Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Marley is in her own room!

A little over a week ago, we put Marley to sleep in her own room.  We were finally able to break her of having her arms swaddled.  Now she sleeps like a baby again (well for the most part anyway). 


...and getting ready for bed the other night :)



Lily and her {dress up}

Its so cute Lily calls her costumes and such "dress up" or "betta day".  She loves wearing her princess dresses and tutus.  And she does it all by herself!!!



Lily just recently began eating apples.  She never liked them before.  Now she cant get enough of them.  Can you say picky?  The next time she at them she ate the whole thing!

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Baby food galore!

I have been busy making baby food this weekend.  The girls and I made a trip to Whole Foods on Friday and got more fruits and veggies.  I got apricots, peaches, zucchini, peas, carrots, spinach, and broccoli.  We are holding off on the spinach and broccoli for another month or so.

Friday I made zucchini.  I think this was the easiest yet.  All I had to do was peal them with a veggie peeler, slice, and steam.  Voila... done in about 15 minutes total.  I did not take any pictures of these as I was multi tasking.  Marley loved them so much!  She kept opening her mouth waiting for the next bite.  So cute!

Yesterday we hit a couple of garage sales.  Tregaron had their neighborhood sale this weekend.  I have always had good luck at this one but this year was a little less than desirable.  The clothes were old, stained, and just plain gross at several homes.  One was even covered in dog hair.  Seriously I don't understand why anyone would think someone would pay money for them. 

I found one other neighborhood close that had some baby clothes.  We hit the jackpot!!!  I found some nice summer outfits for Marley and got Lily a Rose Petal Cottage with ALL of the furniture for $20!  What a steal.  They are no longer available for purchase and retailed for around $150 without the furniture.  She was so happy!  She played in it all day yesterday and is again this morning. 



After we got home I made Marley's apricots.  These were a bit tedious.  I started with 14 apricots and only ruined 1.  I had to cut them in half and take the pits out.  They are so small and they stained my fingers.  I really didn't know if they would turn out.  I baked them for about 25 minutes in a little water then put them in a bowl to cool.  I didn't even have to remove the skins since they pretty much melted into the fruit.  I was amazed at how well they turned out...

        before       &        after


Today I have been busy with peaches and more peas.  I baked the peaches the same way I did the apricots.  I baked them until the skin started to pucker then let them cool a bit.  While the peaches were cooling I steamed the peas since they don't take long.  The only difficult part of the process is trying to keep the peas on the steamer basket without losing all of them.

Once the peaches cooled I was able to simply pinch skin right off.  Who knew it would be so easy.  I put them in the food processor and again, voila! 

I have a few more to do this week and we should be set for a while.  We are waiting about 3 days to introduce each new food to make sure Marley isn't allergic to anything. 

Here are the peaches.  Apparently some were white and some not thats why it turned out so light colored.  Oh and they smelled so sweet! 




Tuesday, May 17, 2011

{FUN} and sick :(

Miss Marley has been sick since last Wednesday.  Poor baby is so congested sometimes she can hardly even eat.  Now her left eye is all full of gunk.  I hope she gets better soon! 



she is drooling a bunch too, not sure if that is because she can't breathe out of her nose or maybe, just maybe those teeth are coming in!


Lily actually "asked" to hold her sister!

While I was trying to get Marley's dinner ready lastnight, Lily tried to cheer her up... she is so sweet {sometimes} :)


Lastnight we drove to a house in Shadow Lake to pick up a toddler rail for Lily's crib.  We are hopefully going to take the front rail off her crib this evening.  It just so happened someone had the exact rail we needed for our crib.  It isn't quite the same color but is close enough!  I don't know if we are dreading this or excited about it... I hope she stays in bed and doesn't get into everything!!!

After picking up the rail we stopped at a park so Lily could play for a bit.  She had so much fun!  I just ordered a swing set a couple of days ago so she will be super happy when she can go down her own slide and swing in the backyard!










Monday, May 16, 2011

Play time with Lily!

Thursday night after dinner, Brian took Marley to Menards to get the last of the supplies to redo our roof.  I took Lily outside to play.  She had so much fun golfing, going down the slide and picking flowers weeds...








the silly things that fascinate children...

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Happy "Half" Birthday Marley!

Marley was 6 months old on Monday the 9th.  Marley has grown so much over the past month!  Marley began eating cereal and fruit for breakfast last week.  It seems to help her through the day a little better.  She eats 4-5 oz with her foods at breakfast and dinner and 6 oz otherwise.  She is still eating all homemade baby food!  So far so good, she seems to LOVE it and I love making it for her! 

We are still in the process of transitioning Marley from sleeping swaddled.  Saturday night she was so tired from being gone all day that we decided to just let her sleep with her arms out.  She did pretty good... only woke up a couple of times and right back to sleep.  Lastnight when I fed her she fell asleep and stayed asleep while I put her in her sleep sack. 

She napped in her room for a short while yesterday and we tried it today.  I think we just need to make the move before it is too late...

If we are lucky, Marley takes anywhere from 2-4 naps a day with at least 1 long nap.  She is getting better about entertaining herself while we are doing things around the house or with Lily.  Marley is now big enough to be in the exersaucer and she really seems to like it.  She also has a new found love for Nick Jr's Bubble Guppies and Yo Gabba Gabba.  Whatever works at this point!






Marley had her SIX month check up today with Dr. Macklem.  We got a very good report...  Marley only has a couple of days left of one medication, then will be off them for good!  Dr. Macklem said Marley could eat basically any soft food at this point.  So we will start to experiment with new fruits, veggies, and beans!  Can't wait to visit the Farmer's Market! 

Marley got 2 shots and did a fantastic job.  Hardly cried at all.  As we were getting ready to leave it was super dark and pouring rain!  Marley was due to eat so we I decided to feed her and wait out the storm.  A few moments later, one of the nurses came running out saying a tornado had been spotted near 96th and Hwy 370 (we were at 42nd and 370).  We were all taken back to exam rooms to take cover...  I finished feeding Marley then went to check the weather.  There was no longer a warning so we headed for home... 
waiting for shots at the doctor office...

Weight:  15 lb 11.5 oz (44%)
Height:  25.5" (41%) - shorty!
Head:  16.85" (60%)

She goes back to the doctor in August for her 9 month check-up!  Oh and one more thing, since car seat recommendations have changed it looks like we will be keeping Miss Marley rear facing until age 2.  With Lily it was at 1 year of age but the American Academy of Pediatrics have changed their guidelines...  We will see how this goes since she really doesn't care to ride in the car unless she is sleeping...

UPDATE...

Marley was unbelievably crabby and upset this evening.  She just doesn't feel well at all.  She woke up with a stuffy nose this morning and I think her little legs hurt from the shots.  She was so exhausted when we put her to bed she cried and cried.  Mommy is just hoping Marley gets some good rest tonight so she feels better in the morning...

Before I was a Mom poem...


Before I was a Mom -
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -

I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put them down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every
10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Happy Mother's Day!

Yesterday we went to Avoca for my niece Isabell's birthday party and to see my mom for Mothers Day a day early.  We had a great time!  Here are a few pictures from yesterday and today. 



Aunt Charity asked Lily if she wanted to take the princess dress home since it no longer fits Isabell.  Lily was thrilled and wore it all morning!


mmm cake and ice cream!


Grandma Lori and Marley


Happy Mothers Day to my mom!


Princess Lily!!!


Its so cute to see the two of them interact... Marley just laughs at Lily!






and Princess Marley!


Since Brian worked today he let Lily give me my gift yesterday.  They had gone shopping in the morning and as Lily was coming up the steps she says, "mom we got your necklace..."  We just laughed!  Kids remember everything :)

I got another silver necklace for Marley's thumbprint.  I got my first one last year for Mother's Day.  They are the neatest things ever.  You can purchase them at the Olive Branch in Council Bluffs and they are made in Shenandoah, IA.  We had a tough time doing Lily's print last year so I'm not sure when we will tackle Marleys.  Once you are done you mail off the silver clay print and it is fired and make into a pendant and initials are stamped on the back.

Here is the kit...

and the finished necklace...