For the grandparents.

So I've been trying to figure out Christmas gifts already, and the thought of how much I can only spend is going to be difficult. However, I did find something that was FREE, becuase I already had the ingredients in my kitchen. I wanted to mainly make some really cute memories of my son for the grandmas especially. So this is what I made.

That's right salt dough handprints(and footprints:)) Which I believe that I should get an A+ for the effort. With most of you knowing exactly how my son is, it is nearly impossible to keep him still not even for 10seconds worth! lol.
I will add more to these, maybe some gloss to make it shiny and I'm going to paint a cute little saying in the back of my little masterpieces. I was reading on one of my favorite sites (Pinterest.com) that the lady that made them left them the way they were. So maybe I'll just leave them be, we'll see. I'll probably post what I do with them as more cheap crafty projects will be on there way to be made.

Life of a full time mommy. Part 1

What does taking care of an almost 7 month olds schedule look like?

This is actually a list of times for both my moms and whoever else may babysit him. Just easier for me to write what I do every day, so that they have an easier time taking care of him. He is one of those types of babies that are really scheduled oriented.

Update of Josiah’s 7 month schedule:

 (schedule may change periodically in causes of new learning/weaning to older baby things)

 6:30-7:00   eats a 6oz bottle, wake up if he sleeps in longer than 7:15.

7:30-7:45   eats baby cereal with peaches, bananas, or applesauce.

9:00   lay down for morning naptime

12:00-1:00   wakes up from nap(if he goes longer that’s ok it’s his most important nap that he needs, if he does sleep longer than extend his playtime to a later naptime unless he seems like he’s ready) he gets a 6oz bottle/sippy (learning to transition)

1:30-2:00   gets a veggie meal, fruit for dessert (add baby cereal to thicken)with 2oz juice from sippy.

3:00-4:00   give 4oz bottle and lay down for naptime.

6:00-6:30   wake up from 2^nd nap(if nap was as short as 30-45min that’s ok) feed dinner meal of veggies and either yougurt or fruit for dessert(add baby cereal to thicken)

7:00-7:30   Bathtime

7:30-7:45   Last bottle before bed-8oz- if he dosen’t finish that’s ok.

8:00   Read him a book while eating or after he’s done than its bedtime!

If I need to go out and run errands. I usually do so right before a naptime(he’ll sleep in his carseat if he’s tired enough) or during the hours that he plays. But not in the middle of the times that he needs to nap or eat. Otherwise the end results are a cranky Josiah. J

 Notes of change:

So there you have it, my day of being a full time mommy, and I love every second of it!

I love funny baby faces!

My son is the cutest things I have ever laid eyes on, click on the link below to see why!
http://www.facebook.com/v/2323840864864

My baby is growing up!

I can't stand how much he is learning everyday. I need him to slow down ALOT so that I can embrace the moment of my son's infancy. He's crawling, talking and getting into everything, my husband and I have to keep a close eye on him otherwise he'll be into something he shouldn't. I still need to get locks on my cabinets, something to protect his little head from the brick fireplace and a swinging gate for the upstairs. OIY! He keeps me busy though, a good kind of busy.

I keep thinking about wanting to be pregnant again, so my mind is in a million places at once. I want to wait til next year to try again, but I don't know if I can wait that long. :) With all the babies that are being born around me, I'm getting the fever if you know what I'm saying.
But I'll be patient and let God do the planning of the bird and the bees.

Lately my husband and I have been talking alot about Josiahs future, deep down in my heart for the longest time, I've always wanted to homeschool our children. I think that I have to much of a fear of public school will ruin my precious angel. But Ben made a point of Josiah being a good witness to friends at school, he can be a good example for the disrespectful teenage boys of the future age. I don't know what to think still, I'm still a little scared. I probably just need some time to get over it and have God work through me. Anyway, now that I have vented to my blog I've included a video of my adorable son talking to me in the morning over his bananas and oatmeal breakfast.
p.s. I'm trying to get him to say mama, before dada beats me too it. I think its working! haha. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/v/2319936927268

Josiah's first Zoo trip.

We had so much fun at the zoo, our friend Jamie came with us to hang out and walk around to look at the animals too.
With it being Josiahs first experience he did surprisingly well, he didn't fuss a whole lot, and when he did we just took him out of his stroller and carried him. He got a closer look at the animals when we did that anyway.
Daddy had so much fun, showing his handsome son off to all the ladies. It was great!
I even have some great pics of my favorite animals too.
Enjoy!



Proud daddy showing off his son

Giraffe

Zebra

And my favorite animal, Elephant

Josiah is 6 months old! My how the time flys!

My baby boy is 6 months old!
So for this occasion we celebrated his birthday at my parents house. But mainly this was more of an excuse for a BBQ with family. :)
He had so much fun! Unfortunately he was really tired so he wasnt able to have a little taste of his cake.

He did get some new awesome toys from the grandparents though! A walker from my parents and a toy from my husbands parents. Josiah LOVED both the toys very much, he played and played like crazy. The toy that grandma and grandpa Barrows got him made him shriek so loud with delight it made us all laugh hysterically. I have never seen him that excited over anything. It was a great day.

Enjoy!

Kind of last minute decor, but it still turned out great!

My happy Josiah, playing with one of his new toys

Grandpas and Josiah 

Grandmas and Josiah

Sitting up so well in his walker

This picture is so precious

Why did I do a 1/2 year b-day party? Well look at it this way, he'll never have another 1/2 birthday party, a good oppurtunity for family to get together too. Also my last reason, his birthday is in February, and I don't know about you, but I know that it's a little bit more limited celebrating birthdays in winter than in the summer. We all had so much fun and I don't regret it for anything.

Anyway back to the normal stuff...

Update on Josiah...he is very mobile. I put him on the floor on one side of the room and I go downstairs to switch laundry really quick. I come back upstairs and he's already in the middle of the room making his way to the other side.
This morning, while I was still sleeping Ben was getting up for work. Josiah was already up at that point, playing and cooing in his crib. Ben has the bright idea to put him in our bed with me. As soon as he puts Josiah down on our bed I finally wake up and Josiah is rolling everywhere! I had to put my hand on the kid so that he wouldn't fall off the bed.
I"ve also noticed that he is nearly crawling, he is growing up too fast for me. I just want time to stop so that I can enjoy his infantcy just a bit longer.
He LOVES to eat, esspecially applesauce. He eats that up like a champ, constantly opening up his mouth for more, and if I'm not going fast enough for him he nearly starts throwing a fit! So funny!

Why do I make homemade baby food?...Why not!?

It's so easy!
I mean of course you need to make sure that the food that you do make for your infant dosen't make his tummy hurt, gassy, or is not a common known allergen. When you go into a store you can see some examples of food that is already made, but think to yourself, that would be so easy to make and SO much cheaper.
So alot of the things that I tried to make and worked out AMAZING are:
Squash (butternut squash in the winter is the most nutrient)
Fresh Grean Beans (these are a hard to blend)
Carrots (also difficult to blend)
Peas (I did frozen but because they contain salt with the frozen peas I just rinsed them off really good, which is something you should do anyway with ALL fruits and veggies that you and your baby eat.)
Zuccini Squash
Just steam the chopped veggies till soft, then put the whole thing (steamed water and all) blend them in a blender. I got a super great one from our wedding 3 years back that I am finally using :). I have come to find out that the food is MUCH brighter and you know exactly what is going into your baby's food.
Also, if you want to make alot at one time, cause most of us mommies don't have the time to make it every meal, so to make ahead of time take one of the ice trays in your freezer or buy new ones just for food making, and put your food in the clean and sanatized trays into the freezer. Takes about nearly a day to be all the way frozen.
After it's completely frozen I usually pop out the food into little baggies to store in your freezer better.
When you are ready to use it, just throw one of the premade cubes in the microwave, til its soft enough to stir. Make sure you check the temperature of your baby food before serving, so that its not too hot for your baby.
Trust me, you'll enjoy the results and if too watery just add baby cereal till it comes to your desired thickness.

Here some others things that I recommend NOT buying baby food in the little premade containers:
Ripe Bananas (If they are soft enough, they are easy to mash with a fork)
No Sugar Added Applesauce in the BIG container (those little baby food containers cost much more than just buying the bulk, I end up eating some of it anyway :))
So there you have it, affordable and easy to make baby food!
Enjoy!

Love,
Jess