Town Home in Houston

Our friends are selling their town home, so I wanted to pass this info along in case anyone is looking for one in Houston, or know of anyone who is.

It is a 2 bedroom (plus study) town home located on Potomac. It is really nice - I posted a few pictures below. As of right now it is not listed on the market so you won't find it on HAR, but if you want more details email me and I will put you in contact with them.

Productive Parenting

Being a stay at home mom with one baby isn't always easy, but I do feel like I have time to get what I need to get done (most days). I know life will just get busier so I am enjoying the current pace of life.

Sometimes I don't really know what to do with Cambry or how to entertain her. We usually get out the house every day (play date, bible study, grocery store, Target, library, Grandparents house, etc). She likes being out and about so I think it is good for her (and me!) But if we spend all day at home, it can be hard to think of things to do with her.

My friend Kristen told me about this website www.ProductiveParenting.com . You can sign up to receive daily emails of simple things to do with your child according to their age. It is nothing mind blowing, but it is nice to have a new suggestion each day.

I also have some other goals for myself regarding being intentional and how I spend my time.

When I nurse Cambry in the morning after she wakes up I want to spend it praying for the day, for Greg, and for Cambry. I am tempted to use it to just check email and read blogs but lately I have been trying to spend those few minutes in prayer instead.

In my mom's group we are challenging ourselves to memorize scripture, so I have been writing each week's verse on a notecard and taping it to the wall by Cambry's changing station. I try to pick one of the verses to read outloud while I am changing her. A lot of times I forget, but i do read them when I think of it and it has really helped me to memorize them. Since I am there all the time (my friends/family tease me that I change Camry's diaper every 15 minutes, ha!) it is a great spot to have them.

When I am worried about something, I have been trying to go to the Lord first instead of google...or babycenter, or Dr. Sears, etc. It is habit to look online for answers as soon as she gets a rash or a fever or something else, but I want to make it a habit to pray first.

I have other mommy goals but those are the ones I can think of now that I have been concentrating on.

As a side note, Cambry is still hating all solid food including rice cereal, bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes, applesauce, and pears. I am thinking maybe we just take a break for a few weeks then try again? As soon as she sees the spoon coming she looks disgusted. The girl who puts EVERYTHING in her mouth will grab the spoon but will turn it around and only put the other end - the clean end - in her mouth. She is so funny.

And on another note, she has been doing so well this week with bed time! She has been so fun in the evenings. She has been in great moods, laughing and smiling and being so silly. We have so much fun making her laugh. She is so adorable we just eat it up. I think there was only 1 or 2 days this past week that she cried for a bit at bed time. Several days there was no crying at all when we laid her down awake, and then there were a couple nights like tonight where she only cried for a few seconds when we walked out of her room but then settled herself down and fell right asleep. YAY! She slept through the night twice this week, but the other nights she woke up once to eat (usually around 3 or 4 AM). Not bad at all!

Baby Wearing

I love baby wearing. I have 2 different Baby Bjorns that I bought used. I just bought the second one recently because it has better back support than the original design. I also have a Maya wrap that I use on occasion which allows me to wear Cambry on my hip.

I love my sister's Ergo carrier and would love one of those for a future baby.

I would also love to try out the Moby wrap on a future baby. I see so many people using those for their newborns and they look so nice and cozy for a baby.

I know soon Cambry will get too heavy to wear but I sure am enjoying it now.

We had fun going on a walk on the beach wearing the babies.

We thought we could do a quick walk before the storm came in, but we were wrong. We had gone down the beach a ways and had just started to turn back when the rain came. Hard.

We all started running for the house. Greg was wearing Cambry at that point. We couldn't really run fast with babies. It was kind of like the Napoleon Dynamite run where you keep your upper body and arms in place and just run with your legs. I'm sure we all looked awesome. The babies didn't even seem to mind. Kyler was on Cody's back and he was having the time of his life. He was laughing the whole way home bouncing all around in the rain.

Here are the boys wearing their babies in Galveston.

I love this picture! I think it totally looks like Greg is modeling for a Baby Bjorn ad. Love those two!

Best Nap Ever

Cambry had the best nap of her life on the beach during our vacation.

The first day on the beach we put her in her cute little swim suit and lathered her up with sunblock. We put her feet in the water and sand and walked around with her on the beach.

But then, after a while, the warm sun, the sound of the crashing waves, and strong breeze put her to sleep in Greg's arms. It was so precious. She slept for a long time in Daddy's arms.

The next day the same thing happened with me. She didn't need to be rocked or anything. She just laid her head on me and fell asleep. It was the sweetest thing. 

Since she slept so well the day before we decided to try and lay her down. My mom had brought a baby pool so we padded it with towels and put her in there. Almost 3 and 1/2 hours later we woke her up because we were ready to go in and it was getting close to her bed time! We couldn't believe it!

Well she ended up taking a nap on the beach just about every day. She loved it! We even ended up changing her sound machine to the waves option since it put her to sleep so easily!

6 Month Check Up

Cambry had her 6 month check-up today. Here are her stats.

Weight: 18 lbs. 13 oz. (86%)

Height: 28 in. (100%)

Head: 17.25 in. (85%)

She is dropping in percentage for weight a little bit. Hopefully she doesn't drop too much - I love love love her chunkiness. Especially her chunky baby thighs. Can't get enough. 

She cried when she got her shots but stopped as soon as I picked her up. She is a tough little girl. I gave her Tylenol when we got home just to ease any soreness. Now she has been sleeping for about an hour.

Oh, and we have been continuing to try with solids. Tried rice cereal.

Well that went well!

Grosse Family Vacation 2012: Surfside

This year we enjoyed a wonderful family beach vacation. My parents are fabulous vacation planners. We have had the privilege of going on a family vacation every year for the past 4 years or so. It has been so fun!

This year they rented a beach house for a week in Surfside (about an hour West of Galveston). It was laid back and fun and so nice to just relax and enjoy family and the beach.

It felt like we had so many people there, which I loved! My sister Lauren, brother-in-law Cody, and nephews Kyler and Hayes were there. My sister Ashley, brother-in-law Andrew, and niece Chloe were there too. My days Dads cousin, Carolyn, and Ben came one day as well. Another day my mom's good friend Jackie came. I love a full house!

We took sooo many pictures! There are so many good ones it is hard to narrow down.

One of the days at the beach was officially declared Party Day. We had lots to celebrate - Ashley, Cody and Greg all have birthdays within a few days of each other, Chloe just graduated high school, and it was Fathers Day.





My mom planned a really fun party complete with balloons, lanterns, tiaras, crowns, leis, lunch, cake, and Minute to Win it games, with prizes of course!

We went to the beach at least once a day throughout the week and enjoyed the waves, the kayaks, and the sand. Kyler loved digging around in the sand and running through the water. The babies mostly slept (more on that later).

One afternoon we drove in to Galveston and ate at Olympia Grill then walked around the strand for a bit. It brought back so many memories! Growing up my parents owned a house on Crystal Beach and we would often go to Galveston. We would buy swimsuits, get henna tattoos, eat ice cream, and buy candy. So much fun!

In the evenings once all the babies were down we would stay up late playing games - Wits and Wagers (which I am so horrible at), Loaded Questions (one of my favorites), Catch Phrase, Settlers of Catan, and Rummikub. I could stay up all night playing games!

It is always sad when a vacation ends, but after a whole week away, it is nice to get back home and sleep in your own bed again. I am so thankful for my parents planning such a fun vacation!