For Grandpappy Dave

This is E sporting a very special outfit from Grandpappy Dave. It reads "Someone Who Loves Me Went to Bass Pro Shop". Ain't she cute?

Peep Wars Part 2

Here's the video from Tournament 2005. Enjoy!

How Marshmallow Peeps Are Born

Easter is just around the corner and although this is hardly a significant portion of Easter... it has become a tradition in the Spencer-Bossert-Reyes household(s) to have Peep Wars. I'll get a movie up if 1) I can find it and 2) I have time to figure out how to get it online. Basically though, it's taking Peeps and modifying them with toothpick arms (for the fighting). Then popping them into the microwave (making sure you know which Peep is your fighter) and letting them go at each other (as they expand). The last one standing is the Easter Peep War Winner. Considerations for winning is mainly how unmangeled your Peep is in the end.

If you want to try this at home too, let me suggest a few things. 1) Use wax paper in the microwave, it's easier to clean than a plate with burnt marshmellows and sugar. 2) DO NOT microwave the peeps longer than 30 seconds... but really set it for something less and make sure you stop it in case anything does start to get brown and burnt. 3) Buy the cheapest peeps you can find, because it's lot so fun.. so the more the merrier... AND you're not going to eat them in the end anyways.

Also, on the topic of peeps... from a friend's blog... here's the story of how peeps are born... interesting, eh?

Crib Chilin'

Yesterday was the first night that E slept in her crib (for most of the night). She did much better than I thought she would. I don't think she even noticed that she had graduated to a much larger bed area that wasn't "closed" (compared to her bassinet) or that she was in a different room than us. She slept from about 8:30 pm to about 6pm... of which then she awoke, light starting to come through the window and she didn't want to sleep anymore. So then she came to our bed... where she still didn't sleep (and kept us up instead). Oh well. Not bad for the first night I'd say.

Hopefully over the next month she'll make the connection that her crib is for sleeping and napping. And by then, we'll hopefully have figured out "the way" to feed her and get her back into her crib without her waking up. Last night, we tried to change her diaper and feed her in her room... and then the plan was to have Ian put her back to bed. We were using the baby monitor to hear if she was awake, which worked find. Then Ian would take her to the other room to change her. Then I would follow and feed her... all in her own room. Then I was to "call" to Ian through the monitor on the other side of the room ,without waking E up, so that he could get back up (I know, hard awakening) and take her to put her to sleep. That didn't work. Ok, you're probably thinking.. "Why don't you (gilda) just put her down, if you're alerady up?" Well the short answers is because it's hard to get up with her (it takes both hands), discard of the boppy (without tripping on it or soemthing) and get her down all without waking her up ... on top of the fact that if she awakes (which is half the time), having daddy there instead of mommy-food-source helps in the going back to sleep process. So back to my story, ... so, both times when I tried to awaken Ian from across our apartment through the montior with no luck, I ended up having to get up off the futon ,where I was feeding E , while holding her up on the boppy (mind you, she was still attached and "eating") and walk down the hall to the other bedroom and physically get Ian up (usually with my foot, since my hands were occupied holding up E and the boppy).

Therefore, I conclude, it is time to formulate a new plan .. and tonight, hopefully, our new plan will work. We're aiming that by the time E turns 6 months old, she'll be sleeping exclusively in her crib and enjoying it too. That gives us just over a month to work out all the kinks and for her to get used to her new slightly more lit (from lights outside), slightly noiseier (but it's a good thing to be learn, to sleep with a little noise), room of her own. We'll see!

Sleepless nights and Frustrating days

The last few days have been hard hard days and nights. E has been a fussy, crying, needy and moody baby. Sure, she has her super happy moments... will play with us... and will even sit quietly in her BeBe Pod while we catch a bite to eat. But beware of the "turning"... where she becomes the inconsolable crying babe. No diaper change, no nursing, no rocking or toy will do. Actually diaper changes turn into wrestling matches (see below, her new "stomp" move), nursing becomes a teething chew time (ouch) and rocking becomes a power struggle. Add on the fact that she is pooping nonstop and with new larger diaper covers (she outgrew the last size) that means she is leaking everywhere (on to the couch, the bed, her clothes, our clothes, etc).

It all started last week when she woke up in the middle of the night at around 4 am and wouldn't go back to bed till her next feeding (that's about 2 hours). For some reason, she just wasn't sleepy and was hyper alert so even after Ian faithfully rocked her to slumber, she instantly awoke with a vengeance as she was put down in her bassinet. After several tries at this, we let her stay awake and then put her to bed at her next feeding. This has happened before, but it usually rectifies itself in a day or two. This time it didn't.

Then on Thursday she had her "4 month" set of shots. This gave her a mild fever and increased her hyper alertness and overall crankiness. We totally understood her poor mood and we consoled her as much as possible. The weather also started to get warmer... so she was just uncomfortable all the time. Poor baby. We still weren't so sleep deprived to not be frustrated long.

Then on Saturday night we had daylight savings time. Although it seems that babies shouldn't be cognisant enough to notice something as simple as daylight savings time, people swear that it throws off their babies already fickle sleep cycles. I don't know if it's true, but I won't discount it at this point.

And lastly, to top it off, E has discovered the strength of her legs. She was always a strong legged infant, pushing up to stand on us at 2 weeks old and pushing off anything she could get her feat on. BUT now she uses her legs to project herself "forward" (whichever way her head is pointed) while on her back... and uses her legs to roll herself from side to side (along with some 80s dance move with her head, even though she still can't turn completely over at will either way)... and uses her legs to forcefully "stomp" while lying on her back (meaning she'll lift her legs up so her feet are pointing towards the ceiling and then throw her legs down while arching her back, so her feet land on the floor/bottom of the bassinet/whatever surface she is on. This also can propel her "forward" several inches.) During the day (and not on the changing table when you're trying to get a diaper on her after an already frustrating day) this is very very cute and admirable (because it means she is growing and learning to be mobile, albeit all from a back lying position). Sometimes we actually just watch her and laugh. Though at night it's not welcome, especially after you've only gotten 6 hours of sleep for multiple days in a row.

And so, a week later, E is still getting up in the middle of the night... completely awake... refusing to sleep or worse, being very tired and still refusing to sleep. This has made for a very tired Mommy and Daddy (who was late for class today as he woke up really late)... and also a very short fused Mommy during the day. (SAHM know what I'm talking about - the times when you want to just leave your baby to cry in the crib so you can regain some sanity... or when you can't get your precious infant to stop fussing/crying and you've reached the point that it is making you simply mad - all to quickly melt away to being very protective and wanting again to make your dear babies tears disappear) To add to the sleepless nights is the overall frustrating days. It's not all day.. but one or two episodes of "crying because I'm tired but refusing to sleep" or "crying because I want to be held and entertained" even though I may already be holding and entertaining her... can sap all energy and desire to care for her. It's the "turning", from cute darling baby to crazed monster infant. How can she have so much crying fussiness energy!

P.S. OK.. I also want to add a disclaimer (although I think even without, this last week would still be remembered as being quite a hard week in the life of mommy- and daddy- hood) - I think I might be coming down with a cold or at least some allergies. I don't usually have any allergies... but sometimes when tired or sick I get more sensitive to stuff. Not to mention, everyone says living in Davis, even previously non-allergy prone people develop allergies. Sigh. Lately I've had a earache, my throat is often irritated, I've been sneezing and have a runny nose... all only on one side. So this could probably add to my poor mood. What a bad combination, poor condition mommy coupled with currently needy baby.

Laundry Laughs

Ian wanted to post about this yesterday, but never got around to it. It's really cute and just goes to show you how wonderfully exuberant and aware are little Ebean is! (too bad she can't always be this cute and happy)

Yesterday was laundry day. Our laundry was quickly piling over and her laundry basket was also full. Granted I had just gone looking (through our many boxes of donated clothes) for more long sleeves, because she kept dirtying them and it was still cold (last week). Now of course, once I did that, the weather has been in the 80s and we haven't needed a long sleeve onesie for a while and she's only been wearing short sleeve onesies just to keep her from overheating. All to say, we needed to do some laundry.

So Ian was kind enough to do laundry while I took care of E . After it was all done being washed and dried in our apartment laundry room, the pile of clean clothes was dumped on our bed where I proceeded to fold them. While I was folding and Ian was holding E ... we noticed that she was laughing. At what? At the clothes being shaken out to be folded. I think she thought I was playing with her and using the clothes as fun toys in front of her. (She is also starting to enjoy Peek-A-Boo behind a wash cloth.. so this was like Mega Peek-A-Boo I guess) It didn't matter what the "clothes" was or how I folded them.. the second I picked up a piece, she would laugh and squeal with delight. I guess it's a good thing she likes watching me do laundry because we'll be doing a lot of it... like again today (sigh, E accident in our bed)

The 4 Month Check-Up

So E had her 4 month check up today. She did well until the shots. But now she's good. Well, what everyone has been waiting for... her newest digits:

height - 25 and 1/4 inches
weight - 15 pounds and 1 oz

She's not as long as we thought, but definitely putting on the weight. She's at the 75% for both height and weight. Crazy, because she seems so tall. Maybe it's just her legs are so long (just like her mommy).

2007 Goals Revisted

In early January I blogged about my 2007 Goals (my "not resolutions"). Two months later I have to admit that so far I haven't done so well. So, in light of my "excuses" and maybe plain lack of resolution/energy (or something to that affect)... I decided that I really needed more people to know what my specific goals where. How else would I have accountability and how else would others know how I am really doing through this very big transitional time in our family's life.

My confession is that each day so far has been a huge struggle. Sometimes I am so tired, not so much physically as mentally and emotionally (although better eating habits and more exercise would probably help). And sometimes I am hindered by my need but evident lack of organization (Ian would say sometimes I'm a bit OC about having things clean or in their "right place"), time to self (I think all new moms and dads have a little less of this) and wisdom on how to correctly balance all that needs to be done for E , for Ian and for myself. Even though everyone says that a new baby turns your life around, taking care of E cannot be my "excuse" for not doing what I know I need to do. Honestly though, even before E was born I was not were I wanted to be (and I should probably say, knew I should be) ... spiritually or personally. I'm not just being "hard" on myself during a very life changing time... instead it is as apostle Paul wrote, I do what I do not want to do and do not do what I want to do. Instead, before E was born I let other "tasks" and ambitions take precedence to preparing for what I knew would need loads of prayer and strength beyond what I could come up with on my own. And now, I continue to find myself starting two steps behind and barely able to move myself forward, all the while still not doing what I want to do and doing what I do not want to do. (I know... again, me, trying to do it on "my own".) But don't get me wrong, all is not a "loss". God gives me grace!! E has grown so much! She is a wonderful baby girl! So full of joy (as her Chinese name says "Heart Full of Joy")! And just that fact is a testament that He works in her life (despite my "bad" parenting) and that He works in mine, too. E is very important (yes, and understandably taking care of her is very time consuming), but she cannot be my life. Only one should rightfully take that place... and if that is lost in my current season of life, than no matter how well I care for her, I am not taking caring of E the way I should be.

I don't want to make excuses or just "complain" about my current situation. I want to progress, even if it's excruciatingly slowly, in making this year a treasured and memorable year while still continuing to grow personally. So without further ado (and by all means - take this sharing of my list as permission to ask me about, "grill me" from time to time, or just keep me in your prayers)... here are my Goals for 2007:

• Have a mentor (and possibly mentor in turn) to talk through life with, to help keep me accountable, to encourage me to live life with excellence and joy.
• Memorize Romans. (I thought this would be easy since FBC is going through Romans, very thoroughly and slowly... but since I'm often in the cry room and can't hear the message or we're out of town.. I'm now about 2 chapters(!!) behind. blah)
• Read a Christian book a month (in order to spur on growth and thoughtful thinking of how I live). I've already chosen the 12. I didn't want to be overly ambitious.. plus I hope to really give myself time to process what I read.
• Enjoy E and really experience her as she grows up by documenting each significant milestone and all those lovely everyday moments through taking pictures, journaling and scrapbooking. Otherwise, with the current state of my ability to remember things, I will have forgotten what has happened and when. How sad a day it will be if I wake up one day next year and not have noticed where the year went.
• Get back into some kind of ministry. When I was pregnant, many ministries that I was part of went to the wayside. But I knew there would be a time that E would mature enough that I could and should again be part of the body of Christ, using my gifts. And even as a baby changes many things, it does not change my passions. Instead I need to discover how to be true to those God given desires with the season I find myself in.
• Create a doable prayer habit and prayer life with E . Prayer in my life is always on a roller coaster. But if there is one thing I would like to pass on to E , is a habit of prayer in all circumstances. So in order for that to happen, the model (Ian, me, others in her life) need to not just have a prayer life (as if it was a separate life.. or even part) but have a habit of prayer. I say "doable" because I can't be unrealistic in dreaming of a perfect prayer regiment... but instead I need to learn how to prayer in the everyday. Meaning prayer during the diaper changes, during her fussy days, etc.

That's all of them. Few and fairly simple... but not easy.

A Mobility Milestone

On Saturday... E turned over once from her tummy to her back all on her own. This was her first big milestone in being mobile. We returned her to her tummy to see if she would do it again (because I actually had missed it... Ian was watching her at the time). Alas, only one show for that day. Maybe today during her tummy time she will go again.

What a big girl! Soon, she'll be flipping back and forth and doing the "trying to crawl" butt in the air move. Oh my!

4 months old and sprouting!

Our baby girl is 4 months old this week!! Yes, time has flown by. In one aspect it's like she's been her for years and in another aspect it's like she's only been her a week. But when we read other people's blogs about their newborns (2 weeks old and another at 7 weeks old)... we think "oh yeah, she was that small too just a few weeks ago." Sometimes I can't believe how much (and how fast) she has grown... she doesn't seem to be "eating" that much. But alas all our pictures reveal her maturation into a mini-toddler (or you can say grown up infant...).

Oh, and a very cute antidote... Ian recently has been calling E a sprouting "carrot", which references her hair. I think it's also very fitting for how she has been growing. So she's 4 months old and sprouting! Next week we have our 4 month check-up with the doctor. We'll let you know how much she really has sprouted. My guestimate is that she is abot 15 pounds and 24-25 inches long. We'll see.

If she is hitting the 15 pound mark, we might have to "graduate" her to her crib sooner than we had planned. I recently took a look at the instruction manual for the bassinet that she sleeps in next to our bed, and it states to stop using it after the baby reaches 13 pounds or 3 months. Ooops. We could tell she would need to be moved sooner than later because she can almost reach one end with her feet and the other with her arms, but we thought maybe we could get another month or so out of it while we transition her to her crib AND subsequently to her own room!! I guess the bassinet would be unsafe for infants who can roll over. E can't yet. Of course, this could be hindered by the fact that she doesn't like tummy time and that she has very fat cloth diapers, that sort of prevent her from rolling her hips too well. Ha lol. Anyways, jthis move will be a big step... for her to move to another room. At least just in the last week she's been napping better during the day... (We can actually put her down! Even if she still only sleep 30 minutes. It seems like a lot longer 30 minutes when she's lying down by herself than when she's in our arms)... I guess it's time to start getting her to associate her own crib as a sleepy place, and not just our room and her bassinet (or our bed). Although for Ian and I, that will make the nighttime wakings harder to deal with (and harder to hear).

Then after this next "challenge", we'll be just about at the time to start trying to give her solids or be combating teething pains. Oh the joy of childrearing! :) Fun (ok, sometimes fun... sometimes not so fun, ha lol) and challenging at every turn.

Here's a picture of E "sprouting". We just love her hair!

And another picture of her, Ian and our newly organized pantry of games.

Really, it is organized and not as full as it used to be... it might be hard to tell, but the other 60% of our games are now in boxes in another closet. E is asking, "Anyone want to come over and play some with us??"