CPSIA--Too far???

I'm sure most, if not all, of you have heard about this CPSIA initiative set to take place by Feb. 10, 2009. It is an answer to prayer for some, in that the government will FINALLY be stepping in and putting some rules and regulations in place regarding the toys, clothing and feeding items our children use on a day to day basis. Dangerous chemicals are now "outlawed" if you will, and we'll be able to buy, with confidence, knowing that the items we sell are "safe".

It's not all roses and peaches, though... With this new "law" comes strict testing regulations, and harsh fines for offenders. Resellers, while exempt from testing requirements, do have to go through reasonable measures to make sure the products their selling for children are safe--if they are found to be in violation, fines and prosecution could await them.

At first, I was on the fence about this issue... I'm glad the government is starting to step up and say, "these things are dangerous and shouldn't be exposed to children in any way." But I don't want to hurt the homemade and small business owners and thrift shops who are also being held to these standards.

ZRecs wrote a great article today about 10 predictions that could happen if the bill goes through as it stands now... As a parent, I'm a bit freaked. And if I were a reseller, like my friends the Meny's, who have their own little shop, Little Lords and Ladies, I'd be sweating bullets... This is going to hurt a lot more than it will probably help, unfortunately.

More on what you can do, once Jesslyn's not screaming in my arms... :)

**Product Recall!

For those of you who haven't signed up for the CPSC emails with all the latest recall notices, do so now! You never know what you may need to worry about...

That being said, this one is a doosie... I'm sure many of you have them, and are probably letting your little ones play with it, so be aware! I Heart Guts is recalling their "Plush Uterus," due to the possibility of detaching ovaries, which could pose as a choking hazard for young children. If you're an adult playing with it, probably not a good idea to put the ovaries in your mouth.... FYI....

Yeah, I know, ewwwwww.... :) Thanks, ZRecs, for the heads up. :)

It's kinda cute, though...

LOST is BACK!

Well, kinda.  Wednesday, Jan. 14th, at 9 p.m., ABC will air the season four finale, for those of you who've forgotten (heck, it was, what 8! months ago!)  According to my "sources", the first two episodes of season 5 (of 6... yes, next season after this, 2010, is the LAST season of LOST!  AAAAAAHHHHH!) will be heavily "time-travel" centric.  And from what I understand, many questions that fans have been pondering during Season 5's gestation will be answered.  

Seriously, has there ever been a more thought out/provoking/frustrating/awesome show on TV???? EVER?!?!  No.  And for the haters out there, well, my guess is you haven't watched from the beginning, because, yeah, if you pick it up mid-season, and especially, MID-SERIES, it ain't gonna make a whole lotta sense.  But wow... it's gonna be awesome, come Fall 2010, to be able to sit down and watch all 6 seasons [preferably in Blu-ray,] back to back, no commercials and see exactly what kind of genius came up with such a masterpiece!

Okay, I may be going a tad overboard... then again, if you don't agree, well... then you haven't seen it.  Or you don't "get" it (you do have to invest at least a little effort to follow what's going on--the depth is part of what gives the show its "power of awesome."  Something Heroes lacked, unfortunately.  You can't just "watch" LOST.... just like you can't "skim" a book to truly "read" it.)

Anyways, the season premiere is next week, and I'm [we] are lookin' forward to it!  So let us know if you're on board--it's always fun to have other folks to chat with about it, share theories, figure out what's going on...  Part o' the fun!

Don't feel like you have to comment if you aren't... [I'm looking at you, Ali.... ;) ]  Playa's ONLY! [which means instead of 1 comments, we'll have 0 or -1 comments... if that's possible.  Seriously, you people don't know what you're missing... but I digress...]

I don't know if I'll be getting around to posting epi synops this time around...  We'll see how things go...  If this season is as awesome as all the spoilers have shown thus far, it's going to be hard to NOT say anything.  

By the way, Jeremiah's talking a lot more now.  :)  He's been saying, "that's like this, too!" or something similar, whenever he sees two of the same thing (like if we're both having oatmeal for breakfast, or he's looking at the fan in the breakfast nook, and will point to the fan in the dining room, etc...)  He also likes to say, "E," "T," "S," "C," "ice," "dank ooo," and a few others that I'm still trying to translate.  What a guy!  :)

Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Happy 4 Months, Jesslyn!

Jesslyn is 4 months old today!

What's new?  Not a whole lot, though we had one biggie this week--she rolled over for the first time!  Technically, she was 3 months and almost 4 weeks old when she did it, but it happened... I was there.  :)  Well, I saw her no longer on the side I put her down on, at least.  :)  And then Jeremy found her the same way again this morning.  Pretty cool stuff.  Our little girl is growing up!

So much for 6-9 month clothes, though... I got her a bunch of cute things, and she's already starting to outgrow most of it, especially pajamas.  It's almost like she's skipping 6-9 and wants to go right to 9-12 or 6-12.  Maybe we'll just skip the 12 month sizes and go to 18 months...  Might be a little big early on, but I have a feeling it won't be long before she can wear it comfortably.  Definitely a big gal.  She's already hitting the back of the seat when in the car, and has to have the straps at their longest length... My guess is that we'll have another month or so, at most, until we need to move her into a convertible car seat.

Otherwise, things are about the same.  She continues to be a happy baby, in general, still quick to let you know when she's tired/hungry/wants to be held.  Drool seems to be more frequent than spit-up nowadays, so that's good.  I haven't scheduled her next appointment yet (we're still "working" on it....) but that should be soon, and we certainly are interested in seeing how much she's grown.  

Unlike Jeremiah, we'll probably be waiting until she's closer to 6 months to start solids--she definitely knows her bottle when she sees it, and loves to watch us eat, but doesn't seem that interested in eating herself--yet.  Fine with me--just makes things more complicated when she does.  :)  So I'm in no hurry!

**UPDATED w/ VIDEO! Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!

The birthday card I made for Jeremiah and sent in to Sprout--we'll find out soon if they show it on TV!  Like my penguin?? He LOVES Pingu!

Two years and 5 hours ago, Mommy and Daddy were playing Singstar at Grandma's house when Mommy's water broke.  A few hours later, Jeremiah was here!  

And boy has he changed in those two years!  He's becoming such a handsome, young man, with such a loving, sweet heart.  He's always trying to be helpful, looks after his favorite baby sister, and is perfectly happy just sitting with you watching YouTube videos one minute, then running off to play with a car or truck the next.  And while he has his moments where he really "tests" Mommy and Daddy, he limits those to the house only (for the most part) and is easily distracted to something else.

We are so proud of our little man, and watching him grow into the Godly man we know he'll be someday.  'Til then, we're enjoying the ride.

Happy Birthday, Jeremiah!  We love you lots!

These were taken last night, post-haircut!  Isn't it cute???

Bumbo vs. Bebe Pod

I'm not really the "reviewer" type, but this time I decided to make an exception.... since I have both.  :)  I will preface this by saying that we had neither when Jeremiah was a baby.  Back then, we mostly hung out in the living room where his activity center "thingie" was (I don't know what the official name is... hopefully you know what I'm talking about.)  Now that we're in our house, there are many more places to go--family room, play room, breakfast nook (though we'll usually stick her in a high chair there,) Mommy's room, etc...  Jesslyn, like her favorite big brother before her, always wants to be upright, whenever she's awake.  If you "lay" her anywhere, or have her in any type of semi-reclined position, she will try with all her might to sit herself up.  So we broke down and asked Santa to bring her a Bumbo seat.  He didn't, but she did receive a Target gift card which hooked her up.  

Originally, we had decided on the Bebe Pod--I'd read other reviews comparing the two, and that review basically boiled it down to two things:  If your child is chunky, they'll probably prefer the Bebe Pod, since it's less molded.  If on the smaller side, the Bumbo seat.  Knowing how cute and chunky those thighs of hers can be, we opted for the Pod for Jesslyn.  Ordered one for $54 (with tray, after coupon) off Target's website, and got it today!

Well, while out shopping at Target Friday afternoon, we came across the Bumbo seat, with tray, on clearance for $35!  The seat by itself is normally $39, so we scooped on up and figured we could decide which we liked better and return the Bebe Pod if it wasn't worth the extra bucks.  Here's everything out of the boxes--Bebe Pod on the left, Bumbo on the right (yes, we like orange. :)
The Bebe Pod also comes with a Sassy toy, fun tray inserts (there's a second underneath that looks like an orange slice) and also has straps.  The Bumbo seat keeps it simple--seat and tray.

First, the Bebe Pod.  (Jeremiah volunteered to be my "test subject" since Jesslyn's asleep.  :)  Right off the bat, I notice it's smaller than the Bumbo seat, though their weight is relatively the same.  The box it comes in is less cumbersome to carry around, since it's rectangular in shape, but I don't expect to use the box much, if at all.  

The white "nub" comes off so you can attach a tray to it, and is pretty easy to do, once you figure it out (or read the directions.)  Jeremiah fit in there just fine, though it was tough getting the tray on once he was seated (not that it's designed for 2 year olds, so probably not a fair assessment.) The inserts for the tray are cute, though they don't stick or anything, just sit there.  You kinda have to use 'em, too, as there are gaps in the tray itself from where the locking mechanism attaches (so it can lock onto the seat.)

The Sassy toy is cute, and since it appears that Sassy has successfully gone "BPA-Free", I'll let Jesslyn play with it.  But it doesn't attach to the seat in any way, so I don't really consider it a feature (I kinda wish it did, since she's still in the "flailing" phase of playing with toys... They go flying pretty easily.)

Now the Bumbo seat.  Since I mentioned it with the bebe Pod, I'll mention it here, too--the box is pretty big.  It wasn't easy to move around, since the cardboard couldn't support the weight of the seat if you were only holding it by one handle.  I know, minor thing, but it was driving me crazy.  We won't be keeping the box.   

Otherwise, the seat itself is nice--very simple design.  It's like they took a baby and sat them in a pile of soft rubber to create the perfect "mold".  It is more contoured than the bebe Pod, and so far, Jesslyn's had no problems fitting in it (she hasn't sat in the Pod yet, but I'd expect her to fit just fine in that one, too.)  

The tray pops on over the top and secures itself underneath the seat.  Personally, I haven't been able to do this with a baby in the seat.  I just can't get the tray to lock underneath like it should, and since you're not supposed to "tip" the seat while the baby's in it, I just haven't really been using the tray with her.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong but I'm sure I'm not the only one who's had the issue.

And that's about all there is to say about the Bumbo seat.  It does what it says it will do--help a baby sit up.  Simple and to the point.

So which is better?  Well, from their function point of view, they're the same.  The Bumbo is a little larger, so if space is an issue, the bebe Pod might be the better option.  If you're buying the seat and JUST the seat, then I would probably prefer the bebe Pod, just on looks alone (the straps, by the way, I see as pointless.  This is not a chair you really strap your baby into--neither should be used on an elevated surface, so I don't really see the point in including them.  If the baby can get out on their own, I'd rather have them be able to get out completely, rather than tip out and still have the seat attached to them--I can just picture Jesslyn hanging mostly out, over the side, and getting really mad about it, once she's a bit older.  Maybe someone else knows of a better reason to use the straps...)

Now, if you're going to go the tray route, I actually prefer the Bumbo.  I know I said I had a tough time with the tray, but I'm sure I'll get that figured out and it won't be an issue.  My big thing with the bebe Pod tray is that you can't really use it without those inserts (which, I'm sure, will get all nasty and covered in drool/spit up/etc....)  You could, I guess, but I don't get the impression it's designed for that.  Also, there are a lot of extra parts to keep track of with the bebe Pod--that nub you twist off to put the tray on?  Where do you stash that when you're using the tray?  I'm sure once a baby's old enough to get good use out of the tray, whether for snacks or toys, you won't need that nub, so it'll just get put away somewhere.  Yet something else to keep track of.  And those tray inserts, too.   Just seems like too much "stuff".  I'm trying to "de-clutter" not add more stuff that I need to keep.  

So that's that.  We'll probably keep both, since we got a good deal on each of 'em (and Jeremiah likes to sit in 'em... I'm sure he'll want to sit with Jesslyn once in a while...)  But if I could only keep one, it would be the Bumbo--I just don't need all those "extras".  Maybe I'll bring the bebe Pod to Grandma's, and she can keep track of all those extra pieces.  :)

EDIT:  I was wrong, you CAN attach that Sassy toy to the tray... hence, those gaps in it.  So that's nice.  However, it doesn't attach very firmly--I can see Jesslyn pulling it out first try.  Therefore, my opinion doesn't change.  Maybe I can use those safety straps to attach her toys instead of her...  :)

"Sproles"

Jeremy and I just finished watching the Indy-San Diego game, and it seems like every other minute, someone is talking about Darren Sproles... I guess it makes sense, since he did get the game-winning touchdown, in OT. Now it's off to see who wins tomorrow to determine who goes to Pittsburgh next week.

And that's all about that. :)

Well, 2009 is here, and so far, not much has changed. I haven't had to write the date on anything yet, so my life is still pretty much the same. We're all a little older, hopefully a little wiser, and my kids are getting bigger! Jeremiah is just a few days from his 2nd birthday, Jesslyn just a week shy of 4 months and........ yeah, that's it. Just two. For now, at least. :)

I don't like this time of year, though... The holiday season is so much fun, and there's such a lead up to the "big day" that once it's over, and everyone goes back to work, it's kinda like, "Blah." And I feel like we kinda let the true meaning of Christmas, the reason we celebrate, fall by the wayside. It didn't help we really didn't make it to church in December, either (too tired post-party, late night out the following week, sick kids the week after, etc...) There was so much more I had planned to do to keep "Christ" in "Christmas" but when you're sick, and both your kids are sick and not eating, it sucks the life outta ya, Christmas-spirit filled or not. I guess I kinda feel like I didn't get to make this Christmas the Christmas I had hoped to give my kids, and I'm disappointed about that. I guess we'll just have to do extra next year!

Anyways, we've had a nice couple of days with Jeremy home for New Years. A huge blessing came to us on Monday this past week when Jeremy hit his quota for the year (three years in a row, now...) That was awesome! It's always stressful coming to the end of any quarter/year and not knowing if we're "going to make it." Well, God pulled some strings for us and helped deals close that probably wouldn't have closed otherwise (seriously, in this day and age, who buys stuff they don't use??? Thankfully, some of Jeremy's customers!) So we're very thankful that God has once again shown us how He's in control and taking care of us, like He always does, though we may sometimes forget. Yay, God! :)

Jeremiah and Jesslyn enjoyed their first sleep over at Grandma/Grandpa's house last night. Jesslyn didn't do as well as her favorite big brother, though my parents still said, "she was great!" I think the biggest issue was that we forgot the 2nd pack n' play, so she had to sleep in her moses basket, which is just a teensy bit too small. Grandma ended up letting her "nap" on her most of the time, so 2-3 hour naps became 45 minute naps. But, THANKFULLY, she's finally got her appetite back. While she's been eating without difficulty for the past 5 days, she's been getting about 4-6 oz less than she should be. Well, today she made up for that, eating well over 30 oz by the time we left Grandma's and headed back home. The only downside--diaper changes every hour, or she soaks through them! Guess I need to start stuffing them a little thicker.

Jeremy and I had a lovely evening while the kiddies played with their Grandparents. First, dinner at a Japanese steakhouse with brother & sister-in-law. :) Then an intense Game of Life, where us ladies were thoroughly crushed by our hubbies (with mine doing the most crushing...) Then finally off to our neighbor's house for an equally intense game of Gin Rummy. We called it a night around 1, slept in 'til 10 (after going back to sleep at the normal "wake up" time...) ran some errands and then off to Warrenton to get our babies! We had a great time and are always extremely grateful for my parents willingness to take such good care of our most precious little babes (even if they do let them watch TV, and sleep in bed with 'em.... Jesslyn was clearly confused when I put her in her crib tonight--she just layed there, eyes open, like she was trying to figure out why no one was rocking her to sleep.... Sorry, sweetie, Mommy's not Grandma. :)

Earlier this week, Cotton Babies held another photo contest, this time on Facebook. I entered once again, trying out my new favorite Christmas present from my always-favorite hubby, but I'm still learning how to use it, so the shots didn't come out as well as I had hoped. But we ended up with a few cuties. Didn't win, or even get an honorable mention, but that's okay. There were some great shots on there, so I can't blame 'em for not picking us (out of about 1200 entries, after all...) For your viewing pleasure, here are the shots I submitted.

Jeremiah is SUCH a boy--he LOVES his trucks, and pushing cars around the house. He does it for HOURS. We didn't teach him that. That's just what he likes to do. Like he was "wired" that way... hmmm... :)

Heh, poor Jesslyn. Her hair would just NOT lay flat. And she hates being on her back--she kept doing crunches, trying to sit up. I swear, she's got a tone six-pack underneath all that baby chub. So roll-ey poley!

I had another GREAT pic of Jesslyn by herself, but I was trying not to use a flash, and there just wasn't enough light coming in from our cloudy, windy day to do the trick. It would have been such a great shot, though! Argh! Maybe someone out there with an SLR can give me a few pointers....?

Awww... sweetness. Can't ya tell Jesslyn is thrilled?

I think this one's pretty self explanatory. :) He LOVED trying to get this right for me. lol

Happy New Year!

Wow, only 7 hours left in 2008. I've got a couple of bottles of bubbly in the ole 'chill chest' ready to go, hopefully around 10 p.m. Seriously, we stay up 'til midnight or so nearly every night. If we truly want to celebrate the new year, and all it has to bring, we'll be in bed by 10. That's my goal, at least. Yeah, we're pretty boring...

Anyways, it's been quiet on the blog here for a while. Main reason: too much sickness. Seriously, who wants to hear about how sick everyone is. It certainly wasn't "in the spirit" of the holidays around here... Poor Jeremiah got it first--congested head and chest, cough, fever, zero appetite. Then as soon as he started getting better, I got a head cold. And to top it off, Jesslyn caught it next. The funny thing was, we all had different symptoms. Poor Jesslyn had everything Jeremiah had but no fever. However, as you're probably aware, babies have to breathe through their noses when they eat. Next time you're all stuffed up, try breathing through your nose exclusively for a while. Yeah, not happening. So the poor thing didn't eat hardly anything for 2-3 days. She's finally eating again pretty regularly, and we've never been more thankful! Seriously, there were two days there where it was HELL! Not the way we hoped to spend Jeremy's time off.

Luckily, everyone's nearly back to 100%, and Jeremy has another long weekend where we can try to have fun as a family. YAY! First on the list of things to do: get a new dining set for the breakfast nook. Ours is just barely holding itself together... Definitely time for an upgrade. Then hopefully the kids will enjoy a night with Grandma/Grandpa, and we can go out. YAY!! Still on the tentative list: a birthday party for Jeremiah. Kinda wanna do it this weekend, but kinda wanna next weekend... Hmm.... Doesn't help his birthday is on a Wednesday this year. Can go either way. I had wanted to do a "Noah's Ark" party (kinda like Build a Bear, but they come to you with lots of different animal choices,) but I think it's too late to plan that, and Jeremy doesn't think Jeremiah needs anything "big" as far as parties go. I'm sure we'll have fun no matter what we end up doing. :)

Kids updates: Jesslyn is SOOOO CLOSE to rolling over. She's got the form and technique down, just needs a little extra "oomph". She loves to chew on your finger if it's wrapped in a blanket, and has mastered holding her head up/sitting with support/lifting her chest and head up when on her belly. That's 'bout all for her.

Jeremiah's a riot. He's slowly adding new words to his vocab. His new favorite word? "Nooooooooooooo!!!" Not said in a rebellious-I-don't-want-to-listen-to-you-Mommy way, but rather an, "uh-oh, Big Fella, I'm going to run you over with my new dump truck!" or "oh no, Mommy's chasing me!!" kind of way. It's so funny. He's also saying lots of letters, and "counts" 1-2-3. The best, though, is still when he says, "apple." It's really more like, "ah-pull" but he says it perfectly, and will even say it in different ways, like in a whisper, or like "grandma" when she was sick and sounded like she was talking through a machine.... It's pretty funny. He'll also "moo" if you ask him what a cow says. We're still working on other animals.

And that's all for now. I'm on the crappy laptop, so typing is pretty annoying. Happy New Year, everyone! Stay safe.

Jeremiah's New Favs

Merry Christmas!

We just got home from my Uncle's house for the Portuguese side of my family's Christmas celebration!  It was crazy... Jesslyn was wayyy overtired (and sick,) so she was very cry-y.  But we survived and they both went right out.  In fact, Jeremiah never woke up--he was TIRED!  He didn't even wake up when we were changing him into his pj's.  We thought we'd take the opportunity to pose him with empty bottles and such, but all we had handy was a bottle of benadryl and his thermometer.  Awww... my little man was so tired!

Anywhoo, I'm trackin' Santa right now, and he's just left Chile... gotta finish a few things before he makes it to the East Coast!  Late-ah!

We're here...

We're just sick.  :(

In a nutshell, Jeremiah's been hit the hardest, with a runny nose, cough/congestion, and a fever.  Other than the fact that he's not interested in eating, he's himself--boundless energy, happy, playful, etc.  And with the help of a humidifier and Vicks Vapors, he's been sleeping pretty well, for the most part.  

Jesslyn seems to be coming down with what Jeremiah has, though it hasn't really hit yet.  Hopefully it doesn't.  

And I seem to have something completely different, but annoying nonetheless.  Hence the lack of posting.

And tomorrow's Christmas Eve!  Not exactly how I had hoped Jesslyn's first Christmas would go.  If there are no improvements, we may have to skip out on some family gatherings, which would SUCK.  But, that's the nature of the beast, I guess.  Gotta love this time of year.  

In other news, Jesslyn seems to have found her voice.   :)  She loves to squeel now, and uses that to let you know when she wants something.  Hey, it beats crying.  She definitely seems to be getting older (I know, no duh, but she's becoming less of a baby and more of a little girl.)  I love that she plays in her crib instead of just crying after her naps (definitely sets a nicer tone for her awake time.)  She's very interactive, and is so happy to just "talk" to you.  My little girl is growing up so fast!

Speaking of, I hear her squeeling now.  Guess she's done napping.  :(  Oh well.  We're just chillin' anyways.  

If I don't post again, Merry Christmas, everyone!  Hopefully we'll have happy, well babies to photograph and post!  :)

A MUST have for Christmas...

Especially if onion dip or green bean casserole (with fried onions) is being served...

http://www.flat-d.com/flatdpremium.html

I know a LOT of people who would benefit from this. :)

Awesome cards.

These have gotta be some of the neatest handmade cards I've seen.  Every person I've given one to has been very impressed by the quality of the craftsmanship put into each and every one.  I'm definitely going to be picking up some more.  I'd rather support a local craftsperson than Hallmark anyday!  

They're made by a gal at my folks' church.  She was originally selling them in support of their "missions" week last month.  Good stuff.  If you'd like to get some, shoot me an email.  I'll set ya up with her email addy.  :)

The ultimate bad boy look.

All he needs is a chain, and no one will doubt his toughness!  This kid means business! :)

Christmas!

Alright, here ya go:  Pics of our Christmas Trees!  That's right, trees, as in, more than one.  This year, Jeremiah is too big to simply barricade away from the tree, and since we spend most of our time in the family room, I wanted a tree in there, but didn't want him to destroy it.  So we bought two trees.  Well, one was free (thanks, Grandma's work!) and the other was only $20 from Home Depot (pretty good size for $20, I think!) So not a bad deal, all around!  

I love them both.  The tree in our "formal" living room is the "fancy" one, with all our sentimental ornaments and pretty ribbons.  Jeremiah's tree, in our family room, is definitely more whimsical.  Bought some funky ornaments from Walmart and Target (all the ornaments on both our trees are shatterproof, but they sure look like glass!) and made a construction paper chain as a garland.  When was the last time you made one of those?!  So fun!

So yeah, Jeremiah's is fun and kooky, yet we still have our "grown up" pretty tree.  It's a win win all around!  

So without further adieu... pics!

The "Formal" tree.  Pics just don't do it justice...

The "FUN!" tree!  Notice how most of the ornaments are towards the top?  That's because Jeremiah insists on pulling them off.  So when I put them back on, they go higher and higher...

He helped make that snowman!  And the snowflake, right in the middle of the pic.  We actually used those for our Christmas party--the numbers for our Yankee Swap were on the back of the ornaments, and then you got to keep your ornament as a favor!  That snowman is actually Uncle James'.  He took it yesterday, but not before I snapped a pic while it was on the tree! :)

First Stroller Ride!

Today is a beautiful day, sunny and 60's.  Much better than this past weekend, where it was only in the 30's and cold.  So we seized the opportunity to get in some vitamin D and headed out for a short walk around the block.  Usually, I "wear" Jesslyn, or she's in her carseat.  But today, I decided to let her try out her "seat" in the stroller.

It went well enough.  Jeremiah enjoyed pointing out all the garages (he's obsessed with them...) and looking at the different Christmas lawn ornaments people had out.  Jesslyn did not like the wind blowing, though, and started fussing about halfway through.  Amazingly, she survived.  :)  Now, she's napping, and Jeremiah's winding down with some Yo Gabba Gabba!

Maybe we'll go for a drive around the neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights tonight.  Depends on the kids' naps.  Hopefully everyone will sleep well!

Happy Three Months, Jesslyn!

Yes, I've been meaning to post this since Wednesday. I did cheat, and created the post, knowing full well I wouldn't actually be able to publish until a later time... So here we are!

Jesslyn is 3 months old now! Wow, time flies, huh?  And there are definitely tell-tale signs that she is older.  They are as follows:

~Less crying.  Apparently, babies cry the most during the first three months.  We've definitely noticed a drop off.  The biggest change came when she started waking up from her naps and "growling" rather than crying.  :)  It's really not a growl, but that's the best way I can describe it.  And when you go in to get her, she just kinda looks around at everything, and is so happy and smiley when you pick her up.  It's as if she's saying, "You're here!! Oh, I'm SOO happy to see you!!! I've missed you, Mommy/Daddy!!"  Much more fun than picking her up screaming (though she is still crying when she wants to eat in the middle of the night.)

And for the most part, she really only cries when she wants something and we're taking too long to figure it out--if she's hungry, over-tired, or wants to be held.  Those are the big three.  She'll occasionally cry if she's dirty, but she's pretty forgiving of that, unless you've got her sitting up, which brings us to....

~Sitting up.  Not by herself, mind you.  But we put her in Jeremiah's high chair (slowly becomingher high chair...) and she LOVES to sit there and look around.  We've also propped her up in her moses basket, which she also enjoys.   A Bumbo or Bebe Pod is on her Christmas list.  :)

~More talking.  More growling.  She and Jeremiah will have these little conversations back and forth--it's so cute!  It's almost as if they understand each other (and I'm sure on some level, they do, at least moreso than we...)  More smiling.  More interaction.

~Work those legs! This gal does NOT want to lay down, and is happy for a very short amount of time doing so (unless there's a toy dangling over her head... even then, she'd rather be sitting up.)  She loves to practice "standing", and really supports herself well.  We've started putting her in Jeremiah's old activity center (which he still trys to climb into...) and she loves it.  Still ends up tilting forward, and needs adjusting, but her feet touch the floor perfectly, just as they should (keep in mind the min. age on this thing is 4 months... she's been in it a few weeks now...)  That's our big girl!  Speaking of....

~Goodbye 3-6, hello 6-9!  Yes, she's almost out of her 3-6 month clothes.  Well, really, it's the pants she's outgrown.  They're not long enough!  And with her cloth diapers, most don't accomodate her [non-existent] behind [just like her Daddy.]  Her pajamas?  Forget it.  I put her in a pair, and they BARELY fit.  That's the last time she'll probably wear those... And I just bought her so many cute 3-6 month things (didn't have much, despite all the clothes I bought while pregnant... didn't know if she'd need warm or cold weather clothes.)  So we'll probably bump her up to the next size by Christmas (might hang on to some of her tops a little while longer... those usually get the most dirty anyways, since she's still the "Spit-Up Queen!"  Bow before her and she'll annoint your head with oil... err... spit up. :) 

~Hand/mouth coordination.  She's got that one down pretty well.  It used to be... "Where's my fist?  I wanna suck on my fist!  Has anyone seen my fist??? Fist???  FIST!!! HELLO, FIST, WHERE ARE YOU!! WAAAAAAAHHH!!"  And now it's, "I wanna suck on my fist.  Where's my fist?  Oh yeah, there it is.  **suck suck suck** No, wait, I didn't say fist, I said BINKY! WHERE'S MY BINKY??? WAAAAAAAAHHH!!"  We're making progress.  :)

That's the big stuff.  Sleep wise, she does very well, though still somewhat quirky...  Her morning naps have only been lasting 45-60 minutes lately (and then she wants to play...) but her afternoon naps still tend to be 2.5-4 hours long (sometimes she wakes up wanting to eat, then goes back to sleep, as if it were nighttime.... I think she gets confused....)  By 7-ish, though, she's ready for bed!  

Nighttime has been off lately (I blame a growth spurt...)  She usually sleeps from 7-4-ish, eats, then sleeps 'til 7:30, 8.  Sometimes she wakes up early (anywhere between 11 p.m. and 2 a.m.) and then again at 6, then sleeps 'til 9.  But for the most part, she's still only getting up once a night, sleeping 12 hours total.  Add that to the 1-2 hours in the morning (sometimes split over two naps,) and the 3 hour nap in the afternoon, she's only up 7-8 hours a day.  The gal likes to sleep!  I don't blame her.  She's like her Mommy in that regard.  :)

And now... pics!

23 Months Old -- 3 Months Old... Really...

"AHHH!! Jeremiah!! Your spikiness!! It tickles!!!"

"Uh, Mom, do you mind, I'm trying to suck on my fist here..."

"See?  Told ya."

"Yeah, Mommy put this blanket here so I don't ruin her throw pillows when I spit up (because it's always a 'when,' not an 'if.') So I'm going to chew on it. :) "

"Let's see... e=MC..... squared?? Cubed?? And do I really just want my two front teeth for Christmas??"  The ponderings of a baby...

"Yes, I am cute.  Yes, you may take my picture." :)

"Dad-dy... people are watching... someone might see this pic and put it on their blog, for all the world to see, and then the other babies won't think I'm cool anymore!"

No comment. :)

"Aww, I love you, too, big brother.  But I'm really worried about the angle Mommy's using to get this shot... I mean, really, my butt isn't that big.  It's not!  Oh well."

Par-tay!

Last night, we had our third semi-bi-annual Christmas party!

It was an uber good time, though I was a bit stressed all day leading up to the party... We had a lot to do that we had didn't get done during the week. But, I had lots of great help, even though I think they wanted to walk out on me at one point... It was all good, though!

Once again, we had TONS of food, though I think there was less left over this time than last time. My Mom brought stromboli and made deviled eggs, and I made pork dim sum, beef teriyaki, two kinds of chicken wings, polish pigs in a blanket [actually, Jeremy made that one,] and some other random stuff, including lots of sweets [different cookies, brownies, bars, etc...] Yum!

Special thanks to James and Stephin for all their help the night before, and with the ornaments, which doubled as numbers for the game AND favors! Extra special thanks to my Dad for all the cleaning he helped out with. And SUPER extra special thanks goes out to my babish and my Mom, who probably felt the brunt of my frustrations, yet still provided so much help, which was greatly needed and greatly appreciated!

The game was a blast with lots of surprising hits, and a few things that people just couldn't get rid of! The favorites of the night: old school board games! The Game of Life, Chutes n Ladders/Candyland, Sorry and Clue were all up for grabs. An odd hit was a "glove box tool kit." Go figure.

But yes, uber fun, lots of yummy food, good conversation, a merry ole time!

For those of you who couldn't make it, here's a short clip of the party in action!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

:)

Splashy, splashy, party, party!

Finally!  After many months [2] and many frustrating evenings [dozens,] Jesslyn now enjoys bathtime!  Yay!

I tell ya, it was getting really frustrating giving her baths... The first time we put her in the baby tub, she hated it and screamed the whole time.  So I gave up on that, and tried just giving her sponge baths, thinking maybe she didn't like the whole "full frontal" part and was getting cold... Nope, that didn't work either.  

Lately, though, she's been enjoying it more and more.  I knew we were making progress when she first wouldn't cry until I washed her hair, and then she even tolerated that.  Then Jeremy gave her a bath, and held her in the [tiny] bathroom sink, and she enjoyed that, too!  

The other night, I figured, "What the heck," and threw her into her baby tub again.  I don't know if it's the whole freedom of movement part, or just the splashy-splashy part, but she really enjoyed herself.  

And that, my friends, makes Mommy a happy camper.  :)

Happy 12 weeks, Jesslyn!

**Note: Quality is just so-so, as it was taken with my phone and not our camera.  So there.  Now you know.  :)

***Note: She's got some rollage on her arms, huh?? 

Can men breastfeed??

According to this article, yes!

Looks like I won't be the only one who can get up at 2 a.m. for that mid-night feeding, when Jeremy/Jess Jr Part 2 comes around... 

;)