Blankenship

Blankenship

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Dylan is Five Months Old!

 The man is 5 months!

 He found out he can squeal!!!

Trying to eat the sticker.  :)

Sleep:  I am so so so happy to say that Dylan is finally sleeping 11-12 hours a night!  Wooo hoooo!!!  He has his last bottle at 7:45 and goes to bed at 8:00.  He will wake up anywhere between 7:00 and 8:00 the next morning.  If he is not awake by 8:00, I wake him up so he stays on schedule.  Jimmy and I figured out that when he woke up in the middle of the night he couldn't fall back asleep because it was so quiet.  He is used to so much noise around him when he is sleeping and we play lullabies for him the first hour he goes down.  So, Jimmy made a 13 hour play list of lullabies on his iPod.  Presto, he was sleeping 12 hours since we did that!  

Size:  He is still wearing all 6 month clothes.  I did finally pack away all his 3 and 3-6 month outfits.  We also just moved him into size 3 diapers.  He has his 4 month appointment on January 10th and he was 15 pounds and 23 inches long.  He is a tad small for his age (30th percentile) but that is to be expected considering my and Jimmy's size!  Nevertheless, he is growing right on track!

Special Visits:  Dylan's two best friends came over for a play date this month.  (I say two best friends, but of course, they have no idea, hah!)  My good friend that I used to work with had twin boys on September 24th, so they are less than a month apart.  They all hung out together, looked at each other, and drooled.  Seeing three babies together, all about the same size/age was just simply adorable!



Firsts:  Dylan has started to scoot around on the floor and in his crib.  He will pick his bck legs up and push himself forward.  It's a crawling motion, but without the arms doing any work just yet.  I think he will be crawling here soon!  His pediatrician said his development was ahead of the game, so we'll see!

Dylan tried solids for the first time a couple weeks ago.  I had a hard time getting him interested and he really didn't like it, so after a couple tries I decided to give up for a few weeks and start again when he is 5 months.  I feel it's not something to be rushed, and he will tell me when he is ready!  I did cereal with Owen starting at 5 months and didn't introduce any other foods until he was 6 months, and Owen did well with that, so I'll probably do the same with Dylan.  I'll just let him tell me what he is ready to try!




*Update:  Since then, we started again with just cereal on January 28th and he has loved it.  Gobbles it down, and I had to increase the amount he is getting.  It's funny how just a couple weeks made all the difference.

Dylan is also picking up his passy and putting it in his mouth himself.  He loves smiling at Lola and Owen.  I would say Lola and Owen are his two other best friends right now.  :)

Likes:  We brought out the Jump Jump (or, that's what we call it) for Dylan and he absolutely loves it!  He will get in that thing and bounce for 45 minutes with a big smile!  


Owen thought he should wear the cool whip container as a hat!

Dylan has also started to like looking at books!  He loves to look at the pictures while I read to Owen.  Of course, sometimes he tries to put it in his mouth!




He loves to roll over on his tummy and scoot around.  I'll look over and find he has scooted off of his play mat!

I think he looks so much like Owen in this picture.

Lately he has shown a little separation anxiety... he likes to be able to see me, especially if his teeth are bothering him.  This can be a little frustrating at times, but I have been telling myself, that it's a not such a bad thing that he just wants to be comforted.  Time goes by so fast, this phase too shall pass!  
I'm trying to be in more pictures... I'm always the one taking the pictures and never actually in them, so Jimmy has been trying to take more of me with the boys.  Here are some sweet moments from the past month...

 Kisses from mama!



 Playing on his lion chair.



He loves bath time and kicking his legs in the water!


Stay warm!!

Love,

Judi


































Friday, January 17, 2014

Making Baby Food

So, lately Jimmy and I have really been trying to eat healthier and more natural.  We both feel like there is a reason there is so much cancer and disease in the world now, and one cause for this is the way people eat nowadays.  So many of these illnesses did not exist 100-200 years ago...

Side Note - Did you know that there is a lawsuit against Naked drinks for claiming their drinks are 'All Natural' when they have actually been putting formaldehyde in them?  Read about it here:  http://livingmaxwell.com/naked-juice-lawsuit-settlement-details-shameful-truth

We have been buying more fruits and vegetables, eating more protein and eating a lot less processed foods.  Don't even get me started on soda!  Jimmy has officially kicked this habit!  Luckily, I was never a soda freak.  I finally got him to drink more water, and he says he can totally feel the difference in his health and body.

Anyway, in an effort to eat more natural, we decided we wanted to attempt to make Dylan's baby food.  I found this amazing baby food maker that steams, blends, and even defrosts and reheats baby food.  Today I tried it out for the first time, and I LOVE IT!

I tried something simple first, plain apples.  I peeled them and cut them up into 1/2 inch pieces.




Then I placed them in the basket of the machine and turned on the steam setting.


Fifteen later minutes I had soft mushy apples!

Next, I took the apples out of the steam basket and poured them in the pitcher with the same water that was used to steam them.  Turned on the blender and presto! Homemade apple sauce!


You can blend as little or as much as you'd like to get the consistency you want.  You can also add less water to the machine to get a different consistency.  Since Dylan has just started solids he needs it to be as smooth as possible.

I have one container that holds several 4 ounce servings.  You just place this container in the freezer and pop one serving out as you need them (like an ice cube tray).


One apple made four servings.

I also have small cups with lids that I plan on using when I make more.  The cups I have are BPA free and are made by Avent.  They are actually made to store breast milk, and I used them for that when I was pumping.  I really like them because they have ounce measurements on the side.

I did one more apple and had a little left over after I filled this container, so I gave it to Owen.  He LOVED it and kept asking for more!  I tasted it myself as well and it was delicious.  I'm even thinking of making Owen's apple sauce using this method!  He seemed to like this apple sauce way better than the store bought kind!

Once I was done, I threw the top on this container, labeled it with the date and type of food and tossed it in the freezer until Dylan is ready for it!

The economical benefit is amazing too.  I made 32 ounces of apple sauce using two apples.  Buying 32 ounces of baby food would cost me about $8.  Buying two apples costed me about fifty cents!

Overall, I absolutely loved making this for him.  It was so simple with this machine.  It only has 4 parts that need to be washed afterwards as well.  Super easy clean up.  I love that I know exactly what is going into his body.  I can't wait to try some more foods using the Beaba Babycook!

Happy Friday!

Love,

Judi 

Saturday, January 4, 2014

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  

Jimmy took some time on New Years Day to create this sweet montage of special moments of our family from 2013.  I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with everyone.  It is set to my favorite song right now, Old Pine by Ben Howard.  I'm seriously obsessed with this song and the emotion it captures in my heart.



I hope you all find joy in all the little moments life grants us this year. 

Love,

Judi

Monday, December 30, 2013

Dylan is Four Months Old!

Happy Four Month Birthday Dylan!



Of course Owen has to help me take pictures.  He is giving Dylan's foot a kiss.

Sleep:  Dylan goes to bed between 8:30 and 9:00 and wakes up around 5:00.  He is sleeping a little longer now... sometimes he will wake up at 6:00 and a few times he has even slept until 8:00.  We are still working on sleeping longer.  He usually has this early morning bottle and goes right back to sleep and sleeps until 8:00 to 8:30.  

He is really good about going to bed.  After his bed time feeding he goes right down and never cries! Sometimes he is asleep when I put him down for bed, sometimes he is awake.  If he is awake, he just coo's and puts himself to sleep.

Size:  He is now wearing all 6 month clothes.  His 3 month outfits are definitely too small now, but I haven't had to heart (or the time) to pack them away just yet... Gosh they outgrow these small clothes so fast!

Special Visits:  We had a busy December and had Jimmy's family up to celebrate Christmas one weekend.  We also went to visit Santa one Sunday.  It's been a busy and stressful month... I'm ready to start this new year off at a slower pace.

My Mom's friend Deb stopped by to see Dylan for the first time.  Here is a cute picture!



Firsts:  Dylan is now making the squealing noises!  He will sit and play with himself and squeal away!  It's so cute!  He is rolling all over the place now too!  He is now reaching for objects and grasping them, especially toys and people's faces.

 Dylan's first Christmas ornament!  
My best friend, Molly, and her husband came up for a visit and gave Dylan this ornament.


First Christmas dinner at Mimi and Pop's house!
He is wearing the hat from his popper.  :)

Likes:  We brought out the excer-saucer a few weeks ago and Dylan LOVES it!  He jumps up and down in it and loves to play with the toys.  He spins them, grabs them, and smacks them around and then squeals!

Jumping around!

Here are some more sweet moments from the past month...

 Daddy time while mommy bakes Christmas treats with some friends.

 Looooves to be thrown in the air!

 Owen loves to rub his head.

 And give him kisses!

 After visiting Santa.

 Passed out from playing, what a tough life!

Owen tries to feed Dylan with his play bottle.

My Grandma gave me a picture of my Dad when he was 4 weeks old.  I thought it was the spitting image of Dylan... here is the photo.



I tried to do a side-by-side picture, but this is the best picture I could find that shows the resemblance.

Dylan is about the same age as my Dad in this picture.


I also got a picture of Dylan where I think he looks a lot like Owen.
Dylan is 4 months and Owen is about 9 months.



That's all for now!
Happy New Year everyone!

Love,

Judi

Repeat the sounding JOY

Owen kept pointing to this ornament and saying "baby."  This is a picture of him from last Christmas!
My, how you have grown my sweet baby boy!

Repeat the sounding joy... this line and song comes to mind when I think of this past Christmas.  To see the joy and wonder in my children's eyes on Christmas morning was the most magical thing.  I absolutely loved making Christmas so sweet and special for them.  I'm overwhelmed with joy when I think of all the blessings our Lord has bestowed upon us this year.  Not only our personal gifts, but the blessing of the birth of his son.

On Christmas Eve the boys get to open one present.  (This is a tradition my family had that I wanted to continue.)  Each year they get special Christmas pajamas that they wear to bed that night.

Owen and Dylan opening their pajamas on Christmas Eve.

Look at your new PJs D!

Then, after the boys went to bed, we set up all their Santa gifts.  Jimmy put everything together while we watched The Sound of Music (another family tradition).  

Here are a few pictures of what it looked like the night before.


The next morning Owen came downstairs and we told him Santa had some.  He kept saying "Ho! Ho! Ho!" the whole morning.  I think he understood Santa a little more than we had expected!

 Reading Where The Wild Things Are from Mama and Dada.
(One of my favorite books ever.)

Dylan is reading a book about animals that Mama and Dada gave him.

 Playing with his par 3 mini golf set that Santa brought him!

 Riding his John Deer tractor from the Dykes family!

Each time he opened a present he would hand the piece of paper to one of us to throw away.
After we were finished opening gifts and there was still some wrapping paper on the ground he went around picking it all up and putting it in the trash.  He likes things to be neat!  Hmm, wonder where he gets that from?!?

Dylan is just chillin in Dad's lap on Christmas morning.

He is all dressed up and ready to go, just waiting on us!

Hanging out on Mimi's lap Christmas day!

I hope everyone's Christmas was as magical as ours was!

Happy New Year!

Love,

Judi

Owen is 18 Months Old!

My little man!
I can't believe he is a year and a half old already!

Size:  Owen is still wearing size 18 month clothes.  Some of his pants were a bit long for awhile, so I just rolled them up, but now I don't have to roll them anymore.  He must have gone through a growth spurt this month!

Special Trips/Visits:  We had a VERY busy December.  We went to visit Santa a couple weeks ago (see my previous post) and then had Jimmy's family in town to celebrate Christmas.  Then, of course, celebrated Christmas with my side of the family.  It was a whirlwind, and I'm not going to lie, stressful, month!  I'm looking forward to our lives settling down for awhile in the new year.

Favorites:  Owen loves reading in his new faux leather recliner!  My Oma bought him this adorable recliner for Christmas and he is hopping in and out of it all the time with a book to read.

This has to be one of my favorite pictures of all time.
He is reading Good Night, Gorilla (thanks Hall family!).

He loves cookies!  He said his first two word string of words:  "Mama, cookie!!!"  Since he said it once he is saying it all the time!  Of course I have to give him a piece of my cookie.  :)

Owen loves to sit in his big boy chair with us at the table.  He no longer sits and eats in his high chair.  We have graduated him to the booster seat at the table with us.  Dylan will be starting solids soon, and I didn't want any possession issues over the high chair, so we moved him up a month or two before Dylan would be needing the high chair.  Owen gets a kick out of sitting up there with us!




Owen LOVES music!  We have started a little family tradition of playing music while we eat dinner instead of the T.V. running.  Owen sits at the table and dances away!  He has his favorite songs that he likes to jam to a little more than others.  Don't we all?

We have had a few warm days this winter where Jimmy will take Owen and Dylan to the park.  Owen can now climb the jungle gym from one end and walk to the other end and go down the slide by himself!  I can't believe he is getting so big and can do this on his own!  I have several video clips of this, but they are so hard to upload...

We had our first snow of the winter a few weeks ago.  I bundled Owen all up and we headed outside for some fun!  He absolutely loved the snow.  He kept tripping and falling all over the place, but cracked up when he fell.  It was adorable!

"Seriously, Ma?!?" 
He was so bundled up that he could barely move!

 Snow butt!


 A rare picture of me actually in the picture with Owen.

I caught him mid-word saying BALL!
We were playing with snow balls.

After the snow fun we came inside for some warm clothes and cozy slippers.  If only he was old enough for some hot chocolate!  :)


Here are some other cute moments from the past month...

 He loves to put on my high heels and walk around.  :)

 I'm trying to actually be IN the picture more with the boys!  This might be the first picture of me with both of them.

Helping Daddy tighten the gate!


That's all for now... I hope everyone has a happy New Year!

Love,

Judi