Our little (not-so-little!) Zoey Mae turns 6 months old today! I know I sound like a broken record, but WHERE has the time gone??? It seems like just yesterday I was having my baby shower at work, and anticipating her arrival. I had no idea what an adventure parenting would turn out to be, but I wouldn't trade a second of it for any other life.
I know I'm really behind in posting pictures (we're also behind in taking some), but Aaron has promised me a 6-month photo shoot for Miss Z very soon, so I hope to have lots of pics to share when we finish that.
In other updates...we are finally cloth diapering 99% of the time, and LOVING it! It took a couple of months for me to get comfortable and find a system I liked using, but now that I have, I'm so glad we're doing it. The vast majority of our stash is made up of GroVia AI2s. We also have five TotsBots Easy Fit AIOs that are actually my favorites, but they're spendy and you can't replace the liner. Finally, we have three FuzziBunz (two size smalls and one OS) that were gifts or freebies, and that rounds out our stash. I have no leaking problems, and cloth contains the poop-splosions so much better than any 'sposie! The laundry hasn't been half bad, either...unless your well-meaning husband happens to dry your load of diapers with not one, but two chemical-laden dryer sheets. Eeeeeek! (For those who don't know, dryer sheets contain wax, which coats the diapers and causes them to repel liquids, instead of absorb. Not good!) So, I've started the stripping process. Hopefully they'll come clean without too much hassle, and no harm, no foul!
Zoey is reportedly the "best eater" at daycare (that's my girl! haha), and she loooooves her purees. Let's see if I can list everything she's had so far: oatmeal, bananas, sweet potatoes, peas, carrots, peaches, mangoes, green beans, pineapple, pears, apples, squash, blueberries, corn, and broccoli. I *think* that's it, plus she's gnawed on some watermelon, cantaloupe, celery, spinach leaves, and tried a couple of spinach-apple baby puffs. Whew! Oh, and she can drink water from a sippy cup like a big girl, when she's in the mood!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Riddle me this...
Why is it that Zoey is pretty solidly in 6-9 month clothing all around, but when I put her in a pair of 3-6 month jeans this morning (yay cool weather!), they nearly fell off her of her, they're so big?? Darn vanity sizing for babies. :-)
Oh, and I forgot the biggest update of all on our last post: we have officially retired the infant seat, and Zoey is now full-time in her Britax Boulevard! She loves it, and I love not lugging around the bulky carrier anymore. This also means that she now sits in the shopping cart like a big girl, and has even sat in a few high chairs at restaurants. *sigh* What happened to my little newborn??
And a random note to any expecting parents out there: Do as I say, and not as I do. We bought an infant carrier that goes all the way to 32 pounds, thinking "wow, we can use this for at least a year!" Sure, Zoey isn't anywhere NEAR outgrowing the seat, but trust me when I say you will not want to haul that thing around anymore once your little one gets to be about 16-17 pounds. Holy macaroni. Plus, the Britax is sooooo much more padded and comfy for her, and she seems to enjoy riding in the car so much more now!
Oh, and I forgot the biggest update of all on our last post: we have officially retired the infant seat, and Zoey is now full-time in her Britax Boulevard! She loves it, and I love not lugging around the bulky carrier anymore. This also means that she now sits in the shopping cart like a big girl, and has even sat in a few high chairs at restaurants. *sigh* What happened to my little newborn??
And a random note to any expecting parents out there: Do as I say, and not as I do. We bought an infant carrier that goes all the way to 32 pounds, thinking "wow, we can use this for at least a year!" Sure, Zoey isn't anywhere NEAR outgrowing the seat, but trust me when I say you will not want to haul that thing around anymore once your little one gets to be about 16-17 pounds. Holy macaroni. Plus, the Britax is sooooo much more padded and comfy for her, and she seems to enjoy riding in the car so much more now!
Friday, September 9, 2011
A few camping pictures...
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| Our little monster in her bear hat. (Incidentally, that hat was the first thing I purchased after the ultrasound when we found out we were expecting a GIRL!) |
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| Mommy and Zoey bright and early in the morning... |
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| Breakfast time! No, she is not eating Coldstone hot cocoa (which isn't that great, for the record). She's enjoying her feast of Gerber Apple-Cinnamon oatmeal. |
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| All tuckered out after a stroll! |
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| Chillin' in the camp chair. :-) |
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| The boonies of western North Dakota. I could live here. |
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| RuRu dominated. |
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| Near our campsite at sunset. |
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| Another sunset pic near camp. |
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| The Little Missouri River that flows right through our campground. |
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| The gopher snake I found. Once we determined he/she was harmless, it was picture time! |
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| The other zoo animal. :-) |
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| Bonus picture: Not from camping, but our little chunks sleeping about a month ago. Aaron just got this one off the camera. |
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Update!
Life has just been SO busy and hectic lately, that my poor little blog has been neglected!
Let's see, what's new with us these days...
Zoey has started daycare and it's really working out well. She made the transition with practically no issues, and we just love Miss Theresa. She now sits more than anything, and if you raise her up so she can stand, she doesn't want to stand still anymore! The girl wants to walk! I can't believe it - she knows to put one foot in front of the other. Once her strength and balance catch up with her little mind and willpower, I know she'll be off to a running start!
We took Zoey on her first camping trip (pics to come if Aaron will ever upload them off his memory card!) to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. I always forget just how beautiful it is out there, and I'm amazed each time we go. I truly think I could live in the boonies in that area, if I didn't have to commute to work or anything like that. We even had a little side adventure, where we hunted for ice caves without a good map to point us where they were. We weren't successful, but we still got to see a lot of cool stuff, including taking the Subaru off-road, and did eventually procure a map for the next time we go.
I made my debut as the Diet Writer at Once a Month Mom! My first recipe and my introduction post went up yesterday; there will be plenty more to come. If you haven't subscribed to the RSS feed, then you better go ahead and get on that! :-)
I joined Weight Watchers @ Work. My first official meeting was yesterday, and I'm excited to have a program and support group for my own weight loss journey. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the eating part, especially doing once-a-month cooking, but now I just need to find a way to fit working out into my routine. I'm also doing a "Biggest Loser"-type of contest with some girls from a message board I'm on. We're having a real-life get-together in April (in Gatlinburg, Tennessee--yay!), and not only am I excited to meet these awesome women in person, but I'm also excited to hopefully be considerably lighter and have a chance at winning the competition, which will conclude in Tennessee!
I started back to grad school! I can't remember if I mentioned this on here or not, and I'm too lazy to go back and read, but nonetheless...I am taking a class this semester that meets on Monday nights, and I will hopefully complete my internship requirements this semester and advance to candidacy. That means that next semester, all I have to do is take an Educational Psych class and work on my scholarly project (in lieu of a thesis). Assuming all goes well and falls into place, I'll graduate next May, alongside Aaron's sister, who will be getting her bachelor's degree.
Let's see, what's new with us these days...
Zoey has started daycare and it's really working out well. She made the transition with practically no issues, and we just love Miss Theresa. She now sits more than anything, and if you raise her up so she can stand, she doesn't want to stand still anymore! The girl wants to walk! I can't believe it - she knows to put one foot in front of the other. Once her strength and balance catch up with her little mind and willpower, I know she'll be off to a running start!
We took Zoey on her first camping trip (pics to come if Aaron will ever upload them off his memory card!) to Theodore Roosevelt National Park in western North Dakota. I always forget just how beautiful it is out there, and I'm amazed each time we go. I truly think I could live in the boonies in that area, if I didn't have to commute to work or anything like that. We even had a little side adventure, where we hunted for ice caves without a good map to point us where they were. We weren't successful, but we still got to see a lot of cool stuff, including taking the Subaru off-road, and did eventually procure a map for the next time we go.
I made my debut as the Diet Writer at Once a Month Mom! My first recipe and my introduction post went up yesterday; there will be plenty more to come. If you haven't subscribed to the RSS feed, then you better go ahead and get on that! :-)
I joined Weight Watchers @ Work. My first official meeting was yesterday, and I'm excited to have a program and support group for my own weight loss journey. I feel like I have a pretty good handle on the eating part, especially doing once-a-month cooking, but now I just need to find a way to fit working out into my routine. I'm also doing a "Biggest Loser"-type of contest with some girls from a message board I'm on. We're having a real-life get-together in April (in Gatlinburg, Tennessee--yay!), and not only am I excited to meet these awesome women in person, but I'm also excited to hopefully be considerably lighter and have a chance at winning the competition, which will conclude in Tennessee!
I started back to grad school! I can't remember if I mentioned this on here or not, and I'm too lazy to go back and read, but nonetheless...I am taking a class this semester that meets on Monday nights, and I will hopefully complete my internship requirements this semester and advance to candidacy. That means that next semester, all I have to do is take an Educational Psych class and work on my scholarly project (in lieu of a thesis). Assuming all goes well and falls into place, I'll graduate next May, alongside Aaron's sister, who will be getting her bachelor's degree.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Zoey update
Zoey has finished her first full week of daycare, and other than one "bad report" day, she has adjusted quite well. She goes to a home daycare with 3 other little girls - Ava, Savannah, and Sydney. Not all of them come every day, so it's been great for Zoey (and the other girls) to get a lot of attention from Miss Theresa.
Zoey now takes two solid "meals" a day - cereal in the mornings at daycare, and a fruit and/or veggie in the evenings at home. Her list of foods she's tried is now up to: sweet potatoes, peas, apples, carrots, pears, peaches, green beans, broccoli, and mangoes. She loves them all! The only one she's really made a face about were the carrots, but she ended up eating them anyway. Peaches seem to be her favorite (mine, too!). There is no better smell in the world than a little baby after she's had a meal of peaches. What a sweetie! She also tried a spinach- and apple-flavored puff, but she wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so I guess we'll have to save those for later.
I've also discovered secondary uses for her baby food. A few months ago, I stocked up on Earth's Best organic purees when I found some on clearance, so I have a cupboard full of just about every variety imaginable. I had plans to try out a healthy lemon-berry muffin recipe, but discovered this morning that I was out of applesauce, which the recipe called for. I didn't really want to go get Zoey out to go to the store AGAIN, so I got the bright idea to search through her baby food, and see if I could find something that would work instead. Sure enough, I found a jar of pureed apples and apricots, so we'll give it a shot and see how it turns out.
Zoey is also babbling up a storm, eating her toes, and spending more and more time on her tummy, on her own initiative. I think it's just a short matter of time before she starts to crawl or scoot! She's also sitting up really well unsupported, but she hasn't figured out how to get herself to the sitting position without help yet. She also surprised Mama today when we were playing on the floor of her nursery - I was helping her stand, as she likes to do, when she leaned forward and used her hands to support herself on the second shelf of her changing table. She can't pull up to it by herself, but she sure can stand for a long time if she can steady herself on the table! Eeeeek! She's also extra-drooly these days, so I don't know if she'll be popping a tooth soon, or if she'll be one of those months-long teethers. Only time will tell!
Zoey now takes two solid "meals" a day - cereal in the mornings at daycare, and a fruit and/or veggie in the evenings at home. Her list of foods she's tried is now up to: sweet potatoes, peas, apples, carrots, pears, peaches, green beans, broccoli, and mangoes. She loves them all! The only one she's really made a face about were the carrots, but she ended up eating them anyway. Peaches seem to be her favorite (mine, too!). There is no better smell in the world than a little baby after she's had a meal of peaches. What a sweetie! She also tried a spinach- and apple-flavored puff, but she wasn't quite sure what to do with it, so I guess we'll have to save those for later.
I've also discovered secondary uses for her baby food. A few months ago, I stocked up on Earth's Best organic purees when I found some on clearance, so I have a cupboard full of just about every variety imaginable. I had plans to try out a healthy lemon-berry muffin recipe, but discovered this morning that I was out of applesauce, which the recipe called for. I didn't really want to go get Zoey out to go to the store AGAIN, so I got the bright idea to search through her baby food, and see if I could find something that would work instead. Sure enough, I found a jar of pureed apples and apricots, so we'll give it a shot and see how it turns out.
Zoey is also babbling up a storm, eating her toes, and spending more and more time on her tummy, on her own initiative. I think it's just a short matter of time before she starts to crawl or scoot! She's also sitting up really well unsupported, but she hasn't figured out how to get herself to the sitting position without help yet. She also surprised Mama today when we were playing on the floor of her nursery - I was helping her stand, as she likes to do, when she leaned forward and used her hands to support herself on the second shelf of her changing table. She can't pull up to it by herself, but she sure can stand for a long time if she can steady herself on the table! Eeeeek! She's also extra-drooly these days, so I don't know if she'll be popping a tooth soon, or if she'll be one of those months-long teethers. Only time will tell!
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Ten on Tuesday (actually, 12)
1. Do you listen to the radio in your car? If so, what type of station do you like?
Oh yes. In fact, the car is pretty much the only place I listen to the radio (because my iPod is never charged). I mostly listen to country, but also go between 60s/70s rock and the top 40 stations.
2. What is the best concert you have ever attended?
Big & Rich at WeFest 2009. Other than "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" and their song that was on ESPN's College Football Gameday ("Coming to Your City"), I knew absolutely nothing about Big & Rich, or the Muzik Mafia, or Cowboy Troy, or any of their entourage. They totally blew me out of the water and put on an AWESOME show! I'm now a devoted fan.
3. What is the most embarrassing concert you have ever attended?
I don't go to that many concerts, and the ones I do go to are artists I really love (seriously--it takes a LOT to get me to go to a concert like a normal person*), so I'm not really embarrassed about ones I've attended! However...if you go waaaaaay back to around 1992ish(?), my mom took me to Tulsa to see Billy Ray Cyrus, live and in concert. That's probably cringe-worthy, right?
4. If you could have the singing voice of anyone in the world, who would it be?
Miranda Lambert or Patsy Cline, or the chick from The Band Perry.
5. You’re auditioning for American Idol. What song do you sing?
Uh, yeah...you wouldn't catch me auditioning for Idol, but if someone held a gun to my head and made me....then maybe "American Girl" by Tom Petty.
6. If your previous weekend had its own soundtrack, what would be a few of the songs?
That's a hard question! Not to be too lame, but probably "Happy Birthday" because we celebrated my mom's birthday. I can't really think of any others, except OH!, that "Sound of Sunshine" song ESPN is playing during the Little League World Series coverage. It's catchy!
7. Most annoying television show theme song ever:
Hands-down, Married with Children. "Love and marriage, love and marriage...." (Shoot me now.)
8. Are you and your significant other music-compatible?
No way. When I first met Aaron, he only listened to god-awful techno and trance music. Most of that is like nails on a chalkboard to me. He's since broadened his musical horizons and now listens to a lot of indie rock, with a little bit of rap/hip-hop thrown in there. Me? I'm a country girl through and through. I like really old-school country, like Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, 80s country like I grew up with, a very few new country songs, and of course, anything my man TK sings. I also love classic rock, blues, 80s power ballads, and the occasional booty-dancing club hit.
9. A song that brings me back to middle school:
Tag Team's "Whoomp, There it Is!"
10. A song that brings me back to high school:
"Hoochie Mama" by 2 Live Crew
11. A song that brings me back to college:
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy, or anything by Outkast and Ludacris. (I wasn't always so proud of my country roots!)
12. A guilty pleasure song:
Boys From Oklahoma – Cross Canadian Ragweed (oh yes, thanks for the reminder, Roots and Rings!)
* I had the amazing experience of attending WeFest 2009 as a VIP/guest of a certain someone's record label. It ruined me forever from going to concerts like a regular person. If I can't go in style, and hang out backstage/amongst the tour buses with all the beer I can drink, I don't wanna go!
Oh yes. In fact, the car is pretty much the only place I listen to the radio (because my iPod is never charged). I mostly listen to country, but also go between 60s/70s rock and the top 40 stations.
2. What is the best concert you have ever attended?
Big & Rich at WeFest 2009. Other than "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" and their song that was on ESPN's College Football Gameday ("Coming to Your City"), I knew absolutely nothing about Big & Rich, or the Muzik Mafia, or Cowboy Troy, or any of their entourage. They totally blew me out of the water and put on an AWESOME show! I'm now a devoted fan.
3. What is the most embarrassing concert you have ever attended?
I don't go to that many concerts, and the ones I do go to are artists I really love (seriously--it takes a LOT to get me to go to a concert like a normal person*), so I'm not really embarrassed about ones I've attended! However...if you go waaaaaay back to around 1992ish(?), my mom took me to Tulsa to see Billy Ray Cyrus, live and in concert. That's probably cringe-worthy, right?
4. If you could have the singing voice of anyone in the world, who would it be?
Miranda Lambert or Patsy Cline, or the chick from The Band Perry.
5. You’re auditioning for American Idol. What song do you sing?
Uh, yeah...you wouldn't catch me auditioning for Idol, but if someone held a gun to my head and made me....then maybe "American Girl" by Tom Petty.
6. If your previous weekend had its own soundtrack, what would be a few of the songs?
That's a hard question! Not to be too lame, but probably "Happy Birthday" because we celebrated my mom's birthday. I can't really think of any others, except OH!, that "Sound of Sunshine" song ESPN is playing during the Little League World Series coverage. It's catchy!
7. Most annoying television show theme song ever:
Hands-down, Married with Children. "Love and marriage, love and marriage...." (Shoot me now.)
8. Are you and your significant other music-compatible?
No way. When I first met Aaron, he only listened to god-awful techno and trance music. Most of that is like nails on a chalkboard to me. He's since broadened his musical horizons and now listens to a lot of indie rock, with a little bit of rap/hip-hop thrown in there. Me? I'm a country girl through and through. I like really old-school country, like Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, 80s country like I grew up with, a very few new country songs, and of course, anything my man TK sings. I also love classic rock, blues, 80s power ballads, and the occasional booty-dancing club hit.
9. A song that brings me back to middle school:
Tag Team's "Whoomp, There it Is!"
10. A song that brings me back to high school:
"Hoochie Mama" by 2 Live Crew
11. A song that brings me back to college:
"It Wasn't Me" by Shaggy, or anything by Outkast and Ludacris. (I wasn't always so proud of my country roots!)
12. A guilty pleasure song:
Boys From Oklahoma – Cross Canadian Ragweed (oh yes, thanks for the reminder, Roots and Rings!)
* I had the amazing experience of attending WeFest 2009 as a VIP/guest of a certain someone's record label. It ruined me forever from going to concerts like a regular person. If I can't go in style, and hang out backstage/amongst the tour buses with all the beer I can drink, I don't wanna go!
Monday, August 22, 2011
Daycare
Zoey started daycare this morning! I thought it would be harder than it was, but honestly, it wasn't that bad! Her provider now has four kids she watches, and two of them don't come on Mondays, and the third one was sick today, so Zoey is there all by herself for the day! I think it will be great for to get used to the surroundings without the other kids there, so I'm feeling good about that. I haven't texted Miss Theresa yet to find out how she's doing, but I plan to do that at lunchtime. Hopefully all is going well, and she isn't throwing any fits! :-)
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