Never be afraid to laugh at yourself, after all, you could be missing out on the joke of the century. ~~Dame Edna EverageI went to pick up David from the FLC childcare today after working out. Someone kindly told me that I had a sticker stuck to the back of my shirt. I went to pull it off and here is what I found--(click on the picture to enlarge)
Enough said!
Michael and I will be doing the Walk for Life on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. This is a 2 mile walk where we have sponsors and pray for Carenet Crisis Pregnancy Center. (We are not pickitting just praying) If you would like to sponsor us, please let us know this week (mweyler@sbcglobal.net or comment below). If you would like to walk and get sponsors yourself, there is still time. Please let us know if you plan to come, and Michael and I will meet you there. :)
Again, I just cannot say enough about this organization and what they do to change lives (not just save them). It is a Godly group of women and men who work there for little to no pay. They are good stewards of the money that God gives them and use almost all of it directly with the clients to preach the good news and meet the practical needs of these hurting girls (and families).
I have heard pets and babies are the hardest to photograph. I would like to amend that to "babies. period." Sadie did quite a nice job posing. David on the other hand? He only looked at the camera once or twice, maybe. The rest of the time, he was busy stuffing his mouth with the bluebonnets.
They are a site where you take children's or even your own (you may see my stories on there someday soon) stories and/or illustrations and publish a hardcover or softcover book with them. Then, friends and family can purchase it online. It costs only about $20-depending on the number of pages (but I saw some rather lengthy books that still only cost $20).
What a wonderful way to make immemorial the priceless pieces of art that your children draw. Set them to words--or don't-- as the case may be. This also would make a great gift!
I have yet to do it, but I intend to start with a selection of bedtime stories that I wrote a while ago that would be great fun to read in a book format. They claim rights to all material but also stated that they are required to give back rights if you request them.
Let me know if you try it and like the product!
Today was no exception! David did not really want to smile but aside from that, the gal who did the photos was patient, artistic, did not force the really cheesy backgrounds on us, took lots of candids (often the best), and altogether took so many good shots that we walked out with more than we intended to. (still not a bad deal since we did skip all those other pictures--and even better, we got the CD and can get the rights to print them as we wish.)
Here are a few of our favorites (complete with his usual slobber in many of them)~
When D was little, I tried the Walmart brand of diapers (my sister and friend K said they fit their kiddos quite well) D was on the light side (10%ile weight and 75%ile height) and had very scrawny legs. They did not fit well, and we had frequent leaks. I am not sure how they would work now though.
I tried out a Luvs sample that I received in the mail. They were coarse (compared to Pampers) and stiff.
Then we used Pampers Swaddlers for months. They were wonderful! And primarily only began leaking when D was still wearing size 1 and should have been in size 2. We switched and they held enough more at night to stop the leaks.
We moved on to the Pampers Cruisers when he got to size 3.
Recently, I was given a large box of Pampers Baby Dry. I have used them and the Cruisers interchangeably now. They work just as well. They are not quite as soft (although still nice) and do not have the mesh inside (which I hear some of the Cruisers are missing now too). The mesh could help with diaper rash, but D does not seem to get it any more frequently than before. However, otherwise, I cannot really tell much of a difference. The Baby Dry are cheaper and while I like the Cruisers a bit better, the differences are not really worth the extra price.
Recently, I got a special deal on the Kroger brand. I tried them. They fit nicely and hold as much as the Pampers, but the tags do not hold strong. With clothes on to hold them in place, they were tolerable, but we had the case of the diapers falling off more than once because the tag had come unstuck.
Last week, I got an exceptional deal on Huggies so I decided to try them. They are a big name competitor, after all. At first, I thought they fit even better than the Pampers. (although, smaller...I don't think D would wear the same size as long) However, they have not proven themselves at all. They hold only about half the liquid as the PAmpers before they start leaking. So, if your baby does not produce too much liquid and is slender, these are cheaper and would be a good option. Otherwise, forget them.
So back to the Pampers for us!
This month has brought so much joy! I am constantly amazed by how much you are growing up, into a little person...and how much fun it is to interact with you now!
Midway through this month you learned to go from crawling to sitting to crawling to sitting to crawling...nevermind, you get the idea. :) You are far more content now that you can find your own way to sitting.
Right before you turned 6 months old, we lowered your bed since you started crawling last month and I knew it was only a matter of time until you pulled up. This month, you began by pulling up partially and hesitantly on your little tikes toolbench. Later, a bit more assuredly. However, it came as a big shock to walk into your room last week. I had thought that it would be fun to take a picture of you sitting in your crib when I came to get you (this was still a new enough milestone and so cute to see...) Last week, I remembered to grab the camera. I walked in expecting you to be sitting. Nope. Not lying down either. You were standing in full upright position with both hands grabbing the bars, desperate to get out. Wow! This was the first time I had ever seen you pull up to full upright position anywhere, and I had the camera! (So you had to cry a few more minutes while I snapped a few pictures.)
To set the record straight though, you have discovered this month how to play in your crib quite contentedly most of the time until I come get you. It is sweet to walk in and see you look up at me and smile...knowing that we can then have fun playing on the floor.
Playing? This means pulling up on everything-- From Mama, to your toy truck, your tool bench, the ottoman, the side table etc... You have also begun cruising a little bit--primarily when you see something you want on top of whatever. You are almost standing regularly and have even stood on your own for a second without realizing it...I think surprising both you and I.
Your favorite toys have changed quite a lot. While you used to love your rattles and such, now you are finding the toys that have purpose more interesting. You love the Jack in the Box, the spinning top, your activity table, your little tikes workbench, the magnetic animal matching game, blocks, balls, and many other more interesting and complex toys.
You also love books now. Whether to eat or to look at and read together is somewhat under debate. :) You still love to eat magazine pages, mail and any other paper left on the floor or crawl around holding it in both hands while exploring. BUT...you also will sit still and seem rather fascinated for several minutes while Mama reads you books. Your favorite ones are "Mr. Brown can Moo", "Animal Sounds", Are you Ticklish?" and some touch and feel books that you have.
You love to explore!!! This is probably your favorite thing to do. You will crawl after the cats around the house or just crawl into the other room to see what is going on in there. You crawl into corners and behind furniture to see the sights. (don't tell everyone about all the dustbunnies you find) This means you are into everything! DVDs, the blinds, the DVD player, electrical cords... Mama has had to tell you "No-don't touch." This makes you pause everytime and sometimes find something else. There have been several times knowingly though that you have gone back to touch. After a couple of warnings, you have even gotten a few spankings. This causes a few tears but then you move on to another activity. Hopefully, you will learn soon that some of these things are off limits. Don't want them to hurt you!
You are so funny to watch during mealtime. You are still a great food afficionado, but your likes have turned more to the chunkier foods--which Mama likes too since it is easier to feed you without making a mess. Speaking of which, you love to play with anything on your tray. This made for a very funny sight one night. You were very unhappy while eating (I think maybe tired) and were crying and fussing throughout mealtime. You even had your eyes shut in a crying frenzy. However, I accidentally spilled one drop from your spoon onto your tray. Like lightning, you opened your eyes, temporarily stopped crying, stuck your fingers in the mess and rubbed it around your tray, and just as quickly went back to crying. This prompts Mommy to try to get every bit in your mouth! :) You have begun self feeding this month though. At first, you were rather clumsy with those fingers and had a hard time picking up the puffs. You could also only manage to get them with the left hand (and always went for them with that hand. hmmm...), but by the end of this month, you are now managing to stuff them in everytime with the left hand and even occasionally with your right hand. You have also started Baby Mum Mums...which are very messy but oh-so-yummy! As I mentioned, you are eating Stage 3 food as well as all the food Mama has made for you, including the new food variety of homemade yellow squash and zucchini and butternut squash. You have also eaten quite a few table scraps and more to come. Shh...don't tell any of this to your pediatrician. She was already horrified that I had started you on Stage 3 food already (which you prefer) and we did not even tell her about the cheerios and puffs and the yogurt (which she declared unfit until 9 months)
You are still more eager to let Mama hold your bottle but have fed yourself in a pinch a couple of times. You have yet to figure out, though, that when you drop your bottle and put it back up to your mouth, it cannot be drunk out of upside down. :)
The days of dozens of burp cloths is over. Your spitting up is way toned down now and often we will go even complete days without any spitting up!
We have given up on the pacifier this month. Even the few times that it would have been convenient to force on you, you just spit it back out. Most of the time you find your thumb but not always immediately desired either.
You are probably teething although still no signs of teeth. At the very beginning of the month, you went around for 3 or 4 days biting your bottom gum (like an old geezer without teeth). You have begun that again in the past several days. Your pediatrician thought it was a definite sign of teething. You look so serious when you do this, it makes me a bit sad since I love to see your smile and hear your laugh, but I can't blame you for being serious when you have dull pain all the time.
You still sleep well with both a morning and afternoon nap after 11-12 hours of sleep at night. The time change came at the perfect time though. Mama did not even tell you that the time changed. You are now going to bed at 7-7:30 at night (still reasonable) but get up at 7:00-7:30 a.m. instead of the usual 5:30-6:00. Yeah!
Lots of firsts this month! This month you went to your first library storytime. You enjoyed the playtime at the end best, but you were amazingly quite for quite a while as we sat and sang. This week, you fell asleep with your head against the stroller bar as we walked home. You also went to the zoo for the first time. I think you enjoyed the people there more than the animals. Even more exciting though, you got to go to your first car show with your Daddy...and I am sure there will be many more to come! (oh, and when I asked your Daddy whether he would teach you your history once/if we start homeschooling you, he responded, "I will teach him about cars and football, and stuff..." :) His first attempt to teach you about football, came this month too when we walked down the aisle at Walmart and they had some football pads on clearance. )
What joy we have taking you places and knowing that maybe both Mama and Daddy can ride up front together in the car. What fun we have playing with you on the floor while you use us as jungle gyms, or kissing you, or tickling you or dancing with you! Did I mention you love to climb on things?!!! It is so nice to see the little boy you will become, complete with personality! You are showing signs of now beginning to understand about "stuff": the permanence of objects, certain phrases or the tone of our voice, cause and effect, and learning to understand that we love you so much, David!!!
Love, Mama and Daddy
