Jaime's Journal

My daughter is seven months old! That is so crazy to me. :) Here is a glimpse into her life these days:

She is growing into the name "Addie". (Some people have been calling her that for awhile, but she is just seeming like an Addie to me lately.)

She just rolled over from back to stomach a couple days ago. It's not a huge deal, though, because she has been able but unwilling for a long time. She has all the muscle coordination and strength, and will often roll over 175 degrees to grab a toy... but she has no use for tummy time, so she immediately goes back to face-up. I was trying to show our friends James and Korey how she will do that, and that was the moment she decided to debut her first back-to-front roll. She only stayed on her tummy for about 10 seconds before rolling back over, though.

I am wondering if she will crawl at all, or just go to walking.

She has started her assisted walking stage. If she's held by the hands or under the arms, she will high-step her way across the room. It's super cute.

Still no teeth!

I think this is my favorite stage so far. She's very funny and interactive.
Happy 7 months, Addison!!

One amazing dad. One adoring little girl. One blessed family. Happy Father's Day, J. We love you!

Addison loves to sneeze. She thinks it's a great time. She has never been sick, so up until now, most of her sneezes are just nose-ticklers.

For the past three days, she has been sneezing lots of clear mucus. She also hasn't been sleeping well and has had a few fussy bouts here and there. She's felt a little warm to me, but has no fever and no other symptoms. She's happy and active and normal (except for what I listed above).

Her sneezes are killing me, though. She is pretty funny... I hear an "ah-choo" and then glance over to see my sweet little girl, her face covered in snot, grinning ear-to-ear because her sneeze was so fun. I've got to jump into action before she rubs her hands across her face. Although she doesn't spit up much anymore, I've taken to arming myself with burp cloths once again. If I'm holding her, right after the grin she wipes her face on my shoulder. Ni-i-i-i-ce.

I'm really hoping it's teething -- I'd love to see her with a cute little tooth. :)

(God bless you, pumpkin!)

Jason and I had a fun little craft time the other night. Addison has this really sweet bedroom set for her room, but we've never put the diaper stacker to much use. She has a fascination with greeting cards right now (especially ones with faces on them), so I've been trying to find a good way to display them. So, I decided to turn the diaper stacker into a memo board. I wanted to do this while spending as little money as possible, and I ended up spending about $3.50 total.

Here's what I used:
Ribbon (two nine-foot rolls) on clearance at Walmart -- 75 cents each
Bulletin board tacks (Heavy-duty staples would've worked better, but I didn't have any)
Furniture tacks -- around $2 at Walmart
Packing tape
Cardboard (I cut up a box)
Quilt batting (I took apart an old quilt a friend had given me in a bunch of hand-me-downs)
Scissors

Here's how I did it:
I decided to keep the top rectangle of the diaper stacker in tact (it's so pretty, and I could use it for hanging as well). I decided to make the memo board octagon-shaped, so I drew the shape I wanted on the side of a box and cut it out. I used a sturdy box, but the cardboard was thin, so I cut a second layer out and taped them together.


I laid the cardboard down on the batting and tacked it down.

(I was going to use a double layer of batting, pictured above, but after tacking it on I thought it was too thick. I undid it and re-tacked with only a single layer of batting.)

Next, I cut the bottom off the diaper stacker, and then cut the sides (except for the top front panel).

The next step I *should've* done was sewed up the slit between the two halves. We ended up doing that later.

Next, I tacked the fabric down just as I'd done with the batting. Then I covered the back with a layer of packing tape. (I really like packing tape... but more importantly, if a tack pops out, I'd like it to be stuck to the tape instead of laying on the ground where Addison may eat it or step on it.)

After that, I stretched the ribbon and tacked it to the back as well. Then, I added another layer of packing tape.


Then, I added the furniture tacks as a finishing touch.

If I were giving it as a gift, I'd probably cover the back with something pretty... but for my purposes, I don't mind the jagged fabric or the cardboard/tape. :) Now we just need to hang it up and add Addison's cards!

We are on an extremely tight budget these days. Most of the time, I don't mind at all; I like coupon-clipping and bargain-hunting. I have learned a lot from some very wise people about how to get the most out of our money. We actually don't feel like we're missing much.

One major finance-drainer is diapers. Our daughter flies through them. We have been blessed by the fact that Addison does fine with lots of different kinds, and we've experimented with lots of different brands. Walgreens had an awesome deal on Huggies a couple months ago, and when I used coupons too, it was a downright amazing deal. I hit every Walgreens in Western New York (OK, not really, but it felt like it) and we are still using them. Huggies brand diapers also seem to go on sale more often and give more coupons than Pampers, and I especially like the gathered band in the backs -- it has saved Addison's outfits from destruction a number of times.

Now I am excited about Huggies' new Pure and Natural line of diapers. Despite the money-saving benefits and earth-friendliness of cloth diapers, I have always known that they are not for me... and I feel like these new diapers are a good compromise. They're made of renewable materials and organic cotton. There are some great coupons for them right now ($3 off ones at coupons.com). And the sample I ordered came today, and they are so. stinking. cute.

I am *really* hoping I win a pack from one of my favorite bargain sites, www.bargainbriana.com. :)

Here is what has been keeping us busy:

Addison. Of course. She's almost 5 months old. The time is passing way too quickly, but she is a really fun and fascinating kid. Her favorite things lately are her toes, people, going places, and the bunny card Grandma Janet sent her for Easter. She makes the weirdest noises. When she gets tired or bored, she likes to scream. A little embarrassing in public. She also continues to grunt, but it has evolved as she's grown. Lately, she really enjoys taking as deep of a breath as she can, and then letting out a looooong, nasal grunt. Repeatedly. It actually drives me nuts. She also has this funny little noise that sounds like a T-Rex... sort-of a shriek/sigh/grunt. She uses it when she needs something, like when she's trying to fall asleep and her pacifier falls out, or she's in the swing and the batteries stop. She is able to roll from tummy to back, but after doing it several times about a month ago, she hasn't done it since. She's very close to rolling from back to tummy, too. She has recently learned to arch her back. She can almost pop herself out of her Bumbo seat doing this, and she does it when she's on her back and wants to look at something overhead.

Zach came up for spring break. We had a great time. He was wonderful. Keeping up with two kids and their personal agendas is tough work, though!

I recently went through training for a work-from-home part-time job I'm starting. It's helping people with disabilities get services they need -- similar to what I was doing before. I'll be an independent contractor. It will involve lots of Excel worksheets and a couple meetings a month that can work around Jason's schedule. I'm pretty excited about it and I'm now waiting for my first case. (I'll only carry one case at first; six is considered full-time. So it's not even a half-time job.)

Some of our youth are getting confirmed this weekend. We are so excited. :) :) Lots of celebrating! (Since our church baptizes babies at infancy, confirmation is the time when people confirm the vows that were made at their baptism.)

There are other little things happening around here -- life has suddenly gotten busy. But it's a good busy. :)

I recently found a great website for families called Kaboom.org. It is a site dedicated to playgrounds -- the creation of them and the cataloging of them. They have a playground search where people can find and rate playgrounds they visit.

They are currently having a 100,000 Playgrounds in 100 Days initiative. Julianne Hough will donate $1 to playground building for each newly added playground. Right now they only have 40 listed, with 92 days to go, so they need some help!

Lately, the question in the title of this post has come up a couple times. I think it's one of those questions that has the potential to cause offense, but I've never felt particularly defensive about being a stay-at-home mom (although I've only been one for a few months!). The people who've asked seem genuinely curious, and both times the question has caught me totally off guard... because I didn't have an answer.

When Addison first got home, I was recovering from a C-section and she was eating round the clock. I didn't do much but rest, pace the house with our screaming newborn, and watch some TV. Of course, I got better (and rather quickly -- honestly, the C-section was not nearly as awful as I'd expected), and Addison chilled out a lot.

One thing I am learning about parenting is that it makes me want to be a better person. Now, I watch very little TV -- definitely less than before I was a parent. Part of that is because I don't have the time. Part of it is because I don't want her becoming a little couch potato, or increase her chances of autism, ADHD, or asthma. And part of it is that I just want to spend time interacting with her.

Anyway, back to the question. If we are not sitting around eating bon-bons and watching soap operas, what are we doing? About 1/4 of my day is spent feeding Addison and changing her diapers. There are all the normal things that I'd be doing if I were working full time, like laundry, dishes, laundry, vacuuming, and laundry. What I've realized is that they take twice as long to do with a baby.

There is the fun and all-important interaction time with Addison -- talking with her, doing tummy time, cheering her on as she rolls over, giving her toys to grasp, etc. I love having that time with her during the day.

Staying home has had a big impact on our finances. In case you don't know, there is not a ton of money to be made in education, social work or church work... so Jason and I have had to tighten our belts a lot with one less income and one more person in our household. We are blessed to have very wise friends in this area who have mentored us and equipped us. We are able to do so much more with what we have now -- it is another way that parenting has made us better. Some of the ways we save money include going out to eat less, slashing our grocery bill, and looking for drug store deals and freebies.

Going out to eat less means making more home-cooked meals... which is healthy (yay!) and time consuming. I spend some time searching for recipes online and planning out what we'll be eating each week. (The meals also take twice as long to make as they would without a baby, and they produce more pots, pans, and dishes to wash.) Slashing our grocery bill means coupon-clipping, meal-planning, and buying different items from different stores. I use these sites frequently: Bargain Briana, Money Saving Mom, and Hot Coupon World.

Aside from those things, Addison and I have joined a MOPS group (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) which meets every other week. I'm involved in my awesome church's Haiti ministry and working on some new women's events.

When I have free time, I am usually keeping up with the outside world through Facebook, baking something simple and yummy, or reading (right now my friend Lisa's turned me on to Anne Lamott). And I'm trying to make sure to carve time out for my physical health by using the treadmill, and my spiritual growth by personal prayer/bible reading time.

Sooo... that is what I do all day. In some ways I am less busy than before, but in some ways I am more busy. I guess it's just a different kind of busy.

This past week was full of some exciting "firsts" in Addison's life.

She got to meet her Uncle Bob for the first time, who lives in Florida.
She got to use her new activity center (still not quite tall enough for it) that Aunt Judi bought.
She got to go for her first walk outside yesterday! YAY for both of us! Spring is coming!
And last night she slept alone in her room. We put her car seat in her crib and let her sleep there. We'll eventually phase out the car seat. She did wonderfully... she actually woke up cooing this morning. I think she liked seeing her mobile. And I did OK too. ;)

People say that Addison looks like me. I don't see it. Not even in my baby pics. She's way cuter.

Jason and I often joke with each other about the trite little sayings we've heard all the time, first as expectant parents, and now as new ones. For example, "Sleep while you can!" was trumpeted at us throughout the pregnancy, replaced by "Sleep when the baby sleeps!" after she was born. Today, the one that stands in my mind is "A baby changes everything" -- and I'm not talking about the Faith Hill song.

Today's Ash Wednesday. It's humbling to have someone put ashes on your forehead. They're dirty. They itch after awhile. And the message given is, "You're dust." Even with our church's lovely addition of "...always in the arms of Jesus," it is a sobering message.

Having a new baby on Ash Wednesday changes everything. I wondered this morning if they put ashes on babies' heads, too. I've decided I don't want them to, just because her skin is so tender and sensitive.

It is an interesting contrast, though. Our sweet little pink-hued girl is so fresh and new and life-filled. In some ways it's easy for me to be humbled, and to remember that I'm dust (especially as a new parent... soooo humbling!). But it is so hard as a parent to think that Addison, too, will someday return to dust. Right now, it breaks my heart just to think about the first time someone says something mean to her or intentionally hurts her. I am *so* not ready to wrestle with the concept of her mortality.

At the same time... I love that this whole season points to Easter. As much as I love that Jesus died for my sins, I love him even more for dying for Addison's sins. I love knowing that she's a child of God, and that no amount of dust or dirt or sin will separate her from God. I love knowing that she continues to be always in the arms of Jesus.

I forgot these!

*She has the ability to raise each eyebrow independently, and she uses that ability a lot.

*She snores. Cute little baby snore. I hope she outgrows it because it won't be as cute later, I think.

*She grunts, a lot. Again -- cute now, but I hope she outgrows it.

*She loves being walked around the house so she can see her favorite things. They currently include: a tall green floor lamp, decorative plates on the wall, a cross decoration from Christmas that we've left up because she likes it, and just about any light, whether it's on or off.

A few things I love about Addison:

*She wakes up with a smile for us, even if she is fussy.

*When she gets excited, she makes fists and tucks her thumb between her first two fingers. Sometimes she points her index fingers like a very tiny disco girl.

*She loves to be swaddled and given a pacifier when it's time to sleep. When she's all bundled up and pacified, she likes to look into my eyes and coo.

*She is soothed by having her forehead stroked.

*She is fascinated with Jason and stares at him almost non-stop when he's nearby.

*She absolutely loves the changing table of the pack-and-play. It always puts her in a fantastic mood.

*She likes to stretch, and then leaves one of her arms up in the air like a student asking a question.

ADDISON:
Addison smiles all the time now. Unfortunately, she is still fascinated with the camera so it's nearly impossible to get a good smiling pic. Most of the time she looks serious, and sometimes she looks downright grumpy.

She still sleeps in her swing. On occasion she is OK with sleeping in her carseat. The doctor suggested starting to put her to sleep in her crib at night. It also seems like a good time for her to sleep in her pack and play during the day. We're starting with her pack and play. Yesterday she did pretty well, although she kicked herself free of her swaddling blanket. She only fussed a little. Today, she hates it, and in addition to kicking out of her blanket, she also cries until I put her in her swing, where she immediately falls asleep.

She is sleeping a lot at night. Jason takes the 11 or 12ish feeding, so I can go to sleep around 9 or 9:30, and not wake up until 4 or 5. Sleep is a glorious thing.

She's a happy little baby with a fun personality. This is such a relief to me, after the first two tear-filled weeks. :)

JASON:
Jason continues to be the most fabulous dad. Addison is fascinated with him and stares at him a lot. They spend lots of time together. Jason also continues to be a fabulous husband, including the latest adventure of fixing my car (for those of you who don't click through, let me just say that it involved fur.)

ME:
I continue to adjust to live as a SAHM (that's stay-at-home-mom). I love all the time with Addison. I sometimes get stir-crazy, but if it's snowing I'm not stir-crazy enough to leave the house. I'm checking out some options for part-time work that fits around Jason's schedule, and waiting for the weather to break. :)

We are blessed. Life is good!

There is a commercial for some tax company that has been bugging me. It starts with the tax lady saying that she hears people are going to great lengths to save money this year. Then it shows three scenes, all overdone and corny in attempts to be funny: a family in sweaters, jackets, and hats around a fireplace, trying to stay warm; a dad waving to his wife as he heads off to work on a bike, in a suit and helmet, carrying his briefcase; the outside of a home at night, when someone yells to stop lighting the neighborhood and one by one the lights go off. The tax lady then says something like, "How about a more reasonable way to save money? Let us do your taxes."

Maybe it's because we're down to one income and becoming more and more frugal... but it doesn't seem unreasonable to me to wear extra layers of clothes, bike to work, or turn on fewer lights in your home.

I tried to take some cute video footage of Addison today. (It was just OK; she gets distracted by cameras.) As I went to upload it, I found a bunch of video footage from the baptism reception taken by one of our awesome youth, Jon. Cool surprise. I'd forgotten that he'd taken it.

At one point, Jon directs the camera to Jason and says, "Here's the dad." Jason, finishing up his conversation with Annie (another awesome youth), says, "There's a Chipotle app for the iPhone now." That's my hubby. :)

I also have lots of awkward footage of family and friends trying to think of things to say to us. :)

Addison turns eight weeks old tomorrow, and continues to grow and grow. It seems like every day, she is more alert and developing new skills. She smiles all the time now. It's difficult to catch it on camera, because when she sees the camera she gets so focused on it that she forgets to smile. The red-eye reducing light is fascinating to her, too. Her latest tricks are cooing and blowing spit bubbles. She raises one eyebrow and smiles a little half-smile that I just love. She is interested in toys now (although she doesn't know how to grab them yet). She really likes mobiles and hanging toys. She is getting better and better at bearing weight on her legs. She tracks people with her eyes (especially her dad). And I wouldn't call her a fussy baby anymore - just a normal baby with fussy spells.

I am growing and growing also as I figure this parenting thing out. I am quite adept at doing things one-handed and getting better and maximizing her nap times to get stuff done. Still learning, but I've made a lot of progress.

Jason and I went on a real date last night. Our good friend Kim watched Addison, and we had gift certificates to Outback. Yum. We spent the time comparing cell phone pictures of our daughter. :) It was nice to get out, but so odd to be apart from her. This past Sunday in church, someone held her for awhile and I had no idea what to do with my hands. :)

Addison got baptized last weekend. It was pretty amazing. So glad our friends and family could share it with us.