Our Sweetheart at 4 Months!

"What? Is that a typo?" You ask. No, simply a very behind Mama. Clara's 5 months now (as of 7-8-09), but since I didn't post for her 4 month birthday, I couldn't get ahead of myself, could I? Our main computer (with photos attatched) fizzled and had to be reset, so I haven't had a lot of opportunity to post the many wonderful pictures I took of Clara last month (and that's the important part of an update, right?) So here I go, belated again. I still owe you to finish the May Medley (again a picture issue), and I will soon post 5 month pictures of our little princess (I promise).

June was a busy month for us. Clara went to the doctor at her 4 month check up and weighed in at 17 lbs 6 oz and was measured at 25 inches long. She had a little cold, but got through. Yay! Also, at 3.5 months, she lost all of her hair on top! I was so sad and covered her head with lots of bonnets and things thinking that she may be bald until age two, like I was, but we were all happy when her hair started to come in again, and now she has about as much as there was before. Also, it seems to be more permanent, since the carseat and beds don't seem to rub it off anymore. Yay! Now I'll just pray that it gets curly. Okay, I'll love straight hair on her too. Her eyes are still pretty two tone, with a dark grey on the outside and a brown star in the middle. In different light, the grey can almost look blue or sometimes or like her eyes are all brown. It'll be interesting to see if they stay that way. They are very pretty.

~ ~ ~

I let Clara look at the mobile while I was making my bed and such. Clara is still in her bassinet. She's really too big for it, but she spends about half of her nights in our bed, the crib was (until recently) in storage at my parents, and we have been struggling to find a safe mattress solution. So, hopefully very soon we will be sidecarring the crib!

This is Clara right around 4 months old. She has good head control, but hates being on her tummy for long periods of time.

On her 4 month birthday I tried to put her into one of my old outfits. "It doesn't fit, Mama!" she seems to say here. Oh well!

New outfit time. She's cute without it too, though, huh?

So then I put her in these overalls and measured her from head to toe. No wonder I came up with 26 inches. Look at that stretch!

Daddy was sick and stayed home with us on Clara's 4 month birthday (I wonder where she got her cold from), and so he took this one, among others. Look how well she stands!

What a cutie! I love that smile. This month she started to laugh when I laughed. She had to get in on the joke!

Maybe I took a few too many pictures? No, she's too innocent for that. Isn't she cute!

Clara and Titus got to know each other better this month.

And bond as siblings in their mutual wonderment at their weird parents . . .

So much love and family cuddles!

Clara got to help Mama and Daddy plant flowers in the yard and only got a couple of tiny bites from mosquitoes. :(

Clara helped with laundry (thank you, God for my washing machine) which there seems to always be plenty of!

Clara got to spend time with Uncle Brady . . .

"Cousin" Chris . . .

and Miss Leslie (who taught her how to play cards) among many, many others.

But she got in some good Mama time too (Daddy pictures in another post).

And had a record number of blowout diapers. Goodness, Child! Let's hope cloth diapers help!

Big news . . . She can roll over! She started going from front to back first! Smart girl.

She knows someone in Westerville, Ohio loves her (as we all prayed for Grandma who suffered a stroke this month).

And she's an all around sweet girl.

We are so blessed!

Ready . . . set . . . Cloth Diaper!

I have been interested in cloth diapering our baby since before Clara was born, but knowing that we lived in a third floor, one bedroom apartment, and shared three (if they worked) coin operated washers and dryers with 19 other apartments, I knew it would very difficult. Thankfully we just moved into a bigger apartment with a wonderfully sized NON-coin operated washer and dryer that we get exclusive use of most of the time. Still, the idea of switching from disposables to cloth diapers has been very intimidating.

For one, I know no one who currently cloth diapers their babies (in real life)--at least no one locally--that I can learn from and talk to. I do get a lot of good advice online, though.

For two, the huge variety of possibilities makes me want run! And of course everyone who's ever cloth diapered before has their personal opinion about what diapers to use and what system works "best," and, for a perfectionist like me, that's equally intimidating!

For three, we don't have a lot of extra money right now for buying a stash of diapers. I'd love to buy a collection of different kinds of diapers to try out and then settle into what works best for us.

SO, I've been doing LOTS of research, and I keep running into cloth diaper giveaways. Many, many times there is an offer for an extra entry or two if I blog about the giveaway, so far I've avoided this, wanting to respect our readers and knowing that I'm already horribly negligent about writing blogs anyway. If I just put advertising on here that benefits me, then you all might never come back! But then I decided that I'm not giving you, my lovely readers, enough credit. And, who knows, you might enjoy participating in the giveaways too. So, I've decided to do it every once in a while.

In my cloth diapering searches recently, I discovered a really neat site: The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. It has lots of encouraging posts about cloth diapers, the people who make them, and the people who use them. They also have a weekly giveaway on their site.

One of the other things I realized recently is that a lot of the cloth diapers are made up of synthetic materials that sit against the baby's skin. Since I have been avoiding synthetic materials on my baby, in my baby's mouth, or in my baby's sleeping area (other than disposable diapers, ugh!), I realized that I will probably not be buying many popular varieties of cloth diapers and may in fact have to fork over a little more for the organic varieties, when really what I want is the natural fibers. Kissaluvs are definitely on my safe list of diapers that I want to try. I love their little book on how they got started (on the bottom of their website).

Well, tada! I get to share both with you at the same time with a giveaway of Kissaluv's new diaper line at The Cloth Diaper Whisperer. Check out several ways you can enter to win one of Kissaluv's new line of one size (a diaper that fits babies from birth through potty training) diapers. There isn't a lot of information out about these specific diapers yet, but they sure are cute!

I'll be letting you know about my journey and definitely share when I make the big switch and what diaper "system" I end up going with! By the way, I've been "tweeting" lots of different giveaways recently, so if you are interested in connecting with me on Twitter, let me know!

Sugar Free Summer

When I first heard that Laura at HeavenlyHomemakers.com was doing another one of her wonderful challenges, I thought that I'd probably just observe silently and learn from her experiences and others. However, through a round-about way, I did take up her challenge!

Back in April a combination of issues reminded me again that sugar is really bad for me.


* Sugar causes us to keep or put on excess weight.

* Sugar corrodes the enamel on our teeth and causes/allows cavities to form.

* Sugar inhibits minerals like calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium from being absorbed by our bodies and steals those minerals from healthy cells in order to process it..

* Sugar feeds yeast (which in nursing mommies and babies shows up as thrush).

* A life long sugar habit can lead to diabetes, hypoglycemia, and gallstones (among other things).

* Sugar highs lead to sugar crashes.

* Sugar is addictive (some even say it is drug like in its addiction).

* Sugar (which has been stripped of all of it's nutrients) often takes the place of other nutritious foods.

* Not to mention that all of these problems could potentially pass on to my completely-depending-on-Mama's-breast-milk baby!


I believe that some natural, God given forms of sugar--like honey or unrefined maple syrup--do have redeeming qualities and can be used by people in moderation with good results. But personally, I knew that going from too-much to moderation wouldn't work for me. I needed to call a sugar fast.

So, for the month of June, I am doing what I can to kick the sugar habit. Maybe after this, I will be able to eat some desserts in moderation. We'll see. Now I am avoiding all sodas, cakes, cookies, chocolate, candy, sweets, and sugary foods (some salad dressings, sauces, etc.). I am allowing myself one or two servings of fruit a day and a glass of milk on occasion (we still have a gallon of the good stuff coming to us each week!). I am also trying to avoid white flour, white pasta, bananas, and potatoes. I do have a good serving of brown rice, oatmeal, or whole wheat each day, but I try not to let the starches take over my diet.

On June 1st, I went to Costco and bought big bags of multi colored peppers, sugar snap peas (okay, so they are sweeter than many veggies!), cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, apples, and strawberries. I also went to pick up our first CSA share of the season which included bok choy, mustard greens, and two different kinds of lettuce.

So, at the end of day 4, I have been eating big green salads and handfuls of peppers, tomatoes, and peppers all day long and eating a few strawberries after dinner. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, but except for some strong pulls towards the candy basket on the second day (it's really slim pickings, but I was feeling desperate!) I haven't wished for any of the stuff I have been avoiding. In fact, it's early to tell, but I think I have more energy and am clearer headed than usual. I hope the rest of the month goes this well.

I am really happy that this decision is helping our whole family (all three of us : ). My eating healthier is forcing me to be more on top of the planning and cooking of meals than I have been since Clara's birth. We are forced to not rely on fast food for a quick last-minute meal (especially since our recent move has brought us within a mile of both McDonald's AND Wendy's along with about 10 other places!). James has joined me during the meals, of course, and now has veggies to take with him to work to snack on. He even encouraged me to make us a "to go" meal for the hour long drive to church on Wednesday night. It worked pretty well. And I feel so much better about myself being the homemaker I so want to be and am even more productive with my time--all just because I dropped sugar from my diet! Amazing!

So, my tip for those doing an eat more fruits and veggies challenge is to eliminate, avoid, or extremely limit all forms of sugar in your household. Yummy fruits and veggies will step up to fill the gap right away. Many of you are way ahead of me, but I'm excited that this is so doable. Let's hope I still feel this way on June 28th!

May Medley Part 2: My First Mother's Day

With my first Mother's Day came so many special memories. On Saturday, the three of us spent the day with the Kuennings walking around the massive and picturesque Lake Eklutna (or rested while I nursed the baby as this picture shows).

Brady and Aspen (aren't they cute?) just celebrated their 1st Anniversary on May 31st.

While the guys (and Aspen) Geo-cached,

I carried Clara in my Mei-Tai and walked and talked with Mom (and whoever happened to be near).

Afterwords, we enjoyed a lovely and relaxing dinner at the Kuenning house.

Clara got to sit in Mom's new highchair.

Everyone was exhausted.

I received three cards: a sister card,

a mom to daughter card,

and a father to daughter card (which isn't cooperating, sorry--any bloggers know how to fix this?).


I also received a beautiful blooming hanging basket of pink petunias (this isn't it, but it was similar!).

Sunday morning I was ridiculously excited that when the kids handed out carnations to all of the mothers, I wouldn't have to shoo them away saying, "I'm not a mommy yet!" So when I had a lopsided yellow flower thrust into my hand I grinned. Although I surreptitiously swapped it out for the prettier pink one that Adam handed me. :)

Here it is! My first Mother's day carnation.

I loved snuggling little Clara to my chest in the little brown and white stripped dress with the matching diaper cover that I had worn as a baby. It was such a wonderful day to be a mother!

This is the one of the only pictures I have of Clara in her cute dress. Not long after that we had an *ahem* exploding diaper incident and she had to wear something else.

It was Caitlin's first Mother's Day too, and Mollie's first visit to church!

However, basking in the meaningful Mother's day sermon my dad had prepared was not to be. Right after communion, my mother started having chest pains. Someone tapped me on the shoulder and said, "Did you know that Carol is going to the hospital?" I just looked at him shocked and said, "You mean my mother?" He said, "Yes, she's in the office." I just made a beeline back there with Clara. We were pretty sure that she was having a gallbladder attack from having a tiny bit of cream in her coffee that morning without taking an enzyme to go with it. Poor Mom! I was so glad that we had celebrated together the day before. Someone else preached in Dad's place while they left to make sure that Mom was okay. She was, (Thank you, God) and ended up resting at home the rest of the day. I was glad we had celebrated together the day before!

Mother's Day afternoon we spent with the Smiths (I'm sorry, the camera was relaxing too!). I just love relaxing over there. It's becoming a habitual Sunday afternoon nap spot for me. : ) Sally cooked a delicious dinner for us (even though she was a mom too); it was ready as we walked in the door. Then Jeremy, Sheila, and the kids came over for a while. The Smith's gave me a beautiful hanging flower basket of fuchsias for Mother's Day. So pretty (although these aren't mine. I borrowed the picture!).

I truly felt blessed and special. All I needed was my little cutiepie, and I got so much more!

One Year Ago Today . . .

. . . we learned that Clara was growing inside of me. The day after Brady and Aspen's beautiful wedding (we had stopped on our way home to buy a pregnancy test--and a bottle of folic acid, I was pretty sure!), I woke up and did the test before James got out of bed. The funny thing was while buying the test in the store, I read outloud, "Results within 3 days" meaning within 3 days of conception, but James thought it meant within 3 days of taking the test. So when I bounced back into bed thrusting the stick with the plus sign under his nose and the paper that explained what the plus sign meant into his hand (so that he could "read" the results for himself), he looked at me with confusion. After I explained what it all meant, we laughed and cried and kissed and prayed and began dreaming and planning together of our little one to come.

I sat in church that morning hardly able to comprehend anything in the world that was going on around me. I remember being aware of taking the Lord's supper for two and feeling like everyone around me must know our secret from the joy radiating from me. I could not wait to go home and research everything I could about our baby's development so that I could somehow "see" the little person forming in my womb.

And God has been so good. I do not deserve the precious blessing in our life that looks to me as "Mama." She has come into our world and changed everything making it richer, brighter, more beautiful, full of hope and joy and love. I am forever humbled that God gave us Clara to hold and keep and raise on this earth for His Glory.

Thank you, God, for Clara Joy.

May Medley Part One: Clara is 3 months old!

( . . . or was three weeks ago! All of these pictures are from around that time. The first few are of a walk we took together on a beautiful sunny evening on May 8.)

Nap Time

Mama Time

Daddy Time

God has blessed us with a beautiful May. With absolutely gorgeous, warm, sunny days full of good times and memories, it seems almost incomprehensible that the summer has only just begun. With all that happened this month, moving in, Mother's Day, and travels, I did not get to post as I intended to, so I have to play catch up. I do have so much to share about our little girl, though, and how much she is changing and growing. I will do my best to stay more on top of her milestones documenting and sharing them here over the summer. But for now, I will do a three part recap of this special month to share with you all.

* * *

Clara's three month milestone came and went without much fanfare. We snapped a picture or two, and I gazed proudly at my growing girl. However, for Clara some vital mechanism seemed to snap into place at 3 months, and she began interacting with us at a whole new level. She seemed to move from the passive infant to the interactive baby. It was really remarkable.

Here are just a few things we noticed:

* She began reaching out to grab things, then pulling them toward and into her mouth.

* She will focus on the colorful pictures of a book page for several seconds. It's fun to read them too her now.

* She reacts more and more to me singing to her. No longer does she just stop fussing; now she will grin at me too.

*She gets excited when she realizes that Mama's getting ready to nurse her.

* She latches herself on without a whole lot of help. When I gently de-latch her when she seems done eating, she will re-latch if she wants to keep sucking. This can get kind of funny.

* She can't help but smile big at other people's smiles. Smiling is a whole body business for her. From her head to her toes, she engages all her muscles in it: curling her toes, tensing her arms, kicking her legs, and arching her body.

*I was cleaning her neck the other day when she began to laugh, not just giggle the way she often does, but laugh from deep inside. I guess I was tickling her! Too darling!

* She is very close to rolling over. But even though she doesn't flop from back to tummy, she can wiggle her way quite a distance to get to us.

* She seems to sense our moods. The other day, she wasn't settling down on my chest to sleep as I hoped and kept bobbing. It was cute, and I started laughing. She picked her head up, looked at me, and laughed with me. I melted!

It's so amazing how God made babies so quick to learn and so relational (girls especially). I just pray all the time that God will give us wisdom to teach her what is right--starting now!

April Showers of Blessing

This weekend, Christians from all over Alaska came together at the Alaska State Lectureship (hosted in Anchorage this year) to hear preachers from all over the state give lectures on a common theme. It is the highlight of our Spring and something we look forward to for many months. We saw many friends this weekend and got to show off our beautiful daughter to people we have known since we were children. It was very special. Do I have any pictures? Of course not. Ugh. I am not good at thinking about life through the eyes of a blogger. That, and I think I need to be brave and commandeer the camera so that I'm not constantly pointing for James to take pictures of this or that. Oh well. The memories are warm and bright in my mind and heart.

Clara and I also went to the high school on Friday to see some of my students and visit with a few coworkers. It was so satisfying to walk through the halls of Chugiak High School with Clara sleeping on my shoulder, after so many months of waddling through the hallways thinking about my baby, feeling her kick inside me, and praying for her. People were very excited for me and made many kind supportive comments about how blessed I was to be able to stay home with her. I couldn't agree more. I did get a cell phone picture of Clara in Ms. Steele's reading class where I spent so much time last semester helping students and growing my friendship with their wonderful teacher, but I'll have to figure out how to upload it onto the computer.

The big news in our life right now is that we are moving away from our little one bedroom apartment in Peterscreek and moving into a larger two bedroom triplex unit in Anchorage, near the airport. We are trading in apartment 4 for unit C, coin-operated laundry room for a personal washer and dryer, a leashed dog walking area for a small fenced yard of our own, an apartment parking lot for a garage, a PO box for mail delivered to our house, and, for James, a 45 minute commute (in optimal weather and traffic conditions) for a 10 minute one. We are also trading in a lower rent for a higher one and a 15 minute drive to church for an hour drive, but I think we will be able to work with these things.

These are the Craigslist pictures. The garage on the right is ours, the windows above the garages are the windows of the two bedrooms. The trees are in our little front yard. The other units are stacked behind the unit visible in this picture. We are so thankful that we don't share walls, ceiling, or floor with neighbors. Clara and Titus can jump around as much as they want without disturbing others.

People keep asking us why we're not buying, but we really don't feel confident yet of where we would want to settle down, the distance from family and church is a big issue for us. There are two congregations in Anchorage we could attend with wonderful people who go there, but our hearts and lives and work are so invested in the Christians in the Valley, that it's currently inconceivable to leave that church family for another one. Still our family time together, James', Clara's, and mine, is important too and being so close to James' work will be such a blessing to all of us.

This is the view from the side. The door that is up higher is ours and the fence and yard the camera is taking a picture through is ours. I can't wait to see it when it's green like this. I'm encouraged that I like it so much in the dirty melting snow and mud.

So, we are moving this week. I'm amazed with how much stuff we have crammed into our tiny living space. It is going to take a lot of work to get it packed and moved. It's a bit overwhelming to think of doing it all with Clara, but when I think of life on the other side: hanging pink curtains and decorating a room for Clara, having space to invite more than two people over at a time, having room to store bulk organic groceries, and just SPACE, I know that it will all be worth it. If you think of us, please pray that things transition smoothly. Moving can be very stressful.