One Year Ago...

One year ago -

We were visiting my family in Montana...

Kaitlyn was 3 1/2 months old...

She had her first four-wheeler ride (and despite the tongue sticking out, she loved it!)...

And I went from long hair...

to short!

Now...

We are again visiting my family in Montana...

Kaitlyn walks, talks, and, well, keeps me busy...

And no drastic hair changes this year, other than letting it grow.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 25th Birthday to my little brother Punk!

I hope God gives you a thousand hugs from me for your birthday. Enjoy your day riding with wings! Miss you!

Road Trip!

Kaitlyn and I are taking a break from "normal" life for a few weeks while we visit Grandma and Pal. Although Kaitlyn is already quite the little traveler, we have not attempted anything like the road trip we just took -- 1300 miles in two days! Eeekk! For a busy little toddler who loves to run around and be active, she actually did great for the ride. I didn't snap too many pictures as I spent the 1300 miles trying to entertain my little ball of energy. But, I did get a few shots while she napped...

And the sweetest of them all...

That's One Small Step

Kaitlyn has never been a bad eater. She has also never been a great eater. She's just in the middle. Early on, we both had some struggles.

Me:
Hum, to start with mushed bananas or mushed peas?
Pureed meat? Are you kidding me?! Go ahead and gag me now.
Can she handle half a cheerio or do I need to cut every cherrio in quarters?
No she can't have strawberries. She is only 11 months and 29 days old. You have to wait until she is a year old for strawberries. Geez, what are you trying to do, give her an allergy attack?!

Kaitlyn:
Like.
Don't like.
Like.
Don't like.
Definitely don't like.
Going to eat lots of this.
But none of that.
What is that smell? Seriously, pureed meat? Gag me now. Mom, really, why are you feeding this to me?!

But really, overall, she eats fairly well. She does eat most things I attempt to feed her and she gets a good variety of food.

However, vegetables are another story. Yes, I know typical toddler scenario: doesn't like veggies. That is why there are a bazillion "How to Puree Vegetables into Spaghetti Sauce" type cook books out there. But here was the thing I didn't understand. Kaitlyn would eat green beans, peas, carrots, you name it, from the Gerber pureed food jars. I tried fresh veggies, but she didn't like them. She would eat fresh smashed fruit, bread, meat, whatever...but not fresh veggies. Only the pureed Gerber jars. No matter how thin I could get the fresh stuff, Kaitlyn turned her nose up at it and would demand Gerber jars.

Well, when we transitioned to all solid food and quit buying the baby food and I almost decided to author the bazillion-and-one book on "How to Puree Vegetables into Spaghetti Sauce" book because this has been the only way to get her to eat veggies for the past couple weeks. Well...that and the dump-half-a-can-of-grated-parmesan-cheese-onto-a-single-stalk-of-broccoli method. That seems to work occasionally too. But, tonight we had a break through.

Not only did Kaitlyn eat a bite of cooked carrot (of all things, bleeekkkkk), she ate THREE cooked carrots. Hallelujah. And she even kept signing "more" after each one. She actually wanted MORE cooked carrots.

Ladies and Gentlemen (well probably just ladies if you are this far into the post), That's One Small Step For Mom, One Giant Leap For Kaitlyn.

I don't even think Neil Armstrong felt this good when he walked on the moon.

Thursday Book Club

I just finished reading:

When Jack and Laurel are married, Jack pledges to write letters to his wife every Wednesday. And he does. Every single Wednesday of his married life, he writes to his wife. And yet, his three children know nothing of these letters until both Jack and Laurel pass away on the same night. Hidden in these letters the lives of Jack and Laurel that their kids never knew are revealed changing everything in their lives.

Overall, I'd give the book 3.5 out of 5 stars. It's a good book. Good. Clean. Great story of commitment, godly character and triumph through struggle. However, I found it to be a little elementary for me. Well written and an easy read and certainly entertaining, but I felt a little bit like I had potatoes and a salad for dinner and was still wondering where the meat was. Potatoes and salad makes for a nice dinner, but a good steak really rounds it out. And this book lacked steak.

So 3.5 stars due to lack of steak.

On to Blessings by Anna Quindlen.

Join My Book Club?

I decided I need to read a little more. Being a stay at home mom is wonderful. It really is. I am so blessed to be able to be home and watch my little pumpkin grow. I am blessed that I am here to raise her. That I make the rules and the schedule and that I am the one teaching her. I do know that I am very fortunate to be in the position where I get to do this. However, it is tough! You hear moms say that all the time but you never really get it until you are home. I suppose some people are really just cut out for it...but me...man, it is a challenge. The hard part is not raising the child(ren) -- although ask me again 10 years down the road and I might have a different answer. The hard part (right now) is still being a person - someone independent of "mom." I often feel very bored. Not bored in the sense of having nothing to do -- there is always something to do. But the things you do are so routine and mundane - the laundry is never done because even as the last load clicks off, you finish your day and toss your days clothes into the hamper...the dishes are only clean until the next meal...the floors are vacuumed and then the dog comes in...figuring out what's for dinner that everyone will eat...it's never-ending mind numbing tasks that fill your days. I think my brain is literally going to mush.  Because it's not just housework! It's also the library of baby books I have that I can read with my eyes closed. Goodnight Moon to Snuggle Puppy to Baby's First Words. The Signing Times DVDs that repeat in my head until I fall asleep.  The conversations I have with a little person who only responds with "da-da", "ba", "ne-ne", "abbb-ul" (apple) and "crrk-rr" (cracker).  I'm going crazy! So yes, at times, I miss work. I never would have thought I'd say it, but I do. I miss mental stimulation and adult conversation. I miss a sense of accomplishment. Yes, it feels great to see your daughter take her first steps and to hear her try to form words so she can talk to you and I can't put a price tag on that. But every now in then, I'd like to be Laura instead of Mom and I'd like my brain to get a work out. 

So, because I can't be both a stay at home mom and a working mom (outside of the home), I have to resort to other methods to get some brain pilates. 

I have a few books on my shelf whose pages haven't ever been turned, so I'm going to give them a whirl. I'd like to set a goal, like 20 books in a year, but I haven't really figured out the right number yet. It would at least give me a goal to work towards. Maybe one a week? That seems a little ambitious...but maybe I'll try...

Nonetheless, my latest read is:

This is the same author who wrote My Sister's Keeper. Change of Heart is the story of a man named Shay Bourne on death-row who has been accused of murdering a young girl and her step father. The story intertwines his spiritual journey as his death approaches with that of his spiritual advisor, Father Michael Wright, and his ACLU attorney, Maggie.  It is really an intriguing story and very well written however, some of the reviews of the book herald the author for tackling such a controversial topic as the death penalty. In my reading, I found this to be less of a book about the death penalty and more a book about religion. And from what I see, it takes the approach of "all roads lead to heaven." This is where I found disappointment. You delve into the book and come to know the characters, but all of the characters seem to disappoint because of their lack of true conviction. Instead they come up with what suits them best. Even as the book ends, you are question "Who was Shay Bourne?" "Was Maggie converted?" "Did Father Michael resolve his crisis of faith?" Does it even matter? I say yes, because so much religion is thrown into the book, yet no one takes a clear stand on who they are. You are left with half-characters. 

To the author's credit, she claims the book to be more about why we believe what we believe and how religion plays such a divisive role in our decision making:

"...I’ve looked at legal issues that, when pushed, are less than fair. But right now in America, it feels to me like the country’s being broken apart on the fault line of religion. All the big controversies – like abortion and gay rights and capital punishment seem to boil down to religion, and the weird thing that’s happened to religion. Although historically it was a way to unite people, it’s become divisive – because beliefs have become absolutes. People think, “I’m right, so you MUST be wrong.”

I found myself asking why we believe what we believe. Is it because it’s right? Or because it’s too scary to admit we may not know the answers? And suddenly, I started to come up with the story for CHANGE OF HEART."

Overall, I would give this book 2.5 out of 5 stars. It is well written. There was a great-story-that-could-have-been in there. Channelled a little differently, this book could have easily scored five stars. But I find this idea of "do what feels best" to be all to prevalent in our society as it is. I think the author could have made a phenomenal book if she could have created characters that took a real stand. 




Now reading: The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright 

Say Ahhh!

Kaitlyn had her latest "well-visit" just a few days ago. We found a new pediatrician's office, which is awesome. I love the two doctors there, who happen to be a husband/wife team. They are both really respectful of my decisions as a parent, are very up to date with the newest pediatric recommendations, but are not so quick to jump the gun on something new, they are very knowledgeable and we've never had to wait, literally, more than 30 seconds. Plus, for this last well visit, I spend almost an hour there and I'd say 80% of it was with the doctor. They really take the time to be thorough and get to know their patients!

As you can tell, I'm thrilled with them. Good doctors seem hard to come by.

Anywho, Kaitlyn's latest stats are as follows:

Height: 32.25 inches (95% percentile)

Weight: 22 lbs 1 oz (35% percentile)

Clothing size: 18-24 months (mostly 18, but for a few things, especially things I want to last a little longer, I get 24 months)

Food: She eats pretty good. Not bad. Not great. She usually eats what we eat. A few things she doesn't seem to like are hamburgers (but she will eat meatloaf), veggies (though she occasionally will gobble them right up!) and she's not totally thrilled with pizza. She still loves fruits - mostly peaches, apples and bananas.

Sleep: 11-12 hours through the night without any wake-ups. Two naps...though we seem to be in that transition period down to one nap. It doesn't come easy apparently!

We were recommended to get her first dentist appointment in before she turned two. I can't really imagine what they'll do other than maybe figure out why she still only has 6 teeth. Where are the rest of them?!

And here's a recent picture! She looks a little grumpy, doesn't she?!

These two hands

I love Pottery Barn. Too bad my wallet doesn't.

And too bad for Jeff! Because with every catalog that comes in the mail, I point out furniture, bedding, curtains...you name it. If PB makes it, I undoubtedly have shown it to Jeff and rationalized a million and one ways why it would be okay to splurge just this once...and this one more time...oh and this one more time...

Fortunately for our bank account, my wallet and Jeff's wallet seem to run off and go into hiding for a good period of time following the arrival of the PB catalogs. Our wallets must have past lives working in The Unit as we've been spared the many splurges I've wanted at PB due to their extreme CIA hiding skills.

Well, today I come bearing a peace treaty between ourselves and our wallets. We promise to no longer threaten our wallets with expensive PB furniture so long as they stick around while we peruse the Knock Off Wood website. Yes, we know this stuff looks expensive and we understand our wallets' concerns. But these two hands will not abuse our wallets with overpriced furniture purchases. Instead, these two hands will build it.

You love PB furniture too, don't you? Check out all the plans on Knock Off Wood's website. Put your two hands to work and give your wallet a break!