case dress...after I spent 9 minutes watching a normal person show me step by step how to sew this simple dress I was highly motivated. I purchased her detailed instructions for $3 and headed off to the fabric store to get my list of needed supplies. I immediately went for the easter fabrics. I really really wanted AK to have a cute outfit for her 1st easter egg hunt at church, but I had no budget for a new one, let a alone a custom made one!I went home and got to work right away. My goal was to prep all the fabric and get it ready for sewing. Right off the bat, I cut in the wrong place and ruined my 1st attempt at dress making. Thankfully I thought ahead and bough twice as much fabric as I was going to need. I tried again and got it right this time. Wednesday morning Matt left for work and soon after I put AK down for her morning nap. I went straight for my machine, unpacked it and set it up on my new table. I stared at it for a while and decided to go for it! Of course I immediately jammed up the thread and my machine had this big ERROR light flasshing on the screen...."OOPS" - I realized Matt had threaded it and set up the bobbin and all that stuff and was quickly aware that I did not know how to fix this major problem. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking that I quit...but I did not! I got the instructions to the machine out and fixed my problem! I begin to sew on the arm holes of the dress...not a good starting point for your first try - its a curved piece of material - I cannot even sew a straight seam! I finished the first arm hole and it looked awful! Alas I was not defeated - I dug around my "supplies" and found a seam ripper, I just pulled that tread out and tried again - this time I was much more successful. Things just got easier and easier from here on out. Next thing I knew it was nearly 3 hours and later and AK's dress was almost complete. I got ready to do the last step, which was thread the ribbon through the neck of the dress and I realized my front side neck did not line up with my back side neck. Several seam rips later I measured, cut, and sewed again! Finished! It looked amazing - might I add - I did french seams on this dress. I really don't know what that means other than the lady in the video showed me how - and from the inside my dress is very clean and professional looking around the seams and hems.
I was so nervous the dress would be too small, especially after I had to adjust the neckline at the end. I told myself that even it it was too small for AK I would count it as successful because it was complete, it looked like it was suppose to, and it was just too cute! Much to my surprise it fit AK perfectly!
Unfortunately, as she wore it throughout the rest of the day I realized I must have missed something or done something wrong! Beginners mistake, I didn't reverse stitch at the end of my seams, so it is coming apart. I didn't even realize there was such a thing as reverse stitch, let alone how to do it myself! It's all ok though, because I will try to fix it tonight - and if I don't - I'm ready to begin again on the exact same dress. This time I'm making 2 one for AK and one for her cousin Bella. Every little girl needs a easter bunny dress for her first easter egg hunt!
I had a blast constructing this dress and plan to move forward in my sewing projects, I will continue to make mistakes, but I will also continue to learn from them. After I master the art of the pillowcase dress, I have my eye on some girls pants with ruffled cuffs! I hope you enjoyed the story of my blunders and successes of my first sewing project. I'm considering framing this adorable dress in a shadow box frame to hang over my sewing table to keep me motivated!
Also, as promised here are the pictures of the newly done bedroom. Please keep in mind we still need to pain the ceiling a light gray and we have not hung any mirrors or pictures on the walls.
This last pictures is a close up of the curtains - so you can see the pattern
Stay tuned for more sewing successes. I wish I had a good AK story today - but she is still stuck on everything being a "dog" and being as independant as ever!
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Spring Break? I think I might...
It never crossed my mind that after college I would get a spring break again! So thankful for my amazing job, that allows extreme flexibility with AK's childcare schedule. Today is day 2 of our little spring break and I am so proud to say I've been able to "sleep in" both days! With the time change AK is sleeping till 7 or a little later now, and with an amazing husband I've been left alone till after 7am these past 2 days. It may not seem like much to most of you, but its a great feeling to get even 30 minutes of extra sleep.
Yesterday I put in some hard labor here at home, despite the fact I'm "off" all week. After 2 nights of Matt assembling the new furniture, it was my turn to transfer, clean out, and throw out from the old to the new. I somehow managed to empty the old 6 drawer dresser that was located in our closet and move it to the garage all by myself - and a little help from AK. I also manged to carry out both of the old nightstands as well. I guess I'm stronger than I realize, because I didn't even feel sore when I woke up today! Its so nice to have time to be able to clean out and rearrange in areas that get neglected due to lack or time or higher priorities.
The closet has gotten a quick makeover, with shoes being organized, and in place of the old dresser in the closet, I now have my "new to me" sewing table! Now, if I only knew how to sew...ha ha! At least I have a space to sit down and learn now! I know I know, you all want to see photos of these new things and arrangements, but I am usually lucky to get time to write this blog. Matt will have to use his new fancy camera and then show me how to upload them to the computer so I can post them!
Tonight we are going to hang the new curtains (which I got an amazing steal on at Ikea) For almost 4 years I have had no curtains in my bedroom....this is so out of character for me...Every single window in our home has curtains on it! With three windows and a strange 90 degree corner I've never taken the time to save up for all it would take to cover them. But thanks to Ikea, I could afford the curtains, and the hardware to solve my problem. I cannot wait to see it all come together tonight! I've also recently gotten the most amazing 16x20 portrait of my precious baby girl. This is going to be hanging over my new dresser - I am so excited to have this beautiful piece of artwork in my home. Its been quite and investment journey to get these amazing portraits and photographs of my girl's big milestones, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I guess as an adult, "spring break" and "spring clean" are synonymous words, because next on my list is to move some furniture around and out to make my home feel more spacious. You can only imagine what life in less than 1500 sq ft with 2 adults, 2 dogs, and a 1 year old is like. It is tight! Never mind our hobbies and soon to be hobbies of music and sewing! AK doesn't have too many toys but she knows how to spread them out when she's in full play mode and boy oh boy does it become messy around here fast!
If you are a frequent house guest here, you are about to lose your comfy double bed in lieu of a single daybed with a trundle. The guest room/music room is too junked up with too much furniture and objects for me to even want to enter in there. I foresee a storage unit in my near future as well as a garage sale! If you need some furniture and a good DIY project, have I got the pieces for you! If you need to get rid of some stuff yourself, then lets talk and have a joint yard sale! It will be a good feeling to get this place cleaned out and cleaned up - it will lighten the mood around here for sure. I get so bogged down in trying to keep it looking good, and its gotten so hard with so much stuff! What I really want is a bigger house - but that will have to come in time.
I should be sweeping and mopping right now, but I have chosen to take advantage of the early leg of AK's afternoon nap to blog without interruption. At least I can say that I scrubbed both bathrooms before she woke up from her morning nap (which I think I disturbed with my cleaning, causing her to wake after only 20 minutes or so...)
For all you AK fans out there, we have seen some serious intellectual developments lately! I told you about learning what dogs and shoes were, but I haven't told you about her reading her dog books! On the way back from Ikea she read to us from her car seat. It went something like this..."Dug, Duc, Dug, Dug, Dug" as she turned the pages to "Go, Dogs, Go". It was a great sound to hear in the midst of a long day in the car!
She has also learned about doing laundry. I always told her what I was doing, even when she was just months old - and apparently she was listening!! Anytime she sees me in the laundry room she finds dirty (and even clean) clothes in either my bathroom or hers and brings them to me. If I miss something she is quick to put it in the washer (we have a front load unit making this easy for her to do). Maybe its because I'm her mom, but there is some kind of parental pride in watching your child grasp and understand the ways of your life.
About a month ago we made a decision to begin limiting AK's pacifier use to just sleep and car rides or extremely fussy times. This has been the best decision ever! Thankfully her teachers are in agreement with my decision and they keep her "pappy" out of reach during school. I credit this limited pappy use to her recent interest in language development. I hope it won't be long until we don't need that thing at all. But all good things in time. I'm just glad that she currently isn't a finger or thumb sucker as I was.
Most of you know my girl has been a great eater since she discovered real food. She would eat anything anytime. Unfortunately that has slowed down. She is so busy in her actions and mind that she doesn't want to slow down enough to eat much at all and recently she has gotten a bit more picky. However, today I fixed a snack for myself of chips and mango salsa. I turned my back to get a napkin and noticed her reaching right into that small bowl of salsa. As I rushed back to stop her she put those fingers right into her mouth. I was fearful of the slight spicy flavor she was about to encounter, little to my surprise she went back for more at least twice! Who knew! My baby likes hummus and mango salsa....at least mango salsa has both fruits and vegetables!!
Please hold me accountable to the promised photographs of our new room and growing baby girl. I really do need to take a few moments to get that done. In the mean time I'm going to enjoy my spring break the rest of this week, and maybe take AK for a trip to the zoo! We are busy bees until the month of April - and I will have lots of fun things to blog about soon, birthday party, wedding, and more...so stay tuned! With the weather warming rapidly we will be heading south to enjoy some white sand and emerald green waves and I cannot wait to see how different summers will be with an active mobile child! I hope you will find many hidden blessings in your day today and remember to smile because God loves you!
Yesterday I put in some hard labor here at home, despite the fact I'm "off" all week. After 2 nights of Matt assembling the new furniture, it was my turn to transfer, clean out, and throw out from the old to the new. I somehow managed to empty the old 6 drawer dresser that was located in our closet and move it to the garage all by myself - and a little help from AK. I also manged to carry out both of the old nightstands as well. I guess I'm stronger than I realize, because I didn't even feel sore when I woke up today! Its so nice to have time to be able to clean out and rearrange in areas that get neglected due to lack or time or higher priorities.
The closet has gotten a quick makeover, with shoes being organized, and in place of the old dresser in the closet, I now have my "new to me" sewing table! Now, if I only knew how to sew...ha ha! At least I have a space to sit down and learn now! I know I know, you all want to see photos of these new things and arrangements, but I am usually lucky to get time to write this blog. Matt will have to use his new fancy camera and then show me how to upload them to the computer so I can post them!
Tonight we are going to hang the new curtains (which I got an amazing steal on at Ikea) For almost 4 years I have had no curtains in my bedroom....this is so out of character for me...Every single window in our home has curtains on it! With three windows and a strange 90 degree corner I've never taken the time to save up for all it would take to cover them. But thanks to Ikea, I could afford the curtains, and the hardware to solve my problem. I cannot wait to see it all come together tonight! I've also recently gotten the most amazing 16x20 portrait of my precious baby girl. This is going to be hanging over my new dresser - I am so excited to have this beautiful piece of artwork in my home. Its been quite and investment journey to get these amazing portraits and photographs of my girl's big milestones, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
I guess as an adult, "spring break" and "spring clean" are synonymous words, because next on my list is to move some furniture around and out to make my home feel more spacious. You can only imagine what life in less than 1500 sq ft with 2 adults, 2 dogs, and a 1 year old is like. It is tight! Never mind our hobbies and soon to be hobbies of music and sewing! AK doesn't have too many toys but she knows how to spread them out when she's in full play mode and boy oh boy does it become messy around here fast!
If you are a frequent house guest here, you are about to lose your comfy double bed in lieu of a single daybed with a trundle. The guest room/music room is too junked up with too much furniture and objects for me to even want to enter in there. I foresee a storage unit in my near future as well as a garage sale! If you need some furniture and a good DIY project, have I got the pieces for you! If you need to get rid of some stuff yourself, then lets talk and have a joint yard sale! It will be a good feeling to get this place cleaned out and cleaned up - it will lighten the mood around here for sure. I get so bogged down in trying to keep it looking good, and its gotten so hard with so much stuff! What I really want is a bigger house - but that will have to come in time.
I should be sweeping and mopping right now, but I have chosen to take advantage of the early leg of AK's afternoon nap to blog without interruption. At least I can say that I scrubbed both bathrooms before she woke up from her morning nap (which I think I disturbed with my cleaning, causing her to wake after only 20 minutes or so...)
For all you AK fans out there, we have seen some serious intellectual developments lately! I told you about learning what dogs and shoes were, but I haven't told you about her reading her dog books! On the way back from Ikea she read to us from her car seat. It went something like this..."Dug, Duc, Dug, Dug, Dug" as she turned the pages to "Go, Dogs, Go". It was a great sound to hear in the midst of a long day in the car!
She has also learned about doing laundry. I always told her what I was doing, even when she was just months old - and apparently she was listening!! Anytime she sees me in the laundry room she finds dirty (and even clean) clothes in either my bathroom or hers and brings them to me. If I miss something she is quick to put it in the washer (we have a front load unit making this easy for her to do). Maybe its because I'm her mom, but there is some kind of parental pride in watching your child grasp and understand the ways of your life.
About a month ago we made a decision to begin limiting AK's pacifier use to just sleep and car rides or extremely fussy times. This has been the best decision ever! Thankfully her teachers are in agreement with my decision and they keep her "pappy" out of reach during school. I credit this limited pappy use to her recent interest in language development. I hope it won't be long until we don't need that thing at all. But all good things in time. I'm just glad that she currently isn't a finger or thumb sucker as I was.
Most of you know my girl has been a great eater since she discovered real food. She would eat anything anytime. Unfortunately that has slowed down. She is so busy in her actions and mind that she doesn't want to slow down enough to eat much at all and recently she has gotten a bit more picky. However, today I fixed a snack for myself of chips and mango salsa. I turned my back to get a napkin and noticed her reaching right into that small bowl of salsa. As I rushed back to stop her she put those fingers right into her mouth. I was fearful of the slight spicy flavor she was about to encounter, little to my surprise she went back for more at least twice! Who knew! My baby likes hummus and mango salsa....at least mango salsa has both fruits and vegetables!!
Please hold me accountable to the promised photographs of our new room and growing baby girl. I really do need to take a few moments to get that done. In the mean time I'm going to enjoy my spring break the rest of this week, and maybe take AK for a trip to the zoo! We are busy bees until the month of April - and I will have lots of fun things to blog about soon, birthday party, wedding, and more...so stay tuned! With the weather warming rapidly we will be heading south to enjoy some white sand and emerald green waves and I cannot wait to see how different summers will be with an active mobile child! I hope you will find many hidden blessings in your day today and remember to smile because God loves you!
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