Wordless Wednesday- Christmas

Aren't they super cute? :) Merry Christmas!!

Updates and lots of other random stuff

(this one is for you Brenda)
Hi. I bet people forgot this blog even existed, lol. I don't know why, I just haven't been in the mood to blog. We're busy doing lots of stuff (nothing really exciting or big, but stuff none the less). I just haven't had time or the interest in writing.

 Luke is almost 3 1/2. He is just enjoying what is left of the summer. He just started soccer on Saturdays in the fall and is sort of enjoying that. He's a pretty shy kid. He is almost terrified of everything at first, which included soccer, but after being there for a while he started to really enjoy it. He takes a while to warm up. Almost right before we have to go, he starts enjoying himself. And even sometimes at the park he musters up the courage to say hi and play with other kids. I can tell he really wants to try.

Luke and his curly hair making brownies

 
He still loves trains. We took him to 'Day out with Thomas' this summer and we got to ride on Thomas and do other activities there. He's got the curliest hair. He got it from my husband (who shaves it). He's really taken to the curls because every one has mentioned 'how cute his curly hair is', he loves it. We're doing a little practice homeschooling by reading and writing and doing some letters stuff, basically just for fun, and he really enjoys it.

Taryn is almost a year and a half. I CANNOT believe how big she is. She's walking and talking all over the place. She can say almost anything you ask her to. She's quite the different kid than Luke. She's pretty independent, she'll just leave the room when she gets tired of being there. And she's not afraid to wonder away in the store too, which is scary. She is basically into whatever Luke is into. My dad calls her 'me too' because she'll do anything Luke is doing.

Taryn walking around on our nature walk

She just got molars about a month ago. So she has four top front teeth, two bottom teeth and then the two molars. I can tell she's getting more because she wakes up so often in the night.
She is currently trying to get her brothers crocs on to walk around the house.

Both of my kids are playing so much together now I'm free to do a lot (well a lot more than I used to) of things. It's kind of nice. Sometimes I just sit there in awe.

playing together

Other things are going well here. We're in the midst of doing things around the house. I have a while checklist of things we need to do. We have been working on organizing and cleaning our garage, re-arranging and painting our house, working outside in the garden- which is doing well this year, and just a bunch of odds and ends. I am sad to see that summer is coming to and end. Hopefully we'll get a few more nice days around here, I'm just enjoying every last bit of summer sun.
 I'll try to keep updating. I want to make sure I don't forget things of my children's precious childhood. I am LOVING this stage. I just love watching them play.

Two Different Births

Welcome to the June 2012 Carnival of Natural Parenting: Embracing Your Birth Experience
This post was written for inclusion in the monthly Carnival of Natural Parenting hosted by Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama. This month our participants have written about at least one part of their birth experience that they can hold up and cherish.
***
I've had two children.  Both completely different birth stories.

I had my son three years ago at a hospital with pitocin and an epidural and thank goodness vaginally because I was just minutes away from a c-section.

I had my daughter last year, at home, in my bedroom.  All natural.

I wonder sometimes if people think of my birth story with my daughter as sort of a redemption from what the birth of my son was like.  But I don't think that way at all.

I don't dwell on what could have been because there is simply nothing I can do about it.  It was what it was and it's over.  It doesn't take a piece of me because the whole of me is right in front of me, and that is my son.

Even though I don't dwell on my son's labor and delivery, it wasn't my ideal birth. There was something I could learn from it.  When I got pregnant with my daughter I told my husband I wanted the home birth this time.   We googled home birth midwives in our area and interviewed and picked the only one we looked at.  I know now that God lead us there as we were prayerfully considering the home birth.


What I learned

Trust your midwife (or OB)

My home birth midwife had delivered over 2000 babies before me.  She knows almost everything.  That was very important to me when I selected her.  She also knew a lot of the reasons my first labor went the way that it did.  We were able to troubleshoot so that I wasn't having the same long labor again with coupling contractions and stalls.


Trust your body
During my first labor I constantly wanted to be on my hands and knees.  Looking back, I wanted to be that way to keep my son from flipping.  When I was home birthing my daughter, I didn't fight the urge, I was in that position almost the whole time.  I even had my daughter in that position.  My labor was shorter and I didn't have those coupling contractions.

Learn from your experience
Don't be ashamed about your birth experience.  It may not have been what you wanted, but you can come closer to ideal if you change a couple things by learning from last time.  And you don't have to want a home birth to be an awesome Mom.  You are an awesome Mom because you are a Mom.  Don't forget that. You are what you believe. 

There are things that I would do different next time, too.  It will probably always be like that for me because I read something new.  Or change my thoughts from my previous experience.  And there are things that I choose not to think about anymore because I just don't want to.

Are there still things haunting you from your previous birth experience?  What has helped you let them go?  What did you learn from it?




***

***

Visit Code Name: Mama and Hobo Mama to find out how you can participate in the next Carnival of Natural Parenting!

Please take time to read the submissions by the other carnival participants:

(This list will be live and updated by afternoon June 12 with all the carnival links.)

• I Had A C-Section. So What! — Jennifer at Hybrid Rasta Mama rewrites her birth story now that she has worked through the feelings of inadequacy and disappointment of not having the “perfect” birth.
• The Perfect Birth — Kellie at Our Mindful Life reflects on how a birth can be far from what we imagined, but still perfect.
• Own Your Birth: My Hope For All Expectant Moms — Andrea at Tales of Goodness shares how she owned her birth spiritually (while navigating it physically) in order to have a joyous experience.
• Carnival of Natural Parenting: My Birth Experience — It wasn't what Lily at Witch Mom wanted, but it was everything she needed.
• The Painless Natural Homebirth of BabyE — Shannon at GrowingSlower wants women considering natural birth to know painless births are possible.
• Reflections on Jemma's Birth ... 20 Months Later — It took a second pregnancy for That Mama Gretchen to fully embrace her first birth experience.
• Loving My Unnatural Birth Experience — Erika at Cinco de Mommy cherishes her very first birth experience, in all its unnatural glory!
• Be Careful What you Wish for in Birth — Amber at Strocel.com had two births, and it was the one that went to plan that she struggled with embracing.
• Redeeming an unexpected hospital transfer — Lauren at Hobo Mama looks back at her first, interrupted home-turned-hospital birth, and finds the beauty in what happened.
• All of it — Laura from Pug in the Kitchen had to learn to embrace the whole experience of birth even though it meant being naked . . . with an audience.
• Birthing Dreams & Realities — Momma Jorje never had a "dream birth," but she wouldn't change a thing about her births.
• Memories of Birth: Calm Amidst the Storm — While neither of her children's births had been quite what she expected, Cynthia at The Hippie Housewife cherishes one moment in particular from each of her birth experiences.
• Embracing Our Birth Stories — Luschka from Diary of a First Child shares a sensitive post on her recent birth which both did and didn't go 'to plan', and writes about the journey of coming to terms with the good and the bad.
• Two Beautiful Births — Sheila at A Gift Universe remembers how her mother brought out the beauty in each of her children's births, and tries to do the same with her sons' birth stories.
• Embracing My Supernatural ChildBirth Experiences... — Jenny at I'm a full-time mummy shares her fond memories on both her supernatural childbirth experiences
• Embracing the Hospital Birth Experience — Jenn at Monkey Butt Junction believes that sometimes a medicated, induced hospital birth is the right choice for a natural parent.
• Carnival: Embracing Your Birth Experience — Stephanie at The Other Baby Blog embraces the birth experience from a paleobiologist's point of view and takes a look at how humans defy their anatomy.
• Reflections on My First Birth and Preparing for a Second — Abbie at Farmer's Daughter shares the strength she didn't realize she had until she gave birth to her son.
• becoming a mama - embracing my birth experience — Meegs at A New Day remembers the birth of her daughter Gwenivere, and the empowered feeling it left her with.
• What About Us? A Poem About Birth — Kat at Loving {Almost} Every Moment shares a poem she wrote about healing from an unexpected and emotionally painful birth experience.
• Be a Man: One Father's View of Birth — Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children shares her husband's advice to other fathers and partners.
• A Birth Monologue — Kat at MomeeeZen shares a monologue she wrote during the process of healing from her birth experiences.
• Forgiveness: My Birth Journey — Leah at The Crunchy Farm Baby discusses what happens when her planned homebirth doesn't end up the way she wanted, and explains her journey of forgiving herself for losing that "perfect" birth.
• Patching together a perfect birth — KrissyFair at Think Mama, Think learned that sometimes a perfect birth happens in pieces.
• Celebrating and Sharing the Possibilities of Perfect Birth — Terri from Child of the Nature Isle joyfully shares details of her perfect births and wishes to inspire a more positive cultural expectation about birth.
• Instinct - Embracing Your Birth Experience — Laura at Laura's Blog reflects on instinctual moments during and after the births of her two daughters.
• I was Foolish Then — ANonyMous at Radical Ramblings describes how foolish lack of preparation for childbirth led to a feeling of powerlessness and fear, but that in the end she had her baby in her arms, and that's one thing she can celebrate.
• Sometimes no plan is the best plan — Tat at Mum in search contemplates that maybe she doesn't need a birth plan for her upcoming birth.
• Disturbing the peace — Kenna at Million Tiny Things thought she would be a calm, quiet baby-haver. Ha!
• Accepting the Unexpected During Birth — Emily at S.A.H.M i AM imagined herself laboring on a birthing ball but she never imagined where she'd really be most comfortable when the time came...
• Sacred This Time, Too — Kimber at The Single Crunch learned enough to know that the way she birthed wasn't they way she wanted to; but she also knew to enjoy it for what it was.
• The Birth Partner: A Great Natural Labor Companion — Justine at The Lone Home Ranger thinks that the secret to her pleasant natural labors was having a great support system.
• the Best Thing About My Labor Experience — Crunchy Con Mommy realizes that amidst all the things that seemed to go wrong with her labor, the love and support of her husband was the one thing she could always count on!
• Your Birth Was My Favorite — Dulce de leche describes some of the highlights from each of her four births and explains why despite the differences, they are all her favorites.
• Birth Story: Part One - Moon on a Stick! — Gentle Mama Moon tells the first part of her birth story to share some of the delight of labouring at home.
• Embracing My Birth Experience by Sharing My Birth Story — Dionna at Code Name: Mama made peace with her first birth by sharing the story with her son.
• Focusing on the Beauty of Birth — Julia at A Little Bit of All of It shares the beautiful aspects of her birth center water birth.
• A Joyful Induced Delivery — Amy Willa: Me, Mothering, and Making it All Work notes the meditations and perspective that helped her achieve an unmedicated birth despite being induced for medical reasons.
• Finding Joy in an Imperfect Childbirth Experience — Deb Chitwood at Living Montessori Now tells what she learned from her two very different childbirth experiences.
• What's to like about a c-section? — Jessica at Crunchy-Chewy Mama is glad she her second child at home, but she also cherishes much about the c-section she had four years earlier.
• What Story Will I Tell? — Rachael at The Variegated Life realizes that the way she tells the story of her second child's birth matters — and could be exhilarating.
• I Quietly Put My Hopes to Rest E — Erica at ChildOrganics shares her emotional ups and downs with the highly intervened birth of her special needs daughter, Bella.
• Tale of Six Births — Jessica at Instead of Institutions appreciates that unique challenges and joys of each of her births.
• Labouring naturally: nature’s gift — Caroline at stoneageparent describes the most beautiful, spiritual aspect of the labour of her son, the first stages along a bumpy road to giving birth.
• All The Woman I Am. — Lindsay at This Woman's Work shares a poem about letting go and surrendering during the thralls of labor.
• A twin birth story: embracing the unexpected — Megan at The Boho Mama shares her twin birth experience and how she found the silver lining when faced with preterm labor, premature birth, and a two-week NICU stay.
• Giving Birth With Eminem — Kerry at City Kids Homeschooling shares how fiery rap music contributed to an empowered homebirth with her third baby.
• Two Different Births — Cassie at There's a Pickle in My Life shares how she learned from her first birth experience and how to trust yourself and your body.
• Embracing Our Potential: Birth as a Metaphor — Sheila from A Living Family guest posts at Natural Parents Network and expresses how birth has served as a metaphor to help her through other experiences in life.
• Little Sister's Birth Story: Our VBAC Adventure — Charise at I Thought I Knew Mama describes the recent birth story of her baby girl, her pride in an epidural-free VBAC, and how her story isn't exactly the birth experience she had planned for.
• A Journey in Birth Confidence — Shannon at The Artful Mama shares her experiences with labor during both of her sons' births.

Garden 2012

We've done quite a lot of work out in our garden this year.  We rotatilled in April.  Then I planted a bunch of seeds on my birthday.  Then, since we dug up our grass to build our garden last year, a bunch of grass grew up again.  I got busy, you know with the two little ones, that I couldn't tell the seedlings from the weeds.  The broccoli and kale grew fast enough that I weeded around it.  Since some of my seeds didn't work I bought a few starts- tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkins and peppers.  Then re-weeded and planted the starts and planted a few more kale seeds.  I also bought some radish seeds since the go so fast and my kids really like them.   So hopefully we'll have some good things coming out of our garden to supplement (not that we need supplements) for our CSA.    I'm really excited.

Ben and Luke putting the fence up

We also put this fence around mostly to keep the dog out because she likes to dig holes in my garden.  But also to keep my two best helpers out, too.  Sometimes they help a little too much ;)

Wordless Wednesday- Paprika

When I was making dinner my son insisted that I put some paprika on the table.  Of course, the baby wanted it too :)

 

 

 

 For more Wordless Wednesday check out Hobo Mama.

Nursing Both My Babies

Welcome to the Carnival of Tandem Nursing
This post was written for inclusion in the Carnival of Tandem Nursing hosted by Mommying My Way. Our participants have shared their personal stories of the highs the lows and information on what to expect if tandeming is in your future. Please read to the end of each post to find a list of links to the other carnival participants.
***



When I was pregnant with my son, I never considered that I would breastfeed my son longer than a year, much less tandem nurse him and my next baby.

nursing both, my son 3, and my daughter 1

Flash back almost 3 years ago.  I had my son.  I had fought to keep our nursing relationship.  The first three months were the worst.  We had trouble latching on, I saw three lactation consultants.  I pumped a lot and suffered through a lot of pain. My breasts didn't actually heal from nipple cracks until he was 2 months old.  And I didn't actually like nursing him until he was 3 months old.  My friend actually told me she heard from a friend 'the first month is hard, the second month is better and the third month you don't even remember why it was so hard.'  That was the truth for me.  Then the 4th month we battled thrush.  I found out thrush could be cured by switching to a paleo diet and so the rest was history.  From then on I had this incredible nursing relationship.  I loved nursing.

From when my son was born on, my husband and I started reading up on natural parenting and how 'nursing at least till one' was recommended by the AAP.  Then we found out nursing until 2 and beyond was recommended by WHO.  I met a bunch of other natural mothers who were breastfeeding past one so I didn't even consider weaning, especially when I found out just how good it was.

Then I got pregnant with my daughter when my son was 15 months.  Since, by then, I had become quite the pro-breastfeeding mom, I figured I would just tandem nurse.  I actually worried and was saddened by the fact that my son might wean during pregnancy.  He didn't seem ready at all and I would have felt horrible if he did.  Nursing was everything to him.  I told people I was just going to 'just see what happened because sometimes kids just wean when there's no milk'.  But it was a cover up for the fact that I actually wanted to tandem nurse.

Nursing while pregnant was ok.  It wasn't as good as it was before.  But it wasn't as painful and terrible as I had heard about from some people.   At the end of pregnancy if my son would nurse too long, I hated it.  He actually cut down his nursings a lot, nursing to go to sleep, when he woke up, and once during the night.

My son was excited because I told him when his sister came, there would be milk again.  He actually told some people about this, too. (Including one of my husband's co-workers, thank goodness he didn't understand what he said)

Then my daughter was born.  I was nervous about tandem nursing but excited.  There have been a lot of ups and downs.  It was awesome at first.  It really helped me stay connected with  my son even though I was busy with a newborn baby.   He still felt that connection and things didn't change his world too much.  I am so grateful for that.  I'm going to share with you the ups and downs and tips for the transition.



Always Nursing
I was always nursing at first.  My son was so excited that there was baby milk in my breast now.  He wanted to nurse all.the.time.  On top of that I had a newborn nursing.
what I did
It took about 6 months for me to finally decide to do something about it.  My husband said, 'it's been 6 months, Luke (my son) is adjusted to his new sister, you can cut back'.  It had gone by so fast I didn't even think about it.  Slowly I started cutting back and offering more food.  Now my daughter is almost a year and my son nurses before and after waking and sometimes during the night.  That is ok for now, but at some point I might cut back a little more.  But for now it is good enough because my daughter doesn't nurse as often as she used to.   So I get a little break.

Nursing both at the same time
I did the nursing-both-at-the-same-time thing and liked it at first but then really started to hate it.  I got that strong aversion to nursing. It happened after a few months. 
what I did
I just stopped nursing both at the same time.  My son was two and he understood when I said 'Taryn is a baby and she can go first.'  I started saying that one weekend when my husband was home so that he could help my son when he was upset that he couldn't nurse.  After the weekend of saying that he got over it.  He wasn't even that upset.

Aversion to nursing the older one
When I read about this before I started tandem nursing I thought, I'll never have that, I love nursing my son.  But sure enough, I started dreading nursing him.  I don't know if it was the teeth or how my body just wanted to nurse the newborn, but it was s uncomfortable.
what I did
I just cut back to what I felt comfortable with.   It did take some time to ease into what would work for everyone.  I listened to my son's nursing needs as well as my own needs for some space.  Some days are worse than others, but I think I've mostly gotten to a place where it's still ok for me. 

Great Transition
We had such a wonderful transition adding another baby to our family.  After all the negatives I mentioned, tandem nursing was so worth it.  I know that my son and daughter will always have that connection of them nursing together as babies.  They absolutely love each other.  I always hear those stories of older siblings asking their parents to take back the baby.  That has never happened here.  My daughter was lovingly accepted by my son from the first day.

I don't know if it's something I would do again, but in our family situation it was right.  And I sure do love my nursings and how it has worked out.







***

• My Tandem Nursing Journey: Jenny at I'm a full-time mummy is sharing her tandem nursing journey so far...
• Built for Two: No matter how much you read and plan, things may not always go as you expect. A few things that Jennifer at True Confessions of a Real Mommy wished she knew when she was planning to tandem feed her toddler and newborn.
• Tandem Nursing - Magic Cure?: Jorje of Momma Jorje had high expectations of tandem nursing easing her toddler daughter's transition from being the baby to being a big sister.
• Mutually Desirable - Navigating a Tandem Nursing Experience: Amy Willa at www.amywilla.com talks about limit setting and meditations that help her navigate an intense tandem nursing experience.
• My Adventure in Tandem Nursing: Alicia at Lactation Narration tells her story of nursing her daughter through pregnancy and then tandem nursing.
• 4 months in: the good/hard: Becca at Exile Fertility writes about the joys and struggles of having two nurslings 17 months apart.
• Tandem Nursing: One at a Time: When tandem nursing resulted in a nursing aversion, Mandy at Living Peacefully with Children looked for ways to meet everyone's needs.
• Why Nurse a 4 Year Old?: One of the questions Dionna at Code Name: Mama keeps getting is, "but why breastfeed a four year old? What are the benefits?" Today she answers that question.
• My Hurt Feelings: Shannon at The Artful Mama shares how her first son reacted to nursing after the birth of his brother and the gift she received the last time he nursed.
• Carnival of Tandem Nursing: A Letter To Myself 7 Years Ago: Dulce de leche shares the advice and reassurance that she would have given to herself if she could go back in time.
• Nursing Both My Babies: Cassie at There’s a Pickle in my Life shares her experience with nursing and transitioning into tandem nursing. She also gives tips for struggles.
• Our Tandem Nursing Journey: Kim at Life-is-Learning describes her journey into tandem nursing and why it is important to her.
• Based on her own experience, Lauren at Hobo Mama dishes about the benefits and downsides to nursing multiple children.

1 year

Another late post.  Taryn was born on May 25th.  I had her last year on my dad's birthday :)  and it was my first home birth!


Dear Sweet Little Taryn,

Wow, just a year ago we were getting ready for our first homebirth.  We had no idea what it would be like to have another child.  You have surpassed everything we imagined.  You grace us with your joy, laughter and love.  We were scared to become parents of two, but you turned it into something special and amazing.

I can't believe how much you understand these days.  You watch us talk and you know exactly what we are saying.  You even point at things and say words now.  You see a dog and you shreek "Da, Da!" for dog.  You also say nana for banana and dada for daddy, and you definitely have Mama down.  I heard you say hi, kids, and a few others in your own way.  Your brain is just moving a mile a minute.

You  haven't walked yet but you do your own walking on your knees.  Walking on your knees.  You are terrified to let go and stand on your own.  Oh well, we aren't too worried.  You sure can crawl fast though, especially when you know what you are after!

You are enticed by the same things over and over.  When we wake up you have to crawl over to the window and look out.  When you are on the couch you have to crawl to the arm rest and look over.  You find joy out of doing the same things again and again.  We say 'You go where you know and where you love'.   Another spot you always go to is on top of Misu.  Poor Misu, you give her quite the beating... but she still loves you.

For some reason you are waking a lot now.  You still only have 4 teeth and I'm pretty sure you have several more coming in.  You also got the hand, foot and mouth virus right before you and Luke's birthday party so that made your sleeping uncomfortable, too.  We thought you had the chicken pox for the longest time, but the Mama caught it so we figured out that it wasn't pox.  That was really the first type of sickness you've had.  You have had roseola, one day of stuffy noses and then one other fever.  You are quite the healthy kid.

picking flowers at the park

We got Luke balloons for his birthday.  Daddy was alternating giving you balloons with helium and ones with out.  You were so confused when you would let go... some would go up and some would go down.  You are so cute, learning new things.

playing with the ball at your friend's birthday party

When you sleep, you sleep next to Daddy.  You sometimes will roll over and put your head on his shoulder.  You are still quite the daddy's girl.  Even though you love Daddy, sometimes, now, only Mama will do.  You even get a little jealous when I hold your brother. 

biting your toes

Luke is your idol.  You do everything like him.  If he yells, you yell.  If he laughs, you laugh.  And you guys talk back and forth in the car and crack each other up.  Just today Luke bumped into the wall and you banged the wall, too.  You just had to.

playing with Luke

sibling love

You finally got to eat your egg whites with your daily egg yolk.  I think scrambled eggs are now your favorite food.  You got to try some ground nuts and that was new for you and you liked it.  You still love all the same foods but especially the new fruits you've tried, sauerkraut, milk, and all the other usuals.  Basically you'll eat anything Luke is eating.   And today, you've actually showed interest in helping in the kitchen.  You helped doing the dishes and moving the spatula around in the pan.  You look up at me with that look like "I'm very helpful".

We love you little Taryn.  You have the sweetest eyes and smile.  You are filled joy and you have the biggest heart.  We can't wait for the next year of fun.

Love,
Mama and Daddy

3!

Luke's Birthday is May 23rd, I just didn't finish the post until tonight.




My sweetest Luke,

I almost cried the night before you turned three. I squeezed you extra tight while I was cuddling with you before you slept. I just can't believe it. 3 is just so big.

You are getting more self reliant. You do things for yourself now. You want water? You get it. When you want something out of the fridge, you get it. But sometimes you still want Mama to do it, and that's ok too :)  You don't even need Mama to fall asleep now because you'll fall asleep sometimes when Daddy rubs your neck.

I love your personality.  You are so caring.  You are always so sad when you don't do things right because you don't like making mistakes.  You are so sensitive.  You don't like to see others cry- it scares you, still.  Even your sister.  When she cries you say 'You better nurse her Mama'.   You are stubborn and demanding like your Mama.  You are also shy as ever now.  I love it though because I never have to worry.  I love that you are cautious, especially with people.  You really can read people and I like that about you.

Big changes have been really knowing what's going on and where we could go.  You always say 'Remember when we went to .... last day.'  Even if it was a few days ago you remember going.  Now that you're three you hardly mind car trips anymore, including the hour long drive it takes to get to the Zoo or the Children's museums.  Even last time we went on the 6 hour car ride to Grandma and Grandpa Sharp's you knew exactly where we were going and would hardly get out of the to go potty.  You wanted to get there.   This is from the baby who hated the car. 

Speaking of Grandma and Grandpa, and Grandma and Papa, you love to go to either place.  We head up to Grandma and Papa's at least once a month when Daddy works late and you play trains and cars with Papa.  You don't even mind playing with them and forgetting about me.  When we have Grandma and Grandpa up or we go to their house, you could care less about Mama and Daddy.

reading with Grandpa Sharp

We really love when you ride your tricycle.  You can go all the way to the park and back!

testing out your bike

riding to the park

I can't believe how much you've learned this last year, too.  Some how you know ABC's and what (some) letters are what.  I don't know how you learned because we never really talked about it.  What you remember and say is absolutely amazing to me.

You LOVE to read.  I'm surprised at how much you like reading longer books now.  And you just want to read book after book.  I'm so happy because I never liked reading.  I love reading to you, too, as long as your sister will let me.

You can make breakfast now.  You can crack eggs, flip them, and spoon it on a plate.  You just need a little help with getting some stuff out of the fridge and turning on the stove.  I think by 5 you won't even need me anymore.  You probably could also make coffee for me, you've been watching me make it since birth.

baking

We love the boy you've become.  You make us laugh and smile every day.  You look at us with those eyes and we are reminded how much we love being your parents.  Thank you for giving us joy.

We love you, Luke,

Mama and Daddy

Wordless Wednesday- tulips

Nap time

I've been so fortunate because almost the entire time since Taryn has been born I've gotten her and Luke to nap at the same time. I don't know how, probably by the mercy of God.
Even when she was a baby she would take a early couple naps then almost always another one when Luke did. But now all of the sudden it caught me by surprise she's only taking one nap. She will sometimes take an evening quick nap but usually she holds out till bed. She does sleep longer in her nap than Luke. I was worried before because I thought she wasn't getting enough sleep but then I realized she is almost one. One was around the time for like where I tried to get him to take only one nap by keeping him awake until noon. Now I see the same thing is happening to Taryn. She's really growing up. I really hope the trend continues.

Benihanas

For the last two years my best friend and I (and my husband and kids) have gone to Benihanas for our birthday. Mine is the 10th and hers is the 18th. Benihanas gives a 30 dollar gift coupon on your birthday so we take advantage.
My son loves it. He loves watching the chef throw around the food. He liked it last year at almost 2 but this year at almost 3 he LOVED it. He's always liked to cook so he really likes seeing chef do the famous onion volcano with steam pouring out and they even flipped a shrimp tale at him. Luke likes eating there just as much. We don't eat rice at home so it's always his favorite along with the shrimp.
Taryn liked it too. She mostly wanted to eat. When we got there she was fussy because we wouldn't let her crawl around the restaurant. Sorry, Taryn. But once she discovered she was going to eat she was pretty happy.
I ordered steak and shrimp. And it was really good. Usa got lobster and steak and they forgot to do her lobster, well I think the waitress got the order wrong. So she got her lobster as dessert.
We had a lot of fun. Can't wait for next year!

11 months (wednesday)

Dear Sweet Taryn,

11 months already.. just one more precious month of under one.  I miss my newborn.  I miss the small wrapped baby in my arms.  But I love this stage, too. 

at the park with no shoes!

You have quite the personality.  Very independent and strong willed.  You want what you want, and no one better get in your way.  When I try re-directing you to something else when you are doing something I don't really want you to do, you get limp and make a fuss.  And you have to have every thing your brother has, no substitute.

You just got your first front tooth, and are about to pop a couple more through.  It has made you clingy and agitated.  I can't wait till they come through.  You will love having more teeth, though, because you love to eat!

Speaking of food... you still love your egg yolks (you must know they are so good for you).  I try giving you liver every now and again, you don't love it.  You love bananas, still.  And your new thing is sauerkraut, you LOVE sauerkraut.  You eat way too much of it.  Then there's those frozen blueberries you love, too.  You don't like that cod liver oil we force feed you every  night.  It's funny because Luke loves it.

eating homemade kefir with  banana

You are still crawling and now moving on to furniture crawling.  I am a little surprised you aren't walking yet, but am really glad about it in some ways.  I think when you walk you will almost immediately run.  I saw you sit down on the kneeler at church and then stand up almost with out holding on.  You're getting it.  I'm not in a hurry, two walking kids is going to wear me out!!

You and Luke at Easter

When we talk to you, you understand everything now.  Daddy says, 'Taryn, will you pick up that fork?' you reach over and grab it and hand it to him.  You know exactly what we're saying.

We also say 'Kiss Taryn' and you lean over with your open mouth and tongue kiss and smother us.  It's really sweet.  Then you say 'uh uh uh' so that Luke will lean in to kiss you too.  He doesn't go for the open mouth one very often.

Luke and you play together better than ever now.  The only problem is that you're just a little abrasive with Luke.  Lets just say you love your brother a little too much :)  You will grab on to him and pinch or pull his hair.  He doesn't like it very much but puts up with it well because he loves you.  Even the other day he says 'Mama, PUT HER DOWN'.  I asked why I should put her down.  He says 'So I can play with her.' Aww so sweet. 

bothering Luke

We just sent out the invitations to you and Luke's birthday party bash.  It should be fun, we can't wait.  But we can wait until you are one... it's gone so fast.  We don't know how we lost our little baby so fast.  You are just so sweet and loving.

We love you dear Taryn so very much,

Mama and Daddy

March photo day 2: fruit

Paleo doughtnuts. Orange zest in the 'frosting' (coconut oil, honey orange zest)

March photo day 1: up

March Photo Challenge

I'm going to do this on my blog for the Month of March.

The Stay at Home Mom

I've  been a stay at home mom now for almost three years.  I have noticed a lot in these three years.
1. Some mom's I talk to or follow on facebook seem to use house chores as a way of feeling accomplished and
2.  Most stay at home moms think that the house chores are all of their responsibility.

I've heard things like 'oh finally the kids are  napping I can actually get something done' or listing off this large amount of chores they will or have accomplished that day.  Some moms have mentioned that they have to clean so they can justify staying home (along those lines).  As much as I sometimes fall into that mind set I feel that it's just not right.

As a stay at home mom, my role is to take care of the kids.  That's why I'm staying home.  If I worked, kids would go to day care.  The day care people would not be cleaning my house.  They would only be caring for my kids.  So, if I were to send my kids somewhere else the house would still be messy.   So how did the stay at home mom some how get the all day task of watching kids AND cleaning the whole house?

Now, I will admit that its easy to do some chores while at home.  And that some times it's a matter of that it's the deal between the husband and the wife-- I'll clean the bathrooms if you mow and water the lawn.  And sometimes for me anyway, its easier that I wash the diapers or start and do laundry because I'm home. And sometimes I have time to do more and do it because it needs to be done.  But that doesn't mean that my husband shouldn't also have chores too.

Once and a while I feel that if I finish cleaning the kitchen or clean the bathroom I can mark the day as productive.  But the reason I feel that mind set is wrong is because as a stay at home mom my job is to take care of the kids.  Did I take care of the kids?  Did I play with them?  Did they get fed?  Did I take care of their needs?  And are they alive?  Well, yes, then your stay at home mothering job is COMPLETE.  Seriously.  That is the accomplishment of the job.  Anything else is extra!  I just don't like that thinking that chores equal a successful day.  Moms should more often think about what quality of life they are giving their kids and feel accomplished! 

For me lately, I have been measuring my accomplishments by opportunities to serve my vocation.  What can I do to become a better mother?  For me it's working on being more patient.  So I can ask myself questions like... Was I patient with my kids today while they were learning?  Was I patient when they thought something wasn't fair?  Then if I answer no I could think of ways I could change.  Now, that's accomplishing something. 


What are your roles at home?  And what helps you feel accomplished?

9 months

My dear little sweet bug Taryn,

9 months! Only 3 more to go until 1. Wow, just wow. You aren't my little newborn baby to hold anymore. You are independent and trying new things turning into your own person.
You are so independent you just crawl around our house room to room not really caring of anyone else comes with you. Yesterday I was back in the bedroom with napping Luke and you were just crawling from the kitchen to the play room. Played in there for a while. Then back to the kitchen with Daddy and then you were tired and hungry and knew to crawl back to the bedroom to me to nurse. You just have such an adventurous spirit.   You crawl to get into something and look back at me with a beaming smile, I know that smile is gonna be trouble.

with your brother at the park

You are able to pull up into standing.  I can tell you want to walk too but you just can't quite get those feet to move.  Luke is trying hard to get used to you up there now into all his trains.

Along with walking you are wanting to express yourself with some talking now.  You can wave and say something that sounds like 'hi dada'.  I pointed to Misu and said dog and you looked at me and said da.  I think you got it.  Funny you knew dog, that was Luke's first word too.  When you cry sometimes you say Mamamama.  You also enjoy screaming along with Luke.  When he talks loud you talk loud.

beach trip sand face

mmm

You are still LOVING food.  I gave you this broccoli coconut soup the other day and I could tell you didn't like it but you kept trying it anyway almost like 'well they gave it to me, it must be good'.  You still love your egg yolks and banana.  But now if we don't give you the food you wanted you just stand in your high chair and proceed to crawl on the table to get what you wanted.    You've had the chance to try nuts, even though we wanted to hold off till a year, because Luke left some around.  Same thing with cheese. That's pretty much how  you've gotten to try a lot of foods, because Luke leaves them around.  Oh well, at least we know it's ok to give those to you... but I think i'll still wait a bit.

your first valentine (and letter in the mail) from Grandma and Grandpa

You keep right on truckin' with EC.  You currently hardly ever wet at night.  You'll just nurse and nurse and nurse until someone takes you potty.  When daddy gets up to do it you cry, then feel relieved and happy because you peed but then upset again because you want to go back to sleep.  You're on and off during the day.  I think if I tried harder you could mostly stay dry all day.  Oh well.  And you don't seem to mind either.

Two weeks ago you had your first fever.  You have only been sick one other time really, just with a stuffy nose.  This time just the fever for two days then you had a rash.  We think it was roseola but we aren't too sure.  But you seemed to be just fine after the fever passed.  You have your 9 month check up Friday and I'll have to update this again with your height and weight.  You aren't as chubby as Luke was but you're pretty tall, so we'll see.

You are a Daddy's girl

We love you sweet Taryn.  You bring us joy with your loving personality.  Can't wait for more.

Love Mama and Daddy