Early Recruit

We took Ethan to his very first baseball game over the past weekend!  Jason's company had a box for the game and we decided to take advantage of time to get to know his new co-workers and enjoy a game with Ethan.

Of course I had to dress him for the occasion and take a ton of pictures.  His hat was a little big, but I couldn't resist putting it on him.

Headed to the game!

My sweet little man.

My boys!

Ethan likes to flex his muscles.

Some of the mascots dressed up and came to our suite.  Of course we had to take pictures of Ethan with him! 

Ethan did so well during the game!  He ate pretty quickly into the first inning, and really focused in on his surroundings.  He fell asleep near the end of the 7th inning, and we decided to head on out.  Maybe he will be a baseball lover like his Daddy!

Rolling Over!

We aren't quite there yet, but last week, Ethan decided to start to try.  He was napping outside, enjoying the beautiful air, and decided he was so over being on hid back.

He only got this far before getting really frustrated and threw a fit.  I can't believe he's already to this point! I'll definitely let you know when he finally gets that shoulder tucked and ends up on his belly. :)

2 Months

Ethan,

Today you are two months old!  You are growing so much already, and I can't wait to find your official weight and height on Monday.  With our attempts to measure you at home, you are around 11.5 pounds and about 22 inches long.  You are growing so quickly, and are a huge eater.  You quickly went from 4 ounces of breast milk every four hours to 6-8 ounces of breast milk every 6 hours!  I'm having a hard time keeping up with you, but we are doing our best.

                                                 

Your pouty face is adorable.  Right before you begin to cry, you make a pouty face that breaks Momma's heart every time.  I can't help but laugh to see that sweet face.  Even your cries are cute! You aren't a huge fan of being in the car, so you get MAD when we put you in the carseat.  It's cute to hear all the different pitches of screams you try to see if that will get you out of the carseat any quicker. 

                                                

You still LOVE bathtime, but aren't a huge fan of getting out of the tub because you still get cold quickly.  You love your little footie pajamas (and Momma LOVES to put you in them because they are so cute!)

                                        

You slept through the night for the first time at 8 weeks old.  You went from 10pm to 6am! Daddy and I were so excited, but have been joking that you are starting to sleep through the night, but we still aren't! I wonder if there will ever be a night that we don't wake up to check on you. I doubt it.  You are starting to let us know that you are tired around 7-7:30, and will usually stop fussing if we just put you in your crib and let you be alone to fall asleep.  It's almost like you are tired of being held and handled most of the day and just want some quiet time alone.  It's very sweet to watch you sleep, and luckily you don't notice me watch you fall asleep.  Thankfully you still love to be rocked and cuddled during the day for nap times.  Your friend the Seahorse is becoming more and more intriguing to you, and you like to watch the glow of his belly.  Daddy says that you even scooted over to him this morning and had your hand on him while you slept.  It's a shame you are such a wiggle worm and had moved by the time he got a camera.

                                                   

You LOVE to be talked to, and you love to coo and "talk" back.  You are a very smiley baby, and we love it! Your whole face smiles when you are happy. You even have an adorable little smirk that I know will get you in big trouble some day.  You love to smile at us, but make it extremely difficult to capture it on camera.

Happy 2 Month Birthday Sweet Boy! You are growing so fast!

Ha, the spit bubbles. :)

We are so proud of you, and love to watch you grow.  We can't wait to see what you will learn in month 3, but please let these moments pass a little slower!

Mommy and Daddy

Ballerina Girl

My blog has been so full of Ethan lately, I haven't updated you on Miss Riley!  She started her very first ballet class a couple of weeks ago.

My old dance teacher begins her pre-ballet classes for children at the age of 4.  Riley won't be 4 until April, but our teacher agreed to try Riley out on a trial basis.  If she feels that Riley is ready to begin classes after a few weeks, she will continue her class.  If she doesn't feel that Riley is ready to start, she will try again next fall when she is 4.  I went with my sister to her very first class, and captured a few pictures on my iPhone.

Riley loved her class.  She was very eager to go back the following week, and loves practicing at home the things that she has learned.  She is doing extremely well with following directions (as well as a 3 year old gets with following directions) and trying out the things that she is shown.  There were a few occasions that we got laughs out of Riley being WAY on the other side of the room while the other class was doing something else, but her teacher was always able to guide her back on track with ease.  She is still in her trial weeks, but hopefully she will continue to enjoy herself, get out some of that crazy energy she has, and have her first recital in the spring.

Adventures in Baby Food Making

Here in the south, we love summer because it means lots of fresh veggies and fruit for super cheap.  It's even cheaper when your Dad is a very friendly and conversational man to everyone he meets.  His sweet personality results in lots of really inexpensive (and sometimes free!) fruits and veggies from individuals that he encounters during his work day.  Since this extremely high quality and delicious foods are at my fingertips, I had him pick me up a few just for Ethan.  I wanted to start attempting to make baby food and freeze it.

Baby food is EXTREMELY expensive, and filled with all kinds of preservatives and who knows what else.  Granted, I realize that there are a million other reasons to make baby food at home, but our main motive is to be more cost efficient.  So I have decided to slowly start trying different foods.  

Project 1: Butternut Squash

This one was fairly tricky, but not difficult.  I didn't take a ton of pictures of the process.  First, I sliced the squash vertically, and removed all the seeds.  I then placed the squash meat side down into a 13x9 baking dish that had about an inch of water standing in it.  I baked it at 400 degrees for about 45 minutes.  I had read that another option was to chop up the squash into large chunks, peel it, and boil it, but it was difficult and more time consuming to do it this way.  Once the squash was done baking, the skin of the squash practically fell off.

I placed the meat of the squash in my new food processor, added just a little bit of water, and pureed away.

I don't have a ton of "teeny" storage containers, or the room to put them all in the freezer, so I went with ice cube trays.  I placed my puree mix into a cake decorating bag, and easily filled 22 "cubes" full of baby food.  The cake decorating bag (as opposed to a spoon) made it less messy for me to fill the ice cube trays.  I highly recommend.

  Each cube is about 1 oz of food, the average "meal" for an infant at the time he will be eating these.  

I placed them in my freezer for a few days, and then sealed them up into Food Saver bags to avoid freezer burn.  100% natural butternut squash, nothing but water added, and 22 little meals for my little man. :)

Project 2: Green Beans

The only difference with the green bean preparation was the steaming/baking/boiling option.  I boiled the green beans for about 20 minutes on my stove top in about an inch and a half of water before throwing them into my food processor.

I repeated all of the other steps that I had completed with the butternut squash.  1 pound of green beans gave me 20 "cubes."

When I'm ready to start feeding Ethan baby food, I'll just have to take a cube or two out of the freezer, thaw and serve!  In Kentucky, baby food is about a dollar a jar.  My dad had picked up the squash for 75 cents, and I paid 99 cents for the pound of green beans.  

Total spent-$1.75

42 Jars of Baby Food- $42

Total Savings- $40.25

All for this sweet little boy:

I'd call my attempt a large success. 

For Cuteness Sake

Just a few pictures today, for cuteness sake. And because we can all use a smile.

Swagbucks

Do any of you all use Swagbucks?  I got hooked on it when I was in the hospital, and it's amazing how much money Jason and I have saved this year! We've mainly used our Swagbucks for Amazon Gift Cards, which we then use for Ethan's Diapers on the Amazon Mom program (save 30%!) and have even used them for birthday gifts!

I'm not getting paid or compensated in any way by Swagbucks or Amazon for this blog, but I just wanted to share this money saving secret with you guys!  Swagbucks is basically a search engine sight that randomly rewards you with "bucks" or points when you use the sight.  There are also other ways to earn bucks, such as navigating through this site to do your online shopping (most all online shopping sites are on here, including flower orders and Groupons!), watching short videos, and a bunch of other ways.  Once you accumulate enough points, you can redeem them for items or gift cards to various locations.

The Swagbuck Facebook page is also extremely helpful to users with hints and tips on gaining more points quickly.  Since December, I have accumulated enough points to earn $200 in Amazon Gift Cards!  Combined with the Amazon Mom membership, Jason and I have yet to pay for a box of diapers.

If any of you want to sign up and give it a try, you can go here and give it a shot!  It is a little difficult to get started, so if any of you get stuck and have questions, feel free to contact me and I'll help guide you!

Who is This Crazy Man?

Poor Ethan was fussy the other night, so Jason decided to try to come up with new ways to keep his mind off of fussing and on new things.  Poor Ethan had no idea what was going on!

Another Chance for a First Dance

Five years ago, Jason and I went on our very first "official" date.  It wasn't anything huge, just a simple dinner followed by some time sitting on the roof of a parking structure of our college campus watching the sun go down.  We were friends for a few weeks prior to our first date, but in all honesty, we both knew that it was likely to be more than a friendship from the beginning.

It wasn't long after that evening that I realized I had experienced my very last "first date."

Last weekend, we got another chance to have a very first date.  Only this time, it was our first date was our first date out since Ethan was born.  My parents have been itching to spend some special grandparent time with him (let me say, my parents are the world's greatest grandparents) and have been after us for some one on one time.

We decided to start slow, since it would be extremely difficult (especially for me) to leave Ethan for a few hours.  Jason has become used to leaving Ethan for a few hours since he is back at work.  I haven't returned to work (and hope that maybe something miraculous happens and I don't have to) and hadn't left Ethan for more than an hour (and that was leaving him with Jason while I attended a church baby shower for the daughter of the man who saved my life).  Anyway, I was definitely reluctant to leave him.

Thankfully I know my parents will care for Ethan the way that I would, and would honor any and all wishes we had regarding his care.  I never want to worry anyone watching Ethan that would refuse to care for him the way we want just because they don't understand or agree with some of our decisions.  My parents are incredibly respectful that Ethan is our child, and do not question my requests regarding his care.  They have spent 3 years taking wonderful care of Riley when my sister needs a sitter, so I had zero worries about his care.  Still, I was hesitant.

We opted to head out to dinner, and decided to make a trip back up to our college campus and watch the sun go down from that same parking structure we had been to five years ago.  We spent a wonderful couple of hours talking about Jason's new job, reflecting on how much our life has changed, and laughing about really stupid things.  It was only a couple of hours, but I really missed my baby!  We were both thrilled to be back home, and even more thrilled that Ethan was OUT asleep!  My parents left, and we were unexpectedly given an evening that we didn't have to put Ethan down, and just go to sleep early.

I know that many people would say that we starting our "dates" way too soon, but Jason and I decided long before we ever talked seriously about children that we would make time for each other.  We both feel that it is incredibly important for our marriage to take some time just for us.  We both love our family time and love our time with Ethan, and rarely find difficulty finding a few moments after Ethan is asleep to talk or relax together.  We also feel very strongly about showing Ethan an example of a good marriage as he grows up.  We made the decision together that if we didn't start our dates early in Ethan's life, it would be more difficult for us to start them later.  Jason and I are definitely creatures of habit, and the habit of not taking time for each other would be difficult for us to break.  So Ethan was 2 days shy of 6 weeks old when we re-entered the "dating" world.  We are hopeful that we will be able to slip away for a date once a month, and maybe even work up to a weekend trip once he's a little older.

Maybe.  I'm not quite ready for that one just yet.

Ultimate Mom Fail

Seriously, who could ever harm this sweet face?  

It's my job to protect this sweet baby boy, but what did I do? I caused his first boo-boo.  I actually did this a few weeks ago, but I'm just now confessing via blog.  I made him do this:

No, I didn't take a picture immediately after I hurt him, this picture was just because he wasn't happy to be in his swing.  Anyway.

Ethan's fingernails are crazy sharp.  They aren't thin like most newborns and able to just peel off.  So  I got out my trusty "American Red Cross" with magnifying glass fingernail clippers and waited for him to fall asleep.  Once he was completely out, I very nervously started to trim the miniature swords.

First fingernail.  Sigh of relief.  Ethan didn't flinch.

Second fingernail.  My magnifying glass failed me, and I thought I was right under the fingernail and squeezed.  I released, only to see a stream of blood coming from his finger and Ethan waking up SCREAMING.  I quickly realized that I missed his fingernail completely and cut his finger!  It bled for forever, and Ethan had to have his first little band-aid.  We both cried for quite a while, only Ethan eventually stopped crying.  Mommy didn't.  My sweet baby was barely 2 weeks old, and I had injured him.

Two days ago, I FINALLY got enough courage to try again.  Yes, that means Jason and I went an entire  6 weeks enduring miniature swords.  My Mom helped me hold his hands, and told me to forget about the magnifying glass.  It was making things TOO big, and giving a false sense of being in the right position. Within 10 minutes, Ethan's nails were clipped and this time there were no casualties!

So I admit it.  I had my first ultimate Mom FAIL at 2 weeks.

Natural vs. Force

"Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding."  Albert Einstein

I'm not against new relationships.  In fact, I always love to welcome them with open arms.  I love meeting new people, making new friends, and developing stronger relationships with those that are already a part of my life.  But I'm extremely stubborn about it, because I want these things to happen on my own terms.  I think these things should happen naturally on both sides.

I don't do well with forcing a relationship.  Some of my friendships became my closest relationships overnight, while others were a slow progression.  I'm ok with this, and I find it difficult to manage when the other is not.  In fact, I often find myself pulling away and not wanting to invest in a relationship at all if I feel that I'm being forced into a closer relationship than I'm ready for.

I do not discuss the most personal details of my life or marriage with everyone, or just anyone.  There are a few that I feel comfortable enough to do so, but others I just don't.  I become extremely uncomfortable and stand offish if I feel that the conversation is getting too personal for the particular relationship.


I truly believe in letting a relationship of any kind develop at its own pace.  Some faster, some slower, for one reason or another.  Yet I struggle when a relationship I want to have (or have to have) is forced into a different pace that isn't natural.  I find it extremely difficult to want to even make efforts in that relationship, which often results in a negative view of the relationship.


I feel that overall, I'm a pretty decent judge of character, and what character types flow well with my own.  While I do value other opinions, I really do not do well with others forcing their opinion of another on me.  Jason and I both experience others forcing their opinion of other individuals on us frequently.  While we both understand that others want us to see what they see, it can sometimes be difficult.  These situations often become awkward and difficult to maneuver, as we feel we need to step carefully to stay true to our gut instincts and not hurt feelings.


How do you all handle these situations?

Sounds

Apparently I'm great at disappearing from my blog for days on end.  I'm definitely still reading and keeping up with your lives, but I'm failing miserably to keep you updated on ours!

Ethan has started to coo and make a lot of sweet noises, and I thought to get back in the swing of blogging I would upload a few short videos of a few of my favorites. :)






He is certainly keeping us busy, but a kind of busy that I wouldn't trade for the world.  I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!