Gideon is Crawling!

Our little man has been scooting inch worm style and army crawling around the room for quite some time now.  He's been getting up on his knees, rocking back and forth for a few weeks now and this afternoon I looked over while preparing dinner and noticed that he was crawling!

He's still learning, but he sure is a happy little guy.

 He's twisting a lot, but he's getting it!

 One of my favorite things as a mother is watching my children learn new things and develop new skills.

Getting Things Organized

I like to cook and I'm a little bit obsessive compulsive. I like things organized and I function best when I have systems set up.  I've been making menus and planning our meals since we were first married, and sometimes I do better at it than others.  I also love to try new recipes.  I have more cookbooks than I could ever use and yet I still spend a lot of time online looking for recipes and ideas.  I've ended up with so many sheets printed off all over my kitchen counters and menus written on shopping lists on the fridge and I finally decided to buckle down and organize it all.  This is what I have come up with:

I started with a binder, just an ordinary binder, some plastic sheets, and dividers.  I found this cute cover the binder here (she also has several other color options).  I went online and printed out a calendar for the year, that's right, all of 2012.  I found this particular calendar here.  You should have seen Tyson's face when I told him that I was printing off an entire calendar for menu planning, poor guy thought that I was crazy enough to plan out our meals for the entire year all at once!  I put all twelve pages in one sheet protector, that way I can see two months at a time, but I also have past months to refer back to for ideas.  We tend to get stuck in a rut and repeat meals so this way I can see when we last ate something so that I can space them out better.

Before filling in any spaces I went over our normal calendar and made adjustments for days that we would not be eating at home, like date nights or time out of town.  Then I marked our leftover days.  My husband has a crazy schedule so two days a week he is only home for breakfast.  Those days we have leftovers.  I make sure to plan meals that will leave lots of leftovers for the day before our leftover day.  Sunday is also crock pot day in this house because I have such a limited amount of time to get dinner ready between church and the time that Tyson has to leave for work.  I also write down the primary vegetable that I plan to serve with the meal, one less thing to think about when it is time to grocery shop or cook.  With these things in mind, I turn to my meal ideas list and then fill in the calendar.  My list continues on to the back and keeps growing.  No more meal ruts for us!

 The meal ideas list is a lifesaver, it will save you so much time and frustration with your menu planning.  I made a list a few years ago and recently updated it with new favorites.  To make the list I went through my favorite cookbooks and printed recipes and wrote down the names of all of the recipes that we have tried and would like to make again.  I wrote today's date in the corner and as we try new recipes I'll write them on the list and every few months I'll add them to the doc and reprint it.  This is my current list of meal ideas if you want to some ideas.  And if you would like any of the recipes just shoot me an email, I love to share!  No secret recipes here!  

Behind the meal idea list I have my recipes.  No, I didn't type out the recipes from my cookbooks, I'm not that nuts.  This binder organizes the recipes that I find online or friends give me.  I like having systems for things and loose recipe cards and sheets of paper, pages take out of cooking magazines just make me crazy!  I type them up, and put them in sheet protectors, organized by category.  I use the sheet protectors for 2 reason; first they keep the recipe clean, and second, because I can keep things in alphabetical order.  I love having things in alphabetical order, they are so easy to find that way.  I've seen a lot of people just put the recipes that they printed off or clipped from a magazine right into sheet protectors and that would work great, but my OCD wants them all to be uniform in typeface and format so I retype them.

 Isn't that so nice and clean?  I love it!  I have to admit, I am way too excited about this binder!  My husband can't quite understand my excitement, but I'm sure that there are others out there who can.

And she's up!

We are in some serious trouble around here. A couple of days ago Charlotte discovered that she could stay standing without having to hold on to anything.

And then today she started trying to take a step. Could someone please tell this girl that she isn't even 10 months old yet, cause she's not listening to me!

Lily Ate Pizza!

Today at lunch Lily ate 1/2 slice of pizza!!!

It is kinda sad just how excited Tyson and I were as we sat at the table with her and watched her eat her lunch. She also ate a bite of carrot, only a bite, but she ate it and didn't spit it out so a big success. Maybe these therapy sessions are doing some good after all!

She was so proud of herself! Jennifer, her therapist, has us cheer for her and she loves to join in.

Eating

Some of you know, most of you don't, that I have trouble getting Lily to eat. I know I know, she certainly doesn't look like she's going hungry, but it has been my greatest struggle with her. The list of things that she will eat is so short, we're talking less than 20 items. She will not try new foods, or even old ones that she liked as a baby. Veggies are a no-go, so are meats, cheeses, beans, pretty much any protein besides yogurt and peanut butter. I've resorted to hiding the veggies and protein that she needs in various concoctions so that she gets the nutrients that she needs.

At Lily's two year check-up I talked to her pediatrician about it again and he recommended that she go see a counselor about it. I said sure, I wanted the help, but honestly I was so confused. A feeding counselor, seriously, who even knew that those existed and what can they do that I haven't already been doing? Well, Dr. Roy sent in the referral and this last week they called. They had an opening the next day and wanted us to come in. So Lily and I went, and honestly I was nervous, I had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.

We met with a woman named Jennifer who is a speech and language pathologist and apparently feeding issues fall into that category. We talked for about 45 minutes, she asked about Lily's habits, what she would and would not eat, how she behaved when offered her food, etc. And then she started talking about what the plan would be. She was so reassuring! I have felt like such a terrible mom because of this. So many people have told me just to give her the same plate at every meal and when she gets hungry she'll eat. Jennifer told me that that method works for normal eaters who are just being picky, but for kids like Lily it is not the way to go. She told me that I had been doing an excellent job and that she feels like we can fix this problem in just a few short weeks.

I felt so reassured when I left her office. I wanted to cry out of relief. This has been weighing so heavily on me and to see a light at the end of the tunnel felt so fantastic. This week we have our first real session. She gave me a list of food items to bring and the plan is to step by step get Lily to interact with them, smell them, taste them, and hopefully eventually eat them.

Babies Don't Keep

This afternoon at church I was out in the hallway, yet again, because Charlotte was fussing. I finally got her to sleep and I was getting ready to go back into Sunday School when a dear sweet sister named June rolled up to me. She has always loved playing with my babies and she came to take a peek at Charlotte. She said to me to enjoy my time rocking my sleeping babies and reminded me of a poem that I heard ages ago.

Babies Don’t Keep
by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew
And out in the yard there’s a hullabaloo
But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I’ve learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

So here are my babies.They are growing up so quickly, every morning they wake up just a little bit older and I just want to bottle them up and keep them as my babies forever.I will cherish my time with them and make sure to take the time to get down on the floor and play and also to just sit down and rock them.

Of Toddlers and Tulips

Oh, the joys of gardening with a two-year-old!

Yesterday we were outside playing and I ran inside to take care of something. I came out a couple of minutes later and found a pile of tulip petals.

I thought it odd that this cluster would drop all of their petal all at once. I turned the corner and came upon this little scene.
Lily gleefully pulled off yet another petal and showed it to me.
Lily, in just a few minutes, had managed to pull the remaining petals off of nearly all of my tulips. Oh well, it was near the end of the season for them anyway.

It was perfect weather yesterday, the warmest day of the year so far. We spent a lot of time outside in the yard. Charlotte is still getting accustomed to the breeze.
She'll be happy if I hold her hand though.

Sweet Girls

I think that I am finally hitting reality. I'm still spoiled by having Tyson home from work, but with full-time school and church callings he is still very busy. Tonight was my first night doing baths and bedtime by myself. It had been a bit of a rough day. Lily wanted my attention and Charlotte is a snacker and eats a bit at a time pretty much all day long. So when Tyson left for class this evening and then his meeting I was already tired and when 7:30 rolled around I was pretty frazzled and the girls didn't make bath time or bed time any easier. They are finally both asleep and now all that I can think about it how sweet these little girls are and how grateful I am to have them.

So I'm reminding myself with some cute little pictures from the last couple of days.

Lily and her pudding cup.

Charlotte sleeping so sweetly.

One Week Down

I have survived my first week as a mother of two!

I was actually really worried about this. I'm not sure why it scared me so much, but during the last month of my pregnancy I was constantly wondering how in the world I would manage two little girls. Thankfully, I have Tyson home from work right now to help with the adjustment process, but he still has full-time school so I have long stretches of time at home without him. It has been a very busy week, but we are getting along just fine and I think that we just might make it.

Charlotte had her first real bath this week. She was very unsure about it at first, but then seemed to decide that it was fine and has enjoyed them ever since. She takes her bath with her big sister and Lily loves having her there.

Speaking of Lily, she has been sillier than usual this week. She has been harassing Oscar quite a bit. Good thing he is such a patient pooch.

She has also been "testing" the baby gear. She keeps climbing up into the swing and reading her books.

And here she is in the bouncy chair checking out one of the baby pacifiers. She doesn't suck on the pacifier, she just chews a bit. Good thing because we weened her off those things 8 months ago and I don't want to have to do that again.

Lily is such an attentive big sister. She loves her baby sister and always wants to hold her hand, or kiss her forehead. She probably gives her several dozen kisses everyday and she is not one to give away kisses.

I'll leave you with a picture of my sweet baby girl sleeping in her bouncy chair. We love having her in our home!

Charlotte is HERE!

Our sweet little Charlotte decided that she was ready to come and join our family!

Saturday night I started having some contractions. I had been having a lot of false labor though so I brushed them off and went to bed when Tyson got home. I couldn't sleep though, the contractions were too strong. Just before midnight Tyson said that if they didn't let up in the next hour we would be going to the hospital. Again, I just brushed it off expecting them to stop. However, just after midnight, my water broke. So, we were off.

We got to the hospital just after 1 am and after a lot of labor fun (sparing you all the details) Charlotte Elizabeth Hansen made a very easy entry into this world at 6:59 am weighing in at 8 pounds 3 ounces and measuring 20-3/4 inches long.

One of the first things that I noticed about her was that she has the same pouty face as her big sister. They make the same face when they cry and I love it.

Here are just a few pictures from our time at the hospital.

Sunday afternoon my mom brought Lily to the hospital to come and visit us and meet her baby sister. Lily was not quite sure what to think.

She was initially very excited to see the baby, but quickly became bored with her. Apparently hospital rooms are fascinating to toddlers.

I'm sure that they will do great together! Lily just needs to get used to her and learn how to be soft, which is going to take some work.

We are so grateful to have our Charlotte here! As much as I love being pregnant (which I don't) I am so happy for that to be all over and to have a sweet little girl to cuddle up with. And she is a cuddle bug! She has the sweetest disposition and is generally a very happy baby.

Picking a Name is Hard!

We are working on a picking a name for this baby girl and I am finding it terribly difficult. It isn't really narrowing down a list, but creating a list in the first place. I don't remember it being this hard last time. We had names picked out pretty early on, and while we changed our minds after finding out that we were having a girl, we still settled on a name very quickly. I loved having a name for her early on. We called her Lily for months before she was born and when she finally came to us I felt like I knew her and I never questioned her name because it was her name, and had been for a while. I didn't worry about whether it fit or not because it was who she was.

This time however, we decided to hold off on thinking of names until the ultrasound. When we were told that this baby is another girl I really felt lost. I started looking through name lists and books and I am about as lost as before. I suppose that we still have a lot of time to select her name, I just hope that this name fog will lift and we will be able to select one soon. I would like to be able to call this baby by her name.

Bye-Bye Binkie!

It has now been one full week since Lily last had a pacifier!

I always intended to take it away as soon as she turned one, but when the time came I was a lazy parent and just couldn't do it. In my defense, I also started weaning her from nursing right when she turned one and I didn't think that it would be nice to take both away at the same time, but even with that, I should have started sooner.

It was just so easy to keep using it. We only let her have it at nap time and bedtime, so it wasn't like she was wandering around all day with a pacifier in her mouth, but I found that she was getting more and more attached to it. She used to let me take them from her when I got her up without a fuss, but in the last month she started crying and getting very upset if I took it from her. So, I finally decided that they had to go before she got any more attached.

My genius plan, I decided that instead of just taking them from her, I would let her decide that she didn't like them anymore. So, I hid all but one and I cut a slit in the tip of that one. That way, she she sucked it would deflate and it would take about 10-15 seconds to inflate again. So, I left that one in her crib and when I put her down for bed last Friday night she reached for it, sucked on it for a minute, and decided that she did not like it at all. I left the pacifier in her crib for about two day and each time I put her down she would reach for it and then toss it aside a minute later.

She takes a little longer to fall asleep now and fusses a bit, which she normally never does, but only a little and I figure that will pass with time. I am grateful for finally being done with the pacifier. They are a fabulous tool for soothing infants and I am grateful for them, but I am so glad to be rid of them!

Let the TODDLER YEARS begin!

As of this evening, we officially have a walker. Lily stopped just walking to me, now she is walking from toy to toy and of course chasing after Oscar. She is still wobbly and falls a lot, but she likes to walk and prefers to walk. She will only crawl after she falls.

This is such a fun age, I am loving it! This evening as we were playing I just kept thinking "Can she stay this age forever?" It is so much fun. She loves to play and is very independent which is great because it allows be the time to get my chores done, but she also loves to play and interact with me. We read stories together, build with her blocks, I fly her around, we sing, she laughs, I love it! She really is a great joy and we love her dearly!

And just for fun, a little video of her playing peek-a-boo with me.

Sick Baby

These last couple of weeks Lily has been rather sick. We've dealt with little cold before and teething pain, but this is something new to us. We've been to the doctor twice (two weeks apart, I'm not a crazy mommy) and both times we were told to keep doing what we were doing and just wait it out.

As it turns out the simple little cold that she had a month ago turned into bronchialitis and then RSV. Oh, and in the middle of all that add an ear infection and the sprouting of 4 new teeth. The poor little thing has had such a hard time.

I like to be in control of a situation, but I have just felt so helpless lately. Other than Tylenol or Motrin to help with the fever and teething pain and the antibiotics for the ear infection there hasn't been much that I could do to make her more comfortable. I've felt so helpless. The other night she was up most of the night crying and all that I could do was rock her and cuddle her. I just wish that I could make it all better somehow.

Thankfully it looks like we are finally getting past it. Lily has been fever free for about 36 hours now and has been a much happier baby girl.

Daily Dose of Cuteness

I caught these pictures of Lily the other day and I thought that I would share. Here is your daily dose of cuteness.She is sitting in the chair in her room smiling at her daddy.Lily in her Bumbo. We picked it up at a yard sale this last weekend and she loves it! She can sit up in it and watch me which is wonderful because it allows me to get more done around the house.I'm finding motherhood to be more than I expected in a lot of ways. I love my little girl more than I ever thought possible. I look at her when she smiles and talks to me and my heart melts! And while she is the best baby girl anyone could ask for, I am amazed at how much of my time she takes up. I struggle to keep my home as clean as I would like and the laundry done. Maybe I just need to get more acclimated to this new role.