CHU on this...

Second Month

2011-08-07T15:26:00.001-04:00

This will be short and include a lot of pictures because I have a fussy teething baby who is refusing to nap.
Here are some pictures from Josh's second month!

First Smiles...

Yoda Baby...

Pumpkin Carving with Mommy & Daddy...

Watching Cousin K's Volleyball game with Aunt D...

Hanging out with Pappaw...

My sweep sleeping baby...

2 month photo...

Smiles!...

Meeting little miss B for the first time...

Peace...

I love this tooshy!...

Cousin N...

Cousin S...

Cousin J...

With Great-grandma on thanksgiving...

With Aunt D on Thanksgiving...

Playing with mommy's cousins...

Aunt C on Thanksgiving...

Baby and mommy...

Look at that strong boy!...

I truly truly love this boy and am a bit sad looking back at these photos from 8+ months ago. Stop growing!!!

The first month

2011-07-20T21:50:00.000-04:00

Sleeping with Daddy...

Trip to get blood drawn. He was pretty borderline for jaundice, so we had to have extra blood tests for the first week...

Watching the OSU game with Daddy...

Thinking hard while sleeping on Mommy...

First sponge bath...

Monster baby...

I found his sleeping on his side one morning. Not sure how he got like that all swaddled up...

Watching the Bengals game...

Sad puppy. He didn't want to stop drinking to burp...

1 month photos...

Breast is Best

2011-07-16T23:28:00.000-04:00

Today we will talk about breastfeeding. This is something I was very determined to do...I mean, they do say "Breast is Best." I told myseld that if I failed it was because I didn't try hard enough or what not. Our hospital is great that they offer free lactation consulting during the hospital stay and even afterward. Everytime the lactation consultant (LC) came in to our room, I had just finished feeding Joshua, so I didn't get to take advantage of their services. The regular nurses were pretty helpful so I felt confident that everything was going well. We got home from the hospital late Monday night. By that Wednesday I was having some pretty bad pain everytime he ate. At first I thought a little pain is normal, but by this point, it did not seem normal. We decided to call the LC at the hospital. Luckily, they had an opening that afternoon. After our meeting I still felt confident that everything was going well and that the pain was normal. By that Friday I couldn't handle it anymore. We had a sample can of formula that was mailed to us, so I broke down and had Phil make a bottle. (I had a pump but hadn't opened or sterelized it yet) Boy did I feel horrible for giving him formula! The next week, we had a check up for Joshua at our Dr. office. She asked if I was nursing and I told her the problems I'd been having. She took a look at both Joshua and I and determined I had thrush. A simple topical treatment would clear it up in a week for me and an oral treatment would clear up Joshua. In the meantime I would pump or feed formula. We scheduled a follow up appt. for the next week...I was not healed yet. More of the same treatment and a follow up for the next week. To avoid repetition, let's fast forward 6 weeks. I was STILL not healed. She finally did a culture test and found that I had a staph infection. Some antibiotics and the same topical treatment and I was FINALLY healed! Joshua is about 8 weeks old by now, so I figured he wouldn't go back to nursing after that long of having a bottle. But I wasn't going to give up, so I tried it and he did it! We were doing good (part time nursing only) for about 2 months, and he started to seem not interested. We figured I just didn't have a great supply from pretty much having to pump from the beginning. After four months of trying so hard, I decided it was time to end this journey.
That was all the medical/physical part of the whole ordeal. What was going on in my mind? Pure agony...rollercoasters of emotions...guilt...shame...sadness...relief...I could go on. One day I would want to just quit pumping because it took up so much time, but then Phil would encourage me to keep going. The next day I would feel awful for giving my baby formula.
What did I learn? Breast is best, but formula is not the worst thing in the world. Joshua is happy, healthy, smart, etc. Formula did not ruin him. I did not fail...and my problems did not come from lack of trying. I was making sure he was fed, so I think that makes me a great mom, not the horrible mom I was making myself out to be. A lot of friends of mine had problems nursing as well, and had I reached out to anyone for support I would have realized that and may not have beat myself up so much.
What would I say to anyone having problems nursing?
1. Keep trying, but only as long as you want to. Don't let breastfeeding "snobs" pressure you into going beyond your limits.
2. Seek support. Reach out to friends. Even those that succeeded in nursing could be a great support, and you might learn that those you thought were BFing "Snobs" really aren't...that's just something you made up in your mind.
3. Enjoy time with your baby. I agonized so much that I feel I missed out on some possible happy moments in his first couple months.
4. Althought breast is best, formula is not bad. It will not kill your baby...it will not make your baby dumb...it will not make your baby overweight...it won't lead them to a lifetime of failure...etc.
5. You did not fail. It simply didn't work this time. You will know so much more for the next baby.

And I'll end with another picture of my little man...I thought this one was appropriate for the subject of this post...

Answered Prayers...the beginning.

2011-07-10T21:47:00.000-04:00

Sept. 24...39 weeks pregnant...67 lbs heavier than I started...swollen feet, ankles, legs, everything...severe back pain. I go to the OB, and no sign of baby wanting to come at all! They did an ultrasound and guessed that he was 8lbs 10oz at the time. Oh my! How big would he be if I went over my due date!? Luckily the doctor offered to induce me the following week if he didn't come before then. It wasn't what I wanted because I knew there was a higher chance of it ending in a C-section, which I did NOT want. Considering the other option (delivering a giant baby) I was willing to take the chance if needed. Saturday came and I was supposed to have a friend over to do some painting on Josh's walls, but I wasn't feeling good so I cancelled. Guess what!? And here's the answered prayer: I wasn't sick, I was in labor...no induction needed!!! I labored at home for about 6 hours til we decided to head to the hospital. When we got there I was 5cm dilated...yay! I also knew by the time we got there that I wanted an epidural. 6 hours later, my world changed forver. My 8lb 9oz baby was born. Having my little boy placed on my chest was the most special thing I've ever experienced. I'll end for now with some pictures of the day.

39 weeks pregnant...

After getting the epidural...

My wide eyed boy...

With Daddy...

Love him!

Blog what?

2011-07-08T11:39:00.000-04:00

So this is what I've been busy with since September...

And boy has he kept me busy. Here he is now...

I could write all day about what we've been up to, but I will spread it out among several posts. I hope that one day he will read this blog so I want to share all our special moments. But for now I must go get him from his nap. Stay tuned...

What I've been up to

2010-04-07T19:27:00.005-04:00

Here are some cookies I've done lately...

Baby Shower Onesies

Lady Bug "Baby" for a friend...also the way I announced to the world that I am pregnant

Lady Bug cookies for the same friend

And Easter cookies

Quilt

2010-02-07T13:19:00.002-05:00

This past week I tried my hand at making a quilt. I'm going to send this to an old friend that is expecting in May. I'm trying to reach out to her because she's been through some rough times lately and things God is out to get her. I once told her that He is out to get her, but not in the bad way that she thinks. He wants to get her, and pull her close to Him!

So I found a tutorial for sewing just a cotton panel to minky dot fabric to make a lovely baby blanket. I wanted to make the one side a bit more interesting than just a cotton panel so I decided to try a quilt pattern. I already had the fabric picked out so I just sat down and figured out how I wanted to lay out the squares. I don't think it turned out too bad considering it was my first try and that minky dot fabric is so hard to sew with unless you have a million pins.

New Hobby!

2010-02-01T20:10:00.003-05:00

Well my Cookie crafting started after I received a wonderful book called "Cookie Craft" from my wonderful husband for Christmas 2008. I had always love making cookies but they never looked so good. That book inspired me to make prettier cookies, and gave me great directions to do so.

So this past Christmas I received a sewing machine from my mom. I've never sewn before so I wasn't sure what to do at first. I mean, I've always wanted to make things, but my excuse was "I don't have a sewing machine" I decided to just jump in and start practicing with some scrap fabrics I had from other crafts. Then I got the confidence to re-cover some pillows. THEN I got the confidence to try a purse. The first bag came from a kit. From doing that, I figured out how I could make my own pattern...and this is what I came up with.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T18:27:00.003-05:00

Penguins!

2009-12-13T20:00:00.002-05:00

I recently made penguin cookies for my favorite 1 year old's birthday. They were to be used as favors, so I found some cute black and white ribbon to tie on the bags.
Since I don't have a penguin cutter, I decided to use circle cookies, and freehand the penguin. After a small breakdown, I think they turned out OK.

Thanksgiving!

2009-11-28T23:19:00.002-05:00

Thanksgiving cookies...the turkeys are my favorite!

Cake!!

2009-10-28T20:16:00.002-04:00

I attempted to decorate my first cake this week. Here's the result.

Fall Cookies

2009-10-18T13:13:00.003-04:00

Some fall cookies I made for a friend's 30th birthday. I tried chocolate sugar cookies for the first time. YUM!!!

Americolor vs Wilton

2009-09-02T17:47:00.003-04:00

So I've always used Wilton coloring because well that's all that's in the craft stores around me. But I HATE making black icing. It takes so much of the Wilton gel coloring that I'm worn out by the time it's black, and even then it's not truly black. So I decided to try Americolor, as I've heard a lot of positve feedback. It's amazing how fast the icing turned black and it is a true black. I love it! Now I'll definitely try some other colors from Americolor. Once I finish the Wilton colors I have, I may completely switch over to Americolor.

Here's a cookie with Wilton after mixing for a few minutes. You can tell it's not super black.

Here's a cookie I did with Americolor, that was mixed in at least half the time. There's not a big portion of black, but you can tell it's more black than the other.

$5 Dinner giveaway

2009-08-18T12:06:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite blogs is on 5dollardinner.com This week, she's hosting a ton of giveaways. Head on over there to enter.

Green and Ivory wedding

2009-08-08T18:38:00.002-04:00

Some wedding shower cookies for a friend of a friend. They didn't come out as ivory as I had liked but still had fun with them!

Baby Boy Cookies

2009-07-26T21:23:00.002-04:00

I made some baby boy cookies for a friend who was throwing a shower for her sister. They bagged them and put them in the basket. I think they are so cute!

Lean on Me!

2009-07-14T21:50:00.003-04:00

So lately I've come to the realization that I lean on my friends and family too much. Not that it's bad, but I've, in some ways, put other people above the Lord. The problem here is that people will always let you down....God won't.

I've noticed this lately because I've been down due to people "not meeting my expectations." The first "let down" came from my best friend of 14 years. For years I've been waiting for my best friend to come back to the states from Germany. She did come in for my wedding in October, but her and her family have officially moved back to the US. Although they are transfering to California, they were in Ohio for a short period of time. For a long time, she told me how excited she was to get together when they came to town. But slowly that excitement seemed to wear off, and then when they were in town, I never heard from her.

The second stems from me trying to reach out to a girl in our house church. She was hanging out with us for a while, but lately is distant. Says she'll attend an event but then doesn't. Says she'll come to house church but doesn't. One particular instance was that she said she was going to my birthday dinner but ended up drinking with friends instead. I don't know if I'm more let down by her or if I've let myself down by not being able to reach her.

And lastly, I feel a little let down by family. I don't require gifts, and would rather not have them, but I love getting cards for my birthday. It lets me know people care and are thinking of me. Coming from a large family, I've received a lot of birthday cards, but each year the number of cards lowers. Makes me wonder if they remember me.

All this said, I'm not writing these to be all "Woe is me, no body like me." But to remind me that in just the last two weeks, all these people have let me down in some way. It's probably not their intention to do so, but human nature. So I need to lean on Him more!

That's all! :)

Happy Birthday to Me!

2009-07-11T16:41:00.002-04:00

A few shots from my birthday dinner at Montgomery Inn...

Baby girls and Birthdays

2009-07-08T15:36:00.005-04:00

I finally got to make some girly baby cookies for a shower...

And then I made some cookies for my own birthday :) I got to practice a monogram technique I found on http://bakeat350.blogspot.com/

Yummy Dessert

2009-06-11T21:14:00.004-04:00

So, Phil is at band practice and I was craving something sweet.

With one brownie left, some ice cream and chocolate syrup left here from house church, and raspberries that I bought on sale, this is what I came up with.

If only I had more brownies, I may have made a second serving!

More Cookies

2009-06-07T12:28:00.008-04:00

An order of wedding shower cookies.

These were inspired by my own wedding cake...

Wedding dresses and tuxes...

And some pretty cakes...

Some Birthday Balloons...

Some more birthday cookies...

That's all.

Wedding Shower Cookies

2009-05-24T10:47:00.003-04:00

This week I got to make cookies for a dear friend of mine's wedding shower. It was her lingerie shower which made making the cookies really fun! Plus I got to practice some wedding cookies and hopefully get some more business from it!

Job

2009-05-19T18:52:00.002-04:00

Well, God answers prayers!
Thursday I got a call from my mom at work on Wednesday last week, asking if I knew a lady. I didn't recognize the name, but she insisted the lady knew me. Turns out that I had one class with her at Sinclair, and we had talked because she dates one of my co-workers. She found her dream job and needed someone to take her place. I called her and she asked if I could interview that day, but I was covered in cookie dough so we decided Thursday morning would be better. I went in Thursday and answered some questions on a piece of paper. Then the owner came and looked over the paper and offered me a job. I literally said "Are you serious?" He has asked me no other questions, but trusted the recomendation. So I started Monday and think it seems like a great job. I'm doing all the bookeeping at The Carpet Store, and my hours are 9-2...can't get better hours than that!
Through this I've realized just how much God is in control and how His timing is perfect. The time I had off was great to pack for the move and then to get a little settled in once we moved.
HE is awesome!!!

Music and babies

2009-05-17T10:53:00.007-04:00

I made cookies this week for our praise band picnic and some to include with a baby shower gift. Final outcome...

The organized tray I took to the picnic...

And the baby shower cookies. I will use a sheep and a turtle as gift tags...

I love my new kitchen

2009-05-13T13:35:00.002-04:00

I just rolled out the cookies on my new kitchen counter. I love it so much. It beats doing it at the kitchen table and breaking my back bending over to roll it out.

The "Cookie Counter" is the one on the right since there's so much room to spread out.

Ingredients

2009-05-12T12:23:00.002-04:00

So I'm just sitting here waiting for Phil to get home with some flour. I was mixing cookie dough and realized I only had 2 cups of flour and need 5 cups. I guess I need to keep better track of my ingredients.
I'm making music cookies for the band picnic on Friday and onesie cookies for a gift for a baby shower on Sunday. Hope the rest of the process goes smoother than this. Pictures to come later...

Being Content in my unemployment

2009-05-05T00:00:00.002-04:00

About a month ago I was put on a temporary layoff status. I was ok with this, as it was somewhat a voluntary thing. Most of the other ladies in our accounting department were their own income, so I new I was able to handle it the best. On Friday I found out this layoff would turn to permanent status. At first I was upset, a little amplified by some unsuccessful job interviews. But a friend wrote a note regarding her thought on her unemployment, and changed my perspective. Basically, she said that middle/upper class base so much of their lives on their career. Instead of dwelling on my unemployment, I need to take this time to grow closer to God, and to trust in His control. He provides for his children and I need to just remember that. So that being said, I'm more content, and focusing on my growth in the Lord.

Thanks to Amy for opening my eyes.

My girls who keep me in line...

Spring/Easter Cookies

2009-04-28T21:47:00.010-04:00

Here are some cookies I've made this spring.

The icing on these changed color but I figured out why...the next ones will look better.

Easter Cookies...

More Flowers...Better this time...

We are Homeowners

2009-04-28T15:49:00.003-04:00

Today, Phil and I closed on our house. Unfortunately, we don't have the keys yet. The sellers couldn't be there so our agent is trying to get the keys for us tonight. Otherwise, we will get them tomorrow. I can't wait to just go sit in our new house!