30 Weeks With Little Man and Home Projects

Baby Orion

30 weeks with Orion.

I cant wait to be done! Im not sure I am ready to have two kids under 18 months, but I am sure done with lugging this one around. He is SO much bigger than Grace was. Or at least I carried Grace more in my hips and wider, he is straight out belly. I also carried Grace high and he is obviously lower and therefore, already making me hurt. 10ish weeks to go! Yikes!

My Big Girl!

So...the toddler bed.

In my mom-mind, I wanted to switch her over in July (when she gets a new room) with this huge celebration of a "big girl bed" with fancy big girl sheets. Well I must have kept all this wonderfulness to myself because Papa decided to set it up Memorial Day. After 4 days, it was completely successful, and I am thankful that we didnt wait until July. (I ordered said fancy sheets that night though, just because.) It is wonderful and she is only now 15 months. I put her to bed/nap and she will sometimes get up and read her books for a bit, then crawl in bed on her own and go to sleep. I hear her wake up between 6-630am and then she again, sits and reads her books and doesnt start hollering for me until around 7. I am so thankful for that extra sleep right now! The crib is now ready for Orion to arrive.

Moving on to bigger changes going on....

We are in the process of adding on to our house. More babies = more room. The idea is to then switch the kids into the current master bedroom and our addition is off of Grace's room now. Much bigger room and a bathroom will be added. I am so excited!

The nice dirt hole dug out.

First set of forms built. We are getting cement this week.

And My Garden

One of my favorite things about my husband is how I can tell him some crazy idea in my head and he brings it to life. Here is my new greenhouse. Now, a few weeks in, my tomato, zucchini and pepper plants are loving their warm home!

I also have planted again this year - strawberries, green onion and carrots. My new additions are yellow onion, basil, cilantro, parsley and thyme. And again, my cucumber plant has already died. I am not sure on why all my others are thriving and I cant grow a cucumber. 4th plant in 3 years - I think I will give up on fresh cucumbers and enjoy my others.



Toddler Painting

It was a beautiful day out again yesterday and I have been waiting for a good time to make these "paints" and let Grace play! Even though these are technically 'edible', they really aren't a snack or to be eaten. If she tasted it (which she did) it was okay, since it was all food. It actually tastes kind of strange, so she only tried it once.

Recipe: (Filled all 7 jars perfectly)

4.5 tbs sugar

3/4 c. corn starch

3/4 tsp salt

3 cups water

Mix all the ingredients in a saucepan and warm until it thickens, stirring so it doesnt become chuncky. Let it cool, divide into jars and add food coloring. That's it!

Ours became thicker as it cooled, so if it is too gooey, mix in a little water to be more paint-like. I liked the goo for Grace to experiment with. Surprisingly, nothing stained her skin. We tossed her in the bath immediately after we were done and it all came off.

We put her in the yard just for an easy clean up. I would really suggest doing this outside or in a contained area (high chair, empty bath tub, etc.) I gave her paper and a couple old paint brushes and let her go. (The food coloring didnt seem to stain her skin, but I didnt trust it on clothes, so diaper time it was! Disposable at that - I love my cloth prints too much to risk staining those a random color too!)

I am absolutely the parent that wants my kids to be kids. I want her to be "okay" with getting a bit messy sometimes. This paint goo was all over her hands, body and hair when we were done. (I'd show that adorable mess, but I dont put naked baby pics online.) She is a girl by all means. She would rather play with her purse, phone and babies instead of the trucks and balls. But she also loves to make a mess and get dirty. Let your kids explore!

The aftermath of art.

Edible Playdoh

Maybe it is the teacher in me, but I am so excited that Grace is at an age where I can really dive into educational playtime! I love finding ways to introduce her to new sensory learning - texture, tastes, motor skills, experiences - she has so much fun! I sometimes forget that she is only 14 months, but then at the same time, she is 14 months...never too early to learn and try new things!

Since she also likes to eat/taste absolutely everything still, I try to make many of the crafts edible if I can to prevent her from eating chemicals. I loved this recipe for edible playdoh and she ate a little and played a lot. She had fun learning how to squish it, pat it, tear it, make shapes and use cookie cutters in it.

Recipe:

Equal parts Peanut Butter, Honey and Instant Dry Milk.

Then add more dry  milk and flour to thicken it and make it less sticky to whatever consistency you like.

Make sure it is stored in an airtight container when not in use. I would toss and make new after a week or so.

Grace is ONE!

Happy 1st Birthday to our sweet little Grace!

We had a monkey party to celebrate. Since Steve was gone for two months, I had way too much time to plan out every little detail. It turned out so cute and exactly how I imagined! The BEST part...Steve surprised us both and came home two days before her birthday!!

I chose to make Grace's first cake. I wanted a healthier option for her and not a sugar filled store cake. I made her a banana-apple cake with cream cheese frosting. The mini cupcakes were also this recipe. The larger cupcakes are my pride vanilla cake with buttercream frosting.

Month by month timeline

This was extreme as she got. No huge mess, no smashing, nothing. She stayed clean. Part of it was probably late naptime and everyone staring at her. :)

Such a sweet girl! She was just starting to walk around this day and now she can walk a bunch of wobbly steps but crawling is faster.

She eats a large variety of food on her own now. I am thrilled that we are off bottles and formula and she had no problem switching to a sippy cup and whole milk.

At her one year appt she was 18lbs 13oz and 31.25 inches. She is super skinny but super tall! (99% for height!!)

Not really saying too much yet. She went through a phase where she said "what's that" all the time. She will sign though. More, all done, happy, together, pee-you (smell).

Baby # 2!

So I noticed I am particularly really behind on both my blogs! Welcome to my life as a busy mom with a busy 11 month old, who is tired from baby # 2 and Papa is away! Here are some updates on both my kiddos!

This was last week at 11wks 3 days. Already and active and beautiful little peanut. I am making the guess early, I can swear it is a little man! We will find out in April! This pregnancy has been so different - and honestly, so wonderful! (aside from the very beginning, but that is a different story for my other blog..) Anyways here are the details for this little one:

*My official due date is August 20th! Not sure how stoked I am for a June, July, August 3rd trimester...

*I was terribly sick with Grace. I have had nothing to complain about this time! And Im 12.5 weeks now, so I think Im in the clear! I had ONE day which was awful and just a couple with some slight uneasiness, but nothing, nothing! like with Grace. That alone makes this pregnancy awesome!

*I dont really have too many cravings yet. I do eat an egg sandwich every morning though with a big glass of milk. (The one day I didnt was the day I was terribly sick!)

* My only real food aversions so far is any sugar. I cant stand to even think about putting candy in my mouth. (Umm this aversion is great! I made it through the holidays without anything!)

*Thankfully, I have gained maybe a pound so far. I know its coming later, but I certianly "know better" than my "eat whatever I want" with Grace. And since it is nice out lately , Grace and I go for walks.

* My only minimal complaint - I have zero energy. I chase around an 11 month old and I am just tired. I also have pregnancy insomnia again which doesnt help. But I am just tired. (Again, I will take tired any day over morning sickness!)

So far that is it for my pregnancy updates! Now about my active little girl!

She now has 3 teeth.

She can stand alone and stand up on her own without assisstance.

She will walk with me or around the furniture but not quite on her own.

I am totally emotional when I think about her turning 1 in a few weeks.

She would rather feed herself than eat baby food. We will see how much longer I can feed her.

She loves cheerios, toast, any meat (especially venison!) and all fruit. And the sippy cup.

She wasnt too thrilled about the snow (see pic) but loved when I pulled her in the wagon in it. That was a nice workout!

7 months

Here are a few pictures from her 7th month! (She will be 8 months in a few days and you know I will take new pictures!)

We are loving fall!

And look what she can do now! We are busy. All it took was one time and she hasnt stopped! I thought I had until at least Christmas before this started!

There are toys everywhere. Sounds of laughter and sqeels fill my home. I love being a mom!

So Berry Cute!

Nana Wendi sent me this!

The cutest strawberry I have ever seen. :o)

Our little diva is now crawling. Everywhere. Happy 7 months old too!

6 Months

I am super behind on my blog. I am busy! :)

Grace turned 6 months old on Septemeber 4th! As always, we take pictures and she is a ham!

She loves food! I make most of her baby food. Sweet potatoes, carrots, squash and all fruits are her favorite. She hates avacado and isnt too fond of sweet peas either (I dont blame her!) She is currently sooo close to crawling it is scary. She babbles all day long and loves our beagle.

1st Foods

We introduced Rice Cereal to Grace this week. She LOVES it! Her first bite she looked at us a bit weird, bu then opened up for more. Once she is adjusted to the cereal, we will add in a vegetable. yummm....

First Trip to the Zoo

My dad couldn't help himself on my birthday this year...he bought me an annual zoo pass. So yesterday I used it for the first time. Grace, Grandpa and I had a blast at the zoo!

Grace looking at the sea lions swimming by. She did really well following the animals and watching them! I wasn't sure how a 4mo old would be interested, but she loved it!

Showing off the new hat and snow leopard she "had to have," said Grandpa.

Exhausted! Her favorites were the sea lions, puffin, camel and sharks. I can't wait to go back!

Happy 4th of July!

Grace's first holiday that she didnt sleep right through. She was ultra patriotic in the adorable outfit she got from my family!

This makes me smile. She is usually such a photo-ham but she was just done here. It is a rare occurance for her to throw a major fit, so I had to document it. :)

* At her 4 mo checkup she was 12lbs.6oz and 25 3/4"!!
Thats the 91 percentile for babies in her age group for height! I think we have a basketball star in the making! :) Didnt take after momma at all!

4 Months

Our baby girl is already 4 months old!

She babbles and talks all the time.

She is reaching out and grabbing everything.

Momma is predicting that she will be left handed. She seems to favor that hand more.

We go this week to her 4 month check up. Im guessing about 25.5 in and 13 lbs. We'll see !!

3 months

Grace is already 3 months old! She finally fits into the cute Carhartt overalls that Papa bought her when he was in Montana last November. She is beyond adorable! Cant wait till I can catch a picture of them both wearing Carhartts! :D

On Mother's Day we Dedicated Grace to the Lord at our church. Essentially, Steve and I made a vow to raise her in a Christian home and do our very best to teach her the ways of the Lord. We are so blessed!

Grace sleeping in her new carseat (replacement from old one in the accident) and she just looks so big here! She is definately going to be taller than Momma!

And....Blue Elephant. This is her favorite friend. She can now reach out and grab him or hang on to him and bring him to her face to eat. She's advanced. :)