Word!

I know, lame title. But seriously, i'm so excited to document this post today. Case is finally saying more than just "dada" and "mama." It's so cute! His new favorite words are "Whaaaaaaatttt??" "Ha" (for hot) and "mo" (for more.) Usually when he says "mo" he also signs it. I'm a complete sucker for him and I love it! He just melts my heart every single day. Oh, and since we're talking about melting, yeah....that's another thing that started. Casey's new MELTDOWNS. Sigh...
They usually occur when we won't let him go outside to play. We keep calling him Mowgli (from the Jungle Book) because the kid could live outside and never come back indoors if he had it his way. I've discovered his new happy place: in the driveway naked and playing with the water from the hose. I can keep him entertained for so long! It's perfect for these crazy hot Texas days.

I'm loving this stage because he's silly and makes us laugh. He's learning new words and loves to help me cook in the kitchen. I spend so much time in the kitchen that I'm learning new ways to involve him. I'll let him play with my measuring cups and spoons and he'll help me stir things on the stove. He knows very well what "hot" means and he's very careful. Such a smart boy! He's also turned into such a sweet cuddler! Priceless moments. Oh, and dare I even mention that he sleeps from 7:30 or 8 p.m. until anywhere form 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. I feel so grateful to have a champion sleeper especially with all my chronic fatigue . He also just cut his second tooth. I know, we're taking our sweet time with teeth! So far, he hasn't seemed bothered with any pain.

We're officially done nursing. He had weaned himself back to once a day around 13.5 months. He was nursing just once in the morning for about a month since then. It was funny to me that he never wanted to nurse at night. He wakes up so hungry everyday so I think that's why. But it just seemed like it was time to be done. I'm feeling more energized and he doesn't seem to miss it. I think that's also why he cuddles me in bed in the morning. He used to associate our bed in the mornings with his a.m. nursing session. I have REALLY struggled with hormones (from pregnancy and post while nursing) so I went as long as I could. I think almost 15 months is about as good as I could have hoped for! I do miss it, but I think it's the best decision for both of us.

Has anyone else felt like nursing took/takes so much out of them? It didn't matter how much I ate, it was really hard on my body. But you do what you can!

The Greater Good

Photo courtesy of Getty Images/Jeffrey Hamilton/Lifesize

I hesitate to follow up on my last vaccine post that I ultimately removed, but I believe in the power of learning from one another. Again, my goal is for this topic to not create an atmosphere of frustration and/or anger. I only want to share resources that I believe are informative and helpful for parents.

If you haven't seen the documentary called The Greater Good, I highly recommend it. Though it certainly leans more towards the opinion on questioning vaccine safety, it does an excellent job of including science, medicine, concrete statistics and personal stories. It also covers the personal and medical opinions of those on both sides of the debate in a very respectful manner. My only regret is that the vaccine debate has become black and white when there is actually a lot of grey. It's important as parents to consider family history, genetic conditions and other health concerns before vaccinating according to AAP standards. While the AAP recommendations are a "one size fits all" type of medical approach to vaccines, this is not always realistic. Every child is different and every family has a different medical history.

If you'd like to watch the full-length version of The Greater Good online, you can do so HERE via youtube.

For further information on vaccines, you can visit the CDC web site and other helpful resources. And as always, I recommend reading information from both side of the topic in order to decide what's best for your family.

Taking a breather

I spent the last 3 weeks or so out of the "blogosphere" to spend much needed time with family. The funny thing is, I wasn't in Olympia for more than a few days since we ended up going camping in the RV with my parents at Lake Chelan. We even got to enjoy a beautiful winery. It was my kind of vacation! Casey and I flew out to Seattle at the beginning of July and spent two week with my family before Aaron joined us for the third week. We got to enjoy time out on Whidbey Island with the Meredith family for a reunion and we had such a blast! Casey loved meeting lots of cousins. He really loves other kids. He's a very social boy - much like his mama!

Casey is offically walking as of July 4. Let me tell you, he's on the GO! He has very good balance for such a new walker, but we do have a few bruises to show for our new skill. He's sleeping SO SO SO WELL. I had to stress that. I realize that can change at any moment, but I'm wondering if it has to do with all of this walking. He's wearing himself out big time! He would go down between 8 and 9 p.m. while out of town and sleep sometimes until 9 a.m. I bet I woke up before him about seven times while we were gone. He even did well in the motorhome. Ok, it helps that BaBa (grandpa) has air conditioning and a flat screen TV. My parents "camp" in style! Casey has always been a pretty good sleeper, but we've reached a new level of  "pretty good!" Waking up before your baby is heaven. Can I get an AMEN?! He talks (or should I say babbles) from the time he wakes up to the time he goes to sleep. It's so cute! He'll really get on a roll and wave his arms around too. Almost as though he's commanding an entire audience. He loves to say, "Oh oh oh" and pucker his lips together. He waves when he wants to and gives hugs when he's in the mood. Just a busy boy! We love him so much.

not your average grilled cheese!

Our good friends, the Andresens, gave us a subscription to Parents Magazine as a baby shower gift before Casey was born. I love reading their recipes and craft ideas for kids. They also have some hilarious articles and I'm always up for a good laugh. Parenting requires a sense of humor, does it not?

In this month's issue, I came across a new way of making grilled cheese. I didn't follow the suggested recipe to a "T" but it sure did give me a new idea. So I took the recipe and tweaked it a bit. This is what I came up with: (It's delish)

*Sliced bread of your choice (I used whole grain/wheat)
*1 apple sliced thinly with skin on (I used organic Pink Lady)
*Havarti Cheese (I used sheep milk feta for Casey)
*Seasoned organic grilled chicked - small cubes
*Organic spinach
*Organic unsalted butter on one side of each bread slice

Put all ingredients together between the bread slices and grill in a pan on each side until golden brown. Voila!

Spaceman Turns ONE!

Oh my goodness, our sweet, silly boy is ONE! This past year has been full of fun, hard work, lack of sleep, tears, giggles and more. What a wild ride - one that we would do all over again in heartbeat. The good with the bad! Casey, you are the joy on an average day; the smile in saddness and the love when our lives wanted more. You're so much more than we could have imagined or hoped for. Everything about you just melts our hearts and we can't get enough...ever! Daddy and I love you so, so much.

We had a bunch of our friends over to celebrate Casey's space-themed birthday. It was so much fun watching the kids gather around Casey as he dove into his cake! My parents and sister flew into town and we had a wonderful weekend together. We really missed Aaron's parents, but they're in the process of moving from Anchorage Alaska to Seattle. Woo hoo!! We encouraged friends not to bring presents for Casey, but suggested their favorite book if they want to bring something. He got some really great reading material to add to his library! I really love that he got a book from my friend Hadie (who is Puerto Rican) that teaches basic words in spanish. I hope Casey will pick up on some of the words.

I took Casey in to see a new doctor who is supportive of us delaying more vaccines, at least for a while. The doctor weighed him in at close to 21 lbs. We figure he weighs a bit more than that because he was sick with a 103 fever for 5 days before that appointment and wasn't eating solids. But I made sure to nurse him every 2-3 hours to keep him hydrated. He's a growing boy!

Food: He's starting to dislike certain foods. He used to eat anything! Bummer. He doesn't seem to like chicken anymore and will only sometimes eat ground beef. He LOVES hummus, coconut milk and fresh coconut milk/fruit smoothies, avocado, salmon (woo hoo!), bananas, grapes, peaches and more. Still no teeth! Silly boy. :-)

Development: He discovered how to say "no" by shaking his head back and fourth. Of course! He also loves to clap, especially when we say, "Yay Casey!" He's very proud of himself. It's too cute! He hasn't always been too much of a cuddler (he's on the go and busy!) but lately he loves to cuddle with us. If we lay on the floor, he'll come over and lay his head down and wait for us to pat his back. MELT ME. He also says, "Ohhhhhhh", "Baaabaa" we think either for "ball" or to say grandpa's name which we say a lot (my niece Addie has always called him BaBa.) He says "mama" and "dada" very well, but usually only says mama when he wants something. He's a smart boy! I had been working on teaching him "more" in sign language and he finally did it for my sister over his birthday weekend. Hooray! Lots of fast crawling, climbing and pulling up, but no walking yet!

 Casey LOVED his spaceship cake. He smashed it to pieces and we ended up hosing him off!

 Proud of his cake defeat!

 Spaceship cake and one-eyed martians! We used fruit candy canes, marshmallows, cake paint and candy eye balls.

 "The spread" along with cupcakes for all the guests.

Aaron and I made Casey his very own jetpack to fly to the moon!

Vaccinations

*I have made the decision to delete my recent post on vaccines. I want to thank everyone for their input, but I felt that it was turning into too much of a debate. My intention with the post was not to create an atmosphere for frustration, but I had hoped it would be an informative post. I always welcome different opinions from my own but feel this is the best decision. It was certainly interesting hearing from people in support of vaccinating children as well as those against it.

This is not a cut and dry topic at all, so please be informed before making a decision regarding your child(rens) healthcare and know that you are your child's best advocate.

Breastfeeding in Mongolia

This is such a great article, I HAD to share!

"Yeah...Let's just talk later..."

Does anyone else feel so completely different from their husband?? I mean aside from the obvious MAJOR differences (just use your imagination, ok?) Aaron and I - well, we are not the same. Aaron is a very gentle soul who thinks a lot but says very little. I'm fairly certain that it's not because he has little to say, he just keeps things to himself most of the time. Aaron is perfectly content curling up in a chair and reading through an entire 1000 page book in one day. It's truly a beautiful thing that MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME.

I, on the other hand, go one day stuck inside my house and i'm jumping up and down about getting out to the grocery store. I start talking to the boy stacking apples in produce about how nice the weather is - he starts to think i'm crazy for sure, but he smiles and keeps nervously stacking. And to the woman placing her items on the checkout belt behind me about "how good that chocolate cake looks." "By the way, are you celebrating someone's birthday tonight? My son will be one in just about a month!" (Fight back tears while talking to stranger...FIGHT BACK TEARS WHILE TALKING TO STRANGER.) Yep, Aaron and I are very different.

Really, though. I love those things about Aaron. I really do. I find it amazing that someone can love so much quiet time to themselves. Introverts: How DO you DO it?? Can you teach me? Darn, probably not.

Sometimes I get down-right pissed, but other times (like today), I simply hang up the phone and chuckle after a conversation like this with my husband:

Me: Calling Aaron....

Aaron: Monotone - "Hello."

Me: "Hey....uhh, Casey hasn't slept much today. I don't know what's going on but I wish I had done something about those fire ant bites a few days ago. I wonder if they're getting really itchy and bothering him. (Side-note: I know, we're terrible parents for not watching him close enough to know he had crawled into fire ants in our backyard. Ugh.)

Aaron: "Hmmm.."

Me: "Can you come home earlier than last night? I'm trying to get shishkabobs ready, but it's not going so well with a screaming child..."

Aaron: "Sure."

Me: "Oh by the way, I called and exterminator to come out tomorrow and get the critters out from our walls (another story for another day). They said it could be rats, or snakes, or squirrels, or...something else. AHHHHH!!!!" *Very dramatic.

Aaron: Silence...

Aaron: Silence...

Aaron: Silence...

Me: "Yeah...let's just talk later."

Aaron: "Ok."

I think i'll go read "Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus" now. Marriage is such a beautiful, strange thing. :-)

Love and Diapering

I titled this post "love and diapering" but it encompasses two things about my heart: my love for people and my love for cloth diapering. How can someone love cloth diapering so much? Well, it saves us a ton of money, is good for the environment and is so very healthy for babies. Have you ever read about the chemicals found in disposable diapers? Eek. In case you were curious, Casey has never had a diaper rash. Ok, he had ONE, but that was in Hawaii when we were using disposables - ah ha. Sure, he's had some redness here and there, but that's common depending on what babies eat.

Those of you who know me, you know how much I genuinely love people - all people in all walks of life. No need to explain myself here. :)

One reason (of many) why I'm passionate about cloth diapering is because of what it means for LIFE. Ok Jenny, what on earth do cloth diapering and life have in common? Well, while working with women in unplanned pregnancies, I heard many women say in the counseling room that they wanted to end their pregnancy because they didn't have any money. Guuuhhhh - SINKING HEART. God forbid we ever put a dollar amount on a precious human life. But in some ways I really GET IT. I think there's certainly a flaw in thinking here, but on the other hand I truly have compassion for people who are financially strapped. Those of us who have babies know that they don't come cheap! Money does not provide happiness, but it does provide comfort. When there isn't enough in the bank account, we can be robbed of peace and joy. It's a vicious thing, but so common. I read this study by Huggies that revealed that many low income women/men/families are using hair dryers to dry out disposable diapers in order to reuse them because they don't have money to buy more. This is such an unsafe practice and a huge health hazard for babies! This breaks my heart. While many who use disposable diapers hate buying them, there are other people who simply can't buy them at all. I've also been reading that the government may provide cloth diapers through WIC, but i'm not sure how likely that is. Oh how I wish! I would support this 100%.

I've been thinking about somehow getting involved in teaching cloth diapering classes for free to low income parents. I want to get more involved in my community here in Texas. I want to help people in practical ways. I'm currently researching and hoping something will come of this.

Do you have any ideas to pass along to me??

10 Months!

I've been pretty behind on Casey's monthly updates, but I'm really trying not to beat myself up over this. He's just over 10 months and such a funny little guy! I love this first picture of him because it captures his favorite past-time...eating! Caseman looooooves to eat! He has such an appetite. I'm thinking that he eats more than I do in a meal. He's also still nursing about 5 times a day. Yes, clearly he loves food! He's growing so fast and we've noticed him getting heavier and heavier. I'm wondering what he weighs now. He's got to be well past the 20 lb. mark! He makes all kinds of noises when he eats. He screams and growls when he wants more. He's really into feeding himself, but if he runs out of food he makes these trademark noises to let me know, "Mama, I want MORE!" It's so funny! He's crazy. :)

So far he loves: Avocado, banana, egg yolk, pumpkin, ground turkey, beef, chicken, greek yogurt, kefir, mama's homemade blueberry flax bread (paleo/gluten-free), quinoa noodles, apple granola bars, yogurt melts, rice, hummus, and more. We've yet to find something he won't eat. Food is FUN!

We've now removed the tray from his chair and we pull him right up to the table. Thank goodness for this food mat! It's perfect on our table and makes clean-ups much easier. We also take it with us when we eat out.
It's a challenge to get this busy boy to look at the camera these days!

Easter 2012

Casey is officially a go, go, go kind of baby! He crawls everywhere, pulls up on furniture and cruises. Sometimes he'll let go all together and then his eyes get big when he realizes he isn't holding anything. Then he'll grab a piece of furniture really fast. It's so cute! We think he might be walking sooner than later. He gets into stuff he knows he's not supposed to. It's frustrating but funny all at the same time. He loves to go for the wine rack. I know we could move it or block it with a gate, but we've decided to go the "no touch" route. We want him to learn that just because something is out, there are just some things you "don't touch." He knows the wine rack is off limits (it isn't something he can pull on top of himself) and that's exactly why he goes for it. As he crawls over to it, he looks back at me with squinted eyes and a smirk. It's like he's saying, "Heyyyyy mom! Look what i'm doing! Try and stop me!" Their strong little wills come out quickly! We're officially chasing him down everywhere. It's a good workout for us! We know we're getting more to the point of shaping and disciplining. I'm pretty sure this will be the most challenging part of parenting, but we're up for the challenge. We love our Caseman so much!

Casey, you are so much fun and we love being your parents. I love my mommy time with you during the day. We went out the other day on a "date" and got matching Toms shoes. Then we shared lunch and you ate most of it! You love your daddy so much. The two of you run around the house and explore outside when he gets home from work. You love digging around in the grass and getting dirty. You're the sweetest boy in the world! We love you more than you could ever imagine.

Birthday Planning!

Ideas courtesy of this site

I can hardly believe that we're less than two months away from celebrating our sweet boy's 1st birthday. It's so cliche to say that time flies. Of course it does! I think I'm more in awe of the milestone. Casey is turning into such a handome, funny little boy! We see more and more of his unique personality with each day. We love waking up in the morning and hearing him playing the music on his "stuffies" (teddy bears) from his crib. He "ooohs and ahhhhs" as they sing. It cracks us up!

Whenever you have a baby, you come up with the silliest nicknames. We have at least 3 for Case. Just the other day, Aaron was commenting that we better call him by his real name or else he'll think his name is "Little Man", "Caseman" or "Spaceman!" I also call him "stinky-stink" or "Stinker-stinks" sometimes. I know, it sounds mean but I say it in a very endearing tone! His nursery smells like pee every morning when we get him up. I mean, the kid sleeps in the same diaper for 12-14 hours straight! I remember my niece's room smelling the same way. My sister called her, "Pee-pee long stocking." :) Yes, we're pretty weird as parents, aren't we?

The nickname that has really stuck since day one is Caseman Spaceman. I'm not completely sure where this came from other than that it rhymes. Aaron started it - I know that for sure! So it made sense that he would be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween. And now for his 1st birthday, we will be celebrating "spaceman" style with an outerspace theme. I've been surfing Pinterest and have found so many ridiculously cute ideas. In fact, I came across a few things I could print for free! I'm already well on my way to having this party planned. I can see it all in my mind and I can't wait. I'm even going to attempt my own home-made spaceship cake. Wish me luck!

Toy Storage - Pinterest Inspired

I've been eyeing this Pinterest project for WEEKS and I finally got motivated to make it happen. For $15 dollar and only about 20 minutes of work, I think it was worth it. Read below about how I made it . It's super easy - trust me!
You'll need 6-10 buckets. I found these at Target in the Dollar Spot. Perfect! But i'll warn you: I was going for 10 but could only track down 7 in San Antonio (thankfully all at the location by our house.) But after asking other stores, they were completely sold out. I doubt anyone else used them for this purpose since they're drink buckets, but seriously...how handy are these?? Using only 6 still worked just fine for our toy storage needs.

Just grab your husband's drill and switch out the drill bit to this:

One with a pointed tip is what you want to use so that you can drill right throught the plastic. I just lined the buckets up how I wanted them and eyed it. You could mark where you want the holes with a pen or marker. After drilling the holes, use zip ties (I didn't take a picture of this because it's pretty self-explanatory) to hook the buckets together. It's easy as pie.

I'm using it up-right to also block our fire place from a curious little boy, but it's really cool laying flat as well.

Can I just mention that the original Pinterest pin came with a price tag - from the company who came up with the idea - of $200. How crazy is that?! I wish I had come up with this idea first! Gotta love Pinterest.

Not Keeping Up

...with the Joneses that is. With this whole connecting through social media fad (sadly, it's the way I stay connected with most people since becoming a new mom, moving, etc.), it's easy to look at status updates and think everyone else has it all together except you. The truth is, I don't and I know everyone else doesn't either. Relief! Life isn't easy for us right now. I say "us" but it's probably mostly me. I have a bad attitude and I know it! Aaron is traveling constantly right now. He's home one week this month. When he travels, it isn't just a few days. He's gone all week and over two weekends. I never imagined having a baby and feeling like a single mom. This isn't intended to be a slam on Aaron. He's the most amazing, loving father and husband, but it doesn't change the fact that when he's gone, I feel very much alone. I know I've said in the past that I wouldn't talk about this because I have military friends who might roll their eyes at me. I respect what they have gone through and are, in some cases, currently going through. I get that and my heart bleeds compassion for them! But each person has their struggles and it isn't really right to stack them up against each other. We don't live anyone else's life, we live our own. Aaron served his time, and to tell you the truth, we made a decision for him to get out because we wanted to spend more time together. Well, yeah....You can probably guess what I was gonna say!

Aaron works so hard and has the best attitude. I wish it would rub off on me more! I'm easy going, but I hate it when things don't go the way I had imagined. IT SUCKS. I'm working on this, but i'm still very much in process.

I'm currently in a season of deep soul searching. Here are a few things i'm wrestling with - in no particular order:

1) What it means to be a supportive wife, but also honest
2) How to overcome obstacles without compromising my character
3) How God can use me even as a stay at home mom (who has no current desire or need to work)
4) How to build deep friendships while my time is very consumed with raising one under one and the hopes of more
5) What God really says about sin through His word
6) Specifically, how does God want us to feel about homosexuality and respond to it (I really HATE that it's stacked up as the worst sin, along with other types of sexual sin)
7) How to not hold other people to what I believe is right or wrong and simply meet them where they're at in their life
8) To not feel guilty about my lack of Bible knowledge. I'm currently reading throught the entire New Testament and getting so much out of it. I've come to grips with the fact that I've placed too much trust in what I've heard form everyone else, but not from my intimate relationship with God Himself
9) Accepting and LOVING that we're in Texas for many reasons, even if it's soley to learn lessons. But I also believe there must be someone or people here to minister to
10) Wanting to be less of a "conditional" person. For example, feeling happy when good things are happening. I think you can probably get what i'm saying here
11) Not living in FEAR that time is wasting away - esp. with Casey. I spend so much time trying to keep my head above water and feeling stressed, but I know i'm missing out on certain things. It makes it even worse that I recognize this!
12) Being less political in my thoughts and more passionate about individual things and a reflection of JESUS in what I do and say

Clearly i'm anxious about being anxious about being anxious.....I sound like a lunatic. HA! I guess I could say I'm also working on not caring so much about what others think of me. ;)

Well, how's that heavy load for a Friday night?! Am I the only one that feels the weight of the world sometimes? What struggles do you have?

Aloooha!

We're back from Hawaii and had a terrible time. KIDDING! But of course you knew that. ;) Wow, a lot has happened since my last post. Aaron's travel schedule has gotten nuts, so we actually flew out to WA to see family before we flew out of Seattle for Kona. We had to change our flights a bit to accomidate Aaron's last minute work adventures ("adventure" is a great word to describe this new job!) but all worked out well in the end. Plus any reason I can find to visit family is always fine with me. We just realized that Casey has now flown for the 12th time. Can you tell we live far away from family or what?! He's a great little travel companion.

I won't go into too much detail about our vacation because it will only make you jealous, i'm just sure of it. Plus it was much more fun to live it than to type it or for anyone else who wasn't there to have to read it. How about I just suggest that you take a trip to Hawaii?! We visited the big island and stayed "local" style in a family friend's home. It was truly such a wonderful getaway. Aaron's parents were gracious enough to invite us to crash their 2.5 weeks vacation for a week. We can't thank them enough!

Since my last update, Casey turned 8 months. He's now eating more "man" food. He had some quinoa noodles with tomato sauce and BEEF...small bits. ;) My dad will be so proud. He also started saying, "mamamama" and "dadadada." I think he just likes the sound of both, but of course it melts our hearts! For Aaron's credit, he started saying dada first. My husband is very competative!

Here are a few pics - out of TONS of great ones - to highlight our last few weeks:

I know, we really do have the cutest kid on the block!

Would you believe that this is a shot of our FIRST real date since Casey was born?! Yeah, I don't recommend waiting that long. Aaron's parents took Casey for the day while we lived the life on the beach in Kona and then went out to see Polynesian dancing. Aaron also treated me to fancy drinks and good food at a restaurant on the beach. It was UH-MAZING to say the least. Casey was a stinker and wouldn't take the bottle, so he didn't eat until we got home. He's clearly stubborn and doesn't get that at all from me.......hmmmm........

We visited the southern-most point in the USA and had to take a cheesy, touristy picture of course. We saw a huge pod of whales. No joke, tourists pay hundreds to go whale watching in Hawaii this time of year. We saw ours for free. It was so thrilling and I wonder if I'll ever see anything like it again in my entire life! Seriously. It made me want to be a oceanographer. Is it too late to go back to school??

My Confession

I've often patted myself on the back for not ever (not even once!) signing my name with my maiden last name since the day Aaron and I were married. I've still never done it, but I may have recently done something even worse.

I've been wanting a monogrammed bag from lands end like this one for a few years. I just love that the style is timeless, they literally are supposed to last a lifetime and they can be used for a million different things - traveling, beach, groceries, diaper bag, etc. Well, with our Hawaii trip for Aaron's big 3-0 around the corner, I thought this was just the perfect time to get the bag I've always wanted. As a bonus, they were on sale. I really wanted a bag that zipped that would be perfect for holding all our stuff to take to the beach. So I went to the Lands End site and began processing my order. As I anxiously awaited my bag in the mail, it finally arrived on Saturday (hooray!) But my excitement was crushed when I pulled the bag out only to read my monogrammed initials as "JMG." Ugh, are you serious, Jenny?!?!?!? You haven't been "JMG" in nearly 4 years.

Lesson learned: Never make a special order that is non-returnable while your husband is on business travel the entire week, you're sleep deprived and you have a sick baby. BUMMER.

At least the bag is still totally fashionable.

Casey at the Bat

It's funny how many comments we've gotten about Casey's name. Most people say, "Oh that's a cute name." Sometimes people have the guts to say, "Hmm, I mostly know girls with the name Casey." I can honestly tell you that I'm not offended because everyone has name associations. And just for the record, all the people Aaron and I have known with the name Casey are guys. But, sometimes we'll get, "Oh, yeah, like Casey at The Bat." YES! The classic poem by Ernest Thayer was one of Aaron's favorites while growing up. For those of you who don't know, Aaron has been dubbed "the walking sports almanac" by many who know him. He can tell you sports stats from long before he was even born. So being the sports fanatic that he is, it makes complete sense to us that our son would have a name with a sports connotation! You can read about Casey at the Bat here.
If you take the time to read it, (or even if you don't, i'll just tell you!) Casey actually strikes out at the end. People have cracked jokes about this. We've heard, "Wait, but doesn't Casey strike out?!" Yes. Yes, he does. But one of the biggest lessons we want Casey to learn in life is that he won't "win" all the time. In fact, he's guaranteed to strike out in life probably more times than he'll actually win. But this is one of the best ways to learn and grow. Now don't get me wrong, I would disappoint Aaron if I didn't say that we certainly want Casey to TRY and win each and every time. That is true. But we don't want him to have the false idea that it's always a successful attempt. It takes a lot of faith, hard work and dedication to succeed in life and life is filled with painful disappointments as well as celebrated achievements.
I want to include an article Aaron's dad had published in their local newspaper in Alaska. It speaks to what i'm saying here, but on an even deeper level. Truthfully, I nodded in agreement as I read this article for the first time. But as a mother who loves her son with wild abandon, my heart also broke. Life is HARD. And no one gets a free pass.

Hello?

I had "always" planned on being good about updates on Casey after each month. Alas, as real parenting would have it, the blog falls to the bottom of my list. Not because I don't enjoy blogging, but it just isn't a #1 priority. With that being said, I of course missed posting about Casey's 7 month birthday. So no cute picture with a sticker. Did I honestly think I could keep this up every month?! Here it goes:

Big changes have happened with Casey. Aaron and I have actually seen him change the most we've seen yet. Crazy! He sits up completely on his own, eats various foods (and LOVES them all), plays by himself (mommy appreciates this for showering!), giggles 'til the cows come home, has much longer hair that now spikes (if you've seen ads for the new TinTin movie coming out, his hair looks just like that!) and is seriously working on some teeth. No teeth yet, but my goodness it's gotta happen soon. Teething is the pits!! Poor kid. Truthfully, poor US too. We've entered the world of "real food poop" and still love cloth diapering. Some people in my family who will go unnamed were holding bets that we'd stop once he had his first really nasty poo. Sorry to disappoint! Still lovin' the cloth, y'all. In fact, we've now done two successful trip away still using cloth. We leave for Hawaii for Aaron's 30th birthday with his parents next month, and on that trip we'll be doing disposables. Not too bad though, eh?? Poor little Caseman Spaceman is very congested these days thanks to all the mountain cedar growing behind our house. Yeah, no one told us BEFORE moving to San Antonio that we'd be miserable along with everyone else in this city from December through February. Yuck!

Other than happenings with Casey, Aaron is doing really well in his new position. He has a lot more responsibility now managing an entire office of engineers. I'm really proud of him! I only wish we could see him more. He has a busy schedule and travels to different Air Force bases every month to oversee projects. This month he will be gone two weeks. I will NOT post my complaints here considering that two weeks pales in comparison to what a lot of my friends have gone through with deployments. So, in an effort to maintain my friendships, I will keep all complaints to myself. :) On the up-side, I'm involved in MOPS, a Bible study at our church and a library reading/play group. I added the play group under what i'm doing rather than what Casey's up to because I think the moms enjoy this group more than the kids do! I still don't have a really close friend or anything here yet, but I trust it will happen with time. I just need that one person I really connect with. Don't all of us women need that? I sure think so.

Urgent

Please pray for baby Anna. You can read about her story here. This is a family from back home in Washington (Alissa and my mom served together for a while in the pregnancy center ministry.) All those who love and trust in Jesus, PLEASE pray for a miracle.

Wanna See My Crib?

I've promised a few friends that I'd post pictures of Casey's nursery. It isn't anything fancy, but we're not too into flashy, so this is just right!

One of daddy's vintage fishing signs and lots of books that he read when he was a little guy. We love having old things with so many meaning and history behind them!

Can't forget Mr. sock monkey!

This is a quilt that was made for Aaron before he was born. A few friends and family of the Meredith family each designed their own square. This is so special that we had to hang it on the wall.

Has anyone else noticed that there just aren't any cute laundry hampers out there?? This is the old one Aaron and I used (we got a new one.) Thankfully I could reuse it in Casey's nursery! It's just your basic yellow.

If we were living in a house that was our own, I'd probably do some more to the nursery. But considering that we'll move out of this house eventually - and hopefully into one of our own sooner than later - I don't want to have to repaint, patch, etc! We're just thankful that Casey has a roof over his head and a peaceful place to sleep. Oh, I should mention that since feeding him a few solids, he's been sleeping straight through the night from about 7 to 7. THANK YOU LORD!

Yum Yum!

So as mentioned in my post over the weekend, we were waiting a little longer before feeding Case his first foods. BUT, he's ready. He actually woke up choking during his nap today because he's still having acid reflux issues. I'm hoping that some solid foods will settle his stomach. As seen in this video eating his first solid - whole grain rice cereal...He's hooked! I know it's long (mostly for the grandparent's viewing pleasure.)

Half-Year Gone By

It's absolutely insane that Casey is already a half-year old. Yesterday we celebrated 6 months with our sweet boy! We, of course, took him to see all the great fishing gear at the Bass Pro Shop. Ok, really we went to see Santa (it was free!) but Aaron may or may not have had alterior motives. ;) I think this picture of my two boys is probably one of the cutest we have. I love it! I just want to document all the things Casey is doing right now!

{Rolling both ways - but he often needs a little help rolling from back to front, though.}

{Giggling! Lots of giggles. We love these happy sounds! He laughs the most at his daddy.}

{Sleeping without the swaddle. I admit, I kinda miss my cute little baby burrito!}

{Spitting. You know, all the silly habbits boys have!}

{Drinking water out of mommy's Camel Back bottle. He LOVES to do this!}

{Teething, but we haven't seen any white just yet!}

{Sitting up - But we're still working on bettering this skill. He falls over a lot.}

{Riding in his car seat without crying!! I'm not sure what happened, but all of a sudden he turned into a happy car-riding baby around 5.5 months. hooray! That was painful for a while...}

{Holding and playing really well with his toys.}

{Reading! Ok, so obviously he doesn't read himself, but he LOVES when we read to him. He even grabs the pages and makes sounds like he's trying to!}

{Sleeping full-time in his crib. I've tried to co-sleep with him after Aaron leaves for work, but believe it or not he really prefers his crib! It's definitely true that your baby can communicate their preferences.}

What he's not yet doing:

{Eating solid foods. I've started making and freezing quite a bit, but we're in no hurry. He'll have the rest of his life to eat food and for now we're all happy with nursing! Aaron and I also want him to be able to sit up more independently before we take this big step.}

{Sleeping completely through the night. He wakes up usually around 4 or 5 a.m. for a feeding, but then goes back to sleep until 8 or so. The "cry it out" method does NOT work on this child. But we're ok with that because I've read a lot about how it isn't always healthy. Plus, he doesn't usually wake up and cry unless he's really hungry. I will not be depriving my baby of food!}

We have his 6-month checkup next week with a new pediatrician in town. We're pretty curious what he weighs. He's a big healthy boy!

Longie Love!

Have I ever mentioned how much I LOVE knit-wear?! I'm so blessed to have a sweet MIL who can literally knit with her eyes closed. I'm working on my own skills, too, but so far I haven't come up with anything blog worthy! I know I've referenced diaperswappers.com before, but I can't say enough just how much I love this web site. They have a great WAHM wears section (work at home mamas) and I came across another mama whose boys had outgrown these longie-alls. She shipped these all the way from Alaska for a steal of a deal. Aaron's mom has also hinted that I have another pair of knit/wool longies coming from Alaska for Casey around Christmas.

Speaking of Aaron's mom, she sent us a box of Christmas goodies for our first Christmas with Casey. We got an Advent calendar and she also sent this sweet tree hat that she made. I mean, seriously, how much cuter can it get?! It's even adorned with little bells at the top.

Our good friend Erica made this adorable stocking for Casey before he was even born. It's perfect! And I think Casey likes it. Santa's beard is made out of super soft, fluffy yarn and the little man loves to feel it. I hope he likes the santa man in real life because we're planning to take him to get pictures within the next few weeks. I can't wait!

It's so special to be entering this Christmas season and starting our own family traditions. My mind is flooded with memories of my own childhood. Casey is the light of our lives, but more than anything we want him to know the one who is the light of the world. We pray for God's grace as we parent him the best way we know how.

The System

I've been wanting to share about my diapering system because we've finally found what works well for us! Cloth diapering is a process, but believe it or not it can be FUN! There are so many amazing options out there. I love to share my thoughts with other mamas who might be interested in the health, environmental and financial benefits of cloth diapering. And because this is the most common question I get - NO, it's not gross to wash poopy diapers in your washing machine! Everything comes out clean. No smells. That doesn't mean you won't have a few stains here and there, but one of my favorite things is to line dry my dipes outside (yes, just like grandma did!) and allow the sun to bleach the stains.

Also, some are concerned about water consumption with diapering. I wash every third day. Since we have such wonderful HE washing machines now, very little water is used. To be honest, we use more water in one shower than I probably do in a week of washing diapers.

Our favorite diaper cover: Blueberry One Size Coveralls. The added leg gussets are a must to protect against leaks. Casey has crazy poop - I've never found a disposable diaper that he doesn't leak out of. He leaks out of diaper covers that don't have leg gussets (the added layer around the leg opening.) He has NEVER leaked through this cover. We love it!

Our favorite prefold/fitted: Osocozy Prefolds and Green Mountain Diapers Cloth-eez Workhorse Fitteds. Ok, in all honesty, I think prefolds are prefolds - This is just the one we've used and like. But the Workhorse fitted is where it's at! This fitted diaper is UH-MAZ-ING. So easy to use and very affordable. It cuts down on the "bulk" of regular prefolds and hugs to your little one's body. I think it absorbs a lot better, too. Ever since trying these, there's no question that we've found our favorite system. I really have no plans to "try" anything else again.

Our favorite night diaper: Bumgenius One-Size Elemental. This diaper is wonderful because it has 3 layers and all of them are exposed. This makes for better absorbancy and easier washing/drying. This diaper has never leaked on Casey - Even after 14 hours at night!

Our favorite wipes: A bamboo/terry cloth blend from a sweet Etsy mama! Soft yet durable enough to clean the messes. ;) I have 3 dozen on hand.

Our favorite diaper rash protection: Burt's Bees rash cream and Bummis fleece liners. The Burt's cream is all natural and the fleece liners keep the skin nice and dry while still allowing moisture through to be absorbed into the cotton fitteds. These are truly a must when cloth diapering since cloth is not very breathable in general. I've heard of women cutting up their own fleece, but i'm personally a bit leery of the dyes in most fleece from the craft store. The Bummis liners are free of any harmful dyes and/or chemicals. Plus, i'm not convinced that it's cheaper to make your own. But again, this is personal preference.

So, why cotton frefolds/fitteds instead of a pocket AIO (all in one) diaper system? (Again, i'm only sharing my personal preference and opinion here so i'm not saying other systems aren't great!)

1) These diapers can only be used once and then must be thrown in the laundry. Obviously the fitteds we use can only be used once, but I reuse the cover multiple times if Casey hasn't pooped. I just wipe it clean and reuse. This means I only have a few covers. Saves lots of $$!

2) Rash creams can only be used on cotton without the risk of ruining diaper materials. Most, if not all (as far as I know) pocket and AIO systems can be ruined from diaper creams. I love that I can lather Casey's bum up if necessary without the worry of ruining the dipes. Furthermore, cotton can be washed with any type of laundry soap - Though I do still use Rockin' Green detergent. But once this runs out, I plan to make my own natural detergent. :)

*If you've never heard of diaperswappers.com, you gotta check it out! This is a forum where other cloth diapering mama buy, sell and trade. You can also get clothes, toys, etc. People use paypal and it's a very honest, easy way to get mega discounts on things. I've paid half the price for most of my diapering system!

Boo!

It's Case-Man the Space-Man! Or Buzz if we're being literal. :) I bought this costume two months ago because I was so excited to get him dressed up. The costume barely fit!! Lesson learned - always size up because you can't make something bigger! Our healthy little dude!

He Is.

My dear friend Chelsea sent this to me in an email and it encouraged me so much that I want to share it! I'm thankful I have friends - though far away - that I can share honest moments with. Then this is how they respond to me. What a blessing!


In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our High Priest
In Numbers, the Fire by Night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel’s guide
Joshua, He’s salvation's choice
Judges, He’s Israel’s guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's Redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted Prophet
In Kings and Chronicles, He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He’s the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the Re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He’s Mordecai's courage
In Job, the Timeless Redeemer
In Psalms, He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah, He is the Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the Weeping Prophet
Lamentations, the Cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the Call from Sin
Daniel, the Stranger in the Fire
Hosea, the Forever Faithful
Joel, the Spirit’s Power
Amos, the Strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great Missionary
Micah, the Promise of Peace
Nahum, our Strength and Shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai, He restores that which was lost
In Zachariah, He’s our fountain
And in Malachi, He's the Son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

AND THAT’S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT

In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the Power of Love
Galatians, Freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our Glorious Treasure
Philippians, the Servant's Heart
Colossians, He’s God and the Trinity
Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the Everlasting Courage
In James, the One who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our Faithful Shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride
AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it’s all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE. He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, Son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I Am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior

He is Jesus Christ the Lord

HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!

Just say "Cheer up, Charlie."

I recently realized that I never really blogged about our move. Not that it matters because most of the people who read my blog knew about it whether or not I "documented" it here, but I do like to get my thoughts out so I decided I'd give a quick update. I'm most definitely not in a place right now to even post pictures. In fact, my camera battery is still dead from my Washington trip which was now almost two weeks ago. That pretty much sums up how these past two weeks have gone!

I got to Texas and met Aaron in Austin on a Tuesday and we were planning for the movers to arrive on Friday. Unfortunately, that didn't happen and they ended up arriving 5 days later but that's how moving goes (as most other people know!) It was probably just as well, though, since I was still recovering from a sinus infection. It's such a bummer that I always manage to get sick when I visit Washington! I'm pretty sure it's from flying. So Friday non-moving-day (as we'll call it) came and went and we had the weekend in front of us. We got the keys to our house and ran to a few places that Saturday. It was strange to walk into Lowes with a list of things since we pretty much lived there 3 years ago when we were remodeling our first house as newly-weds! While in the store, I started to feel sick to my stomach but thought it was from riding in the back with Case (yes, I do this from time to time because it keeps him from screaming!) After a few hours, I knew I really wasn't feeling well at all. Then it hit - the awful stomach flu bug! Ack. Is it not the worst?? Thank goodness the flu usually only lasts 24 hours. It was at that point that I finally listened to my body which had been screaming for DAYS to please slow down! Last Sunday was quite honestly the first time in about 3 weeks that Aaron and I had actually sat down on the same couch together for longer than 10 minutes. It was absolutely necessary. Sadly, we apparently sat a bit too close to each other because I shared my flu bug with my handsome man. On the plus side, Casey was spared!

So now we're moved into our new rental house...well, I should clarify that we're "in" but certainly not settled. I won't be taking pictures anytime soon! Wow, moving with a baby is SO much more work. I get about 2 hours of stuff done in a day - all in about 15 minute increments! (Pause while I go re-paci my screaming child who needs to be sleeping!) Ok, whew. Speaking of my darling boy, he's now in his own room and crib! This is a huge step for us. Coming from a small one bedroom place, it's nice to have more space and I think it truly is healthier for all of us to have our "designated" rooms. But the first night was rough....for ME! I missed my little man being right next to me. But my big man is important. ;)

I'll be honest, if I may. This feels like a lonely town and I'm somewhat lost, for lack of a better term. We know one couple here - Our friends the Legacys. Aaron and Brian were stationed at Andrews AFB together. But they live about 20 minutes from our new place and they're also both working on their masters so they have quite the busy schedule. I met a friendly woman a few houses down, but so far the rest of the 'hood seems quiet, which has been a bit of a surprise to me. I know I can't possibly be the only SAHMama around here! I just said to Aaron tonight, "I know we'll make friends eventually, but right now if feels like we never will." Most of you know I can be a tad dramatic at times, so take that comment with a grain of salt, ok? I can't stop thinking about how much I wish our good friends were here with us. I miss our Virginia peeps (aka family) soooo much it hurts. Aaron must have known I was slipping into a "my life right now in a blog" type of post because he just brought over a pint of Blue Bell ice cream (a Texas favorite.) How is it that ice cream cures a multitude of depressing thoughts? Even for a girl with an on again, off again lactose intolerance? Somehow it does (aren't you enjoying my play-play comments here?)

Well, here we are in Texas, and I'm so happy that I have my little man with me day to day to brighten my life. He, even more so than Blue Bell ice cream, truly makes my life so wonderful.

I promise I will attempt to make my next post more uplifting! But I truly needed an honest moment. Don't we all?

"Desperate Housemoms"

I'm going to steal my friend Mari's "Win/Fail" format for posting because it's perfect for how our flight from Seattle to Austin went down yesterday. Also, Casey turned FOUR MONTHS (I had to write that in caps because I still can't believe how fast he's growing up) on Monday! We simply love this kid more and more every single day. And because i'm drowning in a sea of setting up bills, trying to figure out why our movers won't be here within their contracted time-frame (ugh), changing our address, etc. etc. (the list of things to do literally goes on and on) I have no idea where my month stickers are for Case's picture, but probably packed away in the moving truck which is STILL in Virginia (another big UGH.) Anyway, I just think the "Desperate Housewives" show is so impractical...no one really lives like that...or perhaps just crazy people do. But I do think a show called "Desperate Housemoms" would be PERFECT. I mean, the amount of juggling moms do with there time and their kids is seriously comical, right?? Oh, you all would have a hayday laughing fest if you were a fly on my wall today! So, yes, i'm a "Desperate Housemom" who had a desperate kind of day yesterday. Here it goes:

WIN: We made it to the airport in Seattle without missing our flight! Thank goodness we left in the am because by pm yesterday, the airport was FLOODED with Amanda Knox supporters and national media. Though I would have loved to greet her!

FAIL: I couldn't for the life of me get Casey to stop crying as we walked to our gate. Everyone around me was glaring at me as if to say, "Dear God, please do NOT let this girl be on my flight!"

WIN: I love that Alaska Airlines lets you board before everyone else including first class. YESSSSSSSS!

FAIL: I pumped before our flight in order to give Casey a bottle for take-off and landing because that way I can control his sucking a little better. This is truly not for feeding purposes as much as it is to help him clear his ears. I tried to thaw out my milk in the sink but there was no hot water. Actually, there was no water at all. So the flight attendent had to give me a barf bag filled with hot water. I about spilled it all over my lap. But in case you're wondering, they did have the water turned on by the time we took off.

WIN: Nobody came to sit in the middle seat of our row. That meant Casey layed out on that seat for two hours straight during the flight and smiled at me the entire time. My dream baby!

FAIL: We had a lot of turbulence and at one point the pilot told us we'd need to stay seated for at least 15 minutes. About 2 seconds after that annoucement we started bouncing around, dropping and coming back up, dropping and coming back up. Just then Casey took a huge poop. HUGE. It leaked out all up his back, down both of his legs and onto me, too.

WIN: This smarty-pants mama packed a change of clothes for Casey and for myself in the event that this would happen. One of about 1,928,000 reasons why I love and miss my cloth diapers. It's just easier to travel and move using disposables...but I can't wait to return to my new amazing diapering system. I haven't had a single leak! Darned disposables.

WIN: This month is the 4 year anniversary of Alaska Airlines flying to Hawaii, so they have really good Hawaiian inspired meals available in-flight for purchase. I got Chicken and soba noodles. It was pretty good for airline food!

FAIL: Casey has incredible timing. He will almost always fuss and get hungry right as i'm starting to eat (or as Aaron and I sit down to eat). Yesterday on the plane was no exception! So I tried to eat one-handed but this is not easy with stringy noodles. I dropped a big glob of them right on his head. About an hour later, I leaned down to kiss his head and it smelled of teriyaki sauce! Oops...

WIN: Casey fell asleep right before we landed so the trip ended well. :)

We have just the sweetest boy in the world. I love him as my travel companion and he reminds me to just take a deep breath and laugh at the craziness of life!

While You Were Sleeping

During Casey's 2.5 afternoon nap, I made this! I've been looking around for just the right blue-beaded nacklace for months now. Everything I found was either not quite right or too expensive. So I walked up to The Potomac Bead Company today on King Street and bought all the things I needed to create my own necklace. I've discovered that jewelry making might just be my new crafting obsession! After a quick tutorial from the store saleswoman, I whipped this up in about 25 minutes at home. It's a good thing it was a quick DIY project because Casey woke up screaming about 2 minutes after its completion! Tis life! :)

P.S. I really need a better camera. And speaking of cameras, I'm eyeing this even though it would be just for fun. Who doesn't LOVE instant pictures?!

Three Months!

Holy smokes! We have a THREE month old in da house! I feel like a broken record, but time sure flies. It's true! But we fall more and more in love with Case every single day. He cracks us up all the time with his sweet smiles and coos. He talks to me while I nurse him now. It melts this mama's heart! He will often look up at me inbetween sucks and just coo away with smiles, then he goes back to his grubbin' business. It's adorable.

Also, his latest thing is that he really grabs now! Just last week he did this:

On Friday, he grabbed his burp cloth and pulled it up over his face a few times. I got so excited! You gotta enjoy each and every little thing as a parent. It's all so special!

His cry no longer sounds like a newborn, but more like a baby. Anyone who has children knows exactly what i'm talking about. It's bittersweet to watch our handsome boy grow up! Each new phase brings new joy, but it also comes at the cost of leaving things behind. He is most certainly not a "little" baby anymore. He just weighed in at almost 13 lbs. this past week! But in many ways, he will ALWAYS be my baby (even when he's 40!) Our life was truly so dull without him...we just didn't know it at the time. :) Case is a very, very smiley baby. He likes to smile with his mouth wide open just like his daddy did when he was a baby.

He was supposed to have his first plane ride experience, but plans took a huge turn. I think most people know now that we're moving to San Antonio Texas! Aaron took a promotion with his engineering firm and their main office is located there. We should have been there for the holiday weekend looking for a rental house, but there was a terrible accident on the way to the airport and we missed our flight. We literally sat on the freeway for hours. I feel awful for whoever was involved, but the timing of everything couldn't have been worse. Southwest said we could fly on stand-by the next day for free, but we would have to be on stand-by out of Baltimore then again at a connection before getting to San Antonio. There was just no way we were gonna do this with a baby on a holiday weekend, especially if we got stuck in some random place unable to get a connection. There's literally no other time we can fly out before we actually move, so now we're working with an agent to apply for a rental sight-unseen. I'm not at all thrilled about this because it was really important to me that we familiarize ourselves a bit with area and find a place we felt safe in. Aaron will be traveling one week out of each month with his company. But, for reasons we may never know, God clearly didn't want us in Texas this weekend.

Casey will now have his first plane ride experience when just he and I fly out to Seattle on the 22nd of September to visit family for two weeks. Aaron's mom is flying down from Alaska so we are SO excited to have this time with everyone before our big move! Pray for me though - I'm honestly nervous about a 5 hour flight by myself with the little man! Plane rides make me anxious anyway. But i'm sure we'll be just fine.

5 Billion Uses

I love coconut oil and I use it A LOT. Maybe not quite for 5 billion things, but I swear it can be used in so many different, healthy ways! You can find a variety of uses and health benefits in this blog. I can't confirm it works for all of these things, but I found this list quite interesting!

Currently, I use coconut oil mostly for cooking (super healthy - Thanks Kristine for introducing me to its foody greatness!) as well as for daily moisturizing. Yes, I most certainly lather straight up coconut oil all over my body! Now before you think "EWWW!" don't knock it 'til you try it! Contrary to what many might think, coconut oil goes on the skin quick and easy and you only need a small amount. The best part is that it leaves your skin feeling SILKY rather than oily -- I promise!! An added bonus is that your skin smells tropical (I prefer to pretent i'm on a private island drinking a margarita while being fanned by my own cabana boy). But seriously, I love this stuff. I also use it as my facial moisturizer. No breakouts. I keep a jar on the counter in my bathroom. Whole Foods sells it in a mason-style jar, so I just peeled the label off and now it looks like part of my bathroom decor! I paid only $6.99 for 14 oz. This jar will last you a loooong time. I love that I can dip into the same jar for a number of different reasons and that it's all natural. I can hardly believe all the crap that's in lotions and cosmetic nowadays. Yuck! Give coconut oil a try!

Ooh, we better wash that.

No caption needed, really. May I add that those are Aaron's favorite shorts? He wears them over and over again until I sneak them off the floor and wash them. Oh, I love boys.

And since we're on the topic of diapers, we're getting ready to test out some cloth ones. We've decided on the Ecobums. I hope we like them! We're still not sure if cloth diapering is for us, but how do you know unless you try? I'm already tired of spending so much moolah on disposables! Now that Case is almost 3 months and not pooping 10 times a day, it seems like the right time to enter the cloth world. I'll also be using bamboo wipes. Fingers crossed!

Thankful

We had such a scary event with Casey the other morning. We woke up early on Friday around 5:45 to him thrashing around in his bassinet. I quickly jumped to my feet and leaned over him to discover that he couldn't take a breath. I could hardly believe what I was seeing, but my adrenaline kicked in and I quickly picked him up (still in his swaddle blanket) and threw him face down on the bed. I had to pat his back for the longest approximate 10 seconds of my entire life until he finally took a big breath of air. Aaron and I were both absolutely stunned. I will never forget the look of terror on Casey's face. His eyes were almost popping out of his head and he had spit coming out of his mouth and mucous coming from both sides of his nose. To be honest, we both looked at each other afterwards and said, "Could he have just had a seizure?!" We just didn't know what to think. I felt like I had just ran a marathon, the way my heart was pounding!With tears still all over his face, Casey calmed down, looked at me and flashed the most adorable smile. It melted me and made me cry all at the same time. This mama was so scared! But it was almost like he was saying, "I'm OK, Mama!" I fed him and he fell back asleep for a bit and then I called the pediatricians office as soon as they opened. Looking back, I wish I would have just called the on-call doctor. They told me to go to the ER for some tests just to rule out anything serious. So we made the drive to the ER in Fairfax where they have a pediatric emergency room. I was pretty amazed. Everything was so pint-sized! I snapped a few pictures on my phone but I'm not sure I can upload them to the computer. The blood pressure cuff was so tiny and they even had me put an infant hospital gown on him. It was so precious and pitiful all at the same time. Casey was such a champ...all the doctors and nurses loved him and kept saying how cute and sweet he was. I couldn't agree more!! He only cried when they gave him an IV to draw blood. He was so, so good! Praise God all the tests came back normal. There were absolutely no signs pointing towards a seizure (no lethargy, muscle weakness, etc.) The final diagnosis is that he has an acid reflux problem, so he's now on an antibiotic. They say he most likely aspirated stomach acid into his lungs and had trouble clearing it. They also said he most likely would have eventually cleared it on his own. We're trying not to play the "what if" game. We can only hope and pray that it never happens again. It was absolutely terrifying.

We cuddle and squeeze and kiss our Case-Man all the time, but we hold him just a bit tighter after all that happened. We are so thankful for his health. He is our treasure! We are also thankful beyond words for all of the prayers from friends and family!