Swinging

Grandma and Grandpa Bill came to visit last weekend, and while they were here they bought me a swing! Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Bill, I really like my new swing!

Free Yard Work

We kept Raegen one morning recently while his new little brother went to a doctor's appointment.

Jonathan was excited when he woke up and saw his friend.

We ventured outside to watch Mr. Jeff cut the grass.

Jonathan was outside watching too

When he was finished cutting the grass, he gave Raegen a FAST ride on the mower!

Then we put the little man to work!

While Jonathan supervised ...

Raegen worked ...

and worked...

and worked...

and worked...

and worked some more!

Then we found this cute little guy.

And we had to get a close up inspection.

Thank you for coming to play with us Raegen! And thank you for all your hard work! Come again anytime - we will let you know when the yard needs work again ;-)

Easter and a 6 Month Old!

Happy Easter!

While Mommy had me all fixed up in this cute little blue and white outfit, she decided to take some pictures. I was cooperating and smiling ... and then I had a really big blowout! My diaper didn't even stand a chance :-( So we quickly moved on to outfit number two and headed to church.
And then we took some more pictures when we got home.

Jonathan you ...

• are 17 lbs and 28 inches
• are almost sitting - you will sometimes sit for quite a while on your own before toppling
• love to roll
• are just starting to get up on all fours
• LOVE music and singing
• are becoming very aware of when mommy leaves the room
• have been enjoying being outside in the beautiful weather lately - we have been getting some good use out of our strollers
• went on your first trip to the zoo
• caught your first cold
  
• had your first real hair cut - you don't have much hair, but what you do have was getting pretty long and scraggly
• still don't have any teeth
• have become a pleasant traveler during the day, but don't like being in your car seat when it is dark outside
• stayed in the nursery at church for the first time Easter morning
• smile and laugh a lot
  

My favorite sandwich

I LOVE THESE SANDWICHES!!!

You start with a whole wheat pita - I really like the Kangaroo brand which you can buy at Walmart for a good price. These pitas have very few ingredients, are super healthy, and do very well with my blood sugar (my blood sugars are usually a pretty good judge as to what is or is not healthy).

Instead of leaving the pita as a pocket, I go ahead and tear it into a top and bottom piece. Those little pockets just don't hold near enough food if you ask me! I spread some cream cheese one one piece, and some avocado on the other piece.

I add a slice or two of mozzarella cheese on one side, then some crisp and yummy cucumber slides on the other side. Sprinkle with a little (not too much - the stuff is strong!) lemon pepper seasoning ... and you now have DELICIOUSNESS right there on your plate :-)

Cucumber sandwich + fruit and veggies + a glass of water = a healthy and tasty lunch!

Our Cloth Diaper System

I have been meaning to write a post about our cloth diapers for some time now, and I am finally getting around to doing it :-)

Why cloth? Our number 1 reason for cloth diapering is to save money. Lord willing, we desire to have more children, and by buying cloth diapers with our first child and using them for any children that follow, we could save quite a bit of money. Did you know disposables cost approximately $1800-$2300 (this site breaks it down for you) per child! Cloth diapering costs vary depending on what type of diaper you buy, and there are A LOT of options out there! The diapers we are using cost us less than $200. You do have some added expenses for laundering with the cloth diapers, but your total cost of cloth diapers and laundering is still no where as high as disposables. Other reasons to cloth diaper - they are much better for the environment, they are really cute, they hold in messes much better than disposables (I think we have only had to change an outfit from a blowout once with our cloth diapers, compared to the multiple times we have had to change outfits do to blowouts with the disposables), and they don't have any of the harmful chemicals found in disposables. For convenience sake, we do use disposables for traveling and for Sundays.

We are using the Flip Cloth Diapering System, and we LOVE it! The Flip cover is a one size cover, which means it will adjust from 7-35lbs = will fit newborn through potty training = saves money = happy momma and daddy! The Flip has two different insert options; the Stay Dry inserts or the Organic Prefolds. I ordered one of each to try before making a decision - I REALLY like the Organic Prefolds and I don't care much at all for the Stay Dry insert. With the Flip system, unless the cover gets some poop on it, you simply remove the wet/dirty insert, and you can reuse the cover with a clean insert.

Our diaper stash = we have 5 Flip covers, 13 Organic Flip prefolds, 1 Flip Stay Dry insert (don't like it and almost never use it), 1 Econobum cover with an accompanying prefold (I do like this system, but no as much as the Flip), 1 Grobaby one size cover with snap in soaker pad (I received this set for free, and I DO NOT LIKE IT; we only use it as a back up when all our other diapers are in the wash), 1 dozen unbleached Chinese prefolds (we use these with our Flip covers), 3 dozen homemade flannel wipes, and a Snappi .

Here is the little guy all diapered up.

On the top you have our unbleached Chinese prefold (We are probably going to buy a dozen of the next size up in these soon; $27.00 and that should be our final cloth diapering purchase and we will be all set until Jonathan potty trains), and on the bottom you have our Flip organic prefold (you can fold it to fit whatever size you have the cover set for).

Here is the flip cover. The top two rows of snaps are for waist adjustment. The bottom three rows are to adjust the rise.

Here I have the cover snapped for the medium rise setting, which is what Jonathan is currently wearing.

The inside of the cover is lined with a waterproof material, so you can wipe out and reuse the cover if it isn't dirty.

Option #1: Organic prefold. This is super easy - you simply tri fold the diaper, lay it in the cover, lay baby on diaper, and fasten it. These organic prefolds are REALLY absorbent. We use these for night time and for our long naps. Jonathan can go twelve hours in one of these, sleeping on his belly, and still no leaks. When traveling and using a disposable, we always end up with a wet belly, bed, and pajamas if we try to go all night without a diaper change.

Option # 2: Chinese prefold with a Snappi fastener. This took a little practice at first, but once you get it down it is super easy. There are MANY MANY ways to use a prefold; this is just the method that I like because it works for me. I lay Jonathan on the diaper, trifold the front, pull it up to cover him, cross the sides over each other, and use a Snappi to fasten. These unbleached prefolds are super soft, very trim fitting, and do a great job of holding in the breastfed poop and keeping the cover clean.

The Snappi fastener is a great invention! Can we say no more diaper pins :-) The three ends of the Snappi have little curved teeth that grab the diaper and hold it on great. It is slightly stretchy and super easy to use.

Ok Mom, you can stop showing my fat legs to the world now!

After using the Snappi to secure the prefold, you simply place the cover on over it for a nice trim fit.

Can we say FAT ROLLS!

There is form fitting elastic (Can you say, "keeps poop off our clothes!") in the leg openings and across the back of the waist. We haven't had problems with red marks from the elastic in these covers like we did with some others we tried.

What a cute bum!

And a cute boy!

Yep, yep - we like our dipes!

Winter Weather Returns

We had beautiful weather last week as we headed toward Spring. And now that Spring is officially here... we woke up Sunday morning to a cold wet day. We turned the heaters back on and bundled up. I took advantage of the cold day to put Jonathan in this cute outfit one more time and took some pictures.

Sitting up in my nice, warm sweater with one of my favorite blankets - it's a good day!

Mmmm, my blanket tastes yummy!

"Um Mom, help me please. I haven't quite mastered sitting up yet."

"Come on Mom, please stop taking pictures and help me up!"


"Oh yeah, I am sitting up again!"

"Help, sliding down again!"

"Oh yeah, I'd rather stand!"

This "chewing on the bottom lip" look is one we see frequently these days. Usually accompanied by some really cute humming noises :-)

Stare contest anyone?

Thanks for stopping by!