Tuesday, January 24, 2012

sunny Saturday

Tyler, Palmer, and I spent a warm sunny Saturday out in the front yard last weekend and it was glorious! Tyler was busy painting our front door and nursery door while I attempted to help/wrangle the baby. Palmer loved playing in the grass and attempting to tumble headfirst down the steps, no matter how many times his mommy stopped him.

The drab, old, scratched doors. . .
The new, bright, happy doors!

This picture was taken at dusk, so the colors are pretty muted, but let me tell you this paint is BRIGHT. A little brighter than it looked on the paint swatch. . . oh well. I think it will grow on me!

Friday, January 20, 2012

movin' and a groovin'

Palmer is a busy busy boy these days. He can empty a cabinet/drawer/basket of its contents, unroll the toilet paper, and clear all tables of everything before you know what hit you! Little boy will be a year old in 6 days- WOW! He is cruisin around the living room now, switching from the end table to the chair, couch, coffee table, anything he can get a hold of. Now, there he goes into the other room to destroy the poinsettias, chase a cat, and invariably knock his head on something.
Thank goodness for naps! Unfortunately, Palmer isn't as much of a fan as I am anymore. He still takes a morning nap about 3 1/2 to 4 hours after he wakes up, but the afternoon nap is quite the crapshoot. IF he finally gives in and takes one, it's after a valiant fight with mommy and lots of standing and crying in the crib. I think he just loves to play so much, now that he's older he doesn't want to stop! If he takes no afternoon nap, that means he is awake from 12 to bedtime. . . which is a long time for a little baby to be up. In a terribly backwards way, being overly tired actually makes it harder for him to sleep, so a rough night follows. I'm hoping we grow out of this yucky adjustment phase soon! Yesterday was pretty perfect: woke up at 6:15, nap at 9:45 til 11:15, second nap from 3:00-4:00, and bedtime at 7:30. Today I will attempt to replicate this success!!! Wish me luck. . .


Tuesday, January 17, 2012

to be brief

I was in a discussion recently in a Facebook group about what cloth diapers you like/don't like, and thought I would post what I said here, in case any of you reading are considering cloth diapers or know someone who is!

Robin Gump
  • I love BumGenius, Flip, & Econobum! This is a "family" of cloth diaper brands all made by Cotton Babies, Econobum being the most bare bones and least expensive, using prefolds. Flip is a little nicer, with flaps to hold in fancier inserts, strechy tabs for a better fit, and cute colors. BumGenius is the nicest and most expensive of the three, but still would give you money savings over disposables if used long term. BumGenius has all-in-one options which are the easiest to use, plus pocket diapers if you prefer to adjust absorbency. Flip & BumGenius have organic cotton options for some of their diapers if you're into that for a higher price. I have a LOT of different brands of cloth diapers that I like, but Cotton Babies is a great place to start for a beginner :)

  • Robin Gump The only diapers I have purchased that I don't like are Kissaluvs fitted diapers. I have other fitted diapers that I love, but this particular brand has a strange fit over my son's legs and sometimes leaks since the diaper doesn't fit well under a normal sized cover.

  • Robin Gump OK, last thing. I HIGHLY prefer diapers with snaps over velcro (aplix). The velcro wears out over time, can stick to other things in the wash, and older babies can sometimes open up their own diapers!

Monday, January 9, 2012

new camera!

Thanks to overpaying federal withholding taxes in 2011, having a baby, and paying an inordinate amount of medical bills- we are getting a good size tax refund this year! In anticipation of said return, we bought ourselves a Nikon D3100 SLR camera- yay! We talked about getting one before Palmer was born, and then again probably 6 months ago, but never could bear to shell out the money. Thank goodness we don't owe any taxes this year and we can get a snazzy special treat!

I'm going to switch to using "I" because "I" am the one that's a little more into the camera thing than Tyler :). I picked Nikon rather than Canon, mainly because that's what my mom has (a D90) and I am already a little familiar with them. I picked the 3100 out of their DSLR options because it already has more than enough features to keep me busy and eternally underutilizing this device. I got the common package that comes with an 18-55 mm zoom lens, and got an extra lens that I read a lot of great reviews of online. The 35 mm f/1.8G is a fixed lens, meaning no zoom, but it is ideal for low light conditions. Low light= our entire house! I'm so excited to be able to take pictures of Palmer with no flash when needed. Our old camera would wash out faces with the flash, but be waaay too dark to do without it. I think I've found the solution!

We went ahead and bought the camera before actually getting our tax refund since we will be leaving to go on a trip to Hawaii in early February with Tyler's dad and dad's wife, Kendra. It would be just crazy to not have our new SLR in Hawaii, right?? So, anyway, we're counting our chickens before they hatch and all that. Here's a quick picture I took of Palmer before dinner tonight with the new camera!

Ain't he cute?!?!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

yummies!

The past week or so, Palmer has been refusing a lot of the foods he once ate enthusiastically. He likes being spoon fed less and less, only taking more than a few bites if it is something really fruity and delicious. All those beef dinner purees, squash and peas, spinach and potatoes. . . we are lucky if we can get 5 bites in him before he realizes he doesn't want that yucky stuff! Yogurt is one of the things he will stay cooperative for. He LOVES the Gerber baby yogurt, but it isn't cheap, so here is a good alternative!

I buy a large container of plain (full fat) yogurt, and mix in some homemade fruit puree. This time, it was canned Del Monte mixed fruit in 100% juice, drained well and pureed in the blender. I've also used frozen blueberries and strawberries, thawed and blended up to mix with the yogurt. This is a great use for frozen fruit! Today I just mixed the amount of yogurt Palmer needed for breakfast, but I have also done a whole container at once and then it's ready to go when baby wants it!
The full-fat yogurt is a little hard to find, but don't give up and get the low or non-fat, babies need those calories! Check out this article if you're wondering when you can give yogurt to your little one, and why you should :)

Monday, January 2, 2012

appearing fireplace

The west wall of our dining room:

before. . .
and after!If only it had been that easy :) Tyler and my dad demolished the old wall, then rebuilt, insulated, & dry walled the new one. My mom and I primed, Tyler painted, and finished the mantle and hearth surround by our Christmas party deadline! Here are some of the in-between photos!

Tyler actually ended up having to tear out the left side of the wall too due to termite damage. The little bugs had eaten the VERY old wallpaper (laid directly on wood boards) and the paper backing of the old dry wall, so it was very crumbly. A TON of dust, many trips to Home Depot and 3 weekends of work were definitely worth it in the end, though!