Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Clean Baby


It's great to have a clean, soft baby. At least until she is so hydrated that she pees through her pajamas and makes a huge wet spot in our bed. The challenge of nighttime wetting begins!!!!

Monday, February 23, 2009

Girl's RULE!!!!

Sam and I went to spend the morning with our fellow girlfriends Colleen and Caroline today. We took a fabulous 1 hour walk through Chatfield park and the girls took great naps while the moms walked and talked way too much. Then the girls ate and played while we ate some leftovers. Here are a few lovable pics!!! We look forward to lots more play-dates and being the only girls in the group they need to form a strong bond to fight the boys:)









Organize Junkie is a great reminder of how planning never stops. I feel like I was just doing this. The one thing that does keep it in perspective is the changes daily in our daughter.

Monday - Jalapeno Cheese Angel Hair with veggies and sausage; Baguette w/ olive oil

Tuesday - Turkey hard shell tacos

Wednesday - Eggplant/ Deer Parmesan Bake

Thursday - Chicken Caesar salad

Friday - Beet Salad w/ Feta

Saturday - Tamales and Veggies

Sunday - Leftovers or Soup

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Gifts passed down from hands of love

We are having an easy going day today and waiting for daddy to come home. We are going to have coffee with our friend Christie to pass the time. We wanted to get dressed up for the occasion and there is some snow on the ground so we pulled out an outfit that Grandma Cribley made just for us. It is the perfect hand-me-down!!!
Also, a shout out to our friends Chris, Jill and Max who are about to deliver a new girlfriend for Sam!!! Break A Leg Jill!!

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Family Fun Day





Yesterday was awesome!!!!! Dad and I needed a day for us so we got it, thanks Grandma and Grandpa. We had the opportunity to go snowboarding a couple weeks ago for 1/2 day each after 2 years of no boarding. We realized how much we missed the event and how much we needed a day with just us. The tickets were purchased (on sale at Costco) so we asked the Grands to watch Sam and made a date. At first we asked my parents to come up with us and Sam but they weren't sure about hanging out at A-Basin because it doesn't really have any accomidations. So, I said that we could just have them keep Sam at home, I had frozen plenty of milk. However, we got talking about it and we just couldn't be away from Sam that long yet.....we would miss her too much. So, we all piled in the car and trekked up to the mountains. It turns out that my parents loved hanging out in the lodge because Samantha opened a tab and they drank hot-totties all day!!!

AJ and I spent the day of bliss enjoying each other in fresh snow and windy clouds. The weather was great for a snow day and the crowds were minimal. To say the least our bodies were exhausted. The indoor crowd was well entertained my Samantha, mostly the bartender liked her. Plus we ran into some of the Platt family up for a day of skiing. Check out Sam's new outfit as well, she truly is a local.






Side not: like father like daughter we enjoyed a day of playing together!!

Monday, February 16, 2009

Hurried Menu


It is amazing how the weeks can go by so fast and before you know it the Monday meal plan is do again at Organize Junkie. I'm doing this quickly so that I can get to the store quickly because there isn't enough time!!!! Do I sound rushed...well.....

Monday -Mac and cheese w/ beef dogs and Spinach

Tuesday - snowboarding and either eat out or leftovers

Wednesday - Homemade Lasagna from the freezer; Salad

Thursday - Chicken Caesar salad

Friday - breaded fish; Quona w/ Garbanzo Beans

Saturday - Beet Salad w/ Feta

Sunday -Aztec chicken @Creative 2xMom w/ rice

Friday, February 13, 2009

LOVE and JOY

Our mommy/baby group met today at our house. Samantha was the perfect little host. She kept the conversation going with her LOUD talking. She has not really been loud in a long time so I think that having all the babies over is very stimulating, especially for me. I really do think that she feeds off me and gets a little more uptight. It's not that I don't LOVE the Bradley girls (that is what we are referring to ourselves as b/c we met in Bradley Birthing class), but today I was the hostess and I usually put a lot of energy into trying to be perfect. I have found that I struggle with wanting Sam to be perfect when we are out and about.....this only makes her act differently....I really should get over it.

We have been having some major discussions about sleep because it is that time of life when there are a million opinions about how long babies should sleep. I have been struggle just a little lately and some of it may be compounded by AJ needing to be up at 3am (I don't want to wake him), but I really don't want to struggle over my daughter. I really believe that we need to educate ourselves but more than anything we need to listen to God and our own instincts as parents. AJ and I are just not comfortable with letting Sam cry and it may mean that i get less sleep but with the right attitude and loving approach I think it can work. Sometimes we make it too complicated.

These are some writings I've been reading over at this blog SortaCrunchy with 2 women writing a book on parenting...I found them through some devine link and it helped me to recenter. Most importantly we can't forget that we wanted to bring Sam in this world in order to fill our life with HER JOY!!!

"The perspective we share is not a popular one . . . this hard truth that the first year should be less about training our babies and more about allowing ourselves to be trained by Him. And yet we do believe that if we let Him, God can use that first intense year of baby's life to train us how to live a life that is fully surrendered to Him. Mothering with a servanthood approach can and will squeeze the very last drops of self out of us. If we yield to it, there is such potential for spiritual growth and for learning - in the most hands-on, real-life way possible - what it truly means to be a servant leader. It can be a year of transformation from which we emerge with a refined and sharpened perspective, equipped to experience other people, other relationships, and other situations through the eyes of a servant.

In discussing this with Laura, she reminded me that while dying to self very often means pouring ourselves out in service to others, that it all comes back to, and originates, with God's direction to do so. When we die to self, we aren't turning ourselves over to our babies or to other people as much as we are turning ourselves over to the Lord, who (among other things) leads and commands us to be servants of others.

...

But what if as that first year of babyhood winds down and a toddler stands where your baby once lay, what if you looked in the mirror and realized that the one who has grown by leaps and bounds in the past year is you? What if you could see that in most every situation you encounter, your first response is no longer selfish retreat, but rather selfless embrace? Would it make you smile with humble gratitude to recognize that in each moment you chose to approach your baby with the heart of a servant, you were able to more closely relate to and identify with your Lord Jesus Christ than you ever had before?

Would it be worth the cost? "

Thursday, February 12, 2009

First....

Swimming Lesson

That's right.....Samantha is a natural. My mom had the idea that we should get a video and teach Sam to swim in their lap pool. Both my sister and I learned to swim when we were babies and it is such an easy connection for babies to make, I mean they were in fluid for the first few months of life!!! Not to mention the safety factor of knowing how to go under water, float on your back, and swim to the side. The first exciting surprise was the day our Bummis Swimmi's arrived from our cloth diaper service cutely decorated with Seals. Then the WaterBabies DVD arrived from the UK....it is really a wonderful product and I would recommend it to anyone. Check out the info at Little Dippers website.



We will keep you updated on the little ones progress. I've included this as a Thrifty Green Thursday for a few reasons: safety is paramount, reusable swim trunks (care of Echo Baby Diaper Service) , water is a huge resource that should be appreciated.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Teaching our Children Through Life

Sam may only be 4 months old but you can never begin too early with educational experiences. Our weekend was filled with such fun enlightening adventures for everyone to learn. I must say that it always is refreshing to me the pure selfish enjoyment that can be obtained from helping others, despite the fact that we have to step out of a comfort zone and do something that most won't ever do. So here are fun pictures and descriptions of our educational weekend and here is What Works for Us.

Feeding the Homeless
We began a tradition with a small group of family and friends this last weekend. It was put on my parents hearts that we should take brown bag lunches downtown and hand them out to the homeless, no strings attached. So, we went and bought some sandwich material along with granola bars, apples, and water. We packe
d them in brown bags decorated by the children. We drove downtown to the Capital Square on a Sunday and the bags were gone within 15 minutes. At first none of us wanted to step out of the comfort zone and we were saying things like 'how will we know if they are homeless?'. As we began to walk into the park a man approached us and that was the end of discomfort. What a fabulous look into our own existance and how we play a part with the widows, orphans, and less fortunate. Most importantly I wish for Sam (and any other children in my family) to grow up not fearing or being intimidated by such an activity. We all need to challenge ourselves throughout life.

The outing was so quick that I forgot to take any pictu
res like I intended (of course respecting the wishes of those who we were serving). So, here are the pics I took of us preparing the bags. The kids had already decorated the bags so the Gurly Girls entertained Sam and had her laughing a ton!!! Aden just played and kept trying to go upstairs!!!

Infant CPR Short Course
A, Myself, little Sam (b/c she is attached to the Chi-chi's), and my parents all attended an infant CPR intro class at Sweet Beginnings in Littleton. We all were able to use a new CPR Bear that demonstrates how hard to push, how hard to blow, and good positioning. While this was not a child or certification class I feel as if we would know what to do to give time for emergency personnel to arrive. A especially wanted us all to know it because Sam is going to start swimming in the pool. The statistics are amazing on how much benefit just breathing for and keeping a heart pumping can improve outcomes. The nurse who led it even had a story from a week ago of a woman stopping traffic, running across 3 lanes with her child and dumping him on the sidewalk because he was not breathing after just having a Tonselectomy. Everything did turn out well but the mother had no idea what to do, SCARY!!!!

Monday, February 9, 2009

Never Ending Meals


Well, I have had a crazy two weeks and keep rolling my menus forward. Someday I will be planning new menus but for now I'm happy not to have to think that much. There is a baby girl not wanting to go to sleep upstairs and a hot tub calling my name. So, here is a quick review of what has been planned and will hopefully be executed this week. Look for other great recipes and exciting plans on Org Junkie

Monday - Mustard Chicken Bake; butternut squash; risotto

Tuesday - breaded fish; Quona w/ Garbanzo Beans

Wednesday - Pasties for AJ; Book club for Kelli and Sam Spinach wheels

Thursday - Chicken Caesar salad

Friday - Tuna melt

Saturday - Beet Salad w/ Feta

Sunday - Chicken a'la king; veggie; home potatoes

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Winter Fun


The Albuquerque Grands came into town this weekend and spent a couple of days with us. We had a wonderful time and got out and about every day. We intended on going snowshoeing at Echo Lake at Mount Evans but we are in desperate need of snow so it was a fun hike.



Sam has found the perfect chew toy!!! She now is trying to do this even when we go out to eat. If you can't tell this is our kitchen table.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Meal Plan

Here is the quick and the dirty for meals this week. I haven't used all the meals from last week, and even some from the week before. I am really enjoying finding new good recipes from Organized Junkie and Menu Plan Monday.

Monday - AJ Pizza for all the grandparents

Tuesday - honey mustard chicken; Quona w/ Garbanzo Beans

Wednesday - Fish; sweet potato fries; artichokes

Thursday - Chicken Caesar salad

Friday - Tuna Melt

Saturday - Beet Salad w/ Feta

Sunday - Chicken a'la king; butternut squash