Costco

I went to Costco today. To find out what the hype is all about. I have been to Sam's before, but it was years and years ago. Never been to Costco. I feel like my friends are always getting these rare and wonderful treasures there. Like yummy organic snacks that they are feeding their kids or healthy easy pre-prepped meals.

I've gotta say, I don't think I will become a member. I mean, I got a few good things, but the large quantity of things just doesn't really work for us. We have a fairly small house. Our pantry is really just a tall cabinet. Our bathroom doesn't have a ton of storage. Our closets are small. I am not complaining, I love our house. But we don't have room to store 3 gallons of mouthwash in the bathroom. Or an 80 oz bottle of ketchup in the pantry. Or a six pack of cooking spray.

And it seems to me the more you have the more you use. If I know I have 3 extra bottles of salad dressing in the pantry, I am going to be pretty liberal. Why risk not putting on enough? Give it an extra pour or 3. Is there a pool of dressing left over in my salad bowl when I'm done? Who cares I have enough to last until next November.

But if I only have one, I will use the precise amount I need and maybe a little less. Don't want to run out.

Maybe I will be a Costco fan in the future if our family expands or we have more space. But for now you'll find me at Kroger.

Weekend Fun

This weekend was full and fun. Friday night we attended Midnight Madness at our church. It is a leadership training event that has lots of good speakers and last until midnight. The training was great and I feel motivated and encouraged to work harder at ministering to the kids in our youth group. I am so glad we went. I dropped Cambry off at my parent's house that evening to spend the night. They had fun babysitting her and she had a blast playing in their fun play room. After the training Greg and I spent the night at my parent's house too. I needed to be there in the morning for her since she still nurses when she wakes up.

Saturday Greg had a fun guys day at a friend's ranch. They did lots of manly things like skeet shooting, hunting, and who knows what else.

While Greg was off with the guys Cambry and I met some friends at Chickfila for lunch. Then we headed over to a nearby park. The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here. After the park we came home and she took a nap. We went on a walk when she woke up because it was just too pretty to stay indoors.

Cambry wore her new dress from Gigi to church on Sunday. I thought she looked like such a little doll. I love this dress.

After church I went to a baby shower while Greg and Cambry hung out at home. It was the cutest shower and everything was monkey themed.  I made some stir fry for dinner that night and then we started on season 2 of Downton Abbey. What a nice weekend!

13 Month Photos

Ok I said I was done with the monthly calendar photos. I was going to just post random pictures for each of the monthly updates. But I just love her calendar photos so much and I guess I am just a sucker for some kind of consistent monthly shot. So here is what I am going to do for year 2. These are a little late but here are her 13 month photos.

Yeah it is January and baby girl is wear short sleeves and a skirt. We went to the park that day. I love living in Texas.

I Love Pinterest

Love it. Yes, it can suck you in and cause for lots of wasted time. But it is also contains so many good ideas, inspiration, recipes, etc. I have benefited from Pinterest many times. Here are a few of my recent pins.

Source: flickr.com via Jana on Pinterest

Fill a glove with beans and put it on a baby. Hello, I need to try this on the next baby! I mean, how many times have I tried the slow lift and failed? Good stuff.

Source: sugarfreemom.com via Jana on Pinterest

Made these baked oatmeal cups the other week and thought they were yummy and healthy. I plan on making them again.

Source: theburlapbag.com via Jana on Pinterest

These cookies intrigue me. They could be disgusting, but I want to try them. 2 ingredients - bananas and oatmeal, then you add mixins. I would probably do mini chocolate chips and/or cinnamon.

I got a lot of the ideas for Cambry's party on Pinterest.

1) Ribbon Garland

Pinterest find -

Source: hwtm.com via Jana on Pinterest

My version - 

2) Smash Cake

Pinterest Find - 

Source: inspiringbydesign.com via Jana on Pinterest

My Version - 

3) Bejeweled candle

Pinterest Find - 

Source: dollarstorecrafts.com via Jana on Pinterest

My Version - 

Not everything on Pinterest is the greatest though. I tried using baking soda to get the toilet bowl sparkling white and it did not help that much.

Source: lifehackery.com via Jana on Pinterest

I have seen this recipe all over Pinterest. I tried it and didn't think it was very good at all. Definitely will not be making it again.

Source: mycrossfitpaleojourney.wordpress.com via Alex on Pinterest

So I have been thinking...I have taken a lot from Pinterest, but am I contributing? So I decided that if I make/do something that I like how it turned out, I will pin it. I feel kinda funny pinning my own stuff like - hey, look what I did! But I really appreciate all the ideas that I have gotten that other people have put up, so I decided to just go ahead and add when I can. It can never hurt to have more ideas floating around out there. I often times just use Pinterest as a search engine. So anyway, here are a few of the recent things I have pinned. 

The mobile I made for Cambry's room. Now, I can't take credit for it, I copied it from one I saw on Etsy. And even though it is not as pretty as the one on Etsy, I still really love it. 

Source: matterns.blogspot.com via Jana on Pinterest

Here is the original one I copied from.

Source: etsy.com via Pat on Pinterest

I also pinned the Alphabet board I made in Cambry's room. I definitely got this idea from Pinterest although the ones I saw were directly on a wall not on canvas.

Source: matterns.blogspot.com via Jana on Pinterest

I also pinned a few of my favorite cakes. And I will try to pin more in the future. I need to work on my photography skills though because my pictures are definitely not up to Pinterest standards!

So, just want to encourage all my crafty friends to pin your stuff to keep the inspiration flowing!

Pearly Whites

Cambry went to the dentist for the first time today. She did so good! She just laid there so sweetly and allowed the dentist to look at all her teeth and show me the proper way to brush them. I was so proud of her. She has 4 top teeth, 3 bottom teeth (with a 4th about to come through), and 1 molar.

Other than that, we had a pretty low key day. Cambry took 2 2-hour naps! She has been sleeping a lot this week. I guess she is still recovering from her bug last week. I still feel crummy from the bug I had so I rested a lot too. The weather has been beautiful though, so she played in the front yard a bit today. I think she looks so old in this picture!! Makes me sad!

Then I went to Beth Moore Bible study with 2 girlfriends at church. I have been enjoying them so far and looking forward to the rest of the study. Well, that't about it, time for bed.

In Sickness and in Health

It has been a rough weekend for us over here. The stomach bug has hit us all. It started on Wednesday. Poor little Cambry threw up 4 times throughout the day. She couldn't keep anything down. The next couples days she didn't eat too much, but seemed happy. I think now her appetite is back to normal.

Friday I woke up feeling so tired. I was dragging all morning and went back to bed during Cambry's first nap. I woke up feeling awful. I had a fever and was feeling extremely lethargic and so nauseous I could barely walk or stand. I basically just laid around all day watching Cambry play, turned on Dora the Explorer and tried to survive until her second nap when I went to sleep again. Greg came home from work as soon as he was able that afternoon. Saturday I was feeling less nauseous but still not very good. Today I felt better, and finally by this evening I am feeling pretty good. Hopefully tomorrow I will be back 100%.

But this morning poor Greg woke up with a fever. He was super nauseous too and feeling all the same symptoms that I had. He has had to lay around most of the day which is really hard for him. He is still feeling pretty bad now, but hopefully it will be much better tomorrow. I have been busy washing sheets and trying to disinfect our house today because this thing is just awful. I am very thankful though that it happened on a weekend and that we didn't all 3 get it on the same day.

During a brief period where Greg was feeling decent today we went to the backyard to get some fresh air. Cambry enjoyed it...in her PJs still in the late afternoon. And I might have been too...

13 Months

Cambry is 13 months! It seems like she has grown up and learned so many new things this month!

Skills: Walking! She walks all around and it is the cutest thing ever. This is now her primary mode of transportation. She falls a lot but cloth diapers provide good cushion :). She started doing the sign for "more" this month and now she does it constantly while eating. She even did it today in the bath when I asked if she wanted out or more bath. She gives kisses (sooo sweet). I think she can say dog now. She said it a lot the other day when Duma and Darby were here and she was watching them. Also, sometimes she will say no.

Likes: Pointing at everything. From the moment she wakes up she is pointing at something and whispering/babbling. She loves looking at books. She loves to sit on things. I plan on getting her a little chair but am still trying to decide which one to get. She likes pushing things around - push toys, bar stools  boxes, trashcans, etc. She likes taking things out of the dish washer. She loves waving and smiling to people - especially when out and about. She is starting to like (cow's) milk. At first she hated it, even warmed. So I started putting a little chocolate in it and warming it. She would take a few sips that way. Then she started liking it a little more. Now I have stopped putting chocolate in it but I still warm it. She doesn't drink a ton, but she is doing better and better.

Struggles: Vegetables. We are having a hard time getting her to eat veggies. The girl loves fruit, dairy, and sandwiches. Veggies, not so much. Also, working on the word "no", especially in regards to throwing food off her tray. She also will throw "fits" sometimes. It is pretty funny and not even a real fit - it usually lasts for just a few seconds. But if she gets frustrated sometimes she will fall face down and start kicking her legs. Isn't it hilarious how all kids know how to do this?

Schedule: She still takes 2 naps a day. She is down to nursing once a day (in the morning). Bedtime is still between 7:00-7:30 pm. She wakes up at a different time every day. Seriously. Sometimes she wakes up at 5:00 am to nurse and goes back down until 8:00 am. Sometimes she wakes up at 6:15 am for the day. The other day she nursed at 5:45 am, went back down, then I had to wake her up at 8:45 am because we had to be somewhere! Today she woke up at 7:15 am.

She is still just the sweetest little thing. I love her little personality. She is getting so big and her hair is growing like crazy and I feel like she looks less and less like a baby. Kinda sad but I love the little toddler she is turning into. We love our Cambry Paige!

Here are some recent iphone pics.

Taking things out of the pantry / Carrying my bag while pushing stool around

Bath time / Sneaking a graham cracker out of my diaper bag

On neighborhood watch / Pushing 2 toys at once

2 babies at once / Waiting to be pushed

Life Right Now

Sometimes in the evenings Cambry gets a little clingy. She wants me to just hold her. It makes prepping dinner and cleaning up the kitchen a little more difficult and things take a bit longer. Sometimes I can hardly take a step because she is holding on to me for dear life. But that's ok.

Greg took this picture and I think it is so sweet. It just sort of captures life right now. My little buddy. How I love her.

Thursday

Today was a fun and productive day. Nothing out of the ordinary, but a good day. This morning Cambry woke up around 6:30 am. Luckily Greg hadn't left yet so he got to see her for a few minutes. We played in the play room as usual, I fed her oatmeal, then she went down for a nap at 9:00 am. I made coffee, did some reading, put a load of diapers in, and prepped some food.

She woke up around 10:00 am. We played a bit more, then my friend Tammy and her little one Landon came over. He is just 2 weeks older then Cambry so we always have lots to talk about being at the same stage.

We watched the kids play and they headed home after lunch. Cambry went down for her nap at 2:00 pm. I did more food prepping, cooked some pears in the crock pot, and cleaned up the kitchen.

Cambry woke up at 3:00 pm. We played for a bit more, had a snack, then went for a walk. It was pretty cold so I bundled her up. We just walked down to our neighborhood park. We didn't stay long since it was cold, but she had fun.

We came home and Greg got home shortly after that. We played, had dinner, Greg bathed her, we put her to bed, and now we are relaxing. I have a great job :)

2012 Questionnaire

I am using these questions from Kelly's Korner.

1. What are you most thankful for?

Getting to stay at home with my little one.

2. What were the highlights of 2012 for you?

Our nephew Hayes being born in February, celebrating 4 years of marriage in March, taking Cambry to her first wedding and visiting our cousins Sandy and John in Austin in April, introducing Cambry to swimming and enjoying our Grosse Family Vacation to Surfside in June, getting to take some fun Mommy and Baby photos in August, going on a family trip to Asheville and visiting Waco family for Jill's shower in October, big family Thanksgiving in November, Cambry's first birthday party, all the fun Christmas festivities, and our nephew Anderson being born in December.

3. What are you hoping for in 2013?

Spending more quality time reading the Bible, learning to be a better wife and mom, getting more involved in our neighborhood moms group, going on another little family trip, working out consistently, and enjoying watching our little one grow.

4. What were some of your favorites of 2012? (Clothes, movies, songs, TV shows, ) 

Boots, skinny jeans, leggings, Parenthood, Downton Abby, Walking Dead (thanks to Jameson and Michelle!)

5. Who was God to you in 2012? 

God was my Provider, Teacher, Encourager, Strength.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year! We had a fun night last night celebrating the end of 2012 with our small group. I remember last year we hung out with our small group and we brought Cambry who was just a couple weeks old. She was so tiny and we carried her in car seat in her pjs and she got passed around. This year she was having fun playing with all the other babies.

The guys.

The ladies.

This is so cute. Jonathan is going to be a great Dad some day.

Justin stole the camera so we ended up with quite a few awesome pics like this, ha.

We tried to get Luke to dance.

Since the babies wouldn't last until midnight we did an early champagne toast with a fake countdown. I think most people with babies left around 9ish. We put Cambry to bed and then stayed up playing some games and actually made it to midnight!

This morning we slept in. Even Cambry did too! She woke up to nurse at 6:45am then went back to sleep until almost 9. Woo hoo! We went to breakfast at Buffalo Grille and then have just been hanging around the house the rest of the day. Happy New Year!