Snowbound!

Normally I am not a huge fan of snow, but our family has been snowed in all weekend and it's actually been kind of fun. We've been snowbound! (Incidentally, does anyone else remember that Baby-Sitters Club book called Snowbound!...? No? Just me then? Ok... [Insert awkward turtle here.] Don't understand awkward turtle? Yeah me neither. Leave a comment and maybe Ashley can explain it to us. What was I talking about? Oh yeah, snowed in.)

So the North Carolina version of snowbound means that it snowed like four inches (FOUR! That means it STUCK!) and then the top layer melted the next day when it got above freezing, and then refroze again the next night. Which means now we have a lovely layer of ice over our snow, so we can't drive anywhere.

And for any yankees/midwesterners who are reading this... yes -- I just admitted we southerners can't drive in snow. But here's the thing: you can't either. And you don't. You have snowplows. So you drive on cold but clear roads, near snow. And that's not the same thing. Also, no one can drive on ice, I don't care where you're from. So quit complaining about living down here where no one can drive in the snow. If you want to live with people who know how to drive in the snow, move back where it snows. Please excuse me if you've heard this speech before; I feel the need to give it at least once a year.

Wow. Tangent. Again.

ANYWAY we have been snowed in, and since Mark didn't need to work and we didn't really need to go anywhere (except the grocery story; we are scraping bottom in our pantry this week but I wasn't going to shop until I get a new grocery budget in our spreadsheet on Monday anyway), then it was actually ok. We just got bundled up and enjoyed ourselves. Nathan owns ski bibs (yes, it's true -- a Christmas present from Marmie). He calls them his snow pants and it took some convincing for him to take them off, even after we were back inside in front of the fire.

We played outside and went for a walk through the neighborhood and we (mostly Mark) got together with the neighbors and shoveled a bunch of driveways on our street. Which apparently requires beer. Even before 11am. (No, I am not judging, because all the driveways are clear and I don't care how they got it done.)

Nathan had a plastic shovel that (as a Carolinian) he normally uses for sand at the beach, but he had fun "helping" daddy in the snow with it too! And of course he loved driving his trucks outside and filling them with snow and dumping them out.

And this was Anneliese's first snow! Funny how Nathan had to wait a year and half for his first snow, but Anneliese's came before she was four months old. I'd say she liked it better than Nathan liked his, but better isn't really the right word. She just didn't seem to care much either way. And Nathan liked the snow a lot better now than he did last time!

For more pictures of our weekend, click below on our snowy house (can you see Anneliese in her bumbo?)...

by mgoetts

Sibling Communication FAIL

Ashley sent me this Facebook conversation between her and our stepbrother. I don't know what's funnier, Sean's jabs at my dad (he really does love to complain about having too many online accounts and emails), or the fact that he truly doesn't seem to understand the difference between snail mail and e-mail.

I kind of can't stop laughing.
(Click on the picture to make it bigger if you can't read it.)

Beanie: One Year Later

It was one year ago today that I peed on a stick and cried. One year ago today that I stared dumbfounded at my midsection and wondered how there could already be another baby in there when I was still carrying around that fat roll (or two) from the first one. One year ago today that Mark hugged me, grinned even though I was sobbing (and I am not a pretty cryer, people... picture a red face and copious amounts of snot and tears), and told me he was happy, and even excited, to have another baby.

It was one year ago today that he rubbed my round-but-not-from-the-pregnancy-yet belly and said, "Hi Beanie, it's Daddy," and in doing so, unknowingly christened our daughter with her in-utero name.

It would be weeks before I told people about the pregnancy, and months before I truly embraced the fact that I was going to be a mother of two, and almost a year before I felt ready to be a mother of two. (Because that feeling might have come only like ten minutes or so ago.)

I asked Nathan this week, "where's Beanie?" and he just stared at me blankly and repeated the question. He doesn't even remember Beanie. I don't know why that makes me sad, exactly, but it does. Maybe because although it was a hard mental transition for me, it was also the start of Anneliese's life, so I don't want any of us to forget about her Beanie days.

It's painful for me to remember how I felt a year ago today, but at the same time I don't want to rose-tint the memory. That is how I felt, and I don't want to lie about it, even to myself, in my own memories. But part of the reason it's so painful is that I was so, so, so dumb and so, so, so selfish to not be excited for the beautiful life growing inside me, the life that would turn into my beautiful daughter. My daughter. My sweet little Anneliese.

Now I definitely want her. I want her with me pretty much all the time, actually. I love her. I'm really glad God knew what I wanted better than I did. And I feel pretty foolish for not bursting into a big joyful laugh when I peed on that stick last year, because that's how I feel about my Beanie now. I can't imagine life without her, nor do I want to.

Happy Half-Birthday, Nathan!

Nathan is 2 1/2 today! And yes, as I've said before, half-birthdays are a real thing. Don't argue with me on this one. I will win.

When I was growing up, half-birthdays meant getting to eat off the I'm The Best plate, and maybe a Little Debbie Cake or some other small treat. I liked having those little traditions, simple though they were. So last year we decided that our family needed a half-birthday tradition too. (Well, I decided. Mark rolled his eyes.)

So instead of other people bringing us presents, like on our actual birthday, in our family the half-birthday kid will give presents. This afternoon Nathan and I will go over to Interact (a non-profit in Raleigh that our church helps support) and bring some things that our family needs less than they do -- diapers and toys and formula for the women who are sheltered there with children.

And we might have a cupcake later too. :)

When I think back to where he was a year ago today-- barely beginning to walk, just tentatively back on the weight-gain track, right on the verge between baby and toddler... well it seems like a lifetime ago. Now, even when I try really really hard, it's difficult for me to see the baby in him. I just see a kid. A big boy. How did that happen already?

But Nathan is doing really well these days. He loves being a big brother. He and Anneliese will sometimes sit and babble and grin at each other for an hour at a time. He loves to go into her room in the morning and climb up on the crib rail and peer at her with a hi, cutie! So sweet. He loves to read to her and hug her and kiss her. I remember when I was so worried about seeing Nathan as a big brother (would I love them both enough? would he handle the shared attention ok? would he like her or resent her? etc) and those thoughts seem like the distant past now. Now I can't see him as anything but a big brother. It's kind of cool.

He is still very (very very very) into trucks and cars and planes and anything that goes. His favorite toys right now are his matchbox cars and his big ambulance. He calls it his ambu-lamps. And every time we drive anywhere, I have a constant narration from the backseat about all the vehicles we're passing. More than once we have gotten into almost-arguments about what he sees. (He doesn't agree with me that a hummer is a kind of suv; he just wants me to call it a hummer. He also can tell the difference in a crane, a utility truck, and a cherry-picker -- and it tends to annoy him that I sometimes get them wrong.)

Another of his favorite activities these days is coloring. He will sit in his high chair and color for close to an hour before he gets tired of it. It's so funny how he puts his face down so close to his work!

His favorite foods are bagels, bread, bananas, pineapples, applesauce, gummy fruit snacks, mandarin oranges, spaghetti, and fig newtons. We call it the all-carbs-all-the-time diet. But that isn't really true because he also loves yogurt (egg-oat, he calls it) and peanut butter and baked beans and milk. Still not very much into meat, but it's getting better as he tries more and more things. And he does love sloppy joes and tater tots -- it's one of his favorite dinners, just like his Uncle Brad. (Fun fact: if you tell a toddler that his okra is a tater tot, he'll eat it even though it's a vegetable. True story.) Also, he eats pretty much anything better if he can dip it into sauce, especially barbecue sauce. Many meals seem to just be a long chorus of dip it! Dip it please Daddy!

Nathan is still again a very good sleeper, back to his infant pattern of about 12 hours a night, from 7 to 7. That's been interrupted this week since he has a little cold and some kind of infection in his eye, which means he's been a little uncomfortable at night and in need of some extra hugs.

I have to be honest and say that I am loving life with Nathan right now. Yes, he's a complete chatterbox, but I find that sort of endearing. Yes, he throws the occasional tantrum, but on most days I can deal with that too. And it remains true that his arms around my shoulders are one of the best feelings in the world. And that love you, mommy is one of the sweetest sounds in the world. I love you too, Nathan. Happy half-birthday.

Another Child of the Covenant

Anneliese was baptized this morning. I have pondered and prayed about this baptism a lot since some friends had an incredibly thought-provoking discussion on the subject back in September. We knew we wanted to have Nathan baptized, and his baptism was a wonderful and sacred experience for our family. But this time around, I feel so much more grounded in what I know and believe about the sacrament.

Anneliese's baptism is an outward sign of an inner conviction that God is already at work in her life, and will continue to be. Her baptism is by no means the beginning or end of her faith walk, it's simply a sign to mark her as as being child of the new covenant brought by Jesus. We believe that being a child of God is something God makes happen, not something we make happen. So while Mark and I did make a vow to love Anneliese and nurture her in the ways of our faith, her baptism was not as much a dedication of our child to God (although it is that, too) as our affirmation that she's already God's.

Today was also special because the pastor who did it (Clark, our Sunday school teacher, who's our age and is more like a peer-pastor if there is such a thing) had never done a baptism before. He didn't even know how to hold a baby; we had to practice beforehand. :) But he did great, and I liked that Anneliese got to be his first one. She did cry, but only a little. And the congregation laughed! I'm not sure what happened actually, maybe they just thought she had sort of a funny cry. :)(Or maybe it's just what Clark said -- everyone likes to see pastors sweat, which is probably true.) You can see the baptism in the video below:

It was also nice that my Bible study teacher for three years, Robert, was the assisting elder. And our good family friend, Mary, was the youth service assistant today. (No, that wasn't a coincidence.) Here are the people who came in support of Anneliese:

The Canavos family (our neighbors), my dad and stepmom, my mom, our pastor Clark, Uncle Nick and Aunt Barbara, Mark's mom, Mary, and Robert... all supporting our little family!

For some reason the rest of the Cham-fam ducked out of the picture, but Mary's parents and brother Hayes, who are like our family away from family, were of course also there. And our friend "Another Nathan" was there but he was busy with music stuff so he isn't in the picture. And my sister planned to come but she was sick this weekend so she couldn't make it, which is a bummer. But we know she's supporting Anneliese in absentia. :)

Afterwards we had everyone over for pizza and cake and kool-aid (oh yeah, I'm the hostess with the mostest). I feel blessed to have so many people who love and support our family and our daughter.

Her Bum's a Genius!

Oh, come on. You knew with this cloth diaper kick I would use Her Bum's a Genius! as a post title eventually. You should have seen it coming. I've been waiting for just the right time, you know. And here it is. :)

I got fluffy mail today. Oh yeah, that's right. I am down with the cloth diapering lingy-loo. I thought if I threw that in there, you might be impressed enough not reach through your computer and smack me for talking about my cloth diapers... again. Did it work? (I'm ducking, just in case.)

Since I have gotten a bunch of emails and facebook messages and comments asking how we liked the new ones we tried, and since I have only replied to like three of those people... I am doing a follow-up this way instead. Stop reading if you're sick of hearing about it; I won't be offended. (You're in good company since Mark is one more cloth diaper question away from strangling me himself.)

So anyway, my fluffy mail. A big package of diapers, since we finally decided which kind to stock up on... the BumGenius 3.0! (That's the one-size/adjustable option for you dads and dads-to-be who are reading... and yes, doubters, there are dads and dads-to-be reading intently right now.) I know, I know. It's what everyone told me I would go with. But I feel better having tried a bunch of options and now I know this is the one I want.

The two additional kinds I added to my trial earlier this week didn't really pan out. The Bumkins was awfully cute... yet it was unfortunately awful but cute. It was huge. Way too big for Anneliese, though she fell right in the window of weights recommended for that size. It was at least 20% bigger than the BG one-size, which can accommodate way larger kids than the Bumkins. And the fabric (adorable though it may be) feels cheap and plasticky. Yeah, not a fan. But that pink and brown paisley is such a draw that I might be getting that as my second wet bag. I'm still deciding.

The Happy Heinys (comparable to the BG 3.0) were actually pretty good. They fit well, felt nice, and they're a little trimmer than the BGs. But the pocket doesn't close in the back, which I didn't like as much. Also the fleece pilled a little bit in the wash (on the first wash? come on now) and the velcro laundry tabs didn't work well so all the diapers stuck together in the machine. I mean, I know those are small things, but for the same price I just liked the BGs more, and the quality felt better.

And I also decided to use cloth wipes. I mean, I'm already doing poopy wash, right? Might as well. I just cut up a flannel receiving blanket into squares and put it where her wipes container used to be (you can see them in the picture above). I have a spray bottle with water (I added some baby wash and baby oil in there too) to get them wet before wiping, since my mom gave me some scientific explanation about ammonia on the skin and needing to use a wet wipe (I'll admit I didn't totally understand but she's really smart so I'm just going to believe her).

So anyway this is our stash now! We still have 4 more on the way (ordered from Target, since I had a gift card -- everything else came from Diaper Junction, where I did my trial -- some are new and some secondhand) so eventually I will have 15 in all. I'll have 12 one-size diapers and 3 all-in-ones (for those times when I need a more sitter-friendly option, or something that has a trimmer fit). Yes, I totally bought some blue diapers for Anneliese. They're pretty. I like them. And no, I will not be putting a bow on her head to compensate for the "boy" colors. :)

As you can see, we still have a few disposables on hand in case we need them (really it's just that the package was already opened). We might or might not, though, since our church recently began re-welcoming cloth diapers as part of a new environmental stewardship campaign, so I don't have to send the disposables to the nursery after all -- yay! That is, assuming she can ever go to the church nursery and stop screaming long enough to have her diaper changed. Which might or might not happen. But that is a lament for another day.

Happy fluffy bums to you all.

More Free Fun -- A Helicopter at the Zoo

Since we recently blew through our "spending" budget (and then some) in about two days, we have been looking for freebie stuff to do while Mark is on relief and doesn't have much to do in the office. His company is a sponsor of the NC Zoo (and everything else around here, it seems), so they have a card good for free zoo admission for up to 8 people on any given day. One of Mark's job perks is access to this pass. Not gonna lie, that's kind of a cool perk.

Since the pass was available, and the car had a full tank of gas (we're also low on our gas budget, so that was a key factor), we decided to make an impromptu zoo visit.

This was Anneliese's first trip to the zoo, and we got exactly one -- ONE -- picture of her. She looks sort of odd, and she could be anywhere. But I promise she's at the zoo, so let this picture live in infamy.

But we're so glad we went! The weather was nice, and we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. Turns out not that many people go to the zoo on random Wednesday mornings in January. Who knew. We literally turned Nathan loose and let him run around wherever he wanted -- that's how empty it was.
It felt like a totally different place than last time we were there!

We saw giraffes (and we saw them running! Have you ever seen a giraffe run? It's weird -- go here and watch), we saw an elephant really close, we saw the gorillas (yes, Nathan was scared again), and we saw a beautiful lion sleeping in the sun. Nathan roared at him. It was awesome. We saw sea lions (with ears) and an ostrich and some alligators.

But best of all, we saw... a helicopter. What? Isn't that what you go to the zoo to look at? There was a station near the elephants that showed how they track and tag elephants in the wild, and part of the exhibit/station was a helicopter you could climb in and on. Yeah that's pretty much zoo heaven: a helicopter with elephants painted on the side. :) Anneliese ate a snack near the polar bears and the rest of us joined her for a meal near the giraffes. We had packed a cooler full of food for a picnic lunch, and it was much more fun to eat it in the zoo than in the parking lot, so I'm glad no one batted an eye when we brought the cooler in. Or maybe they just didn't notice it in the massive stroller's worth of stuff we rolled in there. A toddler and an infant and two grownups don't travel light on zoo trips, it turns out.

Not bad for a day when we never had to pull our wallets out! Yay for free and fun entertainment!

Pizza Casserole

When I was visiting Merritt a few weeks ago, she made this yummy pizza casserole that her mom used to make when she was growing up. And since I promised myself I would do more cooking with Nathan to get him more interested in different kinds of food, I thought this would be a good one to try with him. And it was! The recipe is below -- this is what Merritt sent me, plus I snuck in a few extra ingredients along the way (marked with *). Enjoy!

Pizza Casserole
8 oz egg noodles
1 lb ground sausage (we used Jimmy Dean's regular)
15 oz canned tomato sauce
16 oz canned stewed tomatoes (the kind with onions and green peppers)
*14 oz can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes
*8oz v-8 vegetable juice (assuming you have to be sneaky to get some veggies in)
12 slices american cheese
garlic powder, basil, oregano to taste

Preheat oven to 350. Boil noodles and drain. Brown sausage and drain, remove from heat. Add noodles and all other ingredients (except cheese) into sausage pan, stir well. Pour half of the sausage mixture into a 9x13 baking dish, top with six slices of cheese. Our remainder of
sausage mixture into pan and top with the other six slices. Sprinkle with oregano. Bake at 350 for 30 min.

Recommended accompanying beverage: Tang.

Nathan loved it, as you can see! He helped stir everything together, and then he helped unwrap and layer the cheese slices. And (as expected), the cheese is mostly what he talked about the whole time we were eating. So I think he really did feel more connected to the meal after helping me make it. Awesome!

Cloth Diapering: One Week In

I promise I won't become one of those moms who turns my cloth diapers into a political platform and gets all green and preachy about it; those people get on my nerves too. (Although I realized the other day as I was carrying a bunch of packs of disposables into wal-mart in cloth bags to exchange for store credit that I just might be turning into someone I wouldn't have recognized six months ago... but that's a story for another day.) But several people have asked me for an update, so here goes.

Y'all -- this cloth diaper stuff is easy. Way easier than I thought it would be. I am so, so glad I saw how simple it was for Merritt, because that's what gave me the confidence to try it myself. Even though I had heard from lots of friends that it was doable, I don't think I totally bought into it until I saw it with my own eyes... but they were right. Anneliese has not worn a disposable diaper in seven days, and our routine (even out and about) hasn't been that different than what it was before. Just... instead of throwing diapers away, we put them in a wet bag. Which doesn't stink. I promise.

Anneliese in her first cloth diaper! (She pooped in it right after I took this picture.)

I have to say, I think that it's easy because I am at home all day with no gainful employment, and it's easy because I don't have a problem staying on top of laundry. I can only assume it would be a little more difficult if either of those situations weren't in place.

Here's what I've learned so far:

1.) I am so glad I did a trial. We are doing the "test drive" program from Diaper Junction, which I mentioned before. I don't love the Flip diapers, so I am glad to be returning them and swapping them out for two new kinds to trial instead.

2.) I don't want a diaper + cover system. I really wanted to love the Flips because with three diapers for every cover, they're the cheapest option. But the cover seems to get wet/dirty more often than every third change, which means I often have diapers with no cover -- not so much cost-effective after all. So I definitely want to go with an all-in-one or pocket diaper where each one is used more like a disposable.

3.) I want velcro, not snaps. Again -- more like a disposable. The snaps are hard to get fitted exactly right (four snaps in is too tight, but three snaps in is too loose, etc), they leave weird marks on her skin, and the size-snaps (which should stay in place until we need to adjust the diaper as she grows) always seem to come undone when we're closing the diaper. Plus, Mark (who doesn't even like snaps on baby clothes) is kind of opposed to the snaps as well. The BumGenius diapers we have that close with velcro (aplio) instead -- wow, what a world of difference. I am ok with snaps for sizing (that I only have to mess with every couple of months), but for everyday diaper changes, I need the diapers to close with velcro.

4.) I need two wet bags. (Not including the small one in the diaper bag, of course.) Even though I am mostly doing diaper laundry at night, so that they can dry while Anneliese just sleeps in one, she still sometimes needs to be changed a couple of times before the diapers are all dry, and then I awkwardly have no place to put them while the wet bag is still in the wash. Mark just wants me to use a plastic grocery sack, but, um... no. I will be purchasing a second wet bag for regular use.

5.) I need at least 12 diapers. I have been making due with 10, but if the Flip covers get wet/dirty, it feels like as little as six. It's definitely enough to get through every day (she hasn't worn a disposable in a week), but I have had to stick some prefold/burp cloths in her diapers a couple of times to make them last through the day. And packing/unpacking the diaper bag is kind of a pain -- I want enough to just leave a couple in her bag so that when I need to run out the door everything is already packed and ready to go. So I think I am going to start with 12.

6.) I love the BumGenius all-in-ones because I am apparently going for the best absorbency to trimness ratio. But since thy are a sized diaper, she will grow out of them by the time she hits 16 lbs or so (she's 13 lbs now). So I don't want to stock up on them. The BumGenius adjustable (one-size) work great and are a good value (since she won't grow out of them), but they're a little bulky for my taste. Which I could totally make peace with if those are the ones we end up choosing.

Based on what I have learned so far, I chose two additional types to test drive since I am swapping out the Flips: a Bumkins all-in-one that (unlike my current favorite, the all-in-one BumGenius) will fit her up to 25lbs or more.... and a Happy Heinys adjustable (one-size) that is supposedly a little less bulky than the BG one-size.

So we'll see how we like either/both of those, and then we'll decide what to stock up on. Stay tuned! (I know you're on the edge of your seats.)

Picnic in Pullen Park

Somehow today actually felt like a holiday. Which is strange because in these parts, most people don't actually get to skip work for MLK day. And technically I don't get any holidays off. But Mark didn't need to go into the office, and we had nothing planned -- no errands to run, no meetings, no housework or projects to speak of, etc -- so it felt very much like a day "off" for us.

So since the weather is finally gorgeous again (and I do mean gorgeous -- almost 60 and sunny), we decided to have a picnic at Pullen Park here
in Raleigh.

We like going there with Nathan because besides the normal park attractions (fields to play in, paths to walk on, playground equipment to swing and climb on, ducks to feed) they also have a big caboose that kids can climb on and in. And in case I haven't mentioned it before, Nathan is kind of into trains. And stuff.

(There is also a merry-go-round and boat ride and some kind of train/trolley you can ride on, but that stuff costs money and Nathan gets just as much enjoyment out of watching those things than actually doing them. For now anyway. So we usually skip them.)

But when we got to the park today, everything was closed down for renovation. No playground equipment, no "riding" the caboose, no swings. We still had a great morning as a family, though -- we walked the path around the pond twice, we had a picnic lunch, we saw ducks and geese, and (best of all) we saw the trucks of the workers doing the renovating. Oh yeah, we hit the big time.

And when you're a toddler, you don't need fancy attractions to stay entertained. You can make your own fun. Nathan had a ball running up and down hills (he ran everywhere as though he was crossing a finish line, arms up in the air -- hilarious), trying to push over every wooden pillar we walked by, and waving at the ducks.

Praise the Lord for the beauty of this day!

Images of an Easy Week

Mark is "on relief" this week but hasn't been called into work, so we've just been hanging out having fun. Friday night we had some friends over and made fondue, and yesterday my wonderful friend Jenny came to visit with her daughter Katie (and after all three kids were in bed, we put Mark on monitor duty and had a gals dinner -- score!)...

But other than that we've just been having some happy family time. This is what an easy week looks like around here:
Our awesome sleeper no longer needs to be swaddled, but she still needs that left thumb! Easy weeks are even easier when everyone is well-rested.

Nathan did this all on his own, and it was so cute. I was folding laundry and had Anneliese in his bed, and he crawled up there with her and read her a book. A book about semi trucks.

Mark got some sweet giggle and cuddle time with both kids.

Anneliese caught up on the latest sports news. She's quite the espn addict. (That's not a joke. She loves the tv.)

Most importantly, Clemson had basketball wins against both NCState and UNC this week, which means Mark should be in a good mood for quite some time, and life in the Triangle should be at least 15% easier for the rest of the season. And easy is good, because it means I can continue not really caring about who beats whom in which sports. As long as Mark is happy, I am happy. So... go Tigers. :)

A Cousin!

Nathan and Anneliese have a cousin! This is little Jeb, who made his fashionably late entrance on Wednesday night. (Much like a couple of other late babies I know.) He's exactly three months younger than Anneliese, and was almost exactly her size at birth.

Jeb William Parrish
January 13, 2009, 9:59pm
8 lbs 3 oz, 21.5 inches

Words cannot describe how excited I am to see these kids running around together at Opa and Oma's lake house in the summers to come. Oh happy day!

Congrats Trey and Emily, we love you and we can't wait to meet Jeb!

Three Month Report Card

Anneliese is three months old! Word on the street is that makes her an infant, not a newborn. Who knew? But it's just semantics; she's still newly born in my book.

Over the past month she has really taken on a playful and flirty personality. Her fussiness has decreased substantially as she's learned that it's more fun to charm everyone around her instead.

-- Anneliese loves to grin at anyone who will make eye contact with her. And if she's in a really good mood she might make some of her sweet cooing noises too. And if she's in a really really good mood, a tiny giggle might escape. SO CUTE, PEOPLE. I must admit, though, that I am a little jealous that most of those grins and giggles go to Daddy and Nathan and other people instead of me. She only loves me for my milk. But she's still awfully cute. A-

-- She is still a champion sleeper. Almost a month ago (the day after I wrote this update), she slept for 12 hours nonstop and she's done at least that, with very rare exception, pretty much every night since. A+

-- Don't worry, all is not rainbows and jellybeans. Her aversion to the bottle is ever-growing, and unlike Nathan (who didn't love it, but would take it if he was hungry and there were no other options presented to him) she will just scream until she gets the boob. Not sure what to do about this, but ideas are appreciated. I would love to be able to leave her in the church nursery -- we have done it twice, and twice it was a disaster. F-

-- She is still growing! She's bigger every day, it seems. She's now 13 lbs (76th percentile) and 25 inches long (still off the chart). Most of her clothes are 3-6m sized, but a growing stack is 6-9m and the dress we just got for her baptism in a few weeks is 12m! It's a little long (which is ok for a baptism) but the bodice fits. Crazy girl, growing out of clothes faster than I can sort through them!! B+

-- Anneliese, like her mother and brother before her, has Poo Issues. Namely, that she only goes once every several days and then when it comes out, it comes out. All over everything. And somehow she rarely manages to do this at home; apparently it's preferable to poop when we're out in public so I can take apart car seat coverings and wash clothes in restroom sinks. Kohl's in particular seems to draw out her fecal matter in copious amounts. Good times, good times. But at least she poops. D+

-- Although fussy days are rare, she does have them. Particularly in the evenings. If anything, I seem to be holding her to an unfair standard of pleasantness, because when she has a bad day I find myself getting more and more impatient about it. So, pray for patience. Mommy gets a big ol' Needs Improvement on this one.

-- We continue to be amazed that she hits milestones at a "normal" rate (which is fast for us, after getting used to Nathan's slightly-behind pace). She can bear weight on her legs, she reaches for us and for toys, she recognizes our faces, she sits up great in her bumbo (picture here), and she rolled once (accidentally, and off the couch, so it was more traumatic than celebratory). She's still having a little trouble with eye-contact-y kind of things (like peripheral tracking) but I'm not really worried about it. B

I averaged all these using my fancy mommy math and it comes out to an honor roll, A+ kid. Anneliese, you are loved. Every giggling, thumb-sucking, bright-eyed, flirty, snuggly, grinning, milk-sucking inch of you. WE LOVE YOU.

It's a Dump Truck! A Huge One!

So.... a dump truck came to our neighbors' house a week or so ago, and dropped off some dirt and gravel. Which is pretty much the best thing that could have happened to Nathan, in his wildest imagination. And yes, it was everything he could have hoped and dreamed of. :)I feel fairly certain this will be the highlight of Nathan's year. Because I can't imagine another situation that could produce the same adrenaline rush of half-ecstatic, half-terrified that this dump truck caused.
He's still talking about it. Someday we'll look back on this as a phase, as just a fleeting moment in time. Because someday he won't care about trucks anymore. But today is not that day.

Cloth Diapering Questions

Last spring, when Beanie was still bean-sized and leaving my job was just a thought in the side of my brain, I contemplated cloth diapering. I crunched the numbers, did some research, and talked to Mark about it. Even though it is far and away the most cost-effective way to diaper, we decided not to -- mostly because I wasn't so great about staying on top of the laundry, and we suspected that what we would save in dollars we would make up for in headache.

Fast forward eight months. Without a "real" job to distract me from stuff at home, I am suddenly much better about the laundry. And it turns out I do a poopy load every other day anyway (Anneliese stores it all up and then shoots it out at once, which means her clothes are constantly dirty). After visiting with Merritt all week and seeing how simple her cloth diapering really is, I am finally motivated to give it a try.

I chose one of the companies that will let me do a cloth diaper trial. There are tons out there, but I went with Diaper Junction because I can customize my trial with any diapers in their "test drive" program (unlike other sites where the trial assortment is pre-selected), plus they have free shipping on it, plus as a new customer I get 10% off anything I decide to keep just for joining their mailing list, plus the trial is 30 days which is a little longer than others I found. So for my test drive, I ordered several each of these three kinds of diapers:

1.) BumGenius all-in-one, which is pretty much just like a disposable in that it's all one piece, comes in sizes based on your baby's weight, and closes with velcro tabs.

2.) BumGenius one-size pocket diaper,
which adjusts to your baby's size as she grows, and the absorbent part is an insert that you stuff down into the diaper after every wash. (I didn't get the organic material, that's just what's in this picture.)

3.) Flip, which also comes in two parts, but the "insert" just lays inside the diaper so (in theory) you only have to change the insert with every change, and the diaper/cover only every third change or so.

So I am going to try all three kinds and see what I like best.

In the meantime I have been reading and researching on a bajillion websites this weekend, and my head is swimming with all the do this/don't do that kinds of advice out there, and every site says something different.

So I want to ask some questions of my friends (and my own mom!) who already cloth diaper(ed), and get some real-people answers. Mom, Kelley, Liz, Andrea, Merritt... I'm looking at you. Email me or leave me comments please.

1.) How many diapers do I need? I mean, I know it's kind of based on how often I want to do laundry, but how often do I want to do laundry?

2.) If I'm already washing diapers, I am contemplating a cease-fire with disposable wipes too. Do you use your own wipes? What kind? Did you make them, buy them, etc? Do you use water or some kind of wipe solution?

3.) How do you do your laundry/drying?

4.) Are there better/worse systems for nighttime? Remember I have a long sleeper.

5.) If I wanted to use cloth sometimes with Nathan (especially as we approach potty-training, I want him to feel wet sometimes so he learns what that means) do I need additional/different inserts?

6.) Any other hints/tricks I should know about?

What I Learned in Arlington

Anneliese and I have spent the last few days in the outskirts of DC, visiting my friend Merritt and her new son Finn. I was thinking I would be able to come up and offer Merritt some laughs and encouragement in her new motherhood, make her feel confident enough to get out and about with the baby, cook some food for them, share fellowship and memories, that kind of thing. And I think I did all that... I hope so anyway.

But I think I got as much out of my visit as I was hoping to bring them. I got to shop, eat good food, sleep past 10 each morning (did I mention how much I love Anneliese's 13+ hour nights?) and it was actually a pretty relaxing week for me. Merritt and Brett are great hosts!And I learned a lot myself. Here's some of what I learned in DC this week:

1.) Tang is awesome. How has this drink fallen out of fashion? Those rocket scientists or astronauts or whoever first discovered the awesomeness were onto something. It's like a blast of fruity citrus-y goodness that has no sugar. And it goes with everything! Chicken casserole, crunchy asian salads, pizza casserole, cookies, banana bread, you name it. And no that's not a random list, folks. Those are all the foods I enjoyed my Tang with this week. I will be stocking up on Tang in my own home very shortly. Ahhh, Tang.

2.) If you're changing a diaper in a car, it's easier to do it flat on the front seat than in the tilted infant carrier in the back. Please don't ask me how it took more than two years for me to figure this out. Merritt's a smart one, let me tell you.

3.) Anneliese is apparently not patriotic. I am basing this assumption on the fact that she had the biggest poop of her life, all over her clothes and car seat and pretty much everything in sight, promptly upon arrival in DC to look at the monuments. I mean, does she hate our nation's capital that much?? I don't know if she'll fit in with our family if that's the case.

4.) Cloth diapering is totally manageable. I originally considered it and ruled it out since I was terrible about laundry when I had a "real" job, but I have gotten much better at staying on top of it (as well as other household chores) since I'm no longer gainfully employed. And really, Merritt doesn't do any more laundry than I do (especially considering I have to do a poopy load every other day anyway, see #3), she doesn't change any more diapers than I do, and her kid's room is not any stinkier than my kid's room.
Oh, and after each diaper change she manages to not throw 20c in the trash. Plus her baby's bottom is living in the lap of fleece-lined luxury. Cloth diapering will be immediately re-assessed in my own household. Stat.

5.) All plungers are not created equal. This is the official word from my friend Betsy's (who also lives in DC) new beau who was awesomely helpful in trying to fix a toilet clogged with sludge (after a water main broke near Merritt's house and left us with limited clean-water access for about 24 hours). Which still wasn't fixed when I left. I love that I will go down in infamy as the guest with the potty sludge.

6.) Breastfeeding + friend's new beau = minor panic attack. Despite how awesome and not-awkward her new guy clearly is (see #5), Betsy still freaked out a little (ok, a lot) when my hand moved towards my shirt and I settled on the couch to feed Anneliese. But don't worry, Betsy got over it, Anneliese ate and no breastage was exposed. And the new beau was exactly as un-fazed as I suspected he would be. :)

7.) Finn loves gutteral noises. I don't know what Merritt has been telling you on her blog about how his "thing" is to stretch out a lot. I mean, he does, and it's insanely cute, don't get me wrong. But let me be clear: this baby's "thing" is moaning and groaning and pooting and tooting and slurping and sighing and squeaking. Sleeping or waking, happy or mad, that child is never not making noises. Especially when he eats. It's hilarious. I'm really hoping she gets it on video before he grows out of it (in case he ever does), if not for the internets than for her own memory's sake. I can hardly wait to hear the noises he makes when he tastes his first awesome Tang.

For more pictures of our visit to DC, click on Anneliese and Finn, below.

by mgoetts

In Nathan's Room

One downside to Nathan's sleeping in a big-boy bed is that he has access to his whole room when we're not with him. (Which for him is probably an upside, actually.) When he moved out of the crib last spring, we had to strip his room down of all toys (except the stuffed animals he sleeps with) and pretty much all the furniture. His room was just the bed and his dresser. Something like bare-bones toddler barracks.

Still he manages to make mischief when he's in his room, "sleeping."

At least once a week, he dumps the entire contents of his dresser (yes, every drawer) into his hamper. Well, we think he first dumps it onto the floor and plays with it and then puts it in the hamper. We're basing this on the fact that when one of us gets out of bed (which we finally do when we hear him talking about the big mess -- those are the magic words) and walks around upstairs, he starts singing the clean up, clean up song. Apparently he doesn't understand that if it starts in the dresser and ends in the hamper, we can still tell he's been into it.

After he goes down for nap or bedtime, he waits for us to close the door and then promptly gets out of bed to look out the window. In my opinion, there's not much to see, but if you're Nathan, there is a fascinating world of things that go to stare at. Which mostly consists of our neighbors' cars and truck. But keeping us abreast of our neighbors' comings and goings is an integral part of Nathan's duties to our family, apparently.

Anyway we hear him talking about Drew's truck or Amy's car and then we know he's not in bed anymore. But if he hears us walking to his room, he races back into bed and puts his thumb in his mouth and plays possum. Did you know a 2-year-old can do that??? He's tricky, I tell you.

If we do manage to catch him still standing by the window, the guilty look on his face is hilarious, and we always crack up (after reprimanding him and putting him back in bed, of course). He's gotten so good at hearing us coming towards his room that now we sometimes have to go outside his window to catch him in the act. We just point a finger and stare sternly and he'll get back in bed. (I took this one picture during naptime before reprimanding him, since I actually find it funny even though I don't want him to know that.)
And on Friday mornings (garbage truck day) he gets a little frantic wrestling the blinds to see all the trucks that come by if they're early enough that he's still supposed to be in bed. Which is why his blinds are all bent up and crooked. Thank you, Solid Waste Services of Raleigh.

Nathan's Santa present this year was a secondhand armchair for his room, mostly so we can have a place to sit and read with him (or where he can sit and read by himself). But I think it's just given him a more comfy spot to spend time gazing out the window. :) But for all his antics, there are some sweet moments too. We often hear him singing alone in his room (sometimes we actually stalk the monitor to hear it; he sings so much better alone than he does for us!)... what we usually hear is some mash-up (oh yeah, I watch Glee, I know the lingy-loo) of his favorite songs. You know, something along the lines of how Old MacDonald had a truck that Jesus loved with a vroom vroom there because the Bible tells me so. Sometimes it's a racecar or a big truck, but usually just a truck.

And either way, it's sweet enough to remind me that it's worth cleaning and re-sorting clean clothes from dirty in his hamper most mornings, if it means he has the freedom and independence to let the creative juices flow. But I'm still not giving up the baby monitor. :)

The Requisite Resolutions Post

So... not sure what to do about those pesky resolutions this new year.

Two years in a row I have resolved to remove all profanity from my mouth and two years in a row I have failed. Maybe I should work on that, for real, since Nathan now officially repeats anything and everything. Plus, it just doesn't sound nice and it doesn't say a lot about my lack o self-control that I can't get angry without using ugly words.

Two years in a row I have resolved to be more active. I am usually pretty good at this in the first half of the year but then when the weather gets cold and the holidays roll around I start my sloth pattern. And the cycle continues.

Two years in a row I have resolved to lose baby weight. Technically I can't make this resolution again since I didn't gain any weight in Anneliese's pregnancy, so when she left my body, that put me at less than where I started. But I am most definitely still carrying around Nathan's baby weight. I like how if I call it Nathan's baby weight, it makes it seem like it's more his fault than mine. (Which it totally is. Come live with me in denial, won't you? It's fun here.)

One thing I do want to try this year is cooking more with Nathan. I keep reading and hearing that kids aren't such picky eaters when they have a hand in preparing the food. So at least once a week (no matter how hectic my evening hours feel), I resolve to cook a meal that Nathan can help with. I am hoping that introducing him to new textures and tastes and giving him a sense of ownership in the meal will make him a better eater (instead of all-carbs-all-the-time which is his current diet plan). Can't hurt to try, anyway.

Unlike the past two years, one thing I won't be resolving to do is be more intimate with my husband. The first year things went well but still didn't get where we wanted. The second year we got pregnant unexpectedly about two weeks into the resolution. So I resolve to never ever make another resolution about sex ever again. Except that one I just made. That one doesn't count. It starts... now.

Happy New Year!

If Mark doesn't strangle me, I might get crafty and do this every year. In the meantime, Happy 2010!!