Tuesday, May 15, 2012

A cute baby, rocks, and Breast Cancer

So...wow. It has been a really long since I updated this. Sorry everybody. Life has been so crazy. Brayden is becoming so active, he takes a lot of my time. Everytime something cute happens or we hit a milestone, I plan out a blog post in my head but never actually write it down...So I will try to update you through pictures about what is happening in our lives right now. Of course, it will be centered around Brayden so if you can't handle looking at pictures of a baby that is cuter than yours, I suggest you leave now. :)
So first off....
 Brayden is eating solids!
And let me tell you, he is loving every minute of it....NOT! He never liked rice cereal or peas. He used to like oatmeal cereal and apples but he's changed his mind in the last week. I am going to try sweet potatoes today to see if he'll eat something else.
P.S. Yes, I am making my own baby food but I will do a whole separate post on my granola hippie ways a little later. It will include my experiences with homemade baby food, cloth diapers, cloth nursing pads, and even homemade diaper rash cream.
We visited Grandpa Shuldberg in Idaho. It was Brayden's first long trip and I'm pleased to say, he did very well. 5 hours up, 5 hours back and he slept most of the way. This is him with Grandpa Shuldberg and his cousin Maddi, who is a few months older than him.
 That smile melts my heart every time.
Are they too big for the swing when they can swing themselves? :)
This is how Brayden helps me in the kitchen. I can do the dishes or make dinner and he chews on his spoon. Or hits things with it. Depends on how he is feeling.

I told you - he is so much cuter than your baby.
 Brayden is starting to outgrow his swing and bouncer so we invested in an activity center. It has been great. He absolutely loved it the first few days. Now he prefers it be outside but it still is a necessity in our home.
Silly, silly boys.....
 We went on a really cool adventure a few weeks back. We needed some rocks to build a small retaining wall in our backyard but found it was REALLY expensive to buy them. We started doing some research and found out you can go to designated quarries in Utah and collect your own as long as you buy the permit from the BLM. So we went out to Stansbury Island for the day and collected rocks.
 Brayden was smart and stayed in the shade. Even though it was only 75 degrees, no trees means it gets very hot.

 This is when we had about half the rocks we would get that day. We were able to take 1/2 a ton and we will be going back soon to get the other 1/2 we paid for.
The dogs had a blast running and exploring at first but soon realized how hot it was and decided to hang in the shade with Brayden.
 No, he wasn't after the chocolate, he liked the sound of the bag. :)
 And yes, I am cruel, cruel mother because I still can't help laughing when I see this picture. He could barely move in this thing but he's just so cute! We were taking him outside so we could do yard work but it was pretty cold so we had to bundle him up.
 He didn't mind too much. Outside is is favorite place. We go for walks everyday, sometimes several times a day. It relaxes him and helps him stay in a good modd or put him in a good mood.
The picture is a little blurry but I couldn't help posting that cute scrunchy face!
 Oh the simple toys babies love. Brayden's favorites:
  • cups
  • wooden, plastic, or metal spoons
  • water bottles (with or without anything in them)
  • phones or remotes
His favorite talent to show off: Sock Removal.
 And we come to last weekend, the weekend of Mother's Day and the Race for the Cure.
We all receive t-shirts in the mail for registering but Brayden is free so I decided to make him this hat and onesie to show his support for breast cancer research.
 This event is a big deal in our family. It has been a tradition in our family for a long time. Anyone who joins our family, also joins the cause. This year we all dyed our hair pink for the race.
 Even the dog!
 Brayden wasn't so sure about being stuck in the stroller but he had a lot of crazy people to watch so he survived.
 This is a family picture of the "Pink Heads" as one lady called us. We decided next year, the girls are going to wear tutus.
 Victor was a big hit with the kids and a lot of people comments on how cool it was that we painted the dog.
 I love seeing how many people support this event. Since I did the registering this year and found out how much it costs, I know we raised a lot of money for cancer research!!!
He slept through the first part of the race.

 But woke up about halfway through happy as a clam.
 Grandpa Simpson pushed him the whole 5 kilometers.
 And he loved it!
 My younger sister and her boyfriend. So cute, right?
 Grandpa Simpson and Brayden.
 My younger brother was in charge of Victor.

 My sweet boys all decked out.
 We went to IHOP for breakfast afterwards.
 Everyone looked at us funny because of our pink hair but it was a conversation started.
And of course Brayden got his metal spoon. (He's sitting up in a high chair! Can you believe how much he is growing?!)
Well, this was a really long post. You are now completely caught up on our family. I'm going to do a separate post on some of the crafts I've been working on and all my new "hippie hobbies" later. :)

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Every Sunday, I spend at least one hour-ish of the three hour block of church in the mother's lounge feeding Brayden. It is a small room with three rocking chairs. Every once in a while there is another mother there to chat with but most of the time it is just me; me and the single painting on the wall. It is called "And It Came to Pass Also That a New Star Did Appear" by Judy Law. It is a painting of Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ cradling the baby Jesus in her arms. She is in the stable (underground of course) and staring up at the opening where starlight is flooding in. The painting shows a calm, thoughtful moment of privacy between Mary and her son.
Many an artist has pondered what went through Mary's mind on these occasions. Did she know her son would change the world? Did she know that he would save the world? Did she know that He would suffer and bleed to save us all? Did she know about his remarkable life or his predestined death?
When I look at this painting, I don't think she's thinking about any of that. I see a more human side of her. In many ways I see me. At Christmas time, people kept saying things to me like, "You must feel like the Mother, Mary, with a newborn in the house." I didn't know how to respond. Who am I to pretend I can relate to being the mother of the Son of God?!
But then I look at this painting....(if you want to see it, click here)

Maybe we have more in common than I thought. The scriptures say nothing about Mary's mother being with her when Christ is born, just as my mother could not be with me. I'm sure she had to go with her husband to be taxed and could not or would not be in Bethlehem with Mary. Mary had to learn to breastfeed her son without the help of a mother or friend or midwife. I have no doubt that breastfeeding was just as hard then as it is now. She was not able to call her mother for help when everything seemed to be going wrong.
 In this painting, I see a Mary who is pondering the daunting task of just being a mother for the first time. What do I do now? Can I really handle this? How will I know if what I am doing is right? In the last four months, I have asked myself those questions a thousand times over. It's comforting, I guess, to know that even Mary, the woman who raised Jesus Christ, might have had the same feelings and doubts that I have. I guess it means that if I do my job right, maybe my son can grow up to be like Jesus in every way he can. I have been given a guide in the scriptures. If I follow it, I will succeed.

Friday, February 24, 2012

And so it begins.....

It's official....Roy and I have decided to try it:

Yup, that's right. I am going to try cloth diapers. So far my stash consists of 2 bumGenius one size diapers, 3 FuzziBunz one size diapers, and 2 Fuzzibunz perfect size medium diapers.
Today was my first day trying them out. The bumGenius fit great and did fine. The first Fuzzibunz I put him in leaked poop (which they are not supposed to do) and left red marks on his back. After an afternoon of research I didn't find a solution so I will just keep experimenting. It's got to be the fit...I have a small stash to just test it out and decide what I like before I go full bull on the process.
I really want this to work though. If I can handle cloth diapers it'll save us a ton of money. Not to mention...
Isn't he ADORABLE!!!!! (This is the bumGenius "albert" style diaper - it has Albert Eintein's equations on it!! I love it!)


 He's happy. And so am I. : )

Lots of Random....

So first of all...
I never blogged about Brayden's first Christmas!!! Sadly....I was so caught up in it all I didn't take one picture. :( I am so sad...I didn't even think to take some fake "First Christmas" pictures later with him in his adorable elf sleeper. It was a wonderful Christmas at Grandpa Simpson's even though I didn't get any pictures. Here is a picture of the us when we made Christmas cookies to take to our friends. Our wonderful friend Chelsee was in town and came to help.


I also realized that I never posted this:
Roy's work does an ugly sweater contest each year. This year, I made Roy's...kind of. We got a plain nasty green old man sweater from DI and I added a few things....ruffles, bells, holly leaves, and the awesome tassles. He didn't win but I was super proud. :)
Valentine's Day this year was great. I made my gifts for Roy and Brayden. For Roy, I made this "52 Reasons I Love You" from a deck of cards. I would highly recommend this project to any woman feeling a little down. It is very therapeutic to remember how amazing your spouse is.

I also bought a blank hoodie and added an "XO : ]" logo and a bleach pen design (I used the tuturial at I am Momma Hear Me Roar to do the bleach pen art). It gave it a kind of designer look. I love it! I made one for my dad as well. He thought I bought it this way! I am so proud!
For Brayden I made this cute little onesie. It is not perfect by any means but it's still pretty cute. The design idea came from this site.


Roy "and Brayden" were super cute!!! I woke up to this on my bedside table:
Then a scavenger hunt ensued...I found little paper hearts all over the house: here, on the shower door, on the bathroom mirror, in my breastfeeding spot. He also made smaller versions that were from Brayden. These I found in Brayden's room...and ....

I loved it!!! Each heart is a coupon for things like a night out or a foot massage (Roy hates giving those so it's a big deal!)


And of course I'll finish with some adorable pictures!
Roy is acclimating Brayden to doing his chores.
 He actually looking at the ducks!!



Roy built him a little fort on the couch...
I love my boys...and everything about them.
My two favorites sounds in the world:
 1. Roy telling me he loves me.
 2. Brayden giggling.
My favorites sights:
 1. Roy's smile.
 2. Brayden's smile
 3. Roy rocking Brayden to sleep at night
My favorite feelings:
 1. Roy's kiss
 2. Brayden's smooth skin
I am so lucky because I get to experience all of my favorite things every day. I am so blessed.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Family Pictures

My awesome cousin Cariann did our family pictures a couple of weeks ago. They turned out awesome! She was really fun to work with too. Check out her website here. We had so much fun and they all look great. We are going to hang one of them up in our front room.
Enjoy!