Four Months Old!

Lena has changed the most between months three and four.  Her big milestone is that she has learned to roll over.  She talks so much!  She especially enjoys "talking" to Grandma when we visit every Sunday.  She now reaches for her toys and puts a death grip on them.  She loves to lick everything but especially her fists.  She rejected her pacifier over a month ago.  If we try to give it to her she just stubbornly pushes it back out with her tongue.  She also survived her first illness this past month when she got congested.  We are starting to get glimpses of her personality:  She is pretty laid back and will be content to just sit on our lap, stare off at something, or play in her floor mat gym.  She has some toughness in her which I witness when we change her diaper.  Instead of crying at the shock of the cold wipes on her bum she tenses up and clinches her fists at each wipe until her diaper is changed.  She is also very joyful.  The nurse asked yesterday if she was always so happy and generally she really is.  She loves seeing new things and is not happy anymore when I cover her car seat in the stroller when we are out for a walk or running errands.  When she unexpectedly hears or sees something new her eyes get really big.  She loves little blankies and likes to put them up on her face, especially when she takes her bottle.  Her favorite toy right now is still her gym floor mat.  She will work herself into a loud chorus of shrieks and yells as she plays.  It is pretty funny.  She loves to blow bubbles with her spit and does this funny gurgling sound almost likes she is rolling her tongue.  At the doctor yesterday she weighed in at 10 pounds 8 ounces and is now 23 inches long.  Her head is in the 10th percentile, her height in the 3rd percentile, and her weight in the 5th percentile.  Her head is now large enough to really start wearing all those bows I've been stockpiling for her and now that she is finally moving into 0-3 month clothing she has also been wearing more big girl clothes instead of just jumpers all day.  We have modeling sessions at least once a week.  It is so much fun and Lena just lets me put on and and take off outfits for at least 30 minutes straight without fussing.  She continues to be such a good baby.  We love our time with her and love watching her as she changes.

Favorite Things: Little Lily Hair Bows

Lena wearing one of her Little Lily Hair Bow headbands.

If you are looking for some cute bows and headbands for yourself or your little girl head over or Little Lily Hair Bows (on Facebook) and check out the selection.  Lisa, the owner, is a friend from college and does great custom work!  My favorites are her felt and ribbon flower headbands.  I just ordered this new St. Pattie's flower headband.  I love that it is St. Patrick's but it is not overly themed and can be worn all year.

I also ordered this new natural flower headband to go with Lena's Easter dress which is natural light brown and white. 

There are many cute bows in the stores these days but I love ordering from small business owners.  They customize their products to your needs (Lisa can change the colors and size of the flowers and the headband to your specifications.) They are much better quality and I like supporting small business owners/stay-at-home-moms like Lisa.
If you don't have Facebook you can order by emailing Lisa at: lilygyouandme@gmail.com

Lisa - Owner of Little Lily Hair Bows

Weight Loss Update

February has been a great month so far getting back into my physical disciplines of healthy eating and daily exercise.  I started with this simple game plan and so far it is working:
1.  No eating after 8pm (even during middle of the night feedings)
2.  Make and eat a large chopped salad before every dinner.
3.  Put veggies into everything I make.  (protein shakes, pasta dishes, soups, etc)
4.  Exercise everyday:  even if it is only going for a 30 min walk
5.  Substitute decaf hot tea with splenda for hot chocolate, chai latte, and apple cider.

So far this month I have lost five pounds for a total of 8 pounds of baby weight lost.  It feels good to be disciplined again.  I have set three mini goals in my weight loss journey:
1.  Lose 30 pounds by the time we leave for Chicago.
2.  Lose 60 pounds by the time we leave for Hawaii.
3.  Lose 78 pounds by the time we try for baby Shack #2

It sounds like a lot, but having done it before I know it is very do-able.  =)

So we are on our way to going from this chubby couple...

... to going back to this less chubby more in shape couple!

Our Special Valentine

Three Months Old!

Lena sitting in her Bumpo for the first time.  She likes the new sit up position. 

She has been very fascinated with her tongue lately.  She tries to lick everything in reach.  I am sure this will only get worse as she learns to grab things.

She is just outgrowing newborn clothes and can now wear 0-3 months clothes!  It is really funny because when we are out everyone always comments about how tiny she is.  At 9.5 pounds now she is enormous to us! 

She is a great baby but she still has her "moments".  She can get really mad really fast; especially when she is eating and you take her bottle from her.

She loves her mama and pop and smiles quite a lot.  She even giggled for the first time the other day.  We love to spend lots of time singing and playing in the activity gym mat.

Like I said she likes to lick/eat things...it is kind of funny sometimes like the other day she was licking the side of her high chair.  Crazy girl..

She likes to scream too.  Usually this happens when she is having a really good time but is getting tired.  It is that typical madness-before-the-crash type of thing.  When she screams we know it is soon nap time!

Favorite Things: Victoria's Secret... whaaatttt???

Yes you read it right.  I LIKE Victoria's Secret mainly for one fabulous product that they sell:  their yoga pants.  I first discovered the VS yoga line nine years ago when I was first married to Dan.  (Come on now... what young bride to be hasn't perused the pages of a VS catalog?!)  Back then I had no idea that VS sold clothing.  I ordered a few pairs of classic yoga pants and I was hooked for life.  Here is what I love about them:
1.  They come in a variety of colors and styles.
2.  They come in several lengths including long length!!  YES- no more high waters!
3.  They are so versatile: from workouts and lounging to dressed up with cute heals or boots and a fancy top.
4.  They are SUPER comfy.  I wouldn't wear them otherwise.
5.  They are of a very high quality and last a long time.  I just ordered more towards the end of my pregnancy after having my original pairs for 9 years!
6.  VS offers deals on their yogas quite often which makes them affordable.  I get mine 2 pairs for $50.
7.  VS yoga pants fit my body in its various states of chubbiness and skinniness. 
8.  Most importantly they are cut to flatter the body.  This is what distinguishes VS yogas from many other brands and in my opinion makes them worth the money.

The classic yoga pant that started it all.

 Don't let the size zero models scare you away from this product.  I am no skinny mini and their size XL fits me just great!  This time around I tried a few different yoga pant styles:
The Yoga Foldover Crop Pant

 The Yoga Foldover Pant

And my new favorite the Yoga Pocket Pant which sadly VS no longer carries  =(




Considering that VS no longer carries the yoga pocket pant the classic yoga pants are still my favorite.  Try them out!  Your wardrobe and your backside will thank me!

Remember Friends:  
1.  Never pay full price!  Wait for a sale or there is always a discount code to use when ordering online.
2.  You will get VS catalogs in the mail ETERNALLY for ordering from them.  I always get to the mail first and burn them before Dan even knows they are there... he he he.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering!

My lovely diaper model!

Early on I knew I wanted to try cloth diapering.  Having moved to one income and knowing that we would most likely (if we are so blessed) have multiple children in diapers at once it makes financial sense to give it a go.  So now that Lena is at nine pounds my goal this week is to get started with cloth diapering. 

When I first started researching it the choices and options were confounding!  After much research on many sites like Babble's Best of Cloth Diapers 2011 list and after talking to lots of people who have found success with cloth diapering I decided on  Charlie Banana's cloth diaper line supplemented by the Bummis cloth diaper prefold line.  I think the Charlie Banana's will be my favorite diaper (they are the best looking and most trim of the two) but I also like the convience and cost effectiveness of the Bummis prefolds.   I began building my stash last summer when I scored several boxes of small and medium sized Charlie Bananas on Zulily.  This week Target has their Charlie Banana line on sale and I ordered a few more one sized diapers to supplement my stash.  Last week I had a great prefold diaper lesson from my friend Faith and afterwords scored a small set of Bummis prefolds off of Craigslist.  On Sunday I ordered some cloth diapering detergent from Rock in Green and I will begin prewashing the diapers for use as soon as it arrives.  Tomorrow I am going to drop by Babies R Us to pick up my new cloth diapering pail by Safety First and use my Blueberry diaper pail liner that I scored off of Babysteals for half price.   Today we had a diaper modeling session with Lena.  I think she likes her new cute and super soft dipes!  In all I would say I have invested $600 in cloth diapers and accessories. (I went a little overboard...)  We spend about $50-70 a month in disposables right now so I hope the cloth will pay for itself in a year.  Wish me luck everyone!

Aren't they pretty?

Most of my stash so far!

Our small Charlie Bananas all ready to be used.