Julianne is 7 months old!

Dear Julianne-

You are 7 months old and your monthly pictures are becoming increasingly difficult to take. You are interested in anything and everything and putting a paper sign within reach of you is just too tempting not to grab and eat! I really needed a helper to get a good shot...maybe next month someone will be around when you are awake, happy, and dressed. That is a tricky combination but I have noticed your "happy window" is open much longer than it used to be. You have really chilled out this month and are getting better and better at going with the flow.

I have to note once again that I am still trying to adjust to the fact that you are ours. You are such a delight and more beautiful and sweet then I ever imagined you would be. It is just so humbling that God entrusted us with you. It seems each day you surprise me with something new you are learning or doing. This is a fun age and I almost wish I could slow down time a bit to linger here. That however is impossible, so I am left with trying to cherish every moment while it lasts. Here are some of things going on I want to remember....

1. Your Laugh:

You have been laughing for some time now but it becomes easier and easier to get you rolling especially for Wesson. He seems to tickle your fancy by just existing. Mommy and Daddy on the other hand are only funny when we do ridiculous things by trial and error. Still, your laugh brings us much joy and I caught it on video this month.

2. This month you began sitting up unassisted!

 This new skill has given you a new perspective on the world and our house which seems to interest you very much. I love this stage because you are quite content to sit and play for a bit and I know you aren't going to go anywhere. I realize this is short lived because soon you will be crawling, but I am savoring this sitting stage. I will also note that sitting was an "all of a sudden" development. One day you were falling over anytime I propped you up and the next you just had it down and didn't fall anymore. I think that means you are a quick learner:)

Wesson can also play alongside you better while sitting. He is still your favorite playmate....makes since since you both love to put things in your mouth. 

3. Your first  second trip to Possum Kingdom Lake

Last summer your Daddy and I went to the lake but you were in my tummy. This year you joined us out of the womb and had a grand time. Really you spent most of the time indoors being loved on by Gran, uncle Marty, and Aunt Amy's mom "D" while the rest of us played on the lake. Daddy did a lot of fishing and Mommy took any chance she could to go out on the boat. I thought I was in good shape since I tote you around all the time, but was deeply humbled when after several rounds of water skiing I could barely move my muscles. It was so fun though! The only downside was your decision to revert back to you newborn sleep schedule while we were there. You woke 3 times each night and since we were sharing walls with others, we didn't want to wait too long to quiet you by nursing. Thankfully you are sleeping better now. Below are some shots from our time there. Thanks to "Big Wayne" for these pictures....

Gran and Aunt Pam on the boat

Daddy getting ready for some water sports....

Mommy on the water....pretty sure I fell right after this was taken....

Mommy concentrating as not to fall again.....

Mommy, Macy, and Daddy on the tube....turns out Mommy is not a fan of tubing...scary! I asked to get off shortly after this was taken and let Daddy and 10 year old Macy have a grand time without me. 

We did take you swimming though and you loved the water! 

You also loved inside time with all the family loving on you....

Daddy on the Seadoo

4. You started school...well Mother's Day Out once a week.

Mommy has a new job doing some office work from home. It has been great to have something else to do in the day while you nap. I do need to be in the office for a few hours each week though and decided to enroll you in a Mother's Day Out program one day a week. You are LOVING it and I always get a happy report from your teacher when I come to pick you up. I may need to write an entire post on "school" sometime soon.

That is all I can manage for now baby girl. You are currently up from your nap and are ready for action.

I love you,

Mommy

Stuff I have been meaning to blog about.....

Since becoming a Mommy, I have really dropped the ball on keeping up with my blog. I used to have time to write about the comings and goings of our everyday life in a smart witty way. Well.... I tried to make it clever at least to the extent of my writing abilities. There are always situations where I think, "I need to blog about this" and then never get to it. I should work some regular time into my schedule for blogging...it is something I enjoy and I love having to look back on.

So in an effort to catch up, I have compiled a list of stuff I have been meaning to share on this here blog.

1. We cloth diaper

Before Julianne was born we did a lot of research and found that cloth diapering may not be as gross, annoying, or inconvenient as we thought. Really the things have come a long way since the safety pin days, and we like it a lot for several reasons.
First, they are economical. Going down to one income and trying to account for the diaper expense was a bit overwhelming. I think we figured we'd be spending around $40 each month diapering our baby...yikes! The Flip Diapers by Cotton Babies cost us less than $200 for 24 diapers and 8 diaper covers and they can be worn up to 35 lbs. (Julianne will be potty trained before she ever reaches that weight Lord willing). There are costs to washing them with water etc...and we do buy disposable for babysitters and sometimes nighttime. We still feel like we are coming out way ahead though especially when you think about using them on subsequent children.
People always ask me, "isn't it gross to wash them?" I personally don't think so. There is no soaking or scraping. I basically get off what I can then send them through a rise, hot wash, and extra hot rinse. We keep them in a pail and wash every other day. Really it is not that hard to run this load amongst the other laundry.
Then there are other benefits such as avoiding chemicals in diapers on Julianne's bottom. There are some out there that think those chemicals could be harmful down the line. I am not sure about that but if that does turn out to be true I will be glad we used cloth! Also, I feel a little "green" that we are saving a small part of a landfill somewhere that doesn't have to decompose our diapers (each one takes 7 years I think to decompose).

2. I have really enjoyed making baby food



My new hobby is cooking for our baby girl. My hope is to expose her to as many different foods as possible and make them for her if I can. I have also found making your own is very thrifty as each jar costs about  $.75 in the store. I can buy organic fruits and vegetables, bake or steam them, puree in our food processor, and freeze in ice cube trays for much less. Plus I know there are no added preservatives just the veggie and sometimes breast milk to make it smooth. I even make my own cereal with oats and rice. The best resource I've found is wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com they tell you how to prepare everything and include nutritional information as well as best times to introduce any given fruit, vegetable, or grain.

3. I miss running

I used to be a runner. Not that I was good at it but enjoyed it and completed 2 marathons and countless half marathons. Running has been at the bottom of the priority list but I would really like to change that. I miss it. I miss the feeling of air in my lungs as I try to push through one more mile. I miss the high I got afterwards, I miss the way my muscles looked. Now that Julianne is older I am making an attempt to get back into it. It isn't easy. With 100 degree weather every day the only time we can go out is first thing in the morning and sometimes that is not logistically possible. Also, I can't just grab my shoes and go. I have to pack up the baby in the jogging stroller, put the leash on the dog, make sure I have my mace, cell phone, and sunglasses. Then I have to leash up the dog, grab the garage door opener out of my car, and make sure J has her hat on. If I can accomplish all of this I then have to bring myself to run with the dog and stroller when I am out of shape to begin with. So it is slow going. I am able to jog a few blocks but walk mostly still. Hopefully I can work back up to it.

I think that is enough for now...sorry for the novel...