June 2011 Reading List

18. Gospel-Powered Parenting by William P. Farley
This was a really good book. It continually brought me back to the Gospel as my motivation for everything - parenting, teaching, disciplining, loving. At first I was frustrated because I didn't feel like it was very practical, giving me steps to follow to "be a good parent," but gradually the Lord started to show me that in order to parent according to the Gospel, I need to let the Gospel soak into and impact my heart first. If I am walking with the Lord, then everything else, including parenting will fall into place!

19. Little Bee by Chris Cleave
This book took me a while to get into - like HALF the book - but once I got past that sticking point I couldn't put it down. And because it's based on what good be very real events, that made it all the more enthralling. Little Bee is basically a novel about a girl from Nigeria who's town is destroyed by oil-hungry men and her interactions with a middle-class family from England. I thought it turned out to be a fascinating read on refugees.

20. Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent
What was there not to love about this book? Birth stories, an autobiography/memoir, and emotional writing. This was a page turner for me. And if I owned it it would go on the shelf right next to Ina May's Guide to Natural Childbirth.

Quotes that made me love her and her story:

"Chilbirth is normal until proven otherwise."

"I was hooked. I thought if I saw lots more babies born, perhaps I'd discover that missing bit of information, the secret of that enchanted moment when one person suddenly becomes two people."

"'Colin, I don't understand this passion you have for a baby [brother/sister]. Why do you want one so much?' 'Oh Mom! Oh, just for the joy of it!' I conceived my Spirit Baby a week later. Just for the joy of it."

21. Reading with Babies, Toddlers and Twos by Susan Straub & KJ Del'Antonia
This was an okay resource. The writing was pretty basic and really nothing new. They had some basic developmental charts and emphasized rereading several favorite books over and over again. I saved titles from their recommended lists simply because I'm always looking for new books to check out from the library, but other than that it was really nothing different from every other reading resource/anthology.

Cannon - Week 51 (6/30/11)

We've been taking a Watertots swimming class through the Plano Parks & Rec for the last two weeks. So, this week Cannon went under water for the first time (but definitely not the last), started splashing the water with his hands by himself, and also started reaching out for a toy in the water while I moved him forward. Swim lessons have been a fun experience (for me anyways) and a great summer activity.

In gross development news, Cannon will now walk while holding our hands. He looks so old and grown up when he's upright!

These Old Things?

I was putting away some old, too-small-clothes into Cannon's closet the other day, and he crawled in, deciding he needed to help me. Well, lo and behold, he hit the jackpot. He rediscovered his bouncer and playmat, carefully tucked away in a corner and decided that they were the coolest things aside from playing his drums. 

So, we spent the morning playing down memory lane. 

And, just in case you don't want to go digging, but want to see how Cannon's grown:

Cannon at six weeks in the bouncer

Cannon at three months laying on his activity mat

Cannon at three months chilling in his bouncer

Cannon at four & a half months bouncing OUT of his bouncer

Baby Stiller #2 Q&A

Questions have been flying since our fun little video baby announcement on the blog last week. So, here's some answers!

Oh, and in case you weren't around when we announced we were pregnancy with Cannon - check out his video announcement here.

And yes, we're going to be very careful before posting anything using sidewalk chalk on the blog going forward!

How far along are you? I am 12 weeks - let the fatigue and nausea BE GONE!

When are you due? Baby #2 is anticipated around January 6, 2012 - but Cannon was five days early? So maybe a New Years Baby?

How far apart will Cannon and the new baby be? They will be around 18 months apart. EEK! Any advice for surviving and thriving with two under two is GREATLY appreciated. I'm just anticipating lots of sleepiness and zombie-Laura the next few years.

How have you been feeling? Icky to say the last. I feel WAY more tired and nauseous with this one than with Cannon. Everyone says it must be a girl, but I think it might just be the fact that I have a baby to chase around this time and can't just lay down when I want.

Will you find out if it's a boy or a girl? Of course! I'm thinking maybe a gender-reveal party is in order. We'll see.

Do you have names picked out? Are you kidding? Do you even remember the ordeal it was naming Cannon? I mean, it took 38 weeks! We're already tossing around girls names we like. Boys names - well of course we have zero ideas. We are so over the names leftover from from Cannon, so of course I'm betting it will be a boy. And, no, Gunner, Archer, Trapper, and all other artillery-related names are NOT OPTIONS! I'm not going to start a trend. :-)

And because no post is complete without a picture, here's Baby #2 in all of their black-and-white-and-fuzzy glory.

How I Read the Pregnancy Test Wrong . . .

Once there was a tired little mama. Chasing after her 10 month old was wearing her out more than usual, and she found herself actually taking a nap almost every day. "That's odd?" she thought. "Nap times are usually my most productive hours of the day. WHY AM  SO SLEEPY?"

A few more days go by and AH HA! She was certain she knew the answer.

So, she dug through the bathroom cabinet and came out with that old, abandoned pregnancy test. "Surely this will be positive and tell me why I've been feeling so bad!" she concluded. The instructions and box had been thrown into the trash long ago, because, really, she'd been through this. Who couldn't read a pregnancy test?

Little tired mama and her hard-working husband waited for the test results and up popped two straight lines. "Oh, that's not a plus sign." sighed mama. "That's a negative sign. Oh well. If I still feel this bad next month I'm going to the doctor - something can not be right for me to need a nap this often!"

Another month went by and in addition to the growing fatigue (she was up to two naps a day some days - who takes two naps a day other than her 11-month old?) there was the never-ending queasiness. Food just didn't taste right.

"I must be pregnant. If I'm not pregnant something is seriously wrong with me." So, little tired mama decided to pop into CVS just to pick up another pregnancy test before calling her doctor. Meandering up and down the aisles, she suddenly saw it.

There was the pregnancy test she had taken almost a month before. And there was never suppose to be a "plus sign." Two straight lines meant "pregnant." She slapped her forehead. She was pregnant.

And then she realized that she had just realized she was pregnant in the aisle at CVS - how very unromantic and dull. What kind of place was CVS to realize you're pregnant? And then she realized that she was very, very far along if that first test was positive four weeks ago. And then she suddenly felt justified for feeling so tired and sick and suddenly didn't mind feeling so tired and sick.

She picked up the test off the shelf - just to take at home for good measure - although she was confident of the results. After checking out she called hard-working husband from the car to tell him the crazy good news.

And sure enough, that night, two little blue lines popped up and this time she had the box and the instructions and she what that meant . . .

Baby Stiller #2 was on their way!

Moral of the Story: Next time, if there is a next time, little tired mama is only ever allowed to purchase those pregnancy tests that actually spell out "pregnant/not pregnant" because then there will be no mistaking what the test says. Although, she can guarantee you that she's never throwing out the instructions again!

Cannon - Week 50 (6/23/11)

Can you tell I've had to get creative at ways to keep Cannon's on his back for these pictures? I do every dance, make every sound effect, and now I've resorted to "hold this toy!" 

I need it to go down in the record books that Cannon's last day of nursing was Tuesday, June 21st. He's officially weans, and I'm sure you're tired about hearing about this process. Overall, it's been much, much, much easier than I ever anticipated. For some reason I thought weaning would be this torturous process like pulling teeth. But, it's been smooth and simple. I can only hope it's this easy the next time around.

Life in the Evenings

This is our life. Hanging out in the front yard trying to get some fresh air without the sweltering heat of June in Texas. Soaking up the slow evenings, enjoying little laughs at Cannon's bear crawl, and cherishing tiny cuddles before bedtime. 

The Many Faces of Cannon Henry

Bear Crawling at the Pool

We met up with Miriam for an afternoon of swimming and picnic by the pool and Cannon decided it was time to show off his new trick.  Bear crawling. 

That's right. He's trying out every unconventional method of crawling: army crawling, bear crawling, etc. all while refusing to crawling on his hands and knees with any sort of consistency. He's especially adept at bear crawling when he's on surfaces that he doesn't like (concrete, grass, etc.). It's quite comical to watch. 

Playing Catch with Daddy

This might be one of my favorite series of pictures ever. 

Because does it really get any better than arms in the air . . .

. . . playing catch . . .

. . . in the green grass . . .

. . . with your Daddy?

I think not. And I also think that all four of those hands may well be the same size one day. *sigh*

Look Who's Finally Crawling!

Cannon - Week 49 (6/16/11)

Cannon's pulling tricks out of the hat right and left this week! Not only is he perfecting the wave, but he's sticking out his tongue on command (this picture's proof) and clapping. 

The Toy Bin

Cannon has discovered that emptying his toy bin is MUCH more fun than actually playing with any toys. Sometimes, once he has all the toys on the floor, he then sets about putting them all back in. Atta Boy! If you're old enough to make a mess, you're old enough to clean it up!

Oh Baby Baby

Reading with Daddy

This is the life . . .

The One Where We Try to Pick Blueberries

Mom and I wanted to picked blueberries this summer. We wanted to pick buckets and buckets and freeze them to last all summer and fall. So, we headed out to The Berry Patch in Sadler, Texas. Cannon was a trooper in the car, in the stroller, on his blanket under the tree, wherever. 

Unfortunately, we scoured the entire patch and came up with this . . .

Mom was persistent and even trekked to the far ends of the patch hoping to find some undiscovered blueberry bush loaded down with plump berries. There was no secret bush to be found. 

So, we parked it in front of the fans to cool off and rehydrate while Mom bought already picked berries for us to take home. 

Maybe next summer we'll have better luck and come home with buckets of berries like this.