The Eoff Family

How I Teach Our Kids the Bible

2012-01-27T20:07:00.000-06:00

I had a friend ask on Facebook today about Bible story recommendations for her little girl that is about Graham's age. Since I have had this conversation with quite a few people (&because I haven't had time to post here in a while), I thought I would share it with you all here.

We use The Beginner's Bible: Timeless Children's Stories because it was given to us when Graham was first born. I have no complaints. The stories are short, too the point & leaves out the parts that he probably wouldn't understand. Libby likes to sit & listen more than Graham does but that's the case with any book really.

I have a friend who did quite a bit of research & uses The Big Picture Story Bible. I completely trust her recommendations & would feel confident recommending it even though I have no personal experience with this particular book.

I also learned from Amanda that the NIrV translation is written on a 3rd grade reading level & we used that translation when we worked on her Truth in the Tinsel activities. This method took a bit more explaining on my part but if reading from the actual Bible instead of a story book is important to you then I would go this route.

In addition to reading a Bible story every morning, we memorize a verse every week. We use Songs for Saplings & the printed Supplements from Totally Tots. Graham absolutely loves this & it only takes about two days for him to memorize a verse.

Our last addition, was to add The One Year Devotional for Preschoolers. My mother-in-law got this for me off my wish list for Christmas this year & I love it. The stories are short enough to keep Graham's attention. There's a Bible verse that goes with the story & a prayer at the end that he repeats when we say it.

A final thing that we do, is read from the Chronicles of Narnia at lunch. While I realize that it's not exactly the Bible, it does have a lot of Biblical truths hidden in the stories. More importantly, it keeps Graham interested. He will ask questions like "What happened next?" or "What did so & so do?"

Grahamversations, Vol. 1

2011-10-11T20:55:00.001-05:00

Since Graham has started preschool, he now says some of the craziest things. He keeps me laughing so I am starting a new feature here in this blog so I can share those laughs with you.

Context: This conversation just developed on its own & is now one of my favorites.

Me: Hey Graham, you know what?
Graham: I love you!
Me: How much does Mama love you?
Graham: To infinity & beyond!
(Yep, we watch that much Toy Story)

Context: We watch a lot of TV/movies through Netflix. Since they show you the cover of the film & not just printed words, we usually let Graham pick what he wants to watch. We recently watched Double Indemnity so it was showing in the midst of a bunch of cartoons Graham had been watching recently.

Graham: I want to watch that (pointing to Double Indemnity)
Me: We can't watch that movie.
Graham: Why? (his favorite word lately)
Me: Because that movie is for grown ups
Graham: I'm a grown up.
Me: You're not a grown up, you're a little boy.
Graham: I'm not a little boy. I'm a big boy!
Me: OK, you're a big boy but we're still not watching that movie.

A Really Long Overdue Update

2011-10-09T20:57:00.002-05:00

It seems like our days are so packed full that there hasn't been much time for blogging lately. This post is my attempt to get everybody up to date on what's been going on. Be sure to check out our photo gallery for all of our latest photos & videos.

I have been leading a women's Bible study at our church. This summer we did Stepping Up by Beth Moore. I co-led this one & we met at a friend's house. It was a fabulous study & I loved getting together with some fabulous ladies once a week. This Fall we are doing Jesus The One & Only by Beth Moore. I am leading this one & hosting it at our house. We had our first meeting last week & I am looking forward to another journey with some great friends.

Ben's game will be shipping on November 15th. For more details on that, check out this blog post.

We took the kids to The Taste of Champaign (June 18th) & did a little bit of walking around. It was fun but there wasn't really a whole lot to do. Graham played in some of the inflatables but that was about all we did.

We spent an afternoon hanging out & swimming at a friend's house (June 20th)

We had our traditional "Ice-cream for Dinner" at Coldstone Creamery (June 21st). This was Libby's first taste of ice-cream.

We had a visit from Nana & Pop Pop (Ben's parents) this summer.

We took the kids to the Discovery Museum in Bloomington while they were here (June 22nd).

Libby's sleeping schedule has changed a few times since I lasted posted. She currently naps from 10am-12/12:30 & again from 3:00-5:30/6. At night she sleeps from about 8pm-7:30am. Graham's nap is right in between Libby's naps but I have a feeling that he might not be napping for very much longer at all.

Aunt Lissa came to spend Fourth of July with us & she brought a Slip N Slide for the kids. Graham had a great time playing with it in the backyard.

We upgraded Graham to a booster seat & moved Libby into Graham's car seat.

Libby has started self-feeding & it has made all the difference in her appetite. She will eat whatever you give her as long as she can feed it to herself. We have quite a mess sometimes but it has made things so much easier.

The kids love walking down to the park & playing on the swing set. I am seriously reconsidering my objection to putting one in the backyard.

We have been enjoying walking through the neighborhood. Graham loves to hold the leash while we are walking & Pink is really good about staying right with him.

We are still enjoying muffin tin meals on occasion. Libby had her first one Aug 10.

I am on the lookout for 2-4 four cup muffin tins like what I have seen on A Mommy's Adventures. I love her concept of giving the kids a grain, a fruit, a vegetable & a dairy so they have a well-balanced lunch. So, if any of you lovely readers know of where I can find them, send the info my way please!

Libby loves playing with toys that require her to put something in/take something out or open/close something. She will sit for 30-45 minutes concentrating on doing one thing over & over again.

We have done lots of playing this summer. For the Fall, we have two friends that spend the day with us twice a week. The kids love having people over & they look forward to them coming.

Graham's potty training has really been a roller coaster. Toward the end of the summer, we started putting him in regular underwear during the day & Pull-Ups only when he was sleeping. He started doing really well but recently there has been a little bit of regression so we are really just taking it one day at a time. We took him to Walmart (Aug 24) & let him pick out his "potty rewards."

Graham started preschool (Aug 30). He loves it & can't wait to go every week. He goes from 9am-12noon on Tuesdays & Thursdays. There is a total of 12 kids & 2 teachers in his class. The kids have a little bit of structured learning & a snack in the middle of the day but for the most part, they are allowed to play freely. He has 2 boys & 1 girl that he talks about playing with on a regular basis.

Libby gets to enjoy some one on one attention while Graham is gone to school.

The weather here is absolutely fabulous in the summer. It gets hot but not so unbearable that you can't play outside like ti does in the south. We have done a lot of playing outside since the new backyard is about 4 times the size of the old one.

On Labor Day Weekend, we participated in the Imagine No Malaria 5K sponsored by our church.

Graham loved running the race & is still talking about wanting to "go race."

We all had a round of the flu as the season started to change. Ben had it first, then Libby. She spent the morning letting me rock her while she slept. It was an incredible sweet morning despite the fact that she was sick.

Graham had it next & he just sat on the couch watching a slideshow of our pictures on the TV.

We got some new furniture for the new place & then moved the old furniture down into the basement. My favorite aspect of the new furniture is my rocking chair!

We've done a lot of playing!

Libby is standing on her own & she will take one or two steps but she hasn't decided that she is ready to walk just yet.

We have laid some carpet squares in the basement & moved all the kids toys downstairs. I love everything being downstairs & the kids love having a large open area to play in. Graham loves having the easel & paints out all the time.

My dad took Graham fishing for the first time when they were visiting for Libby's birthday

The basement play room is so awesome!

Not having toys in the living room means the kids actually sit calmly when they are allowed to watch TV

These are just a few of the things we've been up to lately. I can't believe that it took me so long to find the time to get back to blogging. Ben's parents & brother have been visiting this week so I had a chance to really get caught up on some things while they entertained the kids.

One Year Check Up for Libby

2011-10-06T15:46:00.000-05:00

Ben took Libby for her one year check up this afternoon. As usual, it was a very uneventful appointment. She is still growing healthy & strong.

Here are her growth stats so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long

4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz

10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz

3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz

1 month check up: 9 lbs, 8 oz - 22 inches long

2 month check up: 12 lbs, 3 oz - 24 inches long

4 month check up: 14 lbs, 6 oz - 24 3/8 inches long

6 month check up: 18 lbs - 26 1/2 inches long

9 month check up: 22lbs, 3 oz - 28 1/2 inches long
12 month check up: 22lbs, 12 oz - 29 1/2 inches long

Libby is ONE!

2011-09-24T20:35:00.000-05:00

Today Libby turned one! I can't believe how fast this first year has gone. We celebrated by having a cookout at our house with friends & family. We had such a great time. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Saints Row 3

2011-09-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

Here is a trailer of Ben's game that will be released November 15th. As you are watching the video, here are the characters that Ben modeled:

the guy with the patch over his eye that appears at the beginning
Matt Miller
the guy with the star on his jacket (on the left side of the screen when it shows the Leader of the Deckers)
the dragon-like creature that appears at the end

Due to the content of this trailer, it is not appropriate for children.

We're Moving!!!

2011-07-22T16:51:00.000-05:00

On Aug 1st, we will be moving again. I am not really fond of moving in general but this is a much better place for our family. We will be gaining a lot of extra room, a basement & a 2 car garage. Here are just a few of the things we are looking forward to:

The area is much less crowded & has much more of a "house" feeling than our current location.

The kids' rooms are upstairs & our room is downstairs on the main floor.

I am absolutely in love with the kitchen!

The view from the back deck is pretty awesome too.

I am most excited about the basement downstairs. It is an unfinished basement but there's approximately 600 square feet of open space that I am hoping to turn into a playroom for the winter.

When the weather is nice, we also have a park that is just a short walk from the house that the kids love.

We also have some great friends that already live just a few houses down from us.

Graham's 3 year Check Up

2011-07-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

Graham had to have his 3 year check up a little early this year because he will be starting preschool at the end of next month. He is a healthy & strong boy & aside from a mild reaction to Amoxicillin, we have had no health concerns with him at all. We are so very blessed to have such healthy children.

Here's his progress so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 15 oz - 20 inches long

4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 8 oz

2 week old check up: 8 lbs, 1 oz - 21 & 1/2 inches long

2 month check up: 12 lbs, 11 oz - 23 inches long

4 month check up: 18 lbs, 1 oz - 23 1/4 inches long

6 month check up: 21 lbs, 2 oz - 23 1/2 inches long

12 month check up: 25 lbs, 1 oz - 30 1/2 inches long

15 month check up: 27 lbs, 15 oz - 33 1/2 inches long

2 year check up: 31 lbs, 36 inches tall

3 year check up: 31 lbs, 37inches tall

Libby's 9 Month Well Check

2011-07-07T09:44:00.000-05:00

Libby had her 9 month checkup today. There isn't much to report. She is a happy, healthy baby girl.

Here are her growth stats so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long

4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz

10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz

3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz

1 month check up: 9 lbs, 8 oz - 22 inches long

2 month check up: 12 lbs, 3 oz - 24 inches long

4 month check up: 14 lbs, 6 oz - 24 3/8 inches long

6 month check up: 18 lbs - 26 1/2 inches long

9 month check up: 22lbs, 3 oz - 28 1/2 inches long

More Coming Soon

2011-06-25T11:23:00.002-05:00

I decided to transition from using a PC to a Mac. I am trying to transfer everything to the new system & it is forcing me to change some of the ways I was doing things previously. My pictures seem to be what's affected the most so please be patient & I promise to get new things updated soon. In the meantime, you can follow my Twitter feed in the sidebar for quick updates on what we're up to.

Libby is 9 Months today!

2011-06-24T13:05:00.000-05:00

Today Libby turned 9 months old & I took the last of her monthly "giraffe pictures." I had intended to take them until she was a year old at least but she has started crawling & it was really difficult to get her to stay still long enough to get a decent picture. This is the best we got:

Here is a collage of all the "giraffe pictures" we took of Libby. I can't believe how much she has changed since she was first born.

5 Years

2011-06-13T10:41:00.011-05:00

On Friday, Ben & I celebrated our 5th anniversary. This was my birthday/anniversary present from Ben:

To celebrate we got a babysitter for the kids then went out for dinner at Bacaro. It was an interesting experience. One that no one would think I would enjoy but it was a great evening. We got he 6 course taster so we actually had no idea what we were going to be eating until it was served to us. We took pics of what we had but I didn't think enough ahead to actually write down the formal description of the dishes.

This was our appetizer:

It was some sort of crab dish (blue crab, I think) that had a little bit of a citrusy taste to it.

Course One:

This was sauteed zucchini topped with a soft cheese that is evidently similar to mozzarella cheese. It had a great flavor when I tasted it but I wasn't able to handle the texture of the cheese. One bite was more than enough for me.

Course Two:

I don't recall exactly what kind of fish this was but it was fabulous. It was served with some sort of pickled greens & a fabulous pistachio puree.

Course Three:

This was my favorite course by far. It was actually ricotta cheese cooked in a way that made it taste a little more like potatoes. The dish also had bacon in it so that could explain why it was my favorite.

Course Four:

I forgot to take a picture of this until after it was half eaten. It was halibut with turnips & artichokes & a green onion puree. The turnips were fabulous (which is why you don't see any in the picture) & the halibut had a very nice crunch to it.

Course Five:

A flank steak with black lentils, Swiss chard & a carrot puree. I don't usually like steak & I prefer my beef a little on the rare side but this steak had a great flavor even though it could have been a little more done for me.

Cheese Course:

I don't remember what kind of cheese this was or the flavors of the jam. The cheese was nice but I definitely preferred the jam.

Course Six:

We asked the chef if he would make something with chocolate for the dessert course. He was nice enough to make this chocolate pie topped with espresso ice cream & some sort of nut topping.

This was so far from what I would typically eat but it was a really enjoyable evening. I am so happy that we went & that I experienced something that I never thought I would.

A Long Overdue Update

2011-06-12T20:43:00.000-05:00

Once again it's been quite a while since I last updated. Graham & Libby are keeping me busy these days. I finally had a chance to upload the last three months of pictures & videos so be sure to check our photo gallery & YouTube channel for the latest. So here's what we've been up to since we got back from Oregon.

Graham loves cooking. He loves cooking pasta & helping mix the batter for baked goods.

Graham fell outside while playing & was limping for a little bit. I took him to the DR to have it looked at but it was not even sprained. He just twisted it the wrong way & wouldn't put enough pressure on it in order to walk it out.

We spent an afternoon dancing in the rain. Graham loved it!

Graham has started posing for the camera & letting me take his picture.

Graham is great at helping take care of his dog. He feeds her & lets her outside. His favorite thing is giving her treats.

The kids play great together & I love watching them grow together.

We do a lot of playing!

We've spent a few mornings playing at the park.

Libby has started pulling herself up without any help. She'll take a few steps if she's holding on to something but I don't think she has any interest in walking yet.

Graham discovered the paints in his closet one afternoon when I forgot to put the child lock back on the door. He decided to paint a picture instead of napping. He really tried to put the paints in the cup, use the paint brushes & paint on the paper. What the picture doesn't show is the drips of paint that he walked through & tracked all over the carpet. I'm still trying anything that I can think of to get red finger paint out of the carpet so I don't have to replace it.

Libby has discovered the cats & even after all this time with Graham trying to chase them, neither of them have any interest in playing with the kids. They typically run to another room as soon as the kids spot them.

I love the expression on her face!

The kids are always wrestling with each other. We make sure that Graham doesn't push it too far & sometimes Libby gets the best of Graham. Despite their age difference, I think it might be considered a fair fight. She's one tough cookie!

My friend Anne & I took the kids to the Touch a Truck Day during National Transportation Week. They got to climb in & out of all kinds of vehicles. It was a great day.

Graham's interest in all things musical is about the only thing that remains consistent these days.

We spent Memorial Day weekend at Stone Mountain with my grandmother & my parents. Here's the post about our trip: Memorial Day @ Stone Mountain

The kids got a kitchen that we put in Libby's room for them to play with. The kids love it!

Graham is a lot better about sleeping in his bed. We've still got a little bit of work to do with him this summer but at least were making some progress.

Libby has started playing iPad games.

We put the pool up in the backyard for the kids to play in this summer.

Libby isn't a fan of the big pool so we've had to some up with something different for her. I'll post more about that as soon as we test our solution & I can get some pictures.

Memorial Day at Stone Mountain

2011-06-01T21:59:00.000-05:00

For Memorial Day weekend, we drove to Stone Mountain to go camping with my parents & my grandmother.

Graham spent the weekend doing anything & everything that his Grandpa was doing.

Graham loved The Bubble Man!

We rode the train around the mountain. Graham has developed a fascination with trains thanks to Thomas & Friends.

Of course, we had to see the Laser Show while we were there.

On Saturday morning, we rode The Ducks & once we got into the water, they let the kids drive. I have been wanting to do this tour since I was a little girl & I finally forced my mom into taking me on it this year.

We took the sky bucket to the top of the mountain.

Graham also got a chance to steer the riverboat on Sunday evening.

We ended the weekend by cooking S'mores after dinner on Sunday night.

Our 8 Month Old Baby Girl

2011-05-24T12:29:00.000-05:00

Deja Vue

2011-05-13T21:29:00.002-05:00

Graham @ 11 months, October 2009

Libby @ 8 months, May 2011

I think I'm going to have my hands full this summer.

My Baby Girl is 7 Months Old today!

2011-04-24T12:15:00.000-05:00

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T09:13:00.001-05:00

One Thousand Gifts

2011-04-17T15:35:00.004-05:00

I recently joined an online group of women to read & discuss One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are by Ann Voskamp. I am only about halfway through the book but it is captivating in a way that I just can't explain. I will save further discussions of the book for my personal blog, so stop by there if you are interested. I also decided to take the dare myself. A dare to find one thousand things that I am grateful for. A dare to find one thousand gifts from God. I am posting those gifts here:

Traveling with Two Little Ones

2011-04-12T19:34:00.005-05:00

I never think twice about packing the car up & driving somewhere for a trip with the kids. I have not yet driven with two kids by myself but I traveled plenty of times when it was just Graham & I. We have taken Libby on one trip to GA (at Christmastime) & it didn't go quite so well. This past weekend we FLEW to Oregon with both kids for my cousins wedding. The kids were both in the wedding & this was their first flight. I haven't flown since my honeymoon 5 years ago. I was really stressed about this trip but it went as smoothly as it possibly could. We had a few snags that happened on the way back home & then we all managed to get sick yesterday & today but overall it was a great trip. I wouldn't hesitate to fly again with the kids. I might even be brave enough now to attempt a flight without Ben. Here's our story:

The Preparations

I did a lot of research before our flight on traveling with young children. I had nightmares of my kids screaming for the entire four hour flight. I wanted to make sure that I did everything possible to keep them happy, comfortable, entertained & well-behaved. I settled on a few things to try.

Ear Plugs - I ordered four sets of ear plugs. Two for adults & two for children. On the flight to Oregon, we ended up not being able to use them (you'll understand why later on in the story) but it didn't seem to make a difference for the kids. On the flight back, Ben & I used them. They worked great for Ben but didn't seem to make a difference for me. In the future, I would probably only order them for Ben. Chewing gum worked just as well for me.

Sea Bands - I ordered two pairs of sea bands to try instead of taking Dramamine. I got one pair for adults & one pair for kids. I knew Libby wouldn't be able to wear them but I figured the rest of us would try them. Once I received them, I realized that you have to wear the bands on both wrists so I only had enough bands for two of us. As it turned out, no one needed them except for me. I tried them but they didn't work at all for me. On the flight home, I actually ended up taking Dramamine instead. I will definitely not be ordering these again.

Car Seat Traveling Accessory - When I ordered this, I actually thought that I had ordered something different. I have been told that people make this same type of thing using dog leashes & bungee cords for much cheaper. I was so disappointed when I got it but I decided to try & use it anyway. I don't think it was a complete waste. It was certainly better than having nothing but if I had to do it all over again, I would order a luggage cart to wheel the car seat through the airport instead.

I decided to simply get laundry bags to cover the stroller & car seats that we were gate checking. I read the reviews on the gate check bags & was not impressed. I was completely happy with this decision. We were quite rushed when we got to the airport for our flight to Oregon (more on that later) so Graham's car seat actually didn't get put into a bag. It didn't fit into just one bag so I had planned on using two but I din't have enough time to make it work. The stroller & Libby's car seat fit into their individual bags flawlessly. On the way back, my mom had a much larger bag that she was using to cover my niece's umbrella stroller so we ended up switching bags & that made things much easier.

Packing

At first I thought that waiting at baggage claim with the kids would be a nightmare so I decided that everything would be a carry on. A decision that I would change in the future. I packed a small suitcase that had our clothes for the weekend, a duffle bag that had a weekends worth of diapers, pull ups & wipes, a diaper bag full of formula, baby food & cereal, snack & juice boxes for Graham & toys for the kids. We also had to take Ben's C-Pap machine & I took a backpack with the kids' blankets & lovies & all our electronic stuff. I thought that I had done a great job of only taking the minimum but it turned out that I still over packed.

The Night Before Flying

We drove to Chicago on Thursday after the kids got up from their naps & stayed at the Sheraton. We had a beautiful suite & if I ever have to fly out of O'Hare again, I will definitely be staying here the night before. We had planned on parking in the cheapest (aka farthest from the airport) parking lot & taking a shuttle to the terminals. The airport parking rep that I talked to a few weeks prior said to allow 45 minutes to get from that parking lot to the terminals meaning we would have to be at the airport at 6:00am. When we got to the hotel, we learned that we could park there all weekend for just a few dollars more & they would shuttle us to the airport.

The Mad Morning Rush

I had talked to the guy at the front desk when we checked in & he advised that we leave at 7:00 for an 8:20 flight. We woke at 6:30 & hurried to check out & catch the 7:00 shuttle to the airport. We really had no problems getting our tickets & going through security. We ended up taking a little bit of time getting through the airport to our gate because we had to take elevators due to the stroller. We thought we were making excellent time but we got to the gate just in time for the last call for final boarding. I was completely panicked but the flight attendants were completely patient as I made a mad rush to get bags & tags on everything we were gate checking. The flight was crowded & as we got to the end of the tunnel leading to the plane, there were a good number of people gate checking bags that they intended for carry-ons. The overhead bins were full & there was no room for all the carry-ons (I learned why on the flight back home). We decided to gate check the small suitcase which was the reason why we had to go through baggage claim. We made it to our seats but there was no room above our seat for the duffel bag so one of the flight attendants put it in the overhead compartment about 4 or 5 rows behind us. I sat down & breathed a sigh of relief as I remember the flight scene in all those Home Alone movies then I remembered that the earplugs, Sea-Bands, chewing gum & lifesavers were in the duffel bag that I could no longer get to.

The Flight

We had decided to feed Graham breakfast & give Libby her bottle during take off. I had learned (from several resources) that it's best for babies' ears if they have a bottle during take off. I had planned on letting Graham suck on Lifesavers but he just had breakfast. As the flight attendants prepared for take off, I gave Libby her bottle. She had finished about half of it when the pilot announced that we were fifth in line for take off. I prepared for the worst & tried to hide the remaining half of the bottle from her. It didn't work & as we took off, I closed my eyes, prayed hard that the kids would do OK & braced for the meltdown.

Graham looked out the window as Ben talked him through the take off. He was so excited & he never seemed to have any problems at all with his ears. Libby sat calmly in my lap & just as I started to relax a bit, the motion sickness hit me. Focusing so much on the kids had made me forget about it until then. Fortunately, I was just nauseous but it didn't get better until long after we landed.

During the flight Graham sat between us & played on my iPad while Libby slept. It was a dream flight.

Our Time in Oregon

This was a brief trip so our time was extremely limited & very busy. Our hotel was about an hour & a half away from the airport. Once we got there, we had a little bit of time to visit with my parents before we all headed off to the rehearsal dinner the Ben, myself & the kids headed out to the wedding rehearsal. Saturday morning, the boys all went to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. That afternoon we all had lunch then headed out to the wedding & after party. By the time we got back to the hotel, it was bedtime. We left the hotel at 3:00am Sunday morning to catch our flight back to Chicago.

The Rehearsal/Wedding

I will make a separate post about the wedding a little later. I want to let Rob & Tifanie have a chance to tell their story before I tell mine. For now, I will say that Tifanie wanted Graham to pull Libby down the aisle in a wagon then hand the pillow with the rings over to the best man. He did exactly what she wanted in true Graham fashion. There is video that I hope to be able to post soon.

The Flight Home

On the return flight, we left the hotel about an hour earlier than I originally intended. I wanted to avoid another mad rush to the plane this time. We returned our rental car, took the shuttle to the airport, got our tickets, went through security & made it to our gate with minimal frustrations about 30 minutes before they started boarding. Perfect timing if you ask me. We decided that, on this flight, we would check a few of the bags at the ticket counter instead of the gate. We didn't need the small suitcase or Ben's machine & we opted to not put Graham's car seat on the plane (but we could have if we had wanted to). We were flying United & other than strollers, carseats & one other thing that I can't remember there is a charge per bag. Every single piece of luggage is charged! We decided to go ahead & check Graham's car seat at the ticket counter then gate check the rest. It made things much easier & I will definitely be doing this anytime I have to fly with his car seat in the future.

A Few Snags

The trip went relatively smooth but it was not without it's difficulties. The kids were so off schedule that I really had a hard time knowing what they were doing when. They were good natured & well-behaved but I don't think either of them ate enough to get sufficient calories.

We rented our car in Oregon from Alamo. There policy is they will not let you secure a rental with a debit card unless you have your return flight information. There was some misunderstandings between myself & the agent at the counter. It was well after 2:00 & the kids hadn't even had lunch yet. They were both outside with Ben crying & I had my mental breakdown. Things quickly got worked out but it was a frustrating half hour.

I am sure that there were other snags along the trip but they must have been really insignificant because that's about all I can think of. It was such a great trip!

An Additional Lesson Learned

When flying with Dr. Brown's bottles, do not pre-fill them with water. For both the flight to Oregon & the flight home I had filled five of Libby's bottles with water. It was enough for the complete day but I wanted to be prepared in case I needed an extra bottle or two before I could get to water again. On the way to Oregon, one of her bottles leaked out about an ounce of water. I cleaned it up & didn't think anything else about it. On the flight back all five bottles leaked about an ounce of water leaving the bottom of my diaper bag soaking wet. They never leaked during the trip. They don't leak now that we are home & I know that they weren't tipped over during security because we had to take them all out so they could be checked. The best we can tell, something happens during take off & landing that causes the pressure to build up & some of the water to be pushed out the top. Next time, I'll just fly with a 6 pack of bottled water & empty bottles.

2011-04-06T17:29:00.003-05:00

It's been a busy couple of weeks & I haven't really had a chance to update you so I took a few minutes today to look back through some of our recent pictures & put together a brief update on what we've been up to lately.

Graham got his first tricycle...
...and his first boo boo from falling off the tricycle. It was just a minor scrape but he was so proud of his boo boo & he walked around talking about it for days.

The discovery of bugs was made

BTW You can kind of see his boo boo in this picture if you look closely.

I have found a pacifier that Libby will take a little more often. Most of the time she just plays with it in her hand or chews on it. She is definitely not attached to it but I wanted her to at least have one that she was comfortable enough with for times when I can't get her to calm down any other way.

Libby started sitting up by herself
Graham had sushi for the first time. He didn't really dislike it but he didn't really eat much of it either so who knows whether he actually likes it.

Graham is certainly testing his limits & it has caused us to alter our way of thinking when it comes to discipline but I think we have caught on to a way of successfully teaching him right from wrong (at least for now).

I am constantly amazed at how great he gets along with his sister & they both continually make me laugh at the things they do.

I have to admit that this is slightly staged. I sat her down on her knees & leaned her against the bean bag. She did however push herself up & steady herself.

She has finally started getting up on her hands & knees but she's not rocking back & forth yet so I think we have a little bit of time before she actually starts crawling.

Graham's bed arrived & he finally quit sleeping on the floor.

So that's about it for right now. We leave on Thursday to go to Chicago then fly to Oregon on Friday for my cousins wedding. This will be our first flight with kids so it should be interesting. I'll be sure to post all about our trip soon.

6 Month Check Up

2011-03-30T21:53:00.003-05:00

Libby had her 6 month appt today. She is a healthy growing girl & we are so blessed to have her as part of our family. Her eating is much improved though the doctor says she should be eating "lots of Tbsp" but we really aren't putting much effort into solid foods right now. She has come full circle on applesauce & now LOVES it. She also likes peaches, bananas, prunes & sweet potatoes. She HATES green peas (at least for now) & she refuses to eat them at all. We still haven't tried pears, carrots, squash or green beans yet.

Here are her growth stats so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz
10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz
3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz
1 month check up: 9 lbs, 8 oz - 22 inches long
2 month check up: 12 lbs, 3 oz - 24 inches long
4 month check up: 14 lbs, 6 oz - 24 3/8 inches long

6 month check up: 18 lbs - 26 1/2 inches long

The doctor has us complete this "Ages & Stages Questionnaire" for every visit. This is new to me & I'm kind of annoyed with the whole thing. I don't think it's a good idea to judge kids' development based on a survey of 30 questions but what do I know. The doctor says that she just wants to see improvement at each stage & she isn't concerned with the exact score. The questionnaire is 5 categories with 6 questions each. 10 pts for yes, 5 pts for sometimes & 0 pts for not yet. Here's what her scores looked like for the 4-6 month stage:

Communication - 40

Gross Motor - 40

Problem Solving - 40

This is no surprise. I already know that I have smart kids that have no problem speaking their minds or getting themselves into trouble. The next two categories is where I got annoyed with the questions.

Personal-Social - 35

This is close to the cutoff & the creators of the questionnaire suggest providing learning activities & monitor. My problem is this: Anyone who knows my kids knows that they couldn't be more sociable. My kids do not meet a stranger. They love all things living... people, dogs, caterpillars crawling across the back patio. One of the questions that I answered NO to was about reacting negatively to strangers. The other two had to do with her reaction to her reflection in the mirror. If I had to answer these questions about Graham at 2 years old, the answers would still be NO.

Fine Motor - 25

This is below the cutoff but I still don't put much weight in this score either. The questions are more applicable to a 8 or 9 month old in my opinion. Most of them had to do with picking up small objects such as Cheerios. She doesn't each Cheerios yet & I'm certainly not going to give her toys that small. I did however buy some Gerber Puffs for her to start practicing with because... well, I just did.

I have glanced over the next questionnaire that I have to do between now & July. The questions are different & seem to be a little more applicable to what I think Libby will be doing by the time she's 10 months old.

A Little Change of Scenery

2011-03-26T19:15:00.004-05:00

The weather outside is still cold & grey but I'm in need of some things bright & cheery. We had family pictures made this morning, & while that is an adventure better left untold, we ended up with some fairly decent pictures. You can check them all out in our photo gallery.

I have also changed the backgrounds on this blog & the photo gallery. Did you notice the new spring feel? I love it! I also created my first wallpaper background for my desktop. I usually use a wallpaper from The Shabby Shoppe, but this month I just needed something a little different. So this is what I will be looking at for the next little bit:

Watch Me Grow: The Graham vs. Libby Edition

2011-03-24T16:03:00.000-05:00

Libby turned six months old today!

Recently I have been hearing about how much Graham & Libby look alike so I thought I'd do a side-by-side comparison.
Six Months
Graham - May 2009 / Libby - March 2011
Five Months
Graham - April 2009 / February 2011

Four Months
Graham - March 2009 / Libby - January 2011

Three Months
Graham - February 2009 / Libby December 2010

Two Months
Graham - January 2009 / Libby November 2010

One Month
Graham - December 2008 / Libby - October 2010

Newborn
Graham - November 2008 / Libby - September 2010

Next month I think I will combine all of Libby's "Watch Me Grow" pictures side-by-side to see how much she's grown.

Some Days I'm Just Speechless

2011-03-19T19:27:00.005-05:00

I really had no clue what the phrase "He's all Boy" really meant until Graham. He is into everything! He falls down & gets bumps, bruises & scrapes but rarely cries. He hardly ever sits still. And I won't even get into the many other gross things that he does. This isn't really anything new but I came across these few pictures in what I just downloaded from my camera:

He flipped his chair over last week & hit his head. This did make him cry but I think our reaction scared him more than the actual fall. We were on a concussion watch, having to wake him up every 4 hours, but nothing ever became of it.

Graham tested out the puppy kennel by crawling in & closing the door. I have to remind him several times a day that "it's the puppy's bed & not his."

Speaking of beds... he still refuses to sleep in his. Last night, he took all the toys out of the toy box to make it his bed. I have ordered a twin bed for him in hopes that it will get him to start sleeping in the bed.

The Story of Pink

2011-03-12T16:56:00.001-06:00

I'm not a dog person. Actually I grew up afraid of dogs. Now they don't really bother me unless they are licking me but I never really wanted to own a dog. I have always had cats. We have two cats that we got from Rescue Cats just before Ben & I got married. I believe in adopting animals from shelters. I have been known on more than one occasion to say that "I will not pay for an animal." Fast forward to today...

We went to the mall to get a few things that we needed & to test out my new stroller. I was in Sears looking for a dress with Libby. Ben & Graham went into Fur Babies to wait for me. Graham loves to look at the puppies so we try to take him in whenever we can. When I got there, I jokingly asked the girl working there if they had a CALM dog that would just curl up in my lap. She did & then I made several detrimental decisions... I asked to hold her & when she calmly snuggled into my arms without licking me, I asked to go to the play room with her. Graham & I spent a few minutes playing with her & we both fell in love with her but I decided to think about it for a little while. I didn't want to make an emotional decision that I would later regret.

We left the mall & picked up lunch on the way home. I figured that Graham would forget about the puppy & that I would delay making a decision until I forgot about it myself. Ben & I continued to talk about it on the way home. I was trying to convince myself that we DID NOT need a puppy right now but I really wanted her. We joked about how some parents let their kids name their pets & talked about who would handle taking care of the dog. Then came more detrimental decisions ... I asked Graham if he wanted a puppy thinking he would just repeat "puppy" to me & maybe bark a little bit but his response was "Yes! I do! I do!" I sometimes underestimate how articulate he is becoming but that is another post for another day. I asked him what he would name his puppy if he had one fully expecting that his answer would simply be "Puppy" but he blew me away when he blurted out "Pink!" I was amazed that he came up with Pink because we hadn't even talked about whether the dog was a boy or a girl & I haven't really taught him the concept of pink for girls & blue for boys.

So that is how Pink came to join our family.

Happy Birthday Ben!

2011-03-06T15:11:00.002-06:00

Ben turned 30 yesterday! Neither of us really wanted a big celebration but I had a few surprises up my sleeve. On Friday, I made gumbo following Emeril's recipe & then my red velvet cake. It was a big surprise but it was really just a diversion from the actual plans that I had for yesterday.

Last night, we had some friends of ours over for dinner & games after the kids were in bed. We had been planning it for about 2 weeks & Ben had no idea until they showed up for dinner. We really had a lot of fun!

2011-03-02T14:49:00.000-06:00

The duck bath has seen better days. At one point we actually used it as a bathtub. Now it is sitting in my living room waiting for me to deflate it & throw it in the trash. I have debated about ordering a bean bag chair for Graham. I know that seems to come from out of left field but as I watched Graham lounging in the duck bath like it was made for him to comfortably watch cartoons from, I came to the conclusion that now would be the time to actually get him one. That was the easy part. Actually finding a bean bag that has enough stuffing to make it worth the money. I really want to try & find one without a zipper because we all know what will happen to the stuffing one Graham discovers the zipper. I haven't found one yet. I'm considering super gluing the zipper shut but I'd rather not. Then there's the problem of finding one to match my furniture & still be able to move it into Graham's room once he's old enough to have it in there. The search continues but hopefully I will find it soon.

Every child is different

2011-03-01T13:37:00.001-06:00

My kids are the reason why the phrase every child is different was created. I swear they could not be more different.

Graham was just over 3 months old when we started feeding him baby food. Even though we were already putting cereal into his bottles, his doctor advised us to go ahead & start him on baby food early. He took to it like he had been eating from a spoon since birth & he would happily eat anything you could put in front of him.

Libby is a lot more particular about what she will eat. We didn't start baby food with her until after she was 4 months old & her doctor advises that we could actually wait until she was 6 months old if we wanted. I started trying little bits with her & she wanted nothing to do with it. She has gotten better about eating from the spoon as long as it is something that she likes. Applesauce is out. Bananas are a maybe. Prunes & Peaches are definites. She loves them. We haven't really tried any vegetables yet & I will try applesauce again at some point but for now we are letting her get away with being picky. I hope it doesn't turn into a regular thing with her but we'll see.

February Update

2011-02-28T12:22:00.001-06:00

Here's what we've been up to this month:
At the beginning of the month we got EIGHT INCHES of snow.
Libby discovered her feet.
Graham used headphones for the first time.
The kids are still playing well together.
Graham has started to eat food a little more like a grown up than a toddler. While there's still a lot of room for improvement, we're seeing progress. And with a 2 year old, PROGRESS IS GOOD!
And while this has nothing to do with my kids... I LOVE the look on my niece's face in this picture. It cracks me up every time I see it!

I turned 30 this month. We really didn't do anything special to celebrate... ran a few errands, went out to eat. While we were at Barnes & Noble, Graham had a blast playing with the train set. I finally gave in & started ordering Graham mac & cheese when we were out. It's one thing that he really loves & it helps keep him relatively well-behaved.
We made a pretty big deal out of Valentine's Day for Graham. We had a special breakfast of heart-shaped toast & strawberry smoothies. He had a sensory tub of Valentine's related stuff. He got a Valentine's card & Thomas the Train book & there were some special games on my iPad for him to play. We painted a card for Ben, had special cookies for a snack, watched some Valentine's Day themed cartoons & some other cheesy holiday stuff.
Graham even helped to make dinner for us.
I was getting ready to feed Libby one afternoon & turned my back for a second. When I went back, Graham had decided to feed Libby on his own. Surprisingly, he didn't do half bad at it.
We tried to teach Graham how to feed the cats but it backfired in my face. He did really good at feeding them but then he decided to start mixing their food & water in the same bowl... making "cereal"
I have an app on my phone called "Baby Rattle" & Libby loves it. It's not actually a rattle but the bright lights & music keep her entertained for a while.

There's no story behind these pictures. They're just too stinkin' cute!
We bought a Kinnect for our Xbox & a game called Kinnectimals for Graham.
Libby started holding her bottle by herself.

It's scary to think of how quickly they are growing up.

Tumblr

2011-02-26T21:09:00.002-06:00

I have heard of Tumblr previously. I just ignored it because I wasn't really sure what it was all about but then I read this post by Carissa about her experience with Tumblr. I decided that I wanted to give it a try but I knew I didn't have the time to learn another website & I still wasn't convinced that I wanted to add even more to my social networking life. I love blogging & this blog is a way to keep friends & family updated about what is going on with MY FAMILY. Twitter & Facebook are great but you are really limited as to how much you can share... especially on Twitter. I absolutely love my family's Shutterfly page where I post all our pictures & videos as well as my scrapbooking creations & Ben's drawings. I have a YouTube page where I also put our videos but I only use it so I can access the videos from my phone or let Graham watch them on the TV. I have a lot going on in the social networking world so I set Carissa's post aside & never gave it another thought... until today. A lot of the blogs I read are public blogs like Carissa's or Amanda's that are more professional than my personal ramblings about my kids. Other's like Jessica or Tricia where I get tons of food ideas & there are countless others that I read about product reviews, clothing, movies, books & just about anything you could think of... well, except for politics but that's another story all together. At one time or another, I have wanted to post about all these things & so much more but I don't like filling this blog with things about me. This blog is about MY FAMILY. I have often thought about starting another blog for these things so I can still post them, share more of my own identity & keep this blog about what's going on with the family but I just never got around to it. Today, when I came across Carissa's post on Tumblr, I decided to give it a shot. I hope to get back to regularly posting on all my social network sites including the new Life of Jen Tumblr site. There's a lot to explore so I hope to have it up & running smoothly soon. The site will include things like what I wore during the week, recipes, movies, books, projects, songs that I love, products we are using, apps for my phone & iPad, websites I frequent & possibly a few Daybooking posts. I hope that you will stop by & check out what I am doing when I'm not being mom & I'm simply being Jen.

5 Months Old!!!

2011-02-24T13:20:00.001-06:00

Libby turned 5 months old today! I can't believe how fast it has gone.

January 2011

2011-01-31T14:34:00.000-06:00

Here's what we've been up to in the month of January:

Graham really enjoys my iPad. I have quite a few educational games on there that he really enjoys & he doesn't even realize that he's learning.

Libby is growing so fast. She is really starting to explore the world around her.

Graham & Libby are starting to spend a little more time playing together. I love watching their relationship grow. He is such a great big brother & Libby just adores him.

Graham refuses to sleep in his bed & he will not go to sleep unless his light is on. Every night, I go in & turn off his light & take a picture.

Libby started eating solid foods. She's not catching on very quickly but her DR said we don't really have to start feeding her solids until she's 6 months old.

We've tried doing Letter of the Week activities & calendar time. Some times he willingly participates & we have fun. Most days, he doesn't want to have anything to do with them so we just skip it altogether.

I read somewhere about setting up a hand washing station for your kids to teach them about how to keep their hands clean. I tried it. For us, it turned into a soak the kitchen station. It was a HUGE mess but lots of fun!

We've been trying to teach Graham about cleaning up & doing chores. He loves to help & I hope that he will continue to show this kind of enthusiasm.

4 Month Check Up

2011-01-27T12:56:00.001-06:00

I took Libby for her 4 month check up today. We have switched doctors for the kids & I really like the one that we have chosen. She is doing great & continues to grow every day. Here is her progress so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz
10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz
3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz
1 month check up: 9 lbs, 8 oz - 22 inches long
2 month check up: 12 lbs, 3 oz - 24 inches long
4 month check up: 14 lbs, 6 oz - 24 3/8 inches long

Here is the 4 month photo that I took of her the other day:

Tis The Season!

2011-01-03T20:36:00.016-06:00

This Christmas was the most hectic Christmas that I think I have ever had in my life! There isn't too much that is "blog worthy" but we have been so busy these last few weeks. Here's a glimpse at what we've been up to:
Graham & I made a gingerbread house. All he wanted to do was eat the candy so very little of it actually made it onto the gingerbread house. I was pleasantly surprised at how well he was able to help with this project. He is constantly surprising me with what he is capable of these days.
We spent the week between Christmas & New Year's in GA with family & friends.
Our second year with our Jingle Jammies tradition.
The kids were spoiled rotten again this year. I'm beginning to think that I need to rent another house just for all of their toys.
A white Christmas in GA. I heard on the news that it was the first Christmas snowfall in GA since the 1800's.
Some one managed to capture a brief moment where Graham was actually sitting still & listening. Sometimes I wonder where this boy gets all of his energy from. He is nonstop action from the moment he wakes up until he goes to bed at night.

There was lots of time to play with cousin Natalie.
Graham got to bake cookies with my mom. I think he actually ate more of the raw dough than he actually baked. He gets it honest because sometime I just eat the dough & never cook any of it.
This year I got an iPad & my dad got an iPod for Christmas. Graham decided to give everyone lessons on how to work their new devices. We spent some time with some family friends of ours & discovered several new iPad/iPod games that Graham loves to play. Just tonight, he was showing me how to play Angry Birds.
Graham also got his own camera this year. He loves taking pictures & has filled up the memory on it more than once already.
These past few weeks I think that Libby has really grown. She has started keeping toys in her hands & she even rolled over for the first time on New Year's Day.
We spent New Year's Eve at the GA Aquarium. Graham had a blast even though he was extremely tired from not having a nap for the past three days. Check out our photo gallery if you want to see more of the pictures from the aquarium.
It's amazing at the difference 6 months can make. At the beach this summer, dad tried to give Graham sparklers & he wanted nothing to do with them. This time, he had such a great time waving them around & playing.

I am so glad to be back home. Fortunately the kids bounced right back into their normal routines. Libby is finally eating & sleeping again without much fuss. I am very excited about what's to come for us in 2011. Hopefully it will mean a little more time for blogging & keeping you all up to date on all that is happening for us.

3 Months Old

2010-12-24T18:18:00.003-06:00

I am so glad that I started taking these pictures every month. I love to see the difference from month to month. One of these days, I am going to post all of these side by side or in a slide show for you to see them all together.

December Update

2010-12-18T22:31:00.017-06:00

Wow! I'm not doing very good at keeping up this whole blogging thing lately. Having two kids is drastically different. I thought getting used to having one was hard but getting used to two is so much harder than I ever imagined. We have finally gotten Libby on a consistent schedule. It's not a spread out as I would like it to be. She only stays awake for about an hour at a time & has a bottle every 3 hours but she is now consistently napping in her crib. I should begin to have about an hour in the afternoon to take care of everything else that I need to get done. We started her sleep training about a month sooner than I started it with Graham & for the first day, I thought it was going to be really difficult. We tried to take her pacifier away to see if that would help her to not wake up after only an hour but it didn't so we gave it back to her & have seen a dramatic improvement in how quickly she goes to sleep. In the afternoon, she is still waking up after only an hour so we are working on getting her to nap longer. At night, she gets her last bottle at about 10:00 & sleeps all the way until at least 5:00 the next morning. For the past two days, both of the kids have been sleeping in until 7:00 & it has been absolutely heavenly.

Here's what's been going on since my last update:
My parents came to visit for Thanksgiving & Graham's birthday.

I prepared my first Thanksgiving meal & it was actually edible!

We took Graham bowling for his birthday. You can read all about it here.

We decorated for Christmas!

We took the kids in for their regularly scheduled check ups.

Daddy & Graham are both enjoying the new art easel.

I had intentions of doing a small gift/activity every day leading up to Christmas but it wasn't well received so we didn't do a whole lot. I tried a few times but didn't have much success this year.

Everyone (but me) had the stomach flu. Poor Graham had it the worst & for the longest.

Libby has officially started holding her head up on her own.

The Christmas Sensory Tub was pretty well received.

Graham had a great time painting Christmas trees on his new easel. After the first of the year, I have a snowman sponge & white paint to let him do some more painting. I was really worried about letting him paint so close to my furniture & the walls but he did really well. I laid out the ground rules & threatened to take the paint away & put him in time out if he didn't follow the rules. He obeyed very well.

We got our first snowfall of this winter.

Graham really enjoys playing in the snow this year.

When we're stuck indoors, Graham really enjoys making music & artwork.

Libby has discovered her hands work just as well as a pacifier.

There has been so much keeping us busy these days. We'll be spending the last week of the year in Georgia celebrating the holidays with family & friends. Hopefully the next update will be soon. Have a safe & joyous holiday season!

2 Month / 2 Year Check Ups

2010-11-29T21:48:00.001-06:00

I took the kids in for their well checks today. Here is their progress so far:

Graham
birth: 7 lbs, 15 oz - 20 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 8 oz
2 week old check up: 8 lbs, 1 oz - 21 & 1/2 inches long
2 month check up: 12 lbs, 11 oz - 23 inches long
4 month check up: 18 lbs, 1 oz - 23 1/4 inches long
6 month check up: 21 lbs, 2 oz - 23 1/2 inches long
12 month check up: 25 lbs, 1 oz - 30 1/2 inches long
15 month check up: 27 lbs, 15 oz - 33 1/2 inches long
2 year check up: 31 lbs, 36 inches tall

Libby
birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz
10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz
3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz
1 month check up: 9 lbs, 8 oz - 22 inches long
2 month check up: 12 lbs, 3 oz - 24 inches long

And here is Libby's 2 month picture that I took last week:

Birthday Bowling

2010-11-28T13:11:00.010-06:00

We had Graham's birthday celebration yesterday since his actual birthday was Thanksgiving day. We decided that we wanted to take him bowling for the first time & then go out to eat for lunch. After his nap we had a birthday brownie & ice cream then let him open his presents. Here are some pictures from the day:

The first (& only) time Graham bowled.
Graham's reaction to bowling... not what I expected at all.
At least I bowled a STRIKE!
Anyone surprised that the electronics are what entertained Graham???
He loved his birthday lunch at Red Lobster.
We had a Buzz Lightyear Brownie & ice cream after a nap.
We spent the rest of the night opening & playing with presents.

My Baby Boy is Two!

2010-11-25T21:59:00.005-06:00

It's hard to believe that it was two years ago today that I became a mom. Time has gone by so quickly. Graham is growing up to be a very smart & very handsome boy. Ben & I are so proud of all that he accomplishes. He has learned so much recently & he continues to amaze us everyday. His vocabulary is growing by leaps & bounds. You never know what will come out of his mouth. He is quite the entertainer & keeps us laughing constantly. Happy Birthday Buddy!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T16:36:00.001-06:00

What We've Been Up To Lately

2010-11-22T20:39:00.020-06:00

It's been quite a while since I had a chance to post anything... 22 days to be exact. These two kiddos of mine have me on my toes all the time. By the time they're both in the bed at 6:30, I am exhausted. We've been up to a lot lately but mostly it's just normal everyday stuff that's keeping us busy. I went back to the first of the month & started going through my pictures so I could show you a few of the things we've been doing.

I've been trying to have focused playtime with Graham instead of letting him run around from toy to toy & getting into things that he shouldn't be into. I try to sit down & play with him so that I can make it a little bit educational. Sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn't. If he's not having fun, we just move on to something else.

Graham loves the iPod. Recently I've downloaded Songs for Saplings & 125 Bible School Songs so I know that the things that are going into his mind are the things that he should be thinking about instead of just garbage. He works the playlist all by himself & will spend hours listening to his music & watching YouTube videos. His favorite videos are The Elmo Pizza Song & The Ten Commandment Boogie. (I'll try to post links to the videos when I get the chance.)

I've started making themed sensory tubs for Graham. Most of my ideas come from Alison at No Time for Flashcards. Counting Coconuts also has some great ideas & I'm sure that I could find a million more just by doing a Google search. I love creating these (aka shopping at The Dollar Tree, Michaels, Target & Walmart for whatever I can find)& Graham really likes playing with them (aka seeing how far he can throw whatever is in the bin). I am so excited about the Christmas sensory bin that I will be making this weekend. I'll be sure to share pics of it as soon as I can.

We've officially hit the "terrible twos" but most days they actually aren't so terrible. If I can keep him busy enough, the temper tantrums seem to be few & far between. I am always on the lookout for anything that can keep him entertained especially now that the weather is getting cold & I can't just let him outside to play.

We've joined some friends of ours from church for a weekly playdate at the local parks. This town has so many parks that I have yet to take him to the same park twice. We love it. I get to socialize with some great girlfriends & Graham is getting more & more confident because he's playing with friends of his own instead of just mom & dad. Tomorrow, we're headed to the indoor park at the mall & I am definitely glad that I won't be freezing my butt off.

Libby is always along for the ride. I don't think this poor girl ever gets to nap in her crib. Right now, she's content to sleep anywhere but we're starting to get to the point where the activities around here are keeping her awake. We tried to do some sleep training with her but I think she's just a little too young so we're going to try again after the holiday traveling is over & things settle down a bit more.

She's got great neck control & we're working on some exercises to help strengthen her lower back muscles. She's a lot different than Graham & we have to work with her a little bit more than we did with him. Graham always wanted to be on the go & he blazed through his milestones effortlessly. Libby is content to be held, has no interest in tummy time & very little interest in anything other than her swing.

Graham is a great big brother. Most of the time, he shows little interest in her & trying to get a picture of both of them together is like pulling teeth. Occasionally, I'll ask Libby if she wants to swing & Graham will run over, jump in the swing & say "hold it" while he reaches out his arms. It's very cute & it doesn't happen nearly often enough.

Unlike myself at his age, he shows a lot of interest in helping to cook. I try to let him help with the actual cooking whenever I can but he likes to get up at the counter top & pretend to be cooking. I've given up on trying to keep him from climbing on the chairs so now I just join him to make sure he doesn't fall & crack his head open.

I try to do a "snack lunch" about once a week. I love it because it is super easy to make & Graham loves getting all his favorite foods. A typical snack lunch for him is yogurt, cheese, crackers & some kind of dried fruit. I got the idea from Muffin Tin Mom & I wish that I could be as creative as she is.

I am finding a lot of the old fashioned toys for really great prices & they are a huge success in our house. His three favorites by far are the wooden train whistle, the pull behind duck & the metal spinning top. He's had a metal jack-in-the-box for a while so it's taken a backseat to some of the others.

We love doing craft projects & I don't think we do them often enough. I can't come up with them on my own so I am constantly searching the internet for new ideas.

Graham is starting to show interest in toys that are typically for kids a little older than him. Legos, his train set & toy guns are a few of his favorites. We also just got him a full size soccer ball to play with. He mostly just throws it but we're trying to teach him about kicking balls. I also use his bowling set to try to teach him about rolling balls but so far I've not been successful with either.

Libby is growing like a weed. She is eating on a consistent schedule & has been sleeping through the night for a few weeks now. I consider myself very lucky to have two kiddos that sleep well at night but, just like with Graham, her nap schedule has been a little tougher to get sorted out.

We made our first attempt at getting pictures with Santa this past weekend. I wanted to be sure that I beat the rush of people standing in line for hours so we decided to go on the first day during the first hour that Santa was at the mall. Graham had gotten up very early that morning so I was convinced that he was just tired. We decided to try again later when he was better rested so we went back today. Turns out that this year Graham is afraid of Santa. He cried & fought to get away from him again today. Once Ben picked him up & took him to the side to calm him down, he came back to get his candy cane & coloring book from Santa. He even managed to tell him thank you through the sobbing. We all laughed.

So, that's the update for this month. There's a lot coming up this week. Tomorrow, we have our playdate. I'm considering making a happy birthday sensory tub for this week so I'll have to hit the stores on Wednesday to see what I can find. Thursday morning my parents get into town & I am cooking my first Thanksgiving dinner. Friday the goal is to just avoid the stores like the plague. Saturday we have a birthday to celebrate. Graham turns two on Thursday. Sunday, aside from church, my plan is to do absolutely nothing but hang out with my kiddos. And Monday, I'm going to try to snag some of the Cyber Monday deals. Hopefully, things will start calming down & I can get back to posting more frequently. My goal is to at least post a weekly update but with two little ones, I'm not making any promises.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T20:11:00.004-05:00

We took Graham to Ben's office for trick or treating again this year. He did much better at getting his own candy but it still took quite a bit of coaxing to get him to make up his mind about what he wanted. We kept trying to get him to choose the chocolate candy bars but as you can see, we weren't very successful with that...
Graham's Halloween Stash
We decided not to take Graham door to door this year for many reasons but all the kids dressed up in their costumes for church this morning. Here are pictures of them dressed in their costumes:

Happy 1 Month Baby Girl

2010-10-24T20:10:00.004-05:00

I can't believe that it's already been a month. Tomorrow we go for her check up & first set of immunizations. I'll post her new height & weight once we get back.

UPDATE (10/25): Libby's doctor's appointment went well. Here's her progress so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz
10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz

3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz

1 month check up: 9 lbs, 8 oz - 22 inches long

What a Day!

2010-10-23T21:31:00.005-05:00

I am absolutely in love with this time of year. The weather is mostly fabulous & there is so many fun things to do around here. Today we visited Curtis Orchard & I am kicking myself in the butt for not going sooner. We had so much fun!

After coming home for lunch & a nap, we went out in the backyard to carve pumpkins. I thought that Graham would really be interested in helping (especially pulling out the guts & making a mess) but his interest came & went throughout the process & the pumpkins weren't really all that messy. It was still fun though.

After dinner tonight, I spent a couple of hours baking... pumpkin tarts, gingerbread cake & pumpkin chocolate chip muffins. I still have about 1 cup of pumpkin puree left so I might be baking pumpkin cookies tomorrow.

Here are some of the pictures from today:

coming down the Big Slide all by himself (aka my baby isn't such a baby anymore)

first pony ride (I was so excited that he actually did this)

feeding goats with Daddy (this is big for Graham because normally he doesn't touch animals)

my sweet sleeping angel

Graham's first wagon ride (he kept saying Whee! over & over again)

picking out our pumpkin

helping Daddy carve pumpkins

the finished pumpkin

For more pictures from today, check out our photo gallery. Tomorrow, I promise there will be an extra-special photo & sometime this upcoming week, I'll post some pictures of all the fun activities that Graham & I have been working on for the holidays.

New Family Pictures

2010-10-16T20:12:00.003-05:00

We had new family pictures made this morning. It was quite an adventure but I am very happy with the outcome. Here are more favorites:

To see more, visit our photo gallery.

3 Week Weight Check

2010-10-13T20:56:00.002-05:00

Libby had another weight check this morning & everything is looking good. Her jaundice is completely gone now & she has gained just under 1 lb in the past week. Here's her progression so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz
10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz

3 week old weight check: 8 lbs, 6 oz

2010-10-09T22:53:00.002-05:00

Back in August, I wrote this post about not doing anymore official Tot School posts. We also implemented a toy rotation about the same time & I turned our downstairs closet into a storage room for all Graham's toys. Since doing that, we have continued to work on learning new things whenever we get the chance & I am always amazed at how quickly Graham picks up on things. Here are a few things that we have worked on over the last month:
learning to paint with a paint brush

stringing wooden bead onto shoe strings

he loves to play the "together/apart game"

these are empty water bottles... one filled with glitter, another with sequins & the third with dish soap to make bubbles

learning the parts of the body

2010-10-06T21:00:00.004-05:00

A friend of mine took a picture of her little boy every month with the same stuffed animal to show how much he was growing from month to month. I wish I had caught on to this idea when Graham was born but I decided to definitely do this with Libby & her giraffe. Here's her newborn picture:

She has also had two weight checks & will be having a third one next week. The healthcare system here is really ~~screwed up~~ different from what I am used to but that's another post altogether. Here is her progress so far:

birth: 7 lbs, 12 oz - 19 3/4 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 5 oz
10 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 9 oz

Mama's Helper

2010-10-04T22:42:00.002-05:00

I knew that Graham would be a wonderful big brother. Most of the time, he carries on like she's not even there but he can be very helpful when he wants to be. Here are a few pictures:

helping Daddy feed Libby

snuggling on the couch watching TV

comforting her when she was crying

sweet kisses

throwing away the diapers

We're on a Super Hero Kick...

2010-10-02T21:44:00.000-05:00

...and THIS is the reason why.
This is Ben's latest creation & who Graham is going to be for Halloween. And if that wasn't enough, the church's theme this month for the kids is SUPER HEROES.

Libby's First Week

2010-10-01T22:10:00.004-05:00

I went back & read this post that I wrote about Graham's first week & how we were adjusting to life with a baby. Libby is a lot like Graham was during that first week & her birth was even less eventful than Graham's (3 & 1/2 hours of labor, 16 minutes of pushing & BAM!) but it has still been an adjustment for us. I knew that things were going to be drastically different so I was prepared for things to be a lot more difficult than they have been. What I didn't remember was just how exhausting it can get when you have to get up in the middle of the night.

My concerns prior to her being born were quite different than they were when I had Graham. With Graham, we had absolutely no clue what we were getting ourselves into but this time I think we were a little more prepared. My biggest concern was simply that she wouldn't sleep at all but (fortunately) she is a champion sleeper just like Graham.

Here are a few things about Libby & her first week:

She had a little bit of jaundice that started when she was 4 days old but hers wasn't even as severe as Graham's & his went away within a week or so.
She cries when she's hungry & when she needs to be changed.
She is the only baby I have ever known to flat out refuse food... if she doesn't want to eat, she will clench her jaw shut so you can't even get the bottle in her mouth & if you do manage to get her to open her mouth she will refuse to swallow.
She takes about 2-3 oz every 3-4 hours & most of the time we have to wake her up to feed her.

Here are my favorite pictures from this week:

Overall, I have to admit that we have been blessed with two of the most wonderful kids anyone could ask for.

Family Resemblance

2010-09-29T22:20:00.005-05:00

I posted side by side photos of all of us when Graham was born so I decided to do that again with Libby. Right now, I really think she looks like my side of the family & I am really curious to see how much she changes over the next year. Graham looked a lot like my side of the family when he was born but now he is an exact clone of Ben. My dad sent me the next set of pictures the other day. It really shows just how much all of the babies on my side of the family resemble each other... especially those chubby little baby cheeks.

She's Finally Here!

2010-09-24T20:04:00.003-05:00

Elizabeth Leigh Eoff
7:36pm, 7lbs 12 oz, 19 3/4" long

Potty Training, Take One

2010-09-05T21:10:00.005-05:00

As a parent, I always want to make the perfect decisions for my kids & I never, ever, ever want to admit that I was wrong about something. Tonight, I am swallowing my pride & admitting that I think I might have made a mistake.

A few weeks ago, I posted on Facebook & Twitter that Graham had gone to get his diapers/wipes & sat down in the middle of the floor to have his diaper changed. I received some great advice from friends that have just gone through potty training that it might be time to look into that & some tips on how to go about it. I shrugged it off & was still content to wait until next summer. The next day I had to change his clothes twice within an hour because he started pulling off his diaper & going to the bathroom in his pants so I started to consider potty training him early. I already had a potty for him & I was almost out of diapers anyway so Ben & I talked about it & decided to go ahead. I naively thought that it would take 2 or 3 weeks of working with him before he would really catch on & things would start to get easier from there.

The first week he did absolutely great. By day 3, he was waking up with a dry diaper & going straight to the bathroom. He was really good about going right after he woke up & right after he ate. Through out the rest of the day, I had to constantly remind him & he would go sometimes but he was still going in the Pull Ups 3-4 times a day. I had saved an Elmo potty training song from YouTube on the iPod & would let him watch it while he was on the potty & if he was successful, we gave him jelly beans. After a few days, he would not sit on the potty without "Elmo" (which is now his new word for the iPod) & as soon as he got up from the potty (whether he went or not), he would go over to the jelly beans & request his "bean." I was starting to think that this was actually going to be easy but Graham had a few other ideas.

During the second week, we would occasionally let him go around the house without any bottoms on so he would learn to go over to the potty by himself & go without us having to remind him. That was bad idea #1 because he decided that he would just pee where ever he was at the moment instead of stopping what he was doing & going to the potty. Then he got to where he wouldn't even sit on the potty at all. If I did manage to get him to go over to the potty, he would run away as soon as you took the Pull Up off & go pee somewhere else. It got to be such a power struggle with him & it started spilling over into other areas. He would throw a temper tantrum over the least little things. At meal times, he would throw his food instead of eating it. And at nap times, he just wouldn't sleep at all.

Let me stop here & say that I don't believe in always letting him have his way when he misbehaves but there is a lot of things going on at our house right now. The baby furniture was moved from his room into the nursery. The playpen & baby swing are now out in the living room & visible. I am more tired & not able to do as much with him as I could a few months ago. He knows that something is going on. He'll point at my belly & say "baby" or wrap his arms around my waist & kiss my belly but I'm not sure of how much he actually understands at this point. And if all that wasn't enough, the weather here is starting to turn cold. I had him at the doctor last week because I thought he was getting sick. Thankfully, it's just seasonal allergies & the doctor recommended Claritin.

On a particularly frustrating day, Ben suggested that we put potty training on hold for a little while & go back to diapers. I didn't want to make an emotional decision so we decided to wait a little while longer before making a decision. The next day, I decided to change my method a little bit. Instead of actively trying to get him to sit on the potty & go to the bathroom, I simply asked him if he had to go. Most of the time he said "no" & I waited another half hour & asked again. He went a few times but most of the day, I ended up changing his wet Pull Ups just like they were diapers. The biggest difference was in his behavior. There were no temper tantrums (at least not that day), he played nicely, watched TV & even took a good 3 1/2 hour nap. I had a long conversation with a friend who went back to diapers & tried potty training again in a few months. I told Ben that I thought he was probably right & we decided to put potty training on hold for now & go back to diapers.

Here is where things stand right now. I think Graham is ready for potty training intellectually & physically but I don't think he's ready emotionally so he is back in diapers. The potty is still out where he can use it if he's willing. I still ask him if he wants to go on the potty occasionally but he has completely digressed & says "no" every single time I ask. We'll try actively potty training him again sometime after the first of the year. Probably during the winter when it's not likely that he'll be outside a lot.

I'm No Longer MIA

2010-09-05T20:00:00.002-05:00

I have been meaning to update you guys for over a week now & I just haven't had the time. If I were completely honest, I haven't had the energy either. We have a little less than 4 weeks until Libby's due date & I finally feel like I can say that we are as ready as we are ever going to be. The nursery is done. All her clothes are washed & put away. I have a stash of diapers & formula already going. I have my bag for the hospital & the new "diaper bag for two" packed & ready to go. I even have a nice stash of freezer meals ready for when we come home. I've done all that I can do at this point... except panic & that started this weekend. I'm not really concerned about the labor & delivery this time. My doctor has assured me that the drugs I have requested will be available at the hospital & that if she isn't here by her due date that they will induce labor on the 5th of Oct. I only have to make sure that my parents get here before she decides to make her arrival. I am mostly panicking about those initial 3 months where we will all be adjusting to life as a family of four while being sleep deprived & unsure of what her schedule & temperament will be like. Graham was such a laid back baby & a wonderful sleeper. He rarely cried & he pretty much set himself on a schedule. I keep telling myself that I have a schedule in place & I have the tools to work with her (if necessary) to help her fit easily into our daily life. It helps that I am able to stay home with my kids so I can take things easy for as long as I need to but I am also aware that babies are born with minds of their own & things might not go according to my plan.

If you've been reading our blog for a while then you know that I am a person that likes structure, organization & routine. You probably also know that Ben is the exact opposite & those things drive him absolutely insane. We balance each other nicely on most days. Graham seems to be a little more like me & does really well with a structured routine but he has just enough of his dad's personality to where he adjusts easily to "life on the go." I hope that Libby will get enough of my personality to easily adapt to the structure of our daily life as well but my biggest concern is that she will be the complete opposite & that there will never again be any predictability in our household.

I am aware that all this sounds crazy & that my hormones are really off-balance right now. I am also aware that I am already sleep deprived & just plain exhausted from daily life with a very active toddler. This stage of life is all too brief & new adventures will be just as challenging, just as new & just as nerve-wracking as this.

None of that was the original intention of this post so I will get to the news I was originally going to talk about. Three weeks ago there was a discrepancy in my measurements at the doctor's office so she decided to have a third ultrasound done as a precaution. She wanted to make sure that Libby was indeed growing as she is supposed to be & that everything was still in good shape. So last week, my appointment included an ultrasound & everything turned out to be fine. Her estimated weight at that time was 6 lbs, 8 oz & the sonographer predicted that she would weigh at least 8 lbs at birth. I was 35 weeks at the time of the ultrasound & the doctor says she was the size of a 37 week fetus. My measurements were still a little on the low side. Actually I was measuring the size of a 33 week pregnant but I am continuing to gain weight each week & her heart rates are all great so there is no more concern. Things are just a little crowded & a little uncomfortable at the moment but thankfully we have a healthy baby girl that will be here sometime between now & Oct 5.

Cloth Diapering... Not for Us

2010-08-25T14:14:00.002-05:00

At the end of last week, I finally received the box of cloth diapers that I ordered. Over this past weekend, we did a little bit of testing with them to see how we liked them & to decide whether we would use them for Libby or not. I had also ordered a package of cloth wipes that arrived earlier in the week so we could test those as well. I have to admit that when the box arrived & I actually saw them, I started to get skeptical. I wasn't sure how I was going to get these diapers on a very wiggly one year old but I was determined to at least try.

The actual diapering part was not that bad at all. Even the poopy diapers weren't as bad as I thought they were going to be but then I got to looking at the practicality of it. I thought that I had looked at this from every possible perspective & never really saw any issues. After actually having the diapers in my hand, I discovered that only one cloth diaper would fit in my "diaper pod" versus six (newborn size) disposable diapers. Since I am already dealing with a full diaper bag since we will be packing for two now, I just don't see how I can realistically use cloth diapers unless I stay at the house 24/7.

The final nail in the cloth diaper coffin came when I mentioned to Ben that I was kind of on the fence about whether or not I wanted to try to make them work & he admitted that he didn't really like the idea in the first place so we have decided that we are going to stay with disposable diapers.

And if all that wasn't enough to convince me to stick with cloth diapers, the coupon gods at Huggies & Target decided to send me $9 in diaper coupons this week so I went ahead & stocked up on the diapers that we will need for Libby.

2010-08-24T13:43:00.001-05:00

Graham & his cousin Natalie... I was so excited to see how well he did with her. There was absolutely no jealousy issues at all & he was so sweet to her. When I finished taking this picture & picked her back up, he got quite upset because he wanted to hold her & watch TV with her. It's a huge relief to have an early glimpse of how he will be as a big brother once Libby is born.

I had gotten this Melissa & Doug alphabet magnet set to go along with our alphabet learning. I thought it would be something fun that Graham could do by himself but I was wrong about this. The letters are wooden letters that have a colored piece of vinyl on the top & a thin magnet on the back. Graham decided that the letters made better chew toys than magnets so they started coming apart. Needless to day, this isn't a toy he gets to play with unless we are playing with him.

The back side of the magnet board is a dry erase board that Graham had a blast playing with. He loves to color so anything that lets him do that is a huge hit at our house.

He also loves anything electronic so I decided to let him play on the Fisher-Price website because they have this really neat ABC animal game specifically for toddlers. Graham loves to play it.

We also tried finger painting again & he did much better this time. He really seemed to like making a mess all over the place but after about 15 minutes, he was ready to move on to something else.

Since Graham did so well playing on my laptop, we decided to let him try playing on Ben's computer. He seemed to like it much better but he likes to do everything just like his daddy.

Well, that's some of what we've been up to for the last few weeks. There are more pictures & videos in our photo gallery so be sure to check them out too.

Tot School ~ The Mommy Guilt Edition

2010-08-23T13:04:00.004-05:00

As parents, we all want what's best for our kids. The best clothes. The latest toys. The biggest activities. There are millions of blogs & websites out there that will tell you what the "best moms" are doing for their kids. While I love reading all those sites & get tons of ideas daily, there is a downside. At least for me, if I am not careful, it can lead to unfairly comparing Graham to other kids & then I start to feel guilty. Guilty because I'm not doing as much with him as other moms are doing with their kids. Guilty because I didn't expose him to this experience or that activity. Guilty because Elmo & Barney have taught my kid more than I have. OK, maybe that last statement isn't completely accurate but Graham does love Elmo & Barney. If I were to look at things objectively, I would probably be able to see that a lot of these activities are being done by 3-4 year olds & there is little out there for 1-2 year olds but in my efforts to be the world's most fabulous mom, I tend to see things differently. Don't get me wrong. I think I have one of the smartest kids on the planet but I often wonder if I am doing enough. You may remember a while back that I posted about giving school a second try. I laid out a plan that I thought was flexible enough to allow Graham to still be a 1 year old but structured enough to where I had ideas of what to do with him. We tried it for a day or two then life happened & we got off schedule. Things were no longer happening on a weekly basis like I had hoped they would. To be perfectly honest, some of the things that I planned as structured activities (like the memory verse songs & Sesame Street podcasts) Graham does completely on his own at random times throughout the day & there's no time to grab the camera for pictures to make an official post. I have also found that if I concentrate more on having fun with him than taking pictures, we have a lot more fun & that to me is the real purpose of teaching toddlers. I say all this because I have decided that there will not be any "official" Tot School posts. We still have our structured daily routine. I still have a weekly chart of ideas/activities for Graham & I to do through out the day. I still have the same teaching goals & work on them when ever I can. I am simply going to be posting pictures & updates as they happen naturally instead of trying to force it.

Busy, Busy, Busy

2010-08-19T23:28:00.002-05:00

Things have been a little crazy around here lately. I haven't been on my computer much so I have a good many pictures & updates to post. For now, I just wanted to post a quick update. Hopefully, I'll be able to catch up on everything next week.

I decided to give cloth diapers a try & finally got around to ordering a package to test things out. They were just delivered today. I washed them tonight & we are going to start using them tomorrow. However, I will only have 3 days to make a decision because Graham has decided he's ready for potty training. We're going to start on Monday & I'll post more about that later in the week. Now that I have the cloth diapers, I am a little skeptical about what my ultimate decision will be. I'll also post more about that next week.

I have been working with Graham a little bit on his "school.". We've had a couple of things happen over the past few weeks so I haven't been consistent with it. We are still pretty much working on the alphabet as a whole & it seems to be paying off because Graham will now sing the complete alphabet. Again, I'll post more about this next week.

As of Saturday, we will only have 6 weeks left until Libby's due date. I started pulling the baby equipment out of storage a couple of weeks ago & this weekend we are going to set up her nursery. I also have our bag for the hospital & the new diaper bag for two partially packed. I decided to order a few things & I'm just waiting on them to be delivered so I can finish those up.

After this weekend things should calm down a bit & we'll be back to our regular routine... laundry, playing in the sandbox, naps for both Graham & Mama, cleaning, Tot School, running errands, cooking, dishes & waiting for October.

Call Me Crazy but...

2010-07-26T15:54:00.004-05:00

...I think I might actually be considering a switch to cloth diapers. In the past, my hesitation has been the initial cost of diapers but I found these by Econobum that are very reasonable.

I have been looking at several different ways to cut our living expenses & increase our savings. One of the ways that I have been doing that is by trying to cut our grocery bill. I have also been looking at ways to more easily shop for groceries since we are a one car family & will soon have 2 kids under the age of 3. Those two things combined have led me to doing some price comparisons between, not only our local stores but also between local stores & online delivery services.

The reality of how much money it takes to raise a child becomes a lot clearer when you look at the cost of things like diapers, wipes & formula in black & white. Just to give you an idea of where I am coming from, here is a glimpse at our diapering expenses:

A box of 80 regular diapers from Amazon is $26.79 - at a rate of 3-4 per day, this only lasts about 20 days... not even a whole month.
A box of 48 overnight diapers from Amazon is $25.06 - we use an overnight diaper at naptime too so this box would only last 24 days... again, not even an entire month.
A box of 84 newborn diapers from Amazon is $21.99 - if I remember correctly, with Graham we used about 6 diapers per day so this box would only last 14 days... OK, that's not even half of the month.
So, even if I were to be able to magically make each of these boxes last for an entire month, I would be spending $73.84 on just diapers. More realistically, I am looking at 1 box & 1/2 for each of Graham's diapers & 2 boxes of Libby's diapers, so I am spending about $121.76 every month.
I have about another year of Graham being in diapers before we start potty training & probably about 3 years of Libby being in diapers before we start potty training her. That means that Huggies can still expect at least another $2,516.64 in the future.
I didn't even factor in the $20 that I spend about every 2 months on refill liners for my diaper genie.

Here are the pros & cons of cloth diapering as I see it:

Pro - The Econobum kit, that includes 12 prefolds & 3 diaper covers, is only $49.95 & based on our current diaper consumption this should last for an entire day with two children.
Pro - If I bought 2 kits per month over the next 4 months, I would save $87.44 during those 4 months & a grand total of $2,117.04 over the course of the next 3 years.
Pro - Since the cloth diapers are one size & they are white, I can use the same diapers for both kids & never have to worry about changing sizes or keeping them separated.
Con - Over the next 4 months, I would probably have to wash a load of diapers every day but after I had all 8 sets, I should have enough to get through an entire week so I guess this would only be a temporary inconvenience.
Con - The idea of shaking poopy diapers into the toilet kind of bothers me but I'm not really sure why that is. I guess it would just be something that I would have to get used to doing.
Con - I am not really sure about how Graham would do in these diapers overnight. He sleeps a good 12 hours every night & I don't know how absorbent these prefolds actually are.

Now that I really look at things in black & white, I don't see my reasons for not doing this as good enough. Guess, it's time to talk dollars & sense... oops, I mean cents to Ben & get him on board.

Before you think I've completely lost it, I am not yet considering these cloth wipes but I just might change my mind after figuring out that we will go through a large box of wipes (648 count) about every 2 weeks. At a cost of $20.31 per box from Amazon, we will spend about $1,584.18 on just wipes. Wow, that seems really high for some reason. The cloth wipes are $11.95 for a set of 12 & I think that one set would last the entire day for us. So, after purchasing 8 sets, we could save an additional $1,488.58 over the next 3 years. OK, maybe my mind is already changed.

I found out about the website for cloth diapers from Raising Arrows, who is actually giving away a One-Size FuzziBunz on her blog this week. She talks about her experience traveling with cloth diapers & FOUR kids but I'm still not completely convinced that my 2 kids + a 12 hour car ride + cloth diapers is a venture I'm ready to take on. I've got until December to decide so I think I'll put that decision off for a little while & take things one step at a time.

Observations from Life with a Toddler

2010-07-26T13:09:00.004-05:00

If you follow me on Twitter or if you ever read my Twitter feed that's in the sidebar of this blog, then you know that my day is pretty much a constant stream of randomness. From simple victories to exciting accomplishments to frustrating temper tantrums. We pretty much go through it all.

This morning, as Graham & I were playing outside, I noticed a few things that just kind of struck me. I love watching him as he plays, as he starts to figured out the world around him & as he is so content with the simple things of life. Here are a few random things that I noticed this morning:

Persistence pays off! I watched Graham for almost 2 hours this morning take a watering can & move water from the pool to a bucket then dump it out & start all over again. Here's a quick video:

Ask with expectancy! When Graham hands us something that he wants us to do for him, he expects that we are going to do it for him. When his cup is empty & he wants more milk, he hands his cup to you & says "thank you!" He rarely says "please" unless he's prompted to say it but he always says "thank you" & most of the time he says it while he's requesting whatever he wants from you.

Manipulation starts early & it's not a trick you have to teach. This morning was the first time that I actually noticed this going on but I'm sure it has happened before. We were playing outside with the water buckets & Graham would bring me the empty buckets to fill up for him. I did it for a time or two then I started telling him to do it for himself. At one point, he looked up at me & said "but I love you" while still trying to hand me the empty bucket to fill up for him. It was really hard not to laugh.

Praise is encouraging! Whenever Graham does something that isn't either annoying or unsafe, I try to praise him. We tell him "good job" & clap or cheer for him. It never has to be anything big just simply something that I don't mind if he continues to do. Once he gets that praise, he will repeat whatever he is doing over & over again, looking at you after each time so you can cheer him on. He even cheers himself on most of the time.

And that's about it as far as our morning went. Hope y'all are having as much fun as we are!

Mamarazzi Monday: I LOVE my Camera!

2010-07-26T12:22:00.004-05:00

I decided to participate in this week's Mamarazzi Monday because I've reached several photo/video milestones in the past week. I love taking pictures & I am quite obsessive about it. You can always find the latest & greatest in our photo gallery.

Last week, I took the 2,000th picture of this year.

And this weekend, I took the 6,300th picture since Graham was born.

This past week I also took the 300th video of Graham.

Saturday Morning Fun

2010-07-25T22:35:00.004-05:00

This weekend we decided to take Graham to one of the local parks & he had so much fun. He is such a bundle of energy & now that the weather is better, he loves being outside. In the mornings, one of the first things he does is run to the back door & say "Outside! Outside!" The park was a great place for him to explore & by the time we left, he was one tired little boy.

This was his first time on a swing set.

And his first experience with dizziness.

30 weeks ~ 20 months

2010-07-25T22:30:00.004-05:00

This weekend we reached two milestones:

I reached the 30 week mark in my pregnancy

and

Graham turned 20 months old!

We're Giving "School" a Second Try

2010-07-23T00:33:00.010-05:00

Earlier this year I found two really great sites for teaching toddlers & I really wanted to more actively "teach" Graham. My first attempt didn't go so well because I was dealing with morning sickness & then our summer was incredibly busy. I decided to put this project on hold for a little while, get things around here under control a bit better & do a little more research & planning into what types of activities I wanted to do with Graham.

Most of my information comes from 1+1+1=1, Totally Tots & Activity Mom.These are the best resources that I have found for toddlers & I just love all the ideas that I can find there on a regular basis. A few weeks ago, I learned about Songs for Saplings & downloaded their CD from iTunes. This is a CD that takes a Bible memory verse for every letter of the alphabet & makes a fun little song out of it. Totally Tots has printables for each of these verses but I'm not sure if we'll use them or not. I'm going to try & see how things go. I also subscribe to the Sesame Street Podcast for Graham & they have recently started going through the alphabet as well so we'll still be working our way through the alphabet but I'm not sure that I'll spend the entire week just focusing on letters. We really need to work on cooperation & listening activities & I have found so many other craft & activity ideas over the internet that I am just going to go with whatever I come up with.

However, in keeping with the alphabet theme, I was in Toys R Us the other week getting the new Elmo DVD & an alphabet magnet board. I noticed they had flash cards in one of the clearance bins so I decided to pick up a set of the ABCs & a set of the numbers 1-100 to use with Graham too. I really don't know how well this will go over but I'm going to try & see how things go.

My friend Jill & I have been talking a little about what we are teaching our boys & sharing resources. At their house Seeds Family Worship is a huge success & I have watched a few videos on their YouTube Channel. I haven't tried any of them with Graham yet but I plan to incorporate them however I can. I have also stumbled across the Go Fish Guys & they are great for Graham! They also do silly little songs using Bible verses & Graham loves to dance around the living room while they play. The first one he watched was The 10 Commandments & I bet he played it over & over at least 100 times.

At this point, I am still not sure what other resources I will use. I love getting him books for Barnes & Noble but I have run out of room on his bookshelf. I am thinking about this as a storage solution but I have to figure out where to put it before I can actually start. I have a lot of organizational & cleaning out type tasks to take care of before Libby is born & I have found so many different ideas online that I want to implement so now I just need to move on to the task of doing some of them through out the next few months.

OK, back to the topic of "school." We are starting again on Monday & I promise to keep you up-to-date on how things are progressing. I hope to have tons of pictures to go along with each post but I guess it all depends on how much cooperation I get from Graham.

The Plans for this upcoming week are:
Memory Verse: Keep me as the apple of your eye. Psalm 17:8a
Sesame Street Podcast: Celebrate the letter "A!"
Try playing the ABC Zoo Game online
The letter A (is for Apple) & a (is for alligator) flash cards
Watch ABCs with Elmo
Play with the ABC magnets
Read with the Tag Jr: ABC Animal Orchestra

I am very optimistic this time & I really hope to get a lot of cooperation out of Graham. However, I am going into this only expecting about 5 minutes of his attention before he's wanting to go outside or run around the living room.

Swimming Lessons, Part 2

2010-07-14T14:05:00.004-05:00

Yesterday swimming lessons were canceled due to a thunderstorm & I had a very unhappy little boy on my hands. I referred to him on Twitter & Facebook as a fish of a boy & today I think he decided to prove it. I thought swimming lessons for his age group was just about exposure to the water & getting them comfortable with it. There are a few kids in his class that are scared of the water but not too many. Graham decided to take things to a whole new level & actually swim today. Yes, I said swim... by himself (with only two noodles supporting him) & I have the video to prove it.

I am one proud mama! The screaming that you can hear is one of the other kids that is still quite scared of the water... it isn't Graham. He loves being in the water.

The other part of the lessons that Graham really likes is jumping into the pool from the side. Here's another video:

This is only Day 2 & I am already amazed at what he can do. I can't wait to see what all he learns over the next 2 weeks.

On a side note: Our pool is so awesome! Every weekday, until noon, they have kid's swim. The kiddie pool is the only part open to the public & they don't allow children over the age of 5. The yearly membership was a little more than I wanted to spend this year so we didn't join. I am regretting that decision now but we plan to try the pool out once or twice more this summer & just pay the daily rate to see if it will actually be worth it for next summer.

WFMW: Organizing My Online Finds

2010-07-14T12:59:00.006-05:00

I have recently become more active in some of the many blog carnivals, Memes, whatever you want to call them that are online. It's a great way to find new & interesting blogs to read, meet some incredible people & get some of the most fabulous ideas for things to do. For me, finding things to do is an absolute necessity to keeping my sanity.

I can't tell you how many times I have found something online that I wanted to try with Graham & not been able to implement it right away. I had to come up with a way to keep all those ideas until I was ready to use them but I didn't want to have thousands of bookmarks to sort through online & I didn't want to run the risk of the idea disappearing from the internet before I could get back to it. So I came up with the following plan:

When I come across something online that I want to keep, I highlight whatever portions of the webpage that I want to save then "print" it as a PDF document. I could print it on paper & file it away but I HATE having papers just lying around. The PDF document also includes the URL where I found the info so I am able to give credit to the original owner when I get around to implementing the idea.
I save the PDF documents in a file on my computer labeled "Temporary Files" until I can go back & actually look at the instructions in detail & decide what I want to do with the idea permanently.
Sometimes, it's an idea that I can do right away & sometimes I move it to my "Ideas" folder to be used at a later date.

It's not a perfect system, but it Works for Me! For more great ideas, visit this week's Works for Me Wednesday over at We are THAT Family.

Paperclips & Foam

2010-07-13T20:03:00.002-05:00

I have noticed recently that there is some room for improvement with some of Graham's fine motor skills. He's great at figuring out the things that we don't want him to like the childproofing on the cabinets, our phones, the toilets, opening the doors... the list could go on. But when it comes to things like his puzzles or the shape sorter, he won't do it... he wants you to do it for him. Don't get me wrong, I do NOT think there is any kind of developmental issues here. I actually think it's more of a... cooperation issue. Nevertheless, I have decided to be more intentional about working with him on these skills.

I came across this fabulous idea over at Totally Tots for using colored paperclips & strips of foam for developing fine motor skills & for teaching color recognition/matching. Maybe it will help a little in the cooperation & listening to directions department too. The idea became even more fabulous when I realized that I already had all the supplies needed on hand & I could make these immediately. So, after nap time & snack time today, I decided to try them out.

At first he just wanted to try & see how many he could hold in his hands at one time. Once I showed him how to take the paperclips off & put them back on again, he immediately starting taking off all of the paper clips. I tried to work with him on putting them back on the the foam but he wouldn't have any part of that. He loves to take the tops off of markers & put them back on so I was a little surprised that he wouldn't do that with the paperclips but I decided not to push it today. I just let him play, taking all the paper clips off one by one. As he was playing I would ask him if he could say the color names. "Graham, can you say _____?" He would repeat all of the color names except purple for some reason. When I asked him if he could say purple, he just said "No!" I asked him each of the color names several times & he would give me the same response each time... he would repeat all the color names except purple.

Here's a couple of pictures that I took while he was playing:

My Ten Favorite Movies

2010-07-12T23:10:00.001-05:00

If you know anything about our family then you know that I am not exactly the "movie buff" in our household. Ben watches about 2-3 movies a week from Netflix & countless others that he finds on TV at random times. He LOVES movies & he has fond memories of going to the theater as a kid with his dad & his brother... a tradition he wants to pass on to our kids too. We've been talking a lot about this since Toy Story 3 came out. (I think he was hoping that Graham would be old enough to go with him, but he isn't so Ben went to see it without us.) For this week's Top Ten Tuesday, I am posting my list of favorite movies & let me preface this by saying that this is my list & Ben doesn't necessarily agree with all of them. As a matter of fact, we have very different taste in movies so his list would probably have ten completely different movies on it. So, here it is:

Eight Seconds (1994)... a wonderful story about the life of Lane Frost, 1987 PRCA Bull Riding World Champion, who was tragically killed July 30, 1989.
Pride & Prejudice (2005)... based on Jane Austen's most popular novel about 5 sisters in 18th century England & their quest for love & happiness.
Gone with the Wind (1939)... a classic film about the love story of Scarlett O'Hara & Rhett Butler during the Civil War.
The Godfather (1972)... the saga of the Corleone mafia family.
Casablanca (1942)... a sentimental story of political espionage & romance set in Africa during the early days of WWII.
Pirates of the Caribbean (2003-2007)... this trilogy follows the quest of Captain Jack Sparrow, a rogue pirate, Will Turner, a resourceful blacksmith, & Elizabeth Swann, the woman they are both in love with.
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)... a Gothic tale about a Paris Opera House that is haunted by a mysterious ghost who terrorizes the cast & crew for the benefit of a young protege whom he trains & loves.
Driven (2001)... the story of a young rookie driver in the middle of a championship season & the pressure he faces off the track.
Son-in-Law (1993)... a comedy about a small town farm girl who returns home from college with a flamboyant best friend.
The Princess Bride (1987)... a fairy tale love story full of adventure.

The descriptions listed for each of these movies were found from various sources online & are not my own.

For more, Top Ten Tuesday posts, visit ohAmanda. You'll love her blog!

Swimming Lessons

2010-07-12T19:55:00.006-05:00

I have gotten a lot of questions about how Graham did with his swimming lessons.
He did really awesome today. We still have 3 more lessons this week & four next week. It will be interesting to see how he progresses & what all he learns. Here's a quick run-down on what happened today:

He didn't really want to sit in the circle & kick his feet. He wanted to run around & splash in the water so we had a little bit of a rough start.
He also didn't want to put his face in the water & make bubbles either... maybe he'll be doing this by the end of the lessons but I'm not so sure.
Floating on the noodle in the deeper water was a huge hit with him. He would paddle his arms & kick his feet just like he was going somewhere.
I was a little nervous about him jumping off the side & into the water (with me catching him, of course). I don't think he was too sure about it at first but after a little help from Daddy, he started to really enjoy it.
He didn't want to float on his back either but I don't really blame him. I don't like to float on my back in the water either.
The lessons ended with the kids playing with some water toys & it probably comes as no surprise that Graham picked a ball to throw around the pool.
When it was time to go, we really had a hard time getting him to leave so I guess that's proof that he was having a great time.

This class is really about exposing toddlers to the water & because of our trip to the beach earlier this summer, Graham has had a lot of exposure to the water. On a slightly different note, the aquatic center where his lessons are being held has got to be the most awesome public pool EVER... 3 pools, a huge water slide & a lazy river. They also have what they call "kiddie swim" during the morning on weekdays where no kids over the age of 5 are allowed. We will definitely be going back for some "non-lesson" swimming time since the pool that we had for the backyard still has a leak in it but that's another story for another day. The short version is that, unfortunately, we are going to have to throw the pool away. I may get another one for next summer but we'll just have to see. I did get incredibly lucky & found a sprinkler attachment for the hose at Wal-mart for $1 (also another story for another day) so we'll still be able to have some fun in the water in our backyard too.

As a side note: This week on The Trendy Treehouse's Shutter Love Tuesday the theme is "by the pool." Hop on over there to view everybody's fabulous poolside pictures.

Menu Plan Monday

2010-07-12T10:16:00.006-05:00

For the Week of July 11 - 17

I actually had a menu plan for this past week & followed it very well. While we were gone over the weekend, the freezer door on our refrigerator came open so everything that I had stockpiled was ruined. I ended up having to do all my grocery shopping for the week again on Tuesday & I think the added expense helped me stick to my plan. Also, on Tuesday, the chest freezer that I ordered was delivered so now I am really trying to focus on stockpiling meals for after Libby is born. I have finally reached the 3rd trimester so there isn't too much time left.

This week, Graham is starting swimming lessons so our meal plan is all about what's quick & easy:

Breakfasts for the week:

banana-mango smoothies (I've made several of these for the freezer)
granola bars
sausage balls (I'm making a huge batch so there'll be some for the freezer)
bananas & watermelon (our favorite fruits)
scrambled eggs & toast
cinnamon & sugar muffins
cereal

Lunches for the week:

homemade pizza (there's still an extra one in the freezer for later)
leftovers
tuna melts & a can of pears

Snacks for the week:

frozen Go-Gurt (Graham thinks they're popsicles)
grapes
applesauce (this makes a huge batch for the freezer)
popcorn
raisins
chocolate pudding

Dinners for the week:

chicken nuggets, fries & baked beans
taco salads
chicken dijon, mashed potatoes & green peas
hamburgers, potato wedges & corn
chicken bake & green peas
meatloaf, mashed potatoes & green peas

I think I let my cravings dictate what we are having this week because I just noticed that it's a lot of potatoes & I guess we're having green peas three nights this week. I may change that but we'll see.

For other great menu ideas, visit Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday.

I've Added 20 Weeks to My Life

2010-07-09T14:21:00.005-05:00

I have this counter on my Google homepage that shows me how long it's been since I quit smoking (131 weeks & 3 days), how much money I've saved by not buying cigarettes ($3, 680.49) & how much of my life I have saved. I noticed today that I have now saved 20 weeks of my life by staying smoke-free. It has gotten much easier as time has passed. Of course, I am much busier now so that helps a lot. My biggest hurdle was that I smoked out of boredom. Now, I bite my nails & have a Twitter addiction to occupy my time. So, in honor of the additional 20 weeks of life that I now have, I am reposting what I wrote once I reached 60 Days Smoke-Free

Many of you know that my Grandpa passed away this past September from lung cancer. His diagnosis came not long after Ben & I got married in 2006. And while this should have been my wake up call to deal with my smoking habit, it wasn't.

This year, I finally let go of a 15 year habit & smoked my last cigarette 60 days ago. While I am extremely pleased with my success, I am not celebrating just yet. I still have days where I find it a challenge to remain smoke-free. I may never be free from the cravings but I made this decision for myself, for my family, & for my future children. I know there are a lot of people praying for me as I continue to face this challenge because I would not be where I am today without their support. Thank you will never be enough.

I have to say that everything I wrote at that time is still true today. Even after all this time, it is still a challenge to remain smoke-free. I just take it one day at a time but I am still extremely proud of myself.

It's All About Our Little Guy

2010-07-08T21:45:00.007-05:00

I have always heard people say that "kid's say the darndest things" & I always believed it but now I AM LIVING IT. Graham's vocabulary is really picking up. He is quite the chatterbox & you never know what is going to come out of his mouth at any given moment. Last week, Ben was changing him & Graham told him to "stop." Ben, of course, didn't stop so Graham looked at him & told him, "I said stop!" I guess he's probably heard that a time or two. It's hard not to laugh & sometimes I just can't help it.

He also repeats EVERYTHING that you say to him. I first noticed it when we were at the beach but now he has gotten more consistent with it. He has a habit of throwing his pajamas or the diaper off the changing table while we are changing him. The other day, I told him that was "not nice" so now every time I change him, he throws his clothes on the floor & says "not nice" then laughs hysterically.

Speaking of laughing hysterically, yesterday morning I don't think we did anything but laugh at each other. I don't even remember how it started but we just laughed & laughed all morning. He would go to the other end of the couch then run over to where I was sitting & wrap his arms around my neck or he would put the end pillows up to my face & then take it down saying "boo!" He has started to actually turn the crank on his jack-in-the-box so every time it pops up, he says "pop" then bursts out laughing. He likes to give Eskimo kisses but he can't keep from giggling while he does it so it really just ends up with him laughing uncontrollably. The other day, we were doing this & he started licking my nose then bursting out in laughter. There is definitely never a dull moment at our house & I couldn't love it anymore!

I love the fact that he is getting more vocal because he can tell me what he wants for the most part. If he's thirsty, he'll bring me his cup & say "more." If he's hungry, he will sometimes say "eat" but he's not quite consistent with this one. When he's done doing something, he'll say "all done" & when he is tired he'll say "night-night." He almost always says "thank you" but he still needs a little prompting in order to say "please." He can count to ten but most of the time he just says "one, two... ten!" Right now, I am working on trying to get him to say his name. He tries but it's still a little too difficult for him right now.

Some people have asked if he understands that he's getting a baby sister in October & I'm really not sure how much he understands. I have a picture of my niece, Natalie, on the refrigerator & he will point to it & say "baby" then he will point at my belly & say "baby" but I still don't think he really gets it. We haven't talked about it much around him & we have just started getting the few things that we need for her so I don't think he'll really comprehend it until after she is born.

On a slightly different note, we just got back from our final summer trip this past Monday. I love traveling but I am so glad to be back at home. It's been nice to kind of hang out at home this week. We finally got Graham a sandbox for the backyard & he loved playing in it today. Here's a picture of some of the fun:
Yesterday, I got out the finger paints to see how he would do with them. He didn't want to paint for very long & I'm not sure why. I had the colors on individual plates & I think the next time I am just going to put them all on one & see if that makes a difference. Here's a video of him towards the end of his painting time. You can hear him saying "all done" as he's playing with the plates.
There are more pictures & videos from the past few weeks in our photo gallery, so be sure to go check them out. Don't forget to check back over the next few weeks for more updates, we start our two weeks of swimming lessons on Monday & Graham has gotten his first invitation to a birthday party that's coming up on the 17th!

I've linked this post to Friday Funnies over at Little Bishop Chronicles

A Quick Update

2010-06-27T18:14:00.002-05:00

Today Graham is 19 months + 2 days old... the exact age that I was on the day Brandon was born.

We only have 97 days left until Libby's due date & there's still so much to do around the house. Yesterday, I was quite overwhelmed by this but after 2 very productive days this weekend, I am starting to feel a little better about being able to get everything done.

This weekend I finally went to get a small chest freezer for our garage. It's being delivered the week after the fourth. I am starting to do a lot of "double batch cooking" so we have some dinners stockpiled for once Libby arrives.

There probably won't be too many more updates over the next few months. I'll try to update the photo gallery as much as possible.

It's Different This Time

2010-06-22T23:44:00.006-05:00

So, I'm a little late to the party but I guess it's better late than never, right?

1. I have hardly blogged about this pregnancy at all. So I decided that I would participate in this week's Top Ten Tuesday & write about the top ten differences between this pregnancy with Libby & my previous pregnancy with Graham.

2. The nesting phase still hasn't started. When I was pregnant with Graham, I went through a nesting phase during my entire second trimester. I will be 25 weeks along on Saturday & I still haven't found the urge to scrub my baseboards or clean out my cabinets.

3. I am so much more tired this time around. Thus the reason, I believe, that the nesting hasn't started. At this point, I don't expect the exhaustion to go away. Between chasing an 18 month old during the daylight hours & fighting with insomnia at night, I don't see any hope of it ending anytime soon. I have come to the conclusion that life might return to some version of "normal" after the first of the year.

4. I really miss being able to sleep in until noon. When I was pregnant with Graham, the insomnia didn't matter much. I just slept whenever & didn't worry about a schedule too much. Now, sleeping in is only an option on Saturdays when Ben gets up with Graham & I can catch up on a week's worth of sleep.

5. I think this little girl might give David Beckham a run for his money. I know I probably said that about Graham too & at that time, I meant it. There were hours throughout the day where Graham would be still. I swear that Libby never, ever gets still. I am a 24/7 soccer ball at this point. I just hope this isn't an indication that she's going to be more active than Graham. God help us, I don't think that's possible.

6. The reality of being pregnant didn't set in until after we found out we were having a girl. With Graham, it just seemed real right from the beginning. It probably had to do with too much reading, way too much worrying about the unknown & a whole lot of shopping to take my mind off other things. This time, I kind of felt like I was dreaming it for the first half.

7. Even though I had morning sickness, I was able to eat real foods. With Graham, I lived off of Saltines & Sprite for the first 12 weeks. With Libby, I was sick for the first 14 weeks but I was still able to eat normal meals. In fact, this time, eating made me feel much better.

8. There isn't much to shop for this time around. I'm not real sure how I feel about this because I love to shop for my kids but when I was buying the tings we needed for Graham, I made sure that everything was neutral. I knew we would eventually have another & I didn't want to rebuy everything in the event that we had a girl. Thanks to my frugalness, there are only about 3 or 4 things that I absolutely have to buy before she arrives.

9. I gained weight in the first trimester then starting losing weight in the second. In my first pregnancy, I lost 10lbs in the first 12 weeks then gained 37lbs over the remaining 28 weeks. This time, I gained about 8lbs during the first trimester then I lost about 5lbs for some reason. The doctor prescribed protein drinks between meals for extra calories & I started gaining weight again. Hopefully, I'll be able to quit drinking the protein drinks soon.

10. This is it! So, no one ask me when Baby Eoff #3 is coming because it isn't. I always knew that I wanted at least 2 kids so when I was pregnant with Graham, I knew that I would be doing it again. This time, it will take an act of God for me to do this again.

For more, Top Ten Tuesday posts, visit ohAmanda. You'll love her blog!

It's All About the Animals

2010-06-22T11:33:00.001-05:00

Here recently it seems that life at the Eoff house has been all about animals. Aside from the fact that on any given day you can find Graham chasing one of the cats up & down the back of the couch. We took him to the Atlanta Zoo while we were in GA visiting my parents. During our recent trip to AR, Graham got to visit with some of cousin Craig's horses. I think he might have been a little intimidated by them because he wouldn't pet them but he didn't shy away from them either.

Once we got home to IL, we took him to the petting zoo while his Nana was here visiting. And although he seemed fascinated by the animals, he still wouldn't pet any of them either.

Overall, we've had a great couple of weeks & we're halfway through the events scheduled for the summer. Coming up... another trip to AR for the 4th of July & swimming lessons.

Happy Father's Day

2010-06-20T01:14:00.003-05:00

Happy Father's Day to the best Daddy a kid could ask for!
Love,
Graham

Testing, Testing 123

2010-06-10T13:16:00.002-05:00

I recently downloaded a blogging app for my iPhone & need to test it out. I tried mobile blogging from the beach using Google's instructions & it didn't work so I went on a search for another way to make short posts while we were on the road this summer. I decided to try BlogWriter because they have a free version that you can use to test things out before you purchase the full version. I have to get the full version before i can post pictures but what do you guys think. Anyone have any suggestions on better apps than BlogWriter?

Summer Vacation

2010-06-07T22:15:00.007-05:00

It has been a whirlwind week & to say that I don't know where to begin would be an understatement. So much has happened this week. It was an exciting yet exhausting week for Ben & I. Graham had so much fun at the beach & the zoo this week. There were so many pictures that I can't possibly post them all here so be sure to check out our photo gallery to see them all.

We started the weekend by getting together with my mom's family in Augusta. I had hoped to take a bunch of family pictures while we were there but Graham had other ideas. He wanted to visit with everybody & play with his cousin Walker. He was definitely not in the mood to sit still. I did manage to get the one picture that I wanted most of all:

We left Augusta Monday morning & headed to Myrtle Beach for the week. Graham loved the ocean from the very beginning. He went running straight for the water. On the second day, we took him out in the little boat that my mom had gotten for him. Graham, of course, tried to stand up & climb out of it. The waves knocked him down & he was a little timid in the water for about a day & a half but he quickly got over it.

He loved getting to hang out with his daddy all week. They had so much fun together. Here's a video of them playing in the ocean.

We discovered that Graham is a lot like me when he is on vacation. I get up at the crack of dawn & go nonstop until I fall over from exhaustion. He woke up every morning about 2 hours earlier than he does at home & most days didn't take a nap until 1 or 2 in the afternoon. I would get up with him in the mornings & try to keep him contained to our camp while my dad was setting up the stuff on the beach & Ben enjoyed the rare treat of getting to sleep in. From the moment we got outside, Graham would walk around the camp calling for his "Papa" until my dad came back to camp.

Graham also had a few new experiences while we were at the beach. His Dad & Grandpa fed him crawdads & frog legs for dinner one night (which he loved) & his Grandmother gave him his fill of coffee every morning.

Once we were back in Georgia, Graham got his first haircut. Our friend, Bobbie, has been cutting everyone in my family's hair for well over 15 years & we wanted her to be the first to cut Graham's. He didn't really sit still for her, even after we gave him a sucker but it turned out great in the end. It's a little sad for me because it's just one more thing that proves my baby is becoming a boy.

We spent our last afternoon in Georgia at the Atlanta Zoo with Jeff & Sherrie. Graham loves animals & this was his first time at the zoo. It was so hot but he had so much fun. He started pointing at the different animals while saying "look" & his Aunt Sherrie taught him how to say "Wi-Wee Wee" when we saw the gorillas.

This morning he slept in until 11:30 (he went to bed at 8pm like normal) so I know that he was as exhausted as the rest of us were.

We still have 2 more trips in the upcoming month & Ben's mom is coming to visit for a week then we have 2 weeks of swimming lessons toward the end of July. It's going to be a very busy summer for us but I am loving every minute of it.

An Update on the Entire Eoff Crew

2010-05-14T22:38:00.010-05:00

It's been quite a week & I have to say that I am really glad that it's the weekend! I've been busy with all the "normal" things... laundry, dishes, cooking, cleaning, changing diapers & keeping Graham off the top of the table. He recently learned how to pull the chair out & climb up by himself so it's now my full time job just to keep his feet on the ground.
This is his new favorite spot to watch TV.
I recently went through some of his toys that I had put away b/c he had either outgrown them or wasn't yet ready for them. The main thing that I found was a set of foam blocks that I had taken away b/c he was eating them instead of playing with them. He is really enjoying playing with them "properly" now.

The other day I sat down to stack them with him & he made a game out of knocking over my tower then squealing with delight.
It was a lot of fun... for both of us.

He is still doing really well in his "big boy" bed. The only downside is that he has quit sleeping in until 9 or 10 & now he gets up between 7 & 8 everyday. I was really spoiled by him sleeping in so late so now I am trying to adjust to this new schedule.

He is starting to get more "snuggly" & I am definitely loving this. I don't know if it's just because I'm pregnant or if he's just getting more affectionate but I'll take it either way. We don't talk a lot about the new baby... mostly because there isn't much to talk about yet but that's about to change SOON! We find out next Friday whether it's a boy or a girl so we'll be able to start making definite plans & purchases. Everyone else seems to think it's a girl but my gut is telling me it's another boy. Either way, our family will be complete & we will be excited!

As for Ben, he is still really enjoying his job & he is still really awesome about helping me out around the house. Especially now since this pregnancy has just exhausted me. He gets very little free time but he still draws, plays video games & watches TV with me whenever he can. Here's the latest thing that he has posted on his site:

I am trying to get as much rest as possible. At least 2 or 3 days a week, I take a nap when Graham does. Since I got a Nook for Mother's Day, I have been reading a lot more & I am trying to work on getting more of my scrapbooking done.
Here is one of my favorites:

I used a template created by Nicole Young & inserted my own photo.

If you'd like to see more of Graham's photos, Ben's artwork or my scrapbooking, visit our photo gallery for the complete collections.

What's On My Mind? I'm Glad You Asked

2010-05-04T13:05:00.006-05:00

Those of you who have been reading The Eoff Family Update for a while probably remember that I often had strange things running through my mind when I was pregnant with Graham. Honestly, I don't think it's just because of my pregnancy but I've got to use the excuse while I can. There are days when I seriously wonder whose brain cells are in my head & where did mine go but at least it keep life entertaining. So today I am going to share with you the Top Ten questions running through my mind (in no particular order):

How is it that I just gave birth yesterday yet my baby turned 17 months old last week?
How am I only 18 weeks pregnant but we found out ages ago that we were having a second baby? And how are my other friends pregnancies going by so fast?
How is it that even after 17 months of being a mother, I still wonder if I'm ever going to actually feel like a parent? Better still, am I ever going to feel like a grown up?
How am I 29 years old & still wondering when I became old enough to graduate elementary school? Never mind the fact that my 10 year high school reunion was this past summer.
How can I be such a mean mother that I can deny my child his 500th cookie when he flashes those baby blues & says "pease, pease" so politely?
Is there anything better in life than your toddler grabbing your face, giving you a kiss & saying "I Jew" (which is actually I love you in English)?
How do I stay so busy that I can't get anything done yet at the end of the day I seemed to have accomplished nothing? My mother will call & ask what I'm doing or Ben will come home & ask what happened during our day & my response is always "nothing." What in the world do I do all day?
How can I possibly have moments where I am bored when I have an endless to do list, numerous "toys" & a toddler to keep me constantly entertained? And why, for Pete's sake, do I have so many channels on the TV but can't seem to find anything to watch other than Nick Jr or Playhouse Disney?
How is it possible to be exhausted after just waking up from sleeping 10 hours?
How does one forget what it's like to be pregnant & give birth in less than 2 years time? I just started being able to feel this baby kick & it is still just as wonderfully weird as I think it was the first time around.

Top Ten Tuesday is being hosted this week by It's Come 2 This.

Bye Bye Crib

2010-04-30T14:01:00.005-05:00

I was not expecting to have to write this post. As a matter of fact, I never thought that I would have to utter these words. Don't get me wrong. I knew that Graham would eventually move from the crib into an actual bed but we were planning on doing it NEXT SUMMER. Graham had other ideas. I do have to admit that if Graham wasn't going to wait until next summer to outgrow the crib then this was the perfect timing. We still have about 5 months to get him completely adjusted to it before the new baby comes. So, here's the story of what happened:

Yesterday when I went to get Graham up from his nap, I watched as he used his upper body strength to pull himself up & try to flip over the top of the crib railing. In his first attempt, he caught his foot & fell back on his butt. In the second attempt, I happened to be standing right there & he grabbed a hold of my neck & I pulled him out safely. I was in shock so I called Ben at work. When he got home, we went out shopping for toddler beds. I found one that I liked & we got Graham some Toy Story bedding & a matching nightlight. We made a huge deal out of it today & I think it went pretty well. Here's a picture of him just before naptime today:
He cried for a few minutes when we first left the room but he calmed down & went to sleep in less than 5 minutes. When I peeked in on him, he was still in the bed.

UPDATE 05-03-2010:
I am amazed at how well Graham does in his bed. Friday night he cried for about 20 minutes before he actually gave in & went to sleep. I went in to check on him twice during that time & both times he was still in the bed even though he was crying. I finally went & got a video monitor so I can actually see what's going on in his room without having to go in & disturb him. I am able to see that he stays in the bed after we leave the room & doesn't get out of it until it's time to get up. Most mornings, he doesn't even get out of the bed until we go into his room to get him. He has even quit crying when we leave the room. We tuck him in & he goes to sleep like nothing at all has changed. I am so happy that this transition has been easy!

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-26T13:25:00.001-05:00

For the Week of April 26 - May 2

Last week didn't go exactly as planned so there are some things that carried over into this week. I made this week a little easier on myself so hopefully we'll have success. Here's our plan:

Monday - ribs, corn on the cob & Parmesan potatoes
Tuesday - hamburgers & fries
Wednesday - baked fish, baked potato & broccoli
Thursday - spaghetti & meatballs, salad & garlic bread
Friday - fish sticks, macaroni & cheese
Saturday - breakfast for dinner
Sunday - fish cakes & coleslaw

For other great menu ideas, visit Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

Menu Plan Monday

2010-04-19T07:19:00.007-05:00

For the Week of April 19 - April 25

I haven't done a menu plan in a while because I haven't been cooking. Maybe starting with cooking 6 out of 7 meals is a little ambitious but we'll see how things go. Here's our plan:

Monday - pot roast w/ buttered dinner rolls
Tuesday - feta chicken w/ zucchini (a Dinner Diva recipe)
Wednesday - salmon cakes w/ veggies & coleslaw
Thursday - hamburgers & fries
Friday - baked fish, baked potatoes & broccoli
Saturday - ribs, corn on the cob & Parmesan potatoes
Sunday - we're going out to celebrate our success

For other great menu ideas, visit Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday

Spend the Day with Us...

2010-04-18T13:44:00.011-05:00

... plus some other randomness that I must get out of my brain.

I have had this post rattling around in my head for the past two days. It kept me up until 4AM on Saturday & until about 2AM this morning. I think too much. I over think things & I have problems shutting down my brain at the end of the day. That's me... take it or leave it... love me or don't. Anyway, that's really not what this post is about so I'll move on & get to the point.

Yesterday, I reached week 16 of this pregnancy... two weeks into the 2nd trimester. WOO HOO! The morning sickness is finally behind me & I am starting to get my energy back so things around here are starting to return to "normal" (whatever that is). While I was dealing with the morning sickness Ben was stopping to bring home take out for dinner EVERY NIGHT. I admit that it hasn't been good for the waistline, the arteries or the pocketbook but starving wasn't an option so we made do. This week I am back to meal planning & cooking 6 out of 7 meals. We've been watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on Friday nights & the guilt is starting to get the best of me so it's time to change. I'll link up our menu to Org Junkie's Menu Plan Monday on tomorrow. Our "dieting goal" is to simply use fresh meats & produce as much as possible & eliminate processed, prepackaged foods. I've also eliminated sodas from the house which was incredibly hard for me since I don't like regular water. I am addicted to the Propel flavored water & I still occasionally make a pitcher of sweet tea.
(I might not live in the South anymore but I'll ALWAYS BE SOUTHERN!) We still need to work on eliminating the candy & sweets from the house but I'm taking baby steps so we'll get there one day. Fortunately for me, Graham prefers fruits & veggies to candy & sweets (with the exception of ice cream) so I don't worry about it too much.

Here's a glimpse at how a typical day progresses for us:

Graham determines what time we get up & have breakfast. Most days it's between 8AM-8:30 but sometimes (like today) he'll sleep as late as 10AM.
I start a load of laundry & sometimes make the bed before we go downstairs because I'm too lazy to come back upstairs again until naptime.
I would love to tell you that after we eat I clear the dishes & we run a marathon or something but in reality I put the dishes in the sink for later & we snuggle in on the couch to watch American Idol, Dancing with the Stars or Playhouse Disney until lunch.
Most days lunch starts at about 11:15 & it's always something quick & easy. Graham is really starting to show his independence & wants to feed himself which means that some days lunch can get pretty messy. I'm learning to deal with the messes.
After lunch Graham helps me with the laundry (there's a video of it in my previous post) & then takes a nap for about 3-4 hours while I have about 3-4 chores that I take care of.
At 2:00 I leave reality for an hour to visit Port Charles, NY. Yes, I admit to sitting on the couch watching a soap opera & I don't apologize for it either. I have watched General Hospital since I was in middle school just a short time ago.
Graham gets up & has a snack when ever he wakes up, usually around 3:00 but he has slept until 4:30 once or twice.
Recently we have just been spending the afternoons playing & watching cartoons but since I am feeling better & the weather is getting nicer, we are going to be going outside more. We had to get him a "Backpack Buddy" so that we could go exploring a little more. He's getting bored with our backyard (not that I blame him... it's TINY) but we're too close to the street for him to be able to run freely out front.
After dinner is "Daddy & Graham Time" while I do a little more cleaning up or we'll all sit & watch TV together until we begin Graham's bedtime routine at about 7:30PM. Ben is the one that gives Graham his bath & then puts him to bed. I should start reading to him before bed again but he is usually so tired that he doesn't sit still long enough.
After Graham is in bed Ben & I will either watch TV or get on our computers until we go to bed. Since I am not a morning person, I will get my shower & prepare for the next day before I crawl into the bed. I try to spend a little time reading so that I can get my mind clear but I've recently been reading a book about Jack the Ripper & I have to admit that it isn't a very good bedtime story so a lot of nights I just skip it. I'm about halfway through it & I am the type of reader that HAS to finish a book before I can move on to another one... even if it's a bad book.

Well, thanks for spending the day with us. We are a very structured, routine oriented family so you'll find us doing the same thing almost every day. I know that was a lot of rambling & I'm still not sure if I even made any valid points but thanks for sticking with me.

Oh, if you usually read this in a feed reader then you may not have notice but over the past few weeks, I have been playing with our blog design again. It's changed 3 times already & I am just starting to be OK with it. I had previously gone into the HTML code & manipulated so much of it that I had to restore the default settings & start all over. The lesson I learned: Don't make changes to the HTML code unless you are never gone to change them back or you will remember exactly what you did in 6-8 months time. Since I learn what I need to, when I need to & only retain that knowledge for as long as I need to this wasn't really a good idea for me. I do have to say that since Google has added the ability to have pages on your blogs & to display your labels in a cloud instead of a list, two of the codes I was using are no longer necessary. I just wish they'd release more updates so I can play around with them because as you all know... I like to experiment with what you see when you come to visit our little slice of the web.

2010-04-17T00:03:00.010-05:00

Graham has been learning a lot over the past few weeks like...

eating corn on the cob

helping with the laundry

and playing nicely with the cat

He is growing like a weed. We recently had to buy him size
3T clothes because of his height & size 7 shoes. We are also getting ready to move him up to size 5 diapers. He seems to really be interested in animals & is learning new animal sounds every day. I hope to start working on letters & numbers soon. I have found some great sites for teaching toddlers: Tot School & Totally Tots.
I am really looking forward to doing some of these activities with Graham. Right now we are trying to teach him to say please. Poor child inherited his Mama's patience so we are still WORKING on getting him to say please in order to get what he wants. He is very quick to say thank you so we are half way to politeness.

He is also very curious about everything. He has finally started wanting to go outside a little more so thankfully the weather is getting nicer. He prefers to play in the front yard where he can watch the bigger kids play but we usually try to take him into the backyard where there is a fence to help contain him. Soccer season just started at a park around the corner from our house so we are hoping to take him to watch & see if he shows any interest in sports of any kind. We are also signing him up for swimming lessons this year. It's going to be a busy summer for us but we are definitely looking forward to it.

Our Little Chatterbox

2010-04-11T22:11:00.006-05:00

Graham's talking has picked up quite a bit lately. Well, unless you try to talk to him on the phone but that's another post entirely. Mostly he speaks his own language but his vocabulary is increasing every day. Once you say a word that he knows how to say, he will say it over & over & over again. He knows a lot of his animal sounds already & he's starting to pick up a few of his letters. If you say "A, B, C, D" then he knows E, F, G come next. His pronunciation is a little off but he gets the tune right. He has a book that has all the letters of the alphabet & if you point to A then he will say "aah, bay," At first I thought he just needed to work on the pronunciation but it turns out that he has learned the first two letters of the Spanish alphabet. He turns all of his toys to Spanish so I guess that's where he learned it from. As for the animals,
he knows:
cow - "mmm"
dog - "whoa whoa" or sometimes he sticks out his tongue & pants
cat - a high pitch shriek
duck - "cack, cack"
sheep - "aah"
pig - Ben taught him how to snort to make a pig sound
horse - "eigh" but this one is new so he doesn't get it all the time

Anyway, most of the time I can figure out what he is trying to say. He is really good at saying thank you but we still need to work on please. He's said it once but he doesn't say it consistently. I really need to start working on yes & no but for right now "yeah" & "nah" get the point across. All of this brings me to my actual point. I downloaded an app for my phone that allows me to take video with it even though I don't have a 3GS & I have been playing around with it this weekend. (The battery on my actual camera has died & I have misplaced the charged so I haven't been able to take videos in a while.) On our way back from getting ice cream this afternoon, Graham started saying something over & over again but neither Ben or I knew what he was saying. Here's a short video:

I also have some more pictures that I plan to add to our photo gallery tomorrow or Tuesday. Since I decided to go get ice cream instead of working on my to do list, I have to take care of that first.

Happy Easter

2010-04-03T22:31:00.010-05:00

And for those of you that don't already know... we're having another baby! He/She is due to join the family October 2, 2010.

It's Been a While...

2010-03-14T00:16:00.008-06:00

I can't believe that it's been a month & a half since I last updated this thing. Truthfully, I haven't been up for doing a whole lot lately so some things just fell further & further down "the list." Today I have been feeling a lot better & I hope I'm not jinxing myself here but I think I might be getting to the tail end of this. For those of you who don't already know, Ben & I are having another baby in October. I may have another week or two of morning sickness but hopefully it'll start getting better. Anyway, I know that all of you want to know what's been going on so I'll get to the point:
Graham is learning new things every day & he amazes me at some of the things he does. The other day he started saying cookie for the first time. He knows a lot of animal sounds because of the game he plays on my phone. He climbs on everything & will throw anything. We're starting to see a few signs of the "terrible twos" when he doesn't get his way but for the most part he's an easy going little guy. The weather here has been horrible so we are stuck inside most days. I can't wait for warmer weather & sunshine. We had a brief tease of spring last weekend so we went to this open field at the end of our street to play catch. Here's a picture from our walk:

We took Graham to the doctor for his 15 month check up at the end of February. Here is his progress to date:

birth: 7 lbs, 15 oz - 20 inches long
4 day old weight check: 7 lbs, 8 oz
2 week old check up: 8 lbs, 1 oz - 21 & 1/2 inches long
2 month check up: 12 lbs, 11 oz - 23 inches long
4 month check up: 18 lbs, 1 oz - 23 1/4 inches long
6 month check up: 21 lbs, 2 oz - 23 1/2 inches long
12 month check up: 25 lbs, 1 oz - 30 1/2 inches long
15 month check up: 27 lbs, 15 oz - 33 1/2 inches long
He will have one more round of immunizations at 18 months & then he won't have any more until he starts school.

First PB&J

2010-01-27T21:39:00.009-06:00

This Sunday, Graham had his first peanut butter & jelly sandwich... I was gone grocery shopping so Ben made sure to take lots of pictures for me. As you can tell by the pictures, Graham loves PB&J. He finished the entire sandwich & that's a big deal because he doesn't normally eat much at lunch.

On another note, Graham has learned a new word... well almost. For about two weeks he has been walking around saying "ca-coo" over & over again. I could not for the life of me figure out what he was trying to say... until today. I handed him his snack & he looked at me & said "ca-coo" or as we say in English... THANK YOU! So his vocabulary now includes: mama, da (for dad), ball, pop, cup, up, uh-oh, nah (instead of no), yeah (instead of yes), hey, bye bye, boo, cat & thank you. He has also learned to flip light switches on/off & he can open the childproof latches on my kitchen cabinets. He has learned how to blow kisses & play peek-a-boo by himself. He shares his pacifiers & his cheerios although I'm not sure anyone else want him to share those things with them. He can crawl up the stairs but we don't let him go by himself & when he wants to go outside, he takes his toy keys to the front door & tries to open it. He can't quite reach the doorknob so I have a little longer before he starts bolting out the door on his own. He definitely keeps us on our toes.

And on a final note, the snow melted over this past weekend... just in time for 2 days of snow this week & possibly two more days next week. I am ready for summer already!