Impromptu

Our first measurable snowfall (~7") meant an impromptu family outing to the backyard for snow angels, snowballs, and a snowman. 

Continuing on that theme we visited Mimi and Papa's church for a Christmas program, which asked for audience participation. Congregation members were invited to grab a costume and join the program as a character from the Christmas story. What a great idea for a program!  We decided to join in as shepherds herding our little lamb down the aisle. 

"Where's ...?"

Waldo was found this past Halloween at GG's house hanging out with one extremely windblown parrot. This Waldo made many appearances around town, and even received a couple of jars of baby food for her first trick-or-treat experience. (However, it was the parrot who enjoyed the candy!) The costumes were fun to make, and next year James said he'd get into the spirit with us. Any ideas on a cute (but easy to make) family costume theme?

Over the last couple of weeks we've tried to enjoy the remaining nice fall weather with frequent walks uptown and playing in the leaves. The last couple of days have been unseasonably warm, and I'm inclined to believe its the calm before the storm. Fortunately we're prepared as I was able to finish her car seat blanket and cover for this winter (picture to come in a later post). 

A couple of updates about our little girl: 

1. She was in the 98th percentile in height and 50th percentile in weight at her 4 month check up. 

2. She rolled over for the first time this Thanksgiving weekend (front to back), but has yet to make a repeat performance.

3. She's recently decided to refuse a bottle unless it contains freshly expressed milk and a latex nipple (which was discovered through MUCH trial and error). Perhaps there is an issue with lipase since she's refusing frozen milk that has been thawed, though I'm not 100% certain she's not just picky. 

4. She's got one set of "pipes" and isn't afraid to use them. 

5. 'Twas the Night Before Christmas has recently become a favorite story.

6. She's free with her smiles and enjoys laughing, as long as no one has a camera or cell phone out to document the occasion.  

3.5 months

 It's amazing to think we have a baby who is almost four months old. 

She's one special little lady, with a budding personality. Just a quick update with a more extensive one to follow after her 4 month check up in a couple of weeks. 

The kiddo is a champion thumb sucker, and as a result has been sleeping through the night (10 p.m. to 8 a.m.) for the past month. She is cooing and even starting to laugh. She loves checking out her hands, gnawing on fingers and cooled teethers, and grabbing toys on her play yard. She seems to be left-hand dominant, but perhaps its too early to tell. Tummy time is still a bit of a struggle, but she's handling it better than before. She sits in a bumbo seat to play, enjoys being pulled into a sitting or standing position, and "flying" with daddy. She's just recently graduated to a size 2 diaper and is wearing 3-6 month outfits. Her favorite songs include "I love trash," "Moon, moon, moon," and "I'm a little duckie." 

She also did well on her first vacation to Hocking Hills. We had a great time visiting, hiking, and relaxing with family. 

Projects

When we found out we were expecting, James and I started having discussions that wouldn't have crossed our minds pre-Baby C. One of the big ones we had right away was cloth v. disposable diapers. Quite a few friends and family members had used cloth diapers and had great things to say, but we also heard from many experienced moms, who had to use them with no alternatives years ago, that disposable were a great idea and the washing/drying (not to mention toilet dunking) of cloth could get old rather fast.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we liked the idea of being "earth friendly" and the idea of cloth diapers being more cost friendly (over time); however, we also liked the convenience of disposable diapers. So we came to a compromise - cloth diapers at home and disposable "on the road." Since we weren't sure how all of this would play out, I decided to try sewing some diapers (under the supervision of a couple of experienced sewers). This significantly decreased the cost of the diapers, which made the idea of them much more appealing. Also, James was able to rig up a diaper sprayer to help with the dunking situation. So here are a couple of pictures of our cute model wearing the cloth diaper (sans cover) and another showing her duck diaper cover. So far, I have been really satisfied with the cloth diapers for home use and am considering making more in larger sizes.

Other projects in the works hit a bit a road block after the birth. (The nursery border is still only half painted!) Yet, we have enjoyed the fruits of our pre-baby projects a bit this fall. The two gardens that were planted earlier this spring have been producing a nice amount of fresh produce that we've started to preserve for the winter season and are enjoying for weekly dinners. Also, we've had enough to donate to a local charity as part of our church's GROWTH project that we started a couple summers ago.

One quick project I was able to squeeze in between nursing and naps was preserving herbs. Normally I dry the herbs from my tiny herb garden. However, I saw an idea on a website that called for freezing herbs in olive oil. I decided to give it a try with a little rosemary this fall, but haven't tried cooking with it yet.

Newest addition

After an afternoon of "nesting" and a dip in the pond with Mom and TY, our little girl arrived two weeks early after a crazy, quick delivery. Since then, she's met many family members, friends, and well-wishers and been a hit with them all. In a couple of day's she'll be a month old, and she's starting to look a little less like a newborn and more like a well-fed baby.  Before long, she'll be moving out of the newborn clothes she's used for the past couple of weeks. 

So far she's not too wild about tummy time or bath time, but other than that she's been a real peach. She loves snuggling, movement (walks and car rides), and exercising her lungs. She's certainly turned our lives upside down and we're enjoying it!

Bump

I'll have you know that approximately 1 lb. of that bump is baby, which is scheduled to arrive late July.