Beautiful, Beautiful Blue Eyes

It's hard to believe my little blue eyed girl is 6 months old today. Raegan came into the world on September 12, 2011, with such a sweet disposition. She is the calm in the chaos, the sweet to the bitter, she is our gift from above. My mom was down this past weekend and kept commenting on how very sweet and happy she is. She is ready with a smile when you look at her and lovingly touches your face as you feed her. At 6 months she has FINALLY rolled over! We knew she had rolled over other times, but had never witnessed the act. This time, on March 8, she rolled over while we were Facetiming mom and dad. We all applauded her and she beamed! She's hesitant to eat solids, preferring to stick to her bottle, but picks up Pyper's sippy cup with gusto, trying to drink. She sleeps through the night for the most part. Waking in the early morning hours to feed. Then slipping off to sleep in her crib side-carred next to our bed. She naps 2-3 hours a day typically and always wakes with a smile. She is fascinated with her feet and loves to chew on her socks. She is our heart and I can't imagine life without our little redhead. 1 week old

1 month old with daddy

2 months old, loving to be swaddled

3 months old, tuckered out from Christmas baking

4 months old

5 months old

6 months old with Hammish, our sweet cat.

All Natural

I've been reading this great book, Simplicity Parenting: Using the Extraordinary Power of Less to Raise Calmer, Happier and More Secure Children by Kim Payne. Isn't that what we all want? Happy, secure and (GASP) CALM children??? The basis of the book is to de-clutter your home and your life. Children don't need things, they need you. They need to know they are loved, they need comfort, discipline and of course food, shelter and clothing. I've started really looking into this since Pyper's last birthday. We requested no toys at her party, instead requested craft items such as play-doh, glue, markers, crayons, coloring books, paint, etc. Everyone pretty much respected our request. Most understood why. Like so many, we had toys coming out of our ears. Containment was an issue. Until we started purging. And we continue to purge. What got me at Pyper's 2nd birthday party was that when she was presented with a gift, she ripped off the paper, peered at what she got, tossed it aside and started on another gift. It was disgusting. One friend and her two sons lovingly made the wrapping paper their gift came in. Pyper didn't even pause to admire the love and workmanship it took to make it, and I only got a quick peek at it. Sad. I am normally very good about writing out personal thank you cards for gifts, but I was at a loss this year because I had no idea who got her what. It was literally a blur. Then came Christmas. It was one of the best Christmases I can remember in a long time. We had a great time playing games, dancing with the kids, cooking, etc. Pyper and Raegan both got toys, but not so many that we needed a U-Haul to bring them home. It was a "respectable" amount for their ages. One gift was this Elmo (below) from mom and dad. Pyper loved it. It sang and danced, played the drums and tambourine. Please note that I am using the past tense. Elmo no longer works. It's just March 7, and this toy that cost $60 is broken. Pyper was very sad, and I was again, disgusted. What has happened to quality???


RIP Elmo, may you sing with the angels.

This toy is a very nice VTech ABC toy given to Pyper at her first birthday. She has played with it maybe 5 times. Again, sad.

Pyper got this computer from her Great-Grannie. An expensive toy that captivates her and holds her attention to the point that she wants to sleep with it. We have had to put it away...far, far, away so that she will actually play with other things, eat and even sleep without the constant lights and beeping.

A few months ago, I posted about unplugging my kids. Unplugging our parenting style. This, I have found, includes uplugging the toys. In the book, Simplicity Parenting, it discusses how less IS more. When you introduce a calm, clutter-free environment for your child, they have more focused and imaginative play. I'm slowly starting to weed out all the toys that beep, light up, talk, sing (how many of you out there would LOVE to never have another annoying noisy toy brought into your house???) and even those that merely require batteries.

I've found with my very limited parenting experience, Pyper prefers the boxes to toys. Bowls filled with dried beans to "make soup." Making forts out of sheets and ladder backed chairs, and playing in the sink or bathtub. She rarely picks up the blinky, battery operated toy (the exception being that crazy and annoying computer!).

This was a difficult decision, and one that I thought a lot about. I have read books and endless blogs on Waldorf style education, Charlotte Mason's methodologies, Montesorri and even classical education. I have taken a bit here and there and leave the rest. I have decided to start buying wooden or natural toys for my children. Not only is the quality superior to those made of plastic (remember Elmo?) but often times they are open-ended and engage her imagination. This is a sticky subject that I try not to discuss too openly, because I get comments about how I'm a tree-hugger and I'm all crunchy now. I guess I am. But that also doesn't mean I'm not appreciative of the gifts we have received. We have been blessed beyond measure with hand-me-down toys and clothes, and gifts. I just know when I'm purchasing the items, it's going to be all natural. Below are some examples.

I just bought this mixer for Pyper from Magic Cabin for 50% off. It will either be one of her birthday presents or Christmas presents. It's made from wood and natural fibers. As much as she loves to cook, I can really see her enjoying this.

I also got her this ironing table with iron from Magic Cabin. Again, 50% off and again, a future present. The one she has, is so low to the ground, she doesn't really use it and wants me to pull her learning tower up to my ironing board.

I got her these blocks a few weeks ago. She really likes them. She and the boys play on the floor and make all kinds of things from them. I love to see her little mind race with possibilities with open-ended toys.

Another epiphany I've had, and I haven't even discussed with Shannon, is to either fore go the birthday parties all together, or request any gifts be donated for needy children at either the Family Resource Center or Toys For Tots.

It's Laundry Day!

Pyper loves to help me do the laundry. She is very good at separating by color, and tells me what temperature to wash colors and whites. She loves to transfer the wet clothes into the dryer. I can't wait to have her help me hang clothes on the line and smell the sunshine on our clothes. I have been looking for a wooden washer and dryer but they run around $250! YIKES! Below is a picture of what I envision. I have asked my dad to make one for the girls as a Christmas present. Since I am impatient, and since Pyper's love of laundry seems to only grow with the piles of laundry, I decided to MAKE a washer and dryer.
I decided to make it out of a cardboard box. We have lots around the house with my addiction to Amazon and working at the health department. This box held car seats for the WIC program. Perfect for washing clothes! I separated the large box in half with some cardboard left over from the cave we made a month ago out of the same kind of box.

Then I traced a dinner plate to make the opening for the washer.

I used an envelope I had nearby to be the door of the dryer. You could use a piece of paper, I just had this handy.

Then I used a serrated bread knife to cut out the shapes. I like bread knives to use on cardboard because they are easier to handle and cut with.

I needed knobs for the washer and dryer. I went into the craft closet, pulled down the huge craft box and rummaged through it. Jenn had saved some plastic pudding cups. Perfect! I then got some pipe cleaners, as they are easy to bend and shape, and fairly sturdy. I poked a hole in the bottom of the cup, doubled up the pipe cleaner, threaded it through and then poked a hole in the cardboard backing. I had cut a piece of cardboard from the said cave box to use as the knob panel. I threaded the pipe cleaner through the panel, knotting it to secure it.

I had knotted the pipe cleaners inside each cup to secure them as well.

I then traced the face of the cup to some foam board and cut out the template. I glued them on the face of each cup to hide the pipe cleaner. I liked the bright green. :)

Here it is with the knob panel attached with knobs. I just propped it up and taped it. I used lots of packing tape. It's great stuff.

Side view of the knob panel.

I then had to make handles for the w/d doors. I used 2 pipe cleaners that I had twisted together to add strength.

Here it is. I had considered painting it, but decided against it. Pyper is relatively gentle with her toys, but the boys are a different story. They're boys after all. Their play is completely different. And let's be realistic--this is made of cardboard. It won't last very long. ((sigh))

I set it up before Pyper could play with it. I placed her iron, ironing table, hanging tree, empty detergent bottle and basket with odd pieces of laundry next to the washer and dryer. She saw it, and her whole face lit up. She said, "Oh! I do laundry like momma!" She had to go in and get her little cleaning apron before she started. Watching her play brought such a warmth to my heart.

Here she is moving her laundry from the washer into the dryer. The best thing, besides seeing Pyper play, was that this washer and dryer cost me nothing but time and a bit of imagination. Sometimes I am short on both, but today I scored.

Snow much Fun!

Last Sunday, we were blessed with the most beautiful snow! Shannon worked all weekend at the hospital, but got home early due to the weather. Just in time to feed the horses and go sledding with Pyper. What was I doing you may ask? I dressed Pyper, took pictures and kept an ear out for a sleeping Raegan...The horses were ready for dinner!

The snow was so beautiful on the pines.

And Pyper had to make a snow angel. She remembered about snow angels from a few weeks earlier sledding with her cousins.

Shannon pulls her down the hill to make the track...

She loved all the snow

Pyper sledded (is that a word???) until dark.

She loved it. And we loved watching her enjoy the wonders of this magical snowfall.

So Sad...

It has been confirmed by 2 vets that Riley has mammary cancer. My sister-in-law, Kerry, a vet, looked at her on Saturday and confirmed the worse. She has tumors all along her nipple lines between her legs, neuropathy in her back legs and not to mention arthritis in her elbows and hips. I have been blessed to have had her for as long as I have. 14 years is a long time for a German Shepherd dog. This is how I will always remember her. Regal and beautiful.

Head tilt, and 2-Scoop ears.

She loves to lay in the sun.

And play in the snow.

With her buddy, Hannibal.

This picture was taken this past Saturday. The white around her muzzle is not snow...it's white hair. She's my best girl. I'm determined to make the time she has left wonderful. I always tried to do that though.

We Love Love!

From our little family to yours, Happy Valentines Day! To tell you the truth, I've never been keen on this holiday. But lately, I've had such an overwhelming sense of love in abundance, I wanted to share it. So did Pyper.
She made you hand-dipped chocolate strawberries!
I really thought she wouldn't be able to do the entire process, but she surprised me with her determination to make these. I showed her once, but if I offered to help, she would tell me, "No, Momma, I do it!" Well then. Have I mentioned how much I love our Learning Tower? It puts her at the right height for the counter and is very safe.

She's picking just the right berry for you!

As a side note, when I went to collect eggs, this one had a feather attached to the top just like a little hairdo. So, I made it a friendly egg for Pyper. She loved it. Hope you have a wonderful day of love and joy, and be sure to tell all those who fill your heart how much they are appreciated.

Baby Wearing, Teething Tablets, Knitted Hats & Necklaces

Raegan has been teething. She's not been a happy camper--at all. My friend, Brandy, knitted this adorable little hat for her. I think it makes her look like a little elf. It keeps her warm, and a warm baby is a happy baby. Except for when they're teething. Oh, I could kiss those cheeks forever.

One night, I ended up just walking the floors for HOURS while I wore her. Anytime I would stop walking and patting her bottom, she would wake up and scream. Needless to say, Shannon and I were exhausted. I wore her, the nanny wore her, Shannon wore her...you get the point. Wearing a baby is so comforting for both the baby and caretaker. There have been studies that show that a baby that is worn grows faster physically, developmentally, cognitively, and emotionally. She frequently nestles down and takes naps while I putter around the house while I wear her. In the above picture, she drooled some of the left-over teething tablets onto the wrap. Tylenol has become our friend as well.

After 3 days of teething and a nasty cold, she graced us with one of her trademark smiles. This makes going to work with one eye open (with a toothpick, at that!) and falling into quick sleep just to be jerked awake by cries, worth it.

A sad note--we thought that by mid week, she was finished with teething. Until she started waking up crying again. Co-sleeping didn't even soothe her. From what I have researched, babies can teeth on and off for MONTHS. YIKES! Pyper never suffered this badly. Today, the nanny has had to wear her nonstop. So now I'm going to try one of these:

Not the random baby. The necklace. It's a Baltic Amber Teething necklace.
Amber is a natural analgesic (pain reliever) and anti-inflammatory. When amber is worn on the skin, the warmth of the skin releases trace amounts of healing oils on the skin. Commonly known as "teething jewelry," baltic amber has been a natural and traditional European remedy for teething discomfort for hundreds of years.

It may sound a little out-there and wacky. Perhaps even bordering on mysticism. But I'm willing to try ANYTHING people! My friend Brandy, the same knitter-extraordinaire, has used these amber necklaces for both her kids. She says they really do work. They were on sale, so I bought one. I do believe in natural remedies, even if I am married to a Pharmacist. :)