Where has the time gone?

I can't believe that today is the last day of November. This year has been crazy, but through it all we can see God's hand on our lives. I was thinking about everything I have to be thankful for since last Thanksgiving and the list is too numerous to count, but I'll list the ones that really stick out to me.

1. My wonderful husband who has stretched himself thin to provide for our family and stay on top of his school so that he finishes next year. He is my rock and I'm thankful the Lord brought us together.
2. The opportunity to try a VBAC even if it didn't work, and with that for a doctor who know there was something wrong, saving Stephen's life and probably mine.
3. Our church, they have loved and helped us. Ladies came and took Caleb to mothers day out so I could rest and many other things.
4. Parks! Caleb loves slides and can spend a long time on them. Such a great place to meet friends for the afternoon too.
5. Hot Chocolate. Andy makes me a cup in the evenings when my hands are cold and it tastes wonderful.

I know some are funny and I could continue for a while with random things, but these are the ones that come to mind at the moment. :D

Eating Solids

About a month ago I started trying to feed Stephen solids and it has been a chore. He is picky, but in a good way. Yes I know, doesn't seem possible. With Caleb I made the natural progression, starting with bananas and rice cereal then slowing moving up to table food. I never did the baby food in a jar because it was too expensive and I think it tastes nasty. Instead I have the baby food grinder pictured here and would just put whatever we were eating in it. Pork, chicken, spaghetti etc. Caleb would eat a lot at a time, but was happy with the blander foods to begin with and slowly moving up to real people food. He was about 10 months before I stopped grinding everything.
Stephen on the other hand acted like I was trying to kill him when we tried the baby cereal and would sit there and gag himself until he had spit everything out. He does not like applesauce and doesn't want his bananas mushy. At 7 months he already wants flavor and texture to his food. He loves vegetables and will eat any of them, but sweet potatoes and peas are his favorite. Last night I took someone's advice and handed him a pork chop that wasn't sharp and he happily sat there and gnawed the little bits of meat off it.
The most trouble I'm having is trying to keep some foods out of his diet until he is 1. My Dad is allergic to wheat, milk and peanut butter to name a few and I really don't want my kids to have those for awhile so there is a better chance they won't get the allergy. Stephen though will crawl around and eat Caleb's crumbs before I can get to them so I'm kind of stuck.
I just think this goes to show how different every kid is, even if it is in small ways.

Thanksgiving

I wanted to post these on Thanksgiving, but my family's internet was messed up and John and I could not get the pictures to work properly. We spent the weekend with my folks and Mom and I woke up really early Friday morning to go shopping. It's our time together to buy the last presents on Mom's list and have time together. I don't go anywhere without Stephen yet and he was a dream even with getting up that early.

Saturday we went to Olan Mills and did family portraits. Mom and I realized that we hadn't taken any family pictures since my wedding and with David graduating in May then moving to UNC for dental school we figured we should get some in before we scattered to the four winds. With all that said, below are some pictures from Thanksgiving day. I made the boys outfits, smocking and all. :D

Stephen smiling at Uncle David.

Caleb was curious about the camera. lol

Hey Uncle David.

Me and my boys with my Mam-ma, she is meeting Stephen for the first time.

Us with Pap-pa, I think he has trouble believing his baby girl is married with kids of her own now. :)

This Past Week

We found a really neat little park while waiting for Andy to finish something for school. Caleb loved the play area.

Stephen has started crusing this week. He is so proud of himself.

Thank You!!

Thank you everyone for your prayers for Kristin's family. My friend Stephanie went down to try to aid Jessica as she planned the funeral. Jessica is an amazingly strong young woman and we knew that she would be carrying her family through this. Please continue to pray for them as they go through the holidays and what would have been Kristin's wedding day over the next few weeks. Stephanie and I are trying to set up a friend chain to contact Jessica frequently so that she knows we love her and are there for her if she needs us.

So Sudden

I just found out a couple of hours ago that my dear friend Jessica Webber's sister Kristen was in a bad equestrian accident. She was in the accident either Monday night or yesterday morning and died yesterday morning. I don't have the details of exactly what happened.

Kristen was going to be married in three weeks. Her family is in absolute shock. PLEASE lift this family up in prayer!! I cannot even fathom what they are feeling right now. Please pray that God gives them peace that passeth all understanding as they make plans and try to deal with the coming days. My heart and mind are stunned right now just trying to realize that this beautiful, vivacious girl is gone. Please pray also for her husband to be.

Nighttime Training Pants

I had been looking into Training Pants because Caleb is outgrowing diapers. :( Since Rachel asked about them, I thought I'd do ahead and post what I had found. There are many different options, but a lot of them don't think they will had night time wetting. These 3 are my favorite ideas and I'll probably try them all.

This is the aristocrat diaper cover I listed for nighttime below in the diapers, but it is suggested that you put normal underwear on the child, then put this cover over it. The cover will keep them from leaking all over the bed, but they will be damp enough they will normally get up to change themselves. Claims are that since they feel wet, kids will start waking up to go to the bathroom. www.greenmoutaindiapers.com

These are just called pull-up or side snap trainers. They are pretty heavy duty, and claim they can hold night time wetting. I think they look like they will work well, but wouldn't know for sure. www.hyenacart.com/thecoveredcaboose

These are called bedwetter pants. They will feel wet to the child's skin to encourage them to go to the bathroom instead of wetting the bed, but will not leak. They are under "other products" on www.mother-ease.com

One other interesting site that has several suggestions is www.pottytrainingconcepts.com it also has some waterproof night time pants.

Cloth Diapers

I have been using cloth diaperssince the very beginning and LOVE it. I have people ask me all the time if I'll go to disposables when we have more money and I know I never will because I hate them. :) I have in fact fallen in love with wool covers. My boys have very sensitive skin and if they get a diaper rash it hangs around for a while. I have also had problems with both boys leaking a lot especially at night. I was getting really tired of changing Stephen a couple of times a day. A friend lent me some of her wool covers to see if they worked better and in one day Stephen's rash has cleared up completely. You would think that they would leak, but they don't leak at all. In the last month, Stephen has wet the bed every single night, but in the wool cover last night, his pj's weren't even damp. You use them the same why you use any other cover with a prefold under it and either diaper pins or snappis (my personal favorite). I'm madly in love, they are just a little more expensive. lol Anyways, below are 3 of my favorites.

These are firefly's They have a lot of snaps along the sides so they are really easy to adjust.
www.fireflydiapers.com

The 2 pictures above are of covered caboose wraps, they are a little heavier than fireflies so they hold a little more.

www.greenmountaindiapers.com

This last one is called an aristocrat and is for nighttime primarily. They are a dream and you don't need pj bottoms over them. They also come with long legs so that you don't need winter pj's either. These are also on green mountain diapers.

I absolutely love these covers and even if we can't afford them for these two, I know what I'm getting for the next one.

Microwaves

If you have a microwave, have you ever thought about how much you use it while cooking? Our 30 year old microwave bit the dust last week and I hadn't realized how much time was saved by having it. I can still cook anything I want, everything just takes more time. lol Isn't it amazing how much we take for granted in our "have to have it 5 minutes ago" society? :)