Crafts With Gigi!

My family had a chance to visit with us this past week. My mom, sister, and brother made the 10 hour drive to our house last Tuesday (July 3rd). My dad came the next day with a separate car because he and my sister (Brittany) needed to go back home on Saturday (July 7th) My mom and brother (Brendon) stayed until this morning. I was sad to see all of them go, but I understand that they all have very busy lives to get back to. :)

While they were all here, my mom took time to do some crafts with Ava. It was so precious to capture these moments! The first craft was a little monkey magnet that now resides on the front of my refrigerator. The second craft is a miniature wind chime that Ava painted pink and green (with little turquoise polka dots too) 

I love that each grandmother has a special gift or talent that they share with my kids. When Linda Jo comes into town, she usually has a new pair of shoes for Ava. When my mom comes into town, she does a craft with Ava. I love that! I will have to remember to do something special for my grandkids when I become a grandparent!

Latest Couponing Venture

It has been a while since I used a coupon! Since Greta is formula fed, I am now having to get back into the swing of couponing for formula. It wasn't a great trip, but it helped me remember how to stack and match:

I matched the $5.00 manufacturer coupon with the $4.00 Publix coupon and bought a 16 pack of the On-the-go 4 oz. formula packs. The pack was $10.99, so I got it for $1.99! I love these little packs because they are so easy to pack in Greta's diaper bag.

I then matched the other $5.00 manufacturer coupon with the $7.00 Target coupon (Publix accepts competitor coupons) and got $12.00 off of the refill 2 pack. The 2 pack was $36, so I paid $24! I thought that was a great deal since one 33.2 oz tub costs $26.

I planned on using the $1.50 competitor coupon for one more 16 pack, but I decided against it. I am going to wait until I have another coupon match so I can save more money. I also had the $2.00 store coupon for the A&D ointment and the $1.00 coupon for the A&D ointment. I didn't realize until I was in Publix that both coupons were store coupons! I couldn't use them together, so I will wait for manufacturer coupons for both.

My total bill was $58, and I saved $21! Yay! That wasn't a whole lot, but I was able to use the $21 that I saved to buy my new (unborn) niece three outfits on the clearance rack at Target!!

Matching!!!

We all matched this past Sunday!! Yay for blue!!!

The Corn Dog

We went to Dairy Queen today for a little treat and ended up eating dinner. This was our first time to give Ava a corn dog. She was resistant at first, but really took to it after she figured out that she could hold the stick to eat it. She tore it up!! Yum!!

Greta's 1st VBS!

VBS is always a big deal at our church. Last year, we did not do VBS so that we could focus on disaster relief. This year, our congregation and the Central church of Christ combined efforts to make VBS the best that it could be! The theme was: The Treasure of the Forgotten Island. It was all about lessons from Proverbs. The whole idea was to teach children the difference between foolish behavior and wise behavior. Those lessons were taught in a really creative way using pirates to play the parts. 

Ava sat on the front row in my lap. She recognized Jeremy immediately in his pirate garb. She kept her fingers in her mouth the whole time and would look back at me and whisper, "Daddy." I know she was wondering why her daddy was dressed up as a pirate! Greta slept pretty peacefully for a few minutes and then started crying. I had to have some help. Luckily, one of my friends (Sharon Cooke) was able to watch Greta each night while I went to all the stations with Ava.

It was Greta's first VBS, but she really could not participate. I can't wait until next year when both of my girls will be able to participate!

Tummy Time!!

My sweet little beauty:

Tuckered Out!!

Friday was Greta's 1 Month pictures with Terri Robertson. I am not gonna lie. The day was harrowing! I was using Greta as my alarm clock. She should have woke me up at 10 A.M. but she woke me up at 11 instead.  Ava also chose that day to sleep almost 15 hours at night!!!!! I was thankful we all got the rest we needed, but I had a lot to do that day! 

When I walked into Ava's bedroom, I noticed a HUGE, awful, red rash around her mouth. Apparently, she got it from sucking on Grossy (I chose that day to cut off Grossy's ears and mane so that there is nothing else to suck on. I cut off the tail and the little knots on Grossy's head several weeks ago.) I called Terri in a panic and asked if we needed to reschedule or if the rash could be airbrushed. Thankfully, we were able to keep our appointment and the rash will be airbrushed out of the pictures.

I quickly fed both girls and threw on some clothes so that I could go to Wal-Mart. I had to buy a tutu kit  to make Ava's outfit that she would wear in her sister pictures with Greta (Greta also had a really cute pink tutu that she wore) I was really proud of myself (I was actually telling myself in my head how proud I was) :) I was able to get both girls and a double stroller around Wal-Mart and out in less than twenty minutes. I was power walking!!!

We then went to the church building to pick up Jeremy for lunch. We grabbed a bite to eat at Burger King, dropped him back off at work and then went home. I basically threw some food at Ava while I put together her tutu dress and rhinestone pin. I was also able to feed Greta in the fifteen minutes we had before it was time to leave. I loaded up the car with all the props we would need and got both girls situated in the car. We were off!!

We actually arrived twenty minutes early. Terri bragged on me a little bit and said that she had never had a mom of a newborn be early to a shoot. YAY! I should get a medal! :) You have to understand why I am unabashedly bragging on myself: I am NEVER early to anything. If an event starts at 5 pm, I am there at 5 pm. Okay, enough bragging! We made it through the shoot. Both girls did awesome and Terri did a fantastic job (as always!) I cannot wait to see the pictures!!

It was a lot of work to get to my babies ready, but it was worth it! On the way home, I breathed a sigh of relief. I had a few minutes of silence while both girls were asleep. When I pulled into town, I decided to treat myself to a small chocolate dipped ice cream cone at DQ. When I pulled into the drive thru, I looked in the rear view mirror and saw this:

I guess picture day wore Ava out as much as it did me!!

Greta At 1 Month!

I cannot believe my infant daughter is 1 month old!!! It has flown by so quickly! I feel like I am getting to know her and understand her a little bit more as each day passes. I knew that she would be a different baby from Ava, I just didn't know how different. I didn't know what to expect from her. So, it has been fun figuring her out! :)

Here are some things I am learning about her:

• She likes to sleep on my chest ALL THE TIME!! Since she is not my only child to look after, I have had to find another way for her to get sleep. The answer for us and for her has been swaddling. With Ava, we only swaddled at night so that she would know the difference between night and day. With Greta, we swaddle at every nap AND nighttime. That snug-as-a-bug feeling is the only thing that works for her (so far)
• She HATES her pacifier (most of the time) In a whole month, she has taken her pacifier maybe 10 times. Hopefully this means she will not want it in the future (which means that we don't have to wean her from it. Yay!!)
• She likes quiet. Everyone told us that the second child is more accustomed to sound because they are used to hearing it in the womb. Not our child! When the TV is on and Ava is in the same room, Greta gets very fussy. It is way too much stimulus for her. I can usually get Ava to whisper and turn the TV down lower. That usually does the trick.
• I have to fight her to get her to drink her formula. She does not just willingly accept her bottle. She puts her hands on her face and pulls and scratches. I usually have to hold her hands down to get the bottle in her mouth. Then it is smooth sailing!!! :) 
• I am learning that she has MY personality!!! She likes things to be just so. She functions very well in a schedule. When we run a lot of errands during the day and get off schedule a little bit, she does not thrive well. But, since I also function well in a schedule, it is easy for me to keep her on one. So, she usually does very well.

Here are a few funny things about Greta:

• She has a cry that sounds like a kitten hissing. It is usually when we are in the car (and she is in her carseat) that she uses this cry. She will make a spitting sound that I remember a kitten sounding like. It is pretty funny! I call it her "hissy-fit."
• She has a look that I call the "Griphook" look. If you have seen the Harry Potter movies, then you may recall the look Griphook gave Harry Potter in the very first movie when Harry was able to present a key to his bank vault at Gringotts. It is a narrowing of the eyes with a slight turn of the head. It is so funny! Greta has given that look to me on several occasions!
• She is very hard to burp. I usually have to hold her away from me and sit her on may lap to burp her. Every once in while, she will let out a really big burp and it will scare her. She will jump and look around to see where the sound came from!

Milestones and General Information:

• Greta does very well at tummy time. She can usually endure about 10-15 minutes at a time.
• She can now hold her head and chest up for a few seconds at a time.
• When she does hold her head up, she can turn her head side to side.
• Today is actually the day after her 1 month birthday, but I will post this anyway. She can roll over from stomach to back. Yay! She did it five times today! I could tell she was pleased with herself because she smiled when she did it. It probably helped that Ava and I were standing there cheering her on. We both gave her a big applause!
• She eats about 2.5-4 oz at each feeding.
• She is in a size 1 diaper.
• She is still in newborn clothes (not for long, though)
• She only wakes up 1 time at night.
• She is really beginning to settle in to her feed, wake, sleep routine. (Babywise schedule)
• She can handle about 45 minutes to 1 hour of waketime after her feedings. We are slowly working up to 1.5 hours of waketime before a 1.5 hour nap.
• She smiles a lot in her sleep and will occasionally laugh in her sleep. I am sad to say, though, that she gave her first "real"smile to someone at church. It was after VBS one night when a friend of ours walked over to talk and say hi. He had not seen Greta yet, so he was looking at her and talking to her. Greta turned her head away from me and looked at him and smiled. It was pretty precious!
• Greta really enjoys bathtime! I give her a bath in the kitchen sink and she just looks around and takes it all in. She loves when I pour warm water over her shoulders and belly. Bathtime is one of my favorite times with her!

Miss Greta Elizabeth is a sweet, precious, baby. I am pretty sure that she will be a cuddler. She is pretty calm most of the time and seems to be temperamentally easy. God has blessed us again!!

Here are some pictures taken of Greta throughout this first month of her life:

 First attempt at tummy time

 Barely awake one morning while we were outside with Ava

 One of the few times she has taken a pacifier

Greta's first Sunday at worship. She wore the same pink, Petit Ami, smocked dress that Ava wore to her first worship service. 

 She has grown so much in a month! She slept through our family dinner date to DQ.

Cuddling with Daddy one morning after her feeding :)

Seen In My Backyard: The Creepy Lizard

I see this little guy (or girl) all the time on the back patio. This morning I saw him climbing on Ava's play equipment in the backyard. When he first appeared on our retaining wall several months ago, I thought he was cute and sweet. I would see him every morning when I took Ava out to the backyard to play. As each day passed, I noticed he would get a little more comfortable with us and inch closer. After a full month, he was on the patio at the back door when I would walk past in the morning. He has remained close by all these months. Now he seems to be a little aggressive. I actually won't take Ava in the backyard if I see him on the patio. He stares us down through the glass door. He won't take off running until we have step foot on the patio. Maybe I am paranoid, but he seems creepy to me!

A Night Of Rest

This has been a busy week for our family. This whole week has been VBS prep week at the church building, which means that Jeremy has been gone from sun-up to sun-down. This is also the week that I chose to really concentrate on sleep scheduling. I knew it was going to be difficult, but I wanted me to be the one to do it since it requires "constant vigilance" (a line from Harry Potter) 

I am happy to say that Greta is still only waking one time at night. Last night she went 5.5 hours between her night feeding and her middle of the night feeding. She really does not need to go more than that between feedings at this point because it could possibly lower her blood sugar resulting in a lethargic baby who will not give me hunger cues. Yesterday I applied the "cry-it-out" method at her afternoon naptime. It was so hard to hear her cry, but she eventually stopped and passed into a deep sleep state. She was much easier to get to sleep at every feeding after that and has been a much easier baby to handle today. She is easy in general, but I am trying to train her to sleep and to self-soothe. Anyway, she is still very young and this is, of course, a work in progress. We will continue to work on sleep training until she is sleeping through the night (which will hopefully happen between 6-8 weeks)

As with any parent of a newborn, we have been pretty tired. I will reserve the word "exhausted" because it is not fair to use it in our case. Greta is a good sleeper and eater, so I cannot really use the word "exhausted" in good conscience. Last night, however, one of the girls in our youth group came over to handle the middle of the night feeding and the early morning feeding so that Jeremy and I could get some rest. We are so thankful for Courtney Cooke and her willingness to help us get some shut-eye! I still woke up with Greta and made her bottle, but Courtney handled the feeding and getting her back to sleep. It was so nice to wake up for 5 minutes versus 45 minutes! It is amazing what and extra 80 minutes of sleep can do for a person! (Plus, I had coffee this morning and will likely take some excedrin this afternoon for my hormone headaches...fun!)

I wanted to share this photo of Courtney and Greta:

Thank you, Courtney Cooke!! We appreciate you!!