Now wait a second!

Do you think our tree is confused?!

Ivan Gabriel

My sister gave birth to her third son, Ivan Gabriel, about 1 1/2 weeks ago. He's a little sweetie! He weighed in at 8lb 2 oz. We didn't realize how much Jordan has grown and changed until we see little Ivan and remind ourselves that Jordan was even smaller than him! He's got two very proud bigger brothers. The oldest has even changed a poopy diaper! Ivan's collarbone broke when he was in the birth canal. Please be praying for healing and that he would experience minimal pain during the process.

We're going schwimming!

I set up Jordan's swimming pool over a month ago! She had such a blast I was super excited to get the photos posted right away. I was so proud of myself because once we came inside and it was Jordan's naptime I went right to work transferring the pictures onto my computer then looking through them to find the perfect ones for blogging about. I even started a post! But then I looked at the time and realized I was about to be late for Bible study so I put my blogging to the side and ran out the door and as you can see I never came back to it...until now...over a month later. It's terrible. Is the saying "Better late then never" true? I hope so!

I love how it looks like she is about to blow bubbles in this picture. This girl hates tummy time but doing tummy time in her swimming pool is a completely different story!

Kicking back and relaxing. Aw, life is good!

Cloth Diapers

I am really loving our cloth diapers! I have to admit that I was a little nervous about it at first but it didn't take but a couple of days and we became very used to them and now I sometimes forget there are even disposables available out there. I was just thinking the other day how much money we have saved by choosing to go this route and it is just incredible! We should never have to spend another dime on diapers even for all of our kids down the road! Ok, that's not quite true...we are going on vacation for a couple days this summer and will be using disposables because we won't be around a washer during that time and I do not want to have to carry those dirty diapers around. I can just imagine how terrible the car would smell with the heat of the day cooking all those poopy diapers. No thanks!



We'd been feeding Jordan in her vibrating chair for quite some time and kept having trouble with her putting her hands in her mouth or getting her hands under her bib & lifting that up to her face. Mealtime always ended in such a MESS! For a week now she's been eating in her high chair and we have not had a problem since (knock on wood)! She likes being in there and now we can use her vibrating chair for playtime again; we quit using it for playtime because I was afraid since she was eating in it that she'd make the association and think it was time to eat when we would put her in it to play. She loves her high chair especially because it's right by the window so she's got quite the view while she eats! I think she likes being up at our level too. I've been making her baby food. So far she's eaten sweet potatoes, green beans, carrots (her favorite!), peas & applesauce.

Frustrations of being a baby!

I went to peek at Jordan after laying her down for a nap & I looked in to see her pacifier stuck on her thumb and my baby struggling to get that thing back in her mouth! I stood and watched for quite some time then hollered down to Brandon to tell what she was doing then came back to keep watching her. The problem wasn't really getting it back into her mouth, no, the problem was once she got it in there her thumb would pull it right back out! Poor thing! Finally, after about 5 minutes, it fell off her thumb and landed right beside her little head in eye view and she burst into tears...but was quickly distracted by her mobile and now I'm pretty sure she's snoozing. What a challenge for a wee little girl though!



I had just sent the video camera downstairs with Brandon to be put on the charger otherwise I would have video-taped it. Bummer. But how about a couple pictures instead?!

(This shirt used to be a dress of mine when I was a baby!)

Organization

I would love to be an organized mother and wife who always gets all the chores done on a daily basis and everything else done in a timely manner. I would love to not have papers laying around piling up because I don’t know what file would be the best for them to go into or because I’m not quite sure yet that it should be thrown away. I would love to be a better time manager so I can have dinner ready when Brandon gets off work, instead of just starting to come up with my idea of what to make at that time. I would love to be a better blogger and have a new post daily…or even once a week would make me happy at this point. I also would like to be a better journalist so I can creatively put my thoughts into words for my blog (I suppose not only my blog but any other writing I do as well). I would love to be able to manage my time so well that I'd be able to work on my scrapbooking and other crafts and even work out! What's my problem?!

Milestones galore!

I don't even know where to begin! I really need to be more faithful about blogging so I don't get to this point. And to keep all our fans happy! I guess I'll start here:

Jordan has been eating rice cereal for about 1 1/2 weeks now! (I feel I need to be specific because a friend at work thought I meant cheerios! Although I'm quite sure she was kidding.) Jordan isn't a huge fan of the spoon so we feed it to her through a nurser cup for now. We've been trying a bite or two from the spoon each feeding just to see if she's changed her mind. She's been able to stay on a more consistent schedule since she has started eating cereal because it fills her up so much better than plain ol' breastmilk. It is so amazing to me how early on they develop a like & dislike for certain tastes. Jordan will gag terribly (huge gag reflex, noise and all) if the cereal is made with water; she will only accept it made with breastmilk.

Our priceless little angel is being more and more coordinated with her hands each day! The flower we have on her changing table has become a best friend of hers. Jordan is always dancing and talking to her flower and recently she has started grabbing onto it as if she is trying to "pick" her flower. That thing will keep her entertained forever! As will the the playmat pictured above. This is Jordan's first favorite toy. She will kick the ball that is hanging from it and grab at the rabbit and apple that hang in arm's reach. This one has really helped with her hand/eye coordination and even figuring out her hands and feet in the first place. She also helps me hold on to her bottle at each feeding.

I know I'm missing something but I have got to get to this one because it has been a thrill since the second it happened! JORDAN LAUGHED!!! This afternoon we were looking in the mirror together and I was making goofy faces at her and she started to laugh! Oh a baby's laugh is the happiest sound in the world! I hope I don't have to wait long before I hear her do it again.

Another milestone that hasn't fully developed but is most certainly getting there: rolling over. Jordan has been working on rolling from her back to her belly; she can get herself onto her side but just doesn't know what to do after that. And when she is doing tummy time (which she is still hates but is slowly beginning to give it a little more of a chance) she also tries to roll onto her back.

She has been picking up on lots of new things lately and getting better and better at mastering them as each day progresss. It's such an exciting journey! And even though this picture does not portray the excitement I am feeling I just have to share because I think this picture is so sweet even though she is crying.

Wiggle Worm

Like any typical mother love taking pictures of Jordan. The only problem is, the only pictures I seem to have of her are sleeping photos. She is such a wiggle worm that I have a terrible time getting any clear pictures of her when she's awake! This is how they typically turn out...sometimes worse! So in case you were wondering, that is my excuse; she just won't hold still!! My little goofball!

Rubber Ducky you're the one!

Jordan LOVES bathtime! She kicks and splashes and smiles away during her baths!

Our friend Jolene just blessed us with TONS of clothes for Jordan from newborn to 12 months!! I'm having so much fun with all the new outfits! I can't decide which I want her to wear first; she has changed outfits about 3 times today! These are the jammies she's wearing tonight. They look so sweet on her; I get such a kick out of the hat! The little ducky sitting right on top of her head is too funny! Jordan thinks so too because she was smiling at herself in the mirror; it was the first time she has actually smiled at herself.

Where have I been?

We've been dealing with a flooding basement since Sunday evening. The water has finally stopped coming in and the floors are now dry. Hallelujah! When we are in the midst of it, it feels as though it will never end! This happened last year so we had concrete poured to create a little patio area on the side of the house the water came in at. We were hoping this would solve the problem and it almost did. We just about made it all season this year without it happening. It just so happened that we got TONS of snow in a very short amount of time that melted very quickly then rain came and sprinkled on top of it. We were a little more prepared this year with our dehumidifiers and wet vac. We immediately got to work, unfortunately the water continually seaps in so it is a constant battle, but FORTUNATELY it only leaks into the storage closet, bathroom & bedroom and not the office (where Brandon works) or family room where all of our electronics are. And another fortunate thing is that in the rooms the seapage is happening doesn't have any rugs or carpeting! So even through all the frustration of it all God has given us many things to be thankful for.