Wow.

I know this blog is supposed to be mainly about Bean, but I couldn't help myself. My husband and I were invited by a couple of friends of ours, expecting parents Jared and Shanda Wallace, to participate in a photo shoot. Now usually, I hate being in front of the camera, but when she told me the idea for the shoot, I was STOKED. It was called "Trash the Dress." I had heard of these kinds of photo shoots before, but had never really understood what the point was. We were told to accessorize with non-wedding like jewelery, hair pieces, etc. But the catch was, that we got to WEAR OUR WEDDING DRESSES AGAIN! Both of us were worried because she was pregnant, and I had already had a baby, so fitting concerns were on our minds. Everything fit, thank the Lord, and we went on as planned. It turned out great, and here are some of my favorites! (Josh and I are the dark hair, tattooed couple!)

Eats.

I can't wait to make THIS for Bean!

I wish that I would have had this as a little girl. Probably would have domesticated me a long time ago.

Love.

Bean and I are clearly in the Valentine's Day spirit. I'm not a huge fan of the day, but I think I love it this year because it gives me another excuse to dress her up and make crafts. We made Daddy's valentine early, but I couldn't help myself. Today we put her dress on and took a few photos. Here is a preview:

For her Papa's gift, I made a stencil of her hand using tracing paper. I cut the stencil out and painted it with regular acrylic paint. I placed it on the rock (we found that while on our walk yesterday morning which inspired the whole idea) and painted in the holes. I let it dry and then painted the heart and the U. Cute huh? I thought it was a good idea! Something for Josh to look at when he is at work, a place that can get pretty overwhelming sometimes. Just a nice reminder of the love Bean has for her Papa, and hey, it makes a great paperweight!

Two!

I really, REALLY like this whole blogging thing.

I think in 5 or 10 years, it will be great to look back at the things that I wrote about. Having Bean be able to read how we were feeling when she first was born, how obsessed I was with taking pictures of her. It's all so great, and I feel like every time I write I am documenting memories. It's one thing to look at pictures or videos, but it's quite another to go back and read what someone said about your life, whether you be young or old. I think it will give her great insight being able to view the works of her mother. Who knows when I will stop adding to Waiting for Bean. I love every minute of it, and want to keep doing it as long as I can.

On a much less emotional note, I think that I FINALLY got down prefold cloth diapers. I have been having problems with leaking and it's driving me nuts. I am determined to make this work, and just like I got through breastfeeding, dammit I will cloth diaper my baby! I was looking online yesterday at some different folding methods to better "catch" Bean's pee. Who would have known, there are different folding methods for boys and girls!!! Boys need more protection in the front, and girls need it in the middle. WHAT?! We've only been trying this for weeks now, and I have no idea why I didn't just look that up in the first place. I also saw a pretty great instructional video over at Simple Mom, a great blog that I read everyday. The twist fold that she does worked perfectly, except we did run into one problem: her prefolds aren't as long as others, so it won't work for very long. I will have to go buy some more. We have 3 different kinds of cloth diapers that we use, and these are definitely more challenging. The others work just like regular disposables. Easy, right? In the end, it's totally worth it.

Here is the folds for boys and girls:
And the fold that I learned yesterday that we will be doing from now on looks like:

My baby girl is asserting her independence already.

Lately I notice HUGE changes in Violet. She's playing with toys on her own, she likes to sit by herself and not be held as much. She is 5 1/2 months, and everyday I see her growing and growing. Everyone says to cherish these moments, and I could not take it more to heart. Being her mother and being able to share every moment with her is the best gift that I can receive. She looks at me with a smile (most of the time) and my day has been made good.

I read an article in Parenting magazine last night and a mother was writing about how her daughter was "high need." Their daughter cried all the time, always wanted to be held and just needed a lot of cuddle time. As we reach a phase with Bean that is full of "Mommy mommy mommmmy!" reading this article really made me look at her differently. Instead of feeling weighed down by this new Bean, Josh and I should be looking at it like we are her main source of comfort. We are the hands that she wants to be held by, we are the voices that calm her down, and she needs specific things. She isn't difficult, she isn't a hard baby, she is just different and these needs need to be met, and so what if Josh and I are the only people that can make her happy. This isn't forever, it's just right now. I love her more and more and welcome every new change, even if it does make me want to pull my hair out.

?

Any suggestions of what you might like to see at Waiting for Bean? I have a bunch of great new ideas, but would LOVE some feedback!

Shadow.

I have been wanting to make THESE for so long!!!

Thanks OhDeeDoh for the help!

Forgot.

Newest of the new...enjoy!

Me Time.

I am so encouraged by the "Mom Blogs" that I read on a daily basis, I figure everyone went through this once, right? Being a mom, going to school, being a wife (trying anyways) and achieving some sort of sanity at the end of the day. Sometimes it just feels like a lot, and when it comes to having free time, there just isn't that much. In order to have the luxury of staying home, my husband works very hard and is committed to several projects on top of working a full day. Don't get me wrong, it's great being at home with her but sometimes I just wish that I could have a little more "me" time.

Sometimes before bed I have a little time to read, most of the time I just end up falling asleep. Here and there I sneak in a little time to make some jewelery, and that's great. I don't know what sort of free time activity I am looking for here...yoga, going back to the gym, some sort of class...no idea. I need to take some initiative and make this happen for myself. I complain about it, but I'm tired of doing nothing about it.

Yuck.

Being a mom and being sick at the same time is rough.

I have had a head cold for the past couple days, started out as an itchy throat and turned into something nasty. I am praying that Bean doesn't get sick as well. I have been making sure that I don't have a fever, otherwise I have to stop nursing her. No thank you. I have been downing orange juice and chicken noodle soup and also trying to rest as much as I can. We're heading up north to Williams for the weekend (Josh is playing a retreat) and I am hoping to kick this before then!

Park!

Snaps.

Let me just share a tidbit of knowledge with you parents that cloth diaper...if you use prefolds, just MUST use these.

These are the answer to all your leaking problems. Lately, Bean has been having some leakage issues, and I didn't think that these clips were a necessity, let me tell you, they are! Bean is too wiggly to not use them. She moves all over the place, therefore creating big pee marks all over her clothes. It's a nuisance for me, and embarrassing for her. I mean, I get it...babies pee sometimes, but this is happening much more than "sometimes." I hope the problem gets solved, until then, you can find me doing laundry.

New.

iPhone does it again!

Done.

Our camera battery charger has mysteriously disappeared...so no super new picture updates. Sorry.


Bean this week has discovered that she can make a "guh" sound. All she does is talk and talk and talk now, I love it! She just lays on the floor and chats up a storm! She makes the most noise when other people are talking in the room, makes me think that she wants to be a part of the conversation. It's hilarious! I will have to capture it on camera once I can sneak up on her.

On a more serious note, for the past 5 or 6 weeks, I have not been able to work. I am having mysterious fainting spells. We have done multiple tests including an MRI, MRA, EEG and several blood tests. Everything has come back normal so far, which is good, but now we're on to testing my heart. We'll start with the cardiologists this week hopefully. I am not allowed to drive, which means that I haven't been able to work and I'm constantly worried about something more serious happening when it is just me and Bean at home together. I think that I just need some prayer, or good thoughts sent my way, whatever you can do. It's hard. I am not sure what is going on right now, so let's hope that someone can figure it out.

Twenty Ten.

Happy New Year!

It's a new year, and just in time for the new year, new food for Bean! Our lovely little girl has started on SOLIDS. That's right...messy mushy big girl food! She wasn't doing so hot with it at first, but she is doing great and making very little mess! I was talking with my mom today about how good she was doing with it, and I think this statement describes it best, "It's kind of like going from dirt to candy." I couldn't help but laugh, and think that for almost 5 months now, she has had the same thing to eat. All day, all night. I can't imagine, but then again, I'm not an infant.

Cloth diapering has been going great! I have quickly figured out that all in one cloth diapers work better for us than the prefolds. I am giving the prefolds another try though. I think that they didn't work for us because Bean's thighs are too skinny for the small size, but too big for the newborn size. With some smart positioning, they have been working with us today. No leaks! We'll see how long it lasts. The all in ones are great, they work just like regular disposables. I have a few different kinds, Thirsties, FuzziBunz, and Bummis. And the great thing is, I haven't had to buy any of them for full price! I check sites like Baby Steals, MamaBargains and Baby 1/2 Off daily. All of these sites offer baby items for 50% off or more! I recommend them to any mom! Especially when it comes to expensive items like cloth diapers.

Not much else to update on...she is great, we are great, everything is great!

(These are from us at the park today!)