Baby Summary Weeks 8-9

I know, I’ve been slacking. I am running behind on Max’s updates.  Things have been very … crazy around here.  But crazy good!

For the last week, Mister has been waking at 4:00am in the morning!  Sometimes as early as 3:30am!  I knew this was a possibility, that he would go from sleeping so well, to waking early.  I also read that sometimes before babies start sleeping through to wake up time, they may teeter-totter going from 3:00am, to 4:30am, back to 3:00am, etc.  That’s exactly what Mister did for the last week.  Then suddenly, at 10 weeks old he slept through to 6:00am!  Woo Hoo!  
Now, the last two days he woke at about 4:00am or so, fussed for a minute, then went back to sleep before I even got to his room.  I think this also has to do with us starting some CIO. At first I let him cry during the day for anywhere from 10-20 minutes, depending on how he was crying.  And so far, things are going really well; he is only waking for about 3-6 minutes now, fussing and falling back asleep.  It’s amazing!  I’m not doing hard-core CIO; I didn’t do it until 8 months with Lexie, but i didn’t really have to until then.  With Max I need him going to sleep on his own sooner than she did, so that’s why I am trying it earlier.

Anyway, for his weeks 8-9 everything was pretty much the same as before.  Week 9 he started eating more at each feeding.  He will nurse and now takes about 4-5oz after nursing… So he is a hungry little Mister!  His schedule is the same, based on a 3 hour routine…  He is talking a LOT, super snuggly, laughs at mommy, daddy, and Lexie all the time.  He is staying awake for a little longer now.  His wake time is about an hour to an hour 20 minutes, depending on what we did during wake time.  If he was super stimulated (ehum, by Big Sister) then he may go down earlier.  His wake time includes: diaper change, eating, burping, playing, talking, diaper change, and swaddling/wind down for nap.  That’s a lot to fit into an hour and 20 minutes, so there isn’t much “playing” quite yet.  I am anxious for the day he is awake longer, but I know it will come.  I’m just ready for him to get to interact with all of us more.  =)

I’m making Mister’s summary shorter this time, because Sissy has MUCH bigger news going on these days than Bubby does!

playing with Mister

Love Bug is back in school, two days a week.  We were getting read to put her in gymnastics when JTom remembered that we put aside a rather large chunk of his paycheck at the beginning of the year for mother’s day out.  Our plan was to have her home w me after I stopped cleaning houses, which was at 7 months pregnant, until max came.  After Max came we would do mother’s day out one-two days a week for Lexie’s sake and mine.  Well …. we FORGOT!  So, to use up the rest of the money (because it’s a cafeteria plan we will lose it if we dont use it) she is going 2xs a week through january.  Then she will drop to once a week.  However, we are still doing gymnastics- and she LOVES it!  We went last Friday to try it out.  She was already a beginner tumbler, she’s had so much practice in her crib and all … so she fit right in!


Speaking of cribs … we are in a big girl bed now!  Scary I know- but so far so good.  She loves it, the transition was an easy one.  She is still in her sleep sack, not sure when we will discontinue it, but she can’t get out and roam as long as she wears it.  =)  Plus, she loves her “night night gown” … i think she feels secure in it.



A few weeks ago Payne came to visit us, and then the next weekend Granny and Mia came to visit.

Payne and Max

Just a singin’

curls

gymnastics

wasn’t so sure about the foam pit

Life is Good!

Granny and Max

Mia, Max, and Lexie

Granny and Lexie cooking “greens”

Bed head

Lookin like her Mama

Counting her “monies”

New clothes from Granny

Such a precious girl



Comparing schedules

Ive been going back and looking over my blogs from when L was Mister’s age.  Turns out they are so much alike it’s unreal.  On my Nov 12th post, when Lady was 2.5 months old, she was sleeping exactly as long as Mister is, about the same size, and eating about the same amount.  The biggest difference is with her, I didn’t start meds for her reflux, and I didn’t have her napping quite as well as M does.  I think that just has to do with A) him being no meds and B) me knowing what to look for as far as him being sleepy.

However, I’m worried his Zantac isn’t working anymore … The last two days have been horrible.  He’s been in a lot of pain and only naps well in his swing. I’m not sure exactly what’s going on but I’m going to give it the weekend before I call the dr about upping dosage (for weight increase) or changing meds; he has started pulling off while nursing again, and after eating he will cry out and then gulp/choke/gasp for breath.  So I know the reflux is hurting him; and I don’t think the rice is helping.  I can’t make it any thicker and it go through the nipple, so I’d have to spoon feed it to him, and I think he’s just too young for all that.  Anyway, after the weekend we will see.  The Coliccalm doesn’t seem to be doing anything for the reflux, not sure about his gas?

My days now are a bit more structured, mainly because I understand what baby whisperer and baby wise are saying and also because I have a 2 year old smack dab in the middle of her terrible-ness.  At that time, I had L on a great routine, but looking back she was definitely way over tired by the time I was putting her down for naps, and therefore wasn’t napping well.  But she always had good night time sleep (thank goodness!). So that was an okay trade off!

But, at almost 8 weeks old, here is what Mister’s routine looks like:

  • 5:00-6:00- Wakes, Zantac, small feed, goe back to sleep (either in crib or with Mama in chair)
  • 7:00- wake for the day, regular feeding, nurse then 3-4oz bottle
  • 8:05- Down for nap- rests on and off depending on gas/reflux until
  • 10:00- Eat, nurse 3-4 oz
  • 11:05- down for nap- rests on and off depending on gas/reflux until
  • 1:00pm- Eat
  • 2:05- down for nap (however he usually has not slept well at this mid morning nap, and therefore goes to sleep closer to 1:30pm, sleeping until about 3:30 in the swing if necessary)
  • 4:00 Eat
  • 5:30pm Cluster feed
  • 7:00pm last feeding of day
  • 7:35 asleep in crib
SO, that is typically what our routine looks like, but with him being so young and having the reflux and gas, it tends to be more flexible in the naps department.  Eating, however is always the same.  After his 10:00 feeding, we usually go for a walk and/or play outside.  If it is a day we plan to go grocery shopping or run errands, we do this about 8:30, home by 10:00 for him to eat and L to have a snack.  At 25 months, her routine looks like this:
  • 6:40-7:00- wake, daddy gets her from crib, she demands milk
  • then snuggle time with Mommy and “my Max” while mommy nurses and daddy gets ready for work
  • 7:30-  breakfast (yogurt, toast, oatmeal, fruit, etc)
  • play time
  • 11:30-12:00- lunch depending on am wake time
  • 12:00-12:30- down for nap depending on am wake time  (here is when she usually poopies in her pullup (this whole potty training thing has us all out of whack), I have to go change her, then put her back down for nap… but because this interrupts her getting ready for sleep, I’ve been going back in at the hour mark and rocking her to sleep.)
  • 2:30- if she didn’t nap I get her out of bed at the 2 hour mark
  • 3:00- if he napped, she is awake by 3:00
  • play outside, crafts, etc if napped… relax and keep it low key if she didn’t
  • 5:45pm- dinner
  • 6:30-7:00- bedtime depending on morning wake time
Right now, L needs a total of about 12 hours of sleep.  Her naps are usually 1.5 hours, which leaves 11.5 hours of night sleep on days she naps.  If she does’t nap, she has a very early bed time to prevent over tiredness the next day.  It’s all a numbers game..
So, big plans for the next few weeks.  This weekend we are going to a family reunion in LA.  Then next weekend my dad comes to visit, the next weekend my mom comes, then a few weeks later we have Thanksgiving!  ALREADY!  That’s insane.  I think we are going to Memphis for Thanksgiving… that should be a fun challenge.  Our first overnight trip wrangling two!  Fun Fun!  Of course halloween is this coming week.  Ew.  I’m not a fan of halloween, and until my kids are old enough to stay up late enough, we aren’t celebrating.  And yes, I will be one of the moms that takes the candy and exchanges it for something cool, a toy or new clothes, etc… like the tooth fairy only for crappy, overpriced junk food.  =)
OK, well I am going to bed now.  It;s 9:17pm, that’s about 20 minutes past my bed time!

 

Last of Summer

Yesterday was officially the first day of fall!  Yay!  So summer is over, we are so thankful!  No more hot, humid days.  This morning was rainy and 55*, but now it looks like the sun is coming out.  So maybe we will get to walk this afternoon.

Mister is three weeks today; I will post his 3 week update at the end of the week and let you knwo how things are going.  However, last post I spoke too soon- his tummy is still upset.  I thought maybe he would keep having poopy diapers after the last one, but he has had some pretty uncomfortable gas and no more poopies … So I am hoping he has one today.
Here are a few pictures from the last days of summer.  From here on out we will be celebrating FALL!  WOO HOO!!!  I want to get some fall activities together for Lexie; just some crafts and things she can do in her high chair “craft” chair while I nurse M, or days it’s too nasty to go out.
The great thing about the highchair now being her crafting chair is she can’t get out of it. She sits in her portable high chair, strapped to the big chair at the table.  It’s really more of a booster seat at this point, and is perfect for her now.  Mister will use the highchair later, and I guess move to the booster when she is ready for a big chair (or rather, when I am ready to put her in a big chair without fighting her about getting up, which will be when she’s about 4!).

 

 

painting

 

Playing with Stitch and the chickens

 

Hi There!
Angel Baby Girl
Sleeping with Daddy

 

Relaxing outside

 

Snuggly baby before bath time

 

Two Week Update

Well, for the last few days M has had a terrible tummy ache. It has included bad (and stinky) gas pains, and no pooping. But, I read over at one of my favorite blogs this could be a growth spurt. He not only had fewer poopy diapers, but was more fussy than usual, slept more, and was up at odd hours during the night. I did not realize fewer poopy diapers were part of the “growth spurt” symptoms. Anyway, this morning he finally had a poopy diaper and it looks like he is feeling better and back to his usual self.

Eating
He is so laid back! I thought L was laid back (aside from her 2-3 hour screaming/colic spells) but Mister is WAY more relaxed than she was. He nursed like he knew just what to do from day one, he is a BIG eater, and an even bigger sleeper. I have to wake him all day for his feedings. This morning was the first feeding he actually was awake when we started, and stayed awake the entire time! I was very proud of him. =) Now, I say he is a big eater … he was NOT prior to this growth spurt. He acted like he could care less abotu eating; he slept during feedings, didn’t eat well when he did eat, and wasn’t gaining weight. After 2 weeks he had only gained 1 oz (at this point he should have been gaining an ounce per day, on average). So we started supplementing like we did with L.

This also has to do with my supply. After he nurses for 40-50 minutes, he now takes a 2-4oz bottle. And he attacks it! So he is now eating MUCH better, staying awake longer throughout the day, and gaining weight.

Mister has gone from 8lb 11oz at birth, to 8lbs 4oz on day five, to 8lb 5oz on day 12, to 9lbs 4oz on day 17 (or 2.5 weeks).

Sleeping
He still sleeps a lot throughout the day, like any newborn. We do a Eat, Play, Sleep routine (loosely, mind you). He doesn’t always do the wake/play part. He is a very sleepy baby; Lady was a very wakeful, spirited baby who slept while nursing and in short spurts of about 40 minutes throughout the day until at 5 weeks she slept 8 hours through the night!

Mister sleeps all the time. He is getting better about staying awake throughout the day in short spurts, but sleeps more than he is awake. At night, he eats between 7-7:30pm, is usually asleep by 8:15pm, and sleeps until about 1:00am. I don’t wake him to eat and I don’t do a dream feed. I sleep. =) This is why I feel so good this time around; some people may say my milk supply will suffer going that long at night without feeding, but I really think my mental state is more important. So I sleep.
At about 1-1:30am I change his diaper, he nurses, takes some of a bottle (only about an ounce though at this feed) then sleeps until about 4:00-5:00am.
Now, the last few nights have been an exception with the fussiness, terrible gas pains, etc. I am hoping tonight he goes back to his regular sleep routine, and the past few nights have been this “growth spurt” that occurs between 2-3 weeks of age. We will see!

Diapers
Mister wasn’t having soaking wet diapers at all prior to supplementing. His diapers had one tiny damp spot after 3-4 hours. They were actually so dry I hated to change them at all and waste dry diaper! This was a big cue to me he wasn’t getting enough. Even a breastfed baby should have 6 soaking wet diapers a day. He had 6 damp diapers, but never soaking wet. Once we started supplementing this boy has a soaking wet diaper before and after a feeding! He was also not having regular poopy diapers before, but now has at least one per day (minus, the past 2.5 days of miserable tummy problems). So things are looking up.

It just took longer for him to catch up to the outside world. He is so mellow and happy, as was Lexie most of the time, I think that is how he will approach life. Where his sister is a bit OCD and likes things in just a certain, perfect way, I think Max will be more care free like his daddy. It’s fun that they already have their own personalities, and I get to watch them change and grow!

Lady

This was our first 2 hours home frm the hospital;
I left the room to do some laundry, and came back to this.

Lady has adjusted well. We have a few power struggles each day, but that isn’t anything we didn’t have prior to Mister being here. I’m sure that’s just part of her 2’s. Otherwise she is just as fun and easy as always. She loves to sing, makes up her own songs about what we do throughout the day, loves dancing, rolling around, playing outside and getting dirty.. VERY dirty. And she loves to love on her brother; she calls him Bubby Max and herself Sissy Lexie.

Loves her Bubby

 

 

 

 

 

 

So Much Happening-life update

Wow- sorry I have been MIA lately. We’ve had a lot going on around here in the last 2 months, this month being so hectic!

As you read, we were all sick with stomach bugs last week. The weeks before that we were drowning in party preparations, chicken coops, and packing for a mini vacation. But, it looks like things will be a tiny bit more laid back in the weeks to come.

All my free time has been spent sewing! I finally got my sewing machine out after a ( …. 6 year?) hiatus, but didn’t start really enjoying it until the first of this month. I’ve been sewing Lexie some cute dresses and just finished some toddler bibs for a friend’s son’s birthday, which is this weekend! I got a serger for my re-found hobby! It is amazing- it’s this one: Janome Juno 3434D serger I can now have those really great-looking, professional seams on anything I create. And I can do rolled hems! I am very excited about that. I used the rolled hem on a ruffle top I made for Lexie, and it’s so pretty. Anyway, so I am excited about that. I have made her 3 dresses and a top, just in May. It’s rather addictive. I am currently working on dress #4 and plan to have it completed tonight or tomorrow at nap time. =)

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The chickens are doing great! The 5 Rhode Island Reds are such sweet baby girls. One is extremely feisty, and I think she runs the roost for them (Tessa). Also, I think maybe Dolly is a girl after all, but am still waiting for confirmation on that. 😉
Saturday I went to Bismarck and picked up three 12 week old barred rocks. We named the nicest one Elmo, the other two can be a little crabby towards the babies. They’re not far enough in age or so much bigger than the babies that they hurt them, but they do peck and chase them some. They’re still working out the pecking order, but there have been no injuries, so we’re good.

Yesterday, we hung them some cabbages to play with, and they’ve literally destroyed them. haha They’ve been having a big time. Chickens are like kids- when they get bored they start making trouble with they others (pecking, bullying, etc). So you can add things to their run, like cabbages, to keep them interested and busy. It’s funny to watch them boxing the cabbage.

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I am almost 26 weeks pregnant now- 26 weeks on Sunday. The baby has decided he likes my ribs as much as Lady did.

Perfect.

But we’ve been going to kettlebell classes twice a week and yoga on Wednesdays. Now that she will be done with school next week, I will probably go to yoga more often which I’m really excited about. The baby seems to like yoga; he shifts around and kicks a lot during the class.

We go to the doctor on the 6th for a regular appointment and my glucose test *blah* Then it’s appointment every 2 weeks until the last month. I just can’t believe we will be at 30 weeks so soon. Of course it still seems so far far away, but sometimes it is just flying by.

18 months Old

(sorry for the typos in advance- while i go back and try to correct them, its hard to do on the ipad, which is where im writing from at 6:00am this morning)
At 18 months old, lexie does a lot of very cute things. For fun I wanted to list them here… Be prepared for a whole lotta mama braggin’ time! 🙂

She can randomly identify all except 6 letter of the alphabet. This is her own doing, not mine. All I did was point to the letters (in the back of a book) while we sang the ABCs. Seriously. She has some foam letter that she keeps in a bag and names all day long, she loves it!

She counts to ten, and sometimes eleven now. She LOVES to count, like her mama she counts everything.

She folds her hands for the blessing at dinner, sometimes reminds j.Tom and I to say the blessing, and always says “amen” after her bedtime prayers

Everything is between 3-4 word phrases and sentences now. She asks what everything is, for instance she will point to the j.tom’s truck and say, “daddy’s red truck” while nodding her head, as if she wants me to confirm what she says is correct

She uses the corret possessive forms of nouns. Everything is “mommy’s” “daddy’s” or whom ever’s but she uses possessive form when she speaks. (I will give jtom and I credit for this, because while we have always lovey talked her, we have never baby talked by speaking incorrectly.) It’s a pet peeve and it drives me NUTS when people talk to her in incomplete phrases or just incorrectly. Like using “hers” instead of “she” or saying “daddy go bye” instead of “daddys going bye bye.”. Really, it’s a few extra syllables people, kids will understand it! (I had kindergarteners that still said “hers went to the bathroom” aaah!). I do not, absolutely in no way, expect her to be perfect. But there are some things that are learned by example, (like manners, saying thank you, sitting while eating dinner instead of running around everywhere, adults speaking correctly so children hear how it should sound, etc). Of course she says baby things and rambles in foreign baby languages- and she should. But that’s not the same as setting an example that will be hard to correct later.

She knows all her friends name’s at school, provided there are only seven of them in total, but she tells you all about each of them. And her teacher, too.

She’s romping around on everything- she’s like a 3 year old boy who wants to climb, wrestle, and pounce on everyone and everything! Her fav thing to do is move her big Pottery Barn chair around and use it as a way to climb our double recliner so she can slide off the other side.. I gave up trying to stop her.

She walks around the house in my shoes and thinks it is HILARIOUS!

She learned the shapes circle, heart, and star between 11-12 months old, and by 15months knew oval,square, rectangle, and triangle too. This is just from us reading a shapes book over a few days. She just started randomly pointing at the shapes and naming them, while nodding, for us to confirm she was correct. How do they learn so quickly?

She’s a wee bit OCD. Sometimes. Well, most of the time. She doesn’t want her left over spaghetti on her plate to touch her fruits, so she moves it all to the side before I put the fruit (or whatever new food) inhere plate. Her drink cup has to be in the circle spot on her tray, and the spout needs to face her. I DID NOT DO THIS TO HER! One night we were eating dinner, I moved her cup and not only did she huff, but immediately put it back how she had it. She does this a lot.

She always says “bless you” after someone sneezes. It’s so dang cute! I didn’t tell her to do that either- she just picked up on it.

After she burps, she says “hiccup hiccup”. Apparently she’s a bit confused about what a hiccup is, but that’s ok. 😉

She is obsessed w airplanes, which go “neeerum” by the way. You know, everything has a sound… That probablyy is my fault, I think I give everything in life a sound effect. It makes things more interesting.

Aaah, this one was pretty sweet. I call her my angel baby; the other day we are in my room where there is a true of an angel. She points to the picture and says “angel,” then points to her own chest and says “angel!”. You can imagine the big ole hug she got after that. It was precious.

She makes text to real world connections all the time, and always has. If I say sunlight she sings the mr sun song. If we are talking about a certain animal, she quotes the line from one of her books about the animal, and usually goes to get the book if we are in the house. She can quote all of her favorite books, and finish their lines, including her bible.

She likes to clean up, I’ve mentioned that before. Now of course she loves to make a mess and leave it, sometimes too. But before we leave my bedroom, or the room downstairs, if she’s made “mess” she has to “clean up clean up” in a hurry before we leave.

We have to read Goodnight Moon, her Bible, Pouch, and sometimes her Bee book every night. She says the words before I do, half the time.

Everything is “niiice” or “not niiiice.”. The other day she told j.Tom “not nice, daddy,” because he was teasing her with a rag she wanted.

I know she’s not really advanced or a genius, that most everything she does many toddlers probably do as well. But it just astounds me how they grow and learn. Everyday. But let’s not forget, we still don’t know our colors! Haha. She just doesn’t get it yet, i mean she tries. Every morning she points to my shirt and says “mommy’s shirt blue” or whatever color we said it was the day before. But she is usually wrong. Which to me is no big deal, but she sorta seems bothered when I say my shirt is red or pink, or some other color than the one she named. With time, Lou, with time. 🙂

I tell her every day how smart she is, how sweet she is, what a nice girl she is. She will say “mommy’s nice” and “daddys nice” and goes does everyone she knows including the dog saying they’re nice. It’s funny. She always wants you to “get her! get her!” for a tickle and likes to snuggy and give kisses. Did I already mention in a blog post I caught her kissing a boy at school? Yea .. I was picking her up at school one day a few weeks ago, looked down and she was lip locked w a little boy named dillon. I kinda laughed and pushed them a part and they did it again! I think I turned 5 shades if red. That’s what we get for loving on her and asking for kisses all the time! Haha. Her daddy was out of town at the time, so I blame it on him. 😉

Playing in the Dirt

I don’t have a green thumb, my husband does. However, he is so busy with work he has no time this year for the prepping and planting of our plants and garden. So yesterday I went to our county exchange office and got the boxes for our soil samples. Then I came home, dug up some dirt from the yard, garden, and flowers beds, and took it all back to the exchange office. We should have some test results in a few weeks; they will tell us what type of soil we have, what grows best, and offer suggestions based on what we said would be grown in each bed.


It has been such a long time since we have been able to spend time together outside I cannot wait to get out in the garden again. Which reminds me, a friend of mine has recently had to reach out to a pest control expert after her garden became infested with ants. Ants can be a nuisance when they get into your home. Although ants are not thought to carry diseases, the trouble is you cannot know where they have been foraging outside, so you do not want them inside your food cupboards. Correspondingly, if you are having trouble with ants in your house or garden, then you might want to call out a team of experts to find a solution. For more information about dealing with ants and other pests, go to https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/texas/dallas/.


Today, Lexie and I went to Lowe’s for some soil and flowers. While we were there I grabbed some herb seeds, a long planter, and some rosemary plants. I need another herb planter, though. I don’t have enough room in the one for each type of seed. They didn’t have any mint, which stinks- that is one of my favorite herbs! We got pansies for the big planters out doors, and a few clearance plants for pots in the house. Let’s pray I grow a green thumb soon…


Lexie helped me plant the herbs this morning, AKA, she played in the dirt with the “shovel” and watering can. This afternoon should be great fun! I will post pics.



OK, so no pics. =( My video camera has died. For good. And my other camera needs batteries and we are out. So I did take one or two with my phone, but am not going to take the time to upload them tonight.
However, as you can imagine, Lexie had a BLAST! She was covered head to tow in dirt, and mud. It was so warm here today, I turned the water spicket on low and let her just play in the water, with her rain gardening boots on, of course. She used the trowel to scoop dirt into the watering bucket, and helped put the pansies into their proper holes. We planted six pots, and still have a flat of flowers left. So it looks like I am going to go get some coconut baskets for my hanging baskets and plant in there, too.


Daddy came home for a minute since he has been in meetings for 3 days and hasn’t seen us at lunch; he helped me get the bird houses out and the paint to paint those. He built us some bird houses that you attach to the window with heavy duty suction cups! The side that faces the window is see through plexi glass, so you can see the birds in their nest! It was an idea I saw on pinterest, and JTom made it come to life. So anyway, I painted them the color of our shutters and after they finish drying and get another coat, we will put them up! Hopefully a little sparrow or some other little birds will make a nest in there and get used to us looking in on them.


I will try to get some pictures up of our pretty pansies and bird houses sometime this week or weekend.


-Meg

The Y, healthy foods, and pregnancy update

Today was my first day back at the Y since I was about 9 months p,regnant with lexie! It was great to be back. I went to Yoga, and oh how I have missed it! I feel so much better afterward. Lexie did great in the kids room, she was a bit anxious at first, but there was no crying when I walked away. They said she played the entire time. She also schooled the ladies on the difference between red and orange bowling pins. I wasn’t aware she knew the difference between red and orange … Evidentally she does. She definitely knows blue!

After yoga we went to walmart, the first thing she did was point out the blue on the glass door, then immediately started asking for “boobies,” so off to the produce we went! She ate blue berries the whole time and I got a few things we needed. We were in and out in 35 minutes- someone give me an Amen! That is record timing! But I spent $120, somehow. Groceries are so dang expensive, healthy ones are anyway. I left with 4 pints of blueberries, 6 4packs of organic Greek blueberry yogurt, strawberries, apples, cutie oranges, milk, cream cheese, canned peas, granola thins, bread, kashi pita crisps and hummus. Mmm I love hummus, my mother in law made this great recipe, and I really need to get it from her- it’s red pepper hummus, two kinds of olives, tomatoes and cucumbers. Mmmm sooo good! And healthy! Speaking of healthy, for dinner last night, my daughter ate half a grilled burger patty, and an entire can of green beans. I cooked them with a bullion cube and some onion flakes- she literally ate the whole can. She just kept signing for more! I can’t complain .. That’s for sure!

What’s your family’s favorite healthy, go to snack?

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I have had a lot of friends and family asking how I feel, etc during my pregnancy. Im only 6wk3d today. I get headaches from time to time, get super sleepy during the day, and want lots of red meat. I’m having a lot of cramping, just mild cramps, which is common but I don’t remember having this much last time. Also, yesterday I woke up with my back killing me. I don’t know if it’s the progesterone making all the soft tissue relax, so my muscles are more tender ? Or whats going on. But it hurts on either side of my spine. I’m learning already poor lexie will have to do more walking than she already does. The cat lays on my tummy though. So she is like a built in heating pad, that’s very nice! (since you’re not supposed to use heating pads during pregnancy). Overall I feel good, not too many symptoms. Which makes me worry a bit. I hate waiting for the first dr visit! It’s so hard .. Just not knowing if everything is going ok in there, that the baby is still growing, etc. It’s so common for women to miscarry and not know it until the first ultrasound, at 12 weeks. But if that’s all you think about you’ll go crazy- so I try not to. Just keep us in your prayers that everything is good! I did go back and read during my last preg the exhaustion kicked in around 7 weeks and the heartburn at 11. So I still have that to look forward to.

16 months old

rSo last week while my mom was here, lexie and i were playing with her peeka blocks on the floor. I stacked one and said “one” then she did the next three and counted “two, three, four!” giving each block it’s own number! I know right?! Mom and I practically squealed we were so excited, that would be the teacher comingout in both of us. Then, when my mom is here, she always pulls up www.starfall.com and let’s lexie play with the abcs game. (here’s the back story- lexie has a little toy barn w letter you push through the top and she loves them! I have always told her what each letter was, and she would repeat after me. So she has had early exposure to literacy in that way. It’s not like we are forcing education down a baby’s throat- it’s all through play and conversation or reading, which she loves.). So anyway, she and mom play on that website, and lexie now says “a, /a/.” the /a/ means she is sounding out the a! So it’s “a, /a/,” and then sometimes she says “apple” afterward! The sequence on the game is the exact same; it amazes me that she knows this. And if you ask her what B SAYS, SHE WILL RESPOND /b/. Just this morning she picked the B from the bag of foam letters, and said “B, /b/.” I swear. It’s amazing what children will do if you just give them the tools. One day she will understand what all of it really means.

And, she has started singing her abcs. It’s pretty funny, because at any time during the day you could record about 15 minutes in our house, and one of us will be singing and/or dancing. Lexie sings all day. She sings “clean up clean up” when she outs her toys away, when I wipe her face, or when she picks her blocks up off the floor and outs them on her table. She sings silly songs with mama, I say the words and she just mumbles along. And she now sings her Abcs. Haha. It goes something like this, “A, um, oo, ah, b, hmm, ooo, da, b, ah, we, nam, num, I.” Lol. Now sing that to the tune of the abcs. It’s precious and I’m going to try to record her doing it, but I’m sure she will stop once I get the camera out. The last week or two she has started saying whole phrases and a few complete sentences. They have included “Bye Daddy,” “silly mommy!” and “Silly daddy!” I can’t remember what her sentences were, it’s been a while. =/


Also, the other day I got her a swing! We’ve been wanting to get one for some time, but just never got around to it. A lady posted one on free cycle, and I got it! It’s a blue dolphin? I dunno what’s up with that, but it’s a fisher price and in good condition. Lexie loves it! She won’t be in it much longer, because she is the size of a two year old … But it will do until we get her a swing set this summer I hope. Oh yes- for her birthday this year jtom is going to build her a swing set! We may buy one like these Colorado swing sets for sale, if things just get too busy, but i know he wants to build it, then we will add all the swings and slide. She loves the playground and slide at the park, so I know she will love having one of her own. I can’t wait!


And a funny story- we were in the devils den walmart Wednesday. You know I’m methodical in everything I do, grocery shopping is one of them. I make my shopping list according to the route I take in the store, depending on the store. I also take my AMEX Blue Cash Preferred card to make sure that I earn rewards on my purchases. If I forget my card, the day is ruined! At walmart, my route looks like this: pharmacy for toothpaste, dog food, etc. To the back for diapers if her school is low. Then to the front for produce, around to the meats, back to the cheese, milk, and eggs. Then I shop the inside aisles and finish in the frozen section if we need veggies for baby. Well, on this day we started in produce because I didn’t need anything from the pharmacy. The minute I put the blue berries in the cart, SOMEONE starts yelling “boobies! Boobies!” while kicking her legs. “boobies” is lexie talk for blue berries (mom, she has that beginning sound down!). So I tear the tape off the container, and start shoving boobies blue berries into her mouth and my pockets. I filled my pockets up so I could just feed them to her while we shopped. She ate all but about 10 blue berries in the pint. But I left there with a happy toddler! Whew. She’s a mess.

“bye, bye”-wanting Payne to go read

My dad came this weekend, and we had such a great time! He got in sat morning; we visited outside while jtom worked on the bench for our table. He brought Guss who played like he was puppy again, not a 10 yr old dog. Payne pulled lexie around the yard in the wagon, and they had a big time! Saturday afternoon, while lexie napped and I rested, the boys went to the woods and shot guns. Ooh, those are days I miss! Next time lexie will stay w someone while I get to go shoot too! Haha. But anyways, so they had a big time in the woods and then Sunday we just played and visited until dad left that afternoon. Lexie was constantly asking her Payne to go “bye” with her. She asked him to “eee” which is read to her, and of course teased him all day wi her silliness. When she woke up from her nap, she asked for “Mayne. Mayne”. (Payne Payne). It was pretty cute. She loves her Payne for sure!



Her outfit of choice-wouldn’t take off the boots or hat!

Payne and Lexie reading “Nose”








I wrote the above about a week ago. Today is Monday the 9th. I wanted to mention, that speaking of “boobies” Lexie’s Papa and SueSue went to the Galapagos Islands last week. They had a fantastic time and said that this Guide to luxury in Galapagos is essential for anyone who wants to visit the beautiful island. It’s definitely on my bucket list! They brought her home a (toy) Blue Footed Boobie. lol It’s a bird only found in the Galapagos, you should Google it. =) Now Lexie knows her elbows, knees and back (sometimes). She also loves to read her Bible-it is currently her favorite book. I am okay with that! haha We have been battling thrush for a few weeks-t comes and goes. Since it replicates itself in a different strand every few days, it makes it hard to kill it off. UH-not fun! But she is doing well with it.


She LOVES the coconut oil I’m using to help treat it. Plus it is good for her, even when she’s not sick. I plan on writing a post about the benefits of coconut oil and its many many uses! I am eating a few tbsp a day of it-it is the best fats you can ingest, and helps with nails, skin, hair. I’m even using it as a moisturizer-me, pregnant Meghan with oily pregnancy skin and it’s AMAZING! Leaves my skin feeling like silk, and not even oily by the end of the day! I won’t go on here, but you should Google it, then go to your local foods store and buy a jar of organic, virgin pressed coconut oil! Best ten dollars I ever spent-and I plan on getting more!

Thanksgiving and Such

…. is less than a week away!  I am excited that we are heading to Memphis this year for my Granny’s famous Thanksgiving Dinner.  We were going to leave Tuesday, but …. I have now signed up for a 4 mile race at Shelby Farms.  The race is Wednesday morning, but packet pick up is Tuesday morning.  You can always pick up the morning of race day, but that lessens your chances for a t shirt.  😉  The t-shirt looks like a super cool long sleeve technical-t, and let’s face it,m we only run races for the cool t shirts!  Okay, okay, I am just kidding.  But it totally stinks when you register early and get gypped out of your t shirt.


So, back to the point of my post.  We will probably leave for Memphis Tuesday morning.  My car is at the dealership getting a million dollar tune up the oil changed, tires rotated, transmission checked up, all that 4wheel drive stuff … it’s so dang expensive but necessary if I don’t want a car note anytime soon.
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My 10K Saturday went well, really well actually!  I had no cramps, felt good the whole time, sweated LOTS, which was a good thing.  I really wasn’t sure I was hydrated enough, but turned out I was.  My final time was 77 minutes 9 seconds.  Not the best, well actually it was one of the worst overall times.  But since my personal preliminary goal was 74 minutes, and I knew a month before the race I wouldn’t hit that time, 77 is okay.  My time was better than my original time on this race of 80 minutes. =/  I guess I have something to work towards for next year.  =)  74 will be my goal for sure!


The worst part, which was the beginning, turned out to not be so bad.  I really lost the pack when it came to the first incline on the mountain.  Those that were better prepared or more fit made it right over that first incline much faster than I did.  Had I been able to run that part better, I think I would have been in the main mix of the group.  Oh well, lessons learned.  The most important thing is to NOT STOP now that I have that mileage under my belt.  My next goal is a half marathon, and luckily I have some running friends with the same goal!  As soon as we pick out a race, we will begin our training. In the mean time, we are continuing to run with the Pacers a few times a week, and because I have a wonderful husband, I am able to do it without pushing a toddler in a stroller.  =)

Speaking of that toddler …



ready to go in my hat and boots!

silly girl

first bath in big tub!

baby greenish/blues!

hi!

smile!

on a mission for the camera!

sweet baby

coloring left handed

nope, I think I will try right handed …

“tip me over, and poor me out”

Mama’s girl!!!

playing with her farm

getting ready for church

thinking …

the curls ..




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