Oregon or Bust!

Well, after many months of waiting, we are officially moving back to Portland, Oregon! I have to admit it's a very bittersweet situation. On one hand, we are all eager for Nathan to begin his path toward becoming a Renewable Energy Engineer (our main reason for moving to Oregon), and we're super excited about the plan to get out of debt while he's doing it! But... I'd be lying if I didn't say we were both very sad to be leaving Colorado and all the friends and family (and SUNSHINE) that are here. Even Nathan, the hard core webbed-footer that he is, is sad to be leaving Colorado. But we may still get to come back after its all said and done. Who knows what the Lord has in store! In the meantime, we have tons of packing, getting rid of things, and all the crazy stressful administrative things (that NEITHER Nathan nor I are all that great at ;-)) to get done in a very short amount of time! A week in Estes Park with the Carr family will be fun before we head out. We'll finally get to meet our nephew Henry!! And see Nathan's older brother and his wife who we haven't seen since Nathan's younger brother's wedding a year ago. So we're excited for that. But Nathan and his dad will drive away with the truck right after the vacation is over so we have to get it all done before then. Oy! Including all our tearful good-byes. ::sigh::

Well in the words of our old Pioneer ancestors, it's "OREGON OR BUST!"

Though... if I had been a pioneer, I would've taken one look at Pikes Peak and said FORGET Oregon... I'm good with this mountain! ;-) Hence the picture of Pikes Peak instead of Mt. Hood. ;-)

One Year

So not only is my baby girl walking ALL over the place, and talking some she's also a whole year old! I can't believe it. It's definitely bittersweet. I'm thrilled to see her blossoming personality and to see her doing so very well in so many ways, but it's also sad to look back at the photos of my newborn baby girl this time last year and know that those baby days are over. But Bella is SO much fun now, and it's a joy to watch her discover her world in so many new ways now.

We had party for her at my mom's house. My grandpa came all the way from Kansas and we had some good friends come to help celebrate. Bella got to spend the day with her Aunt Rachel and Uncle Ben too so that was super fun.

She was blessed with LOTS of fun gifts!! Mostly musical. Fun cd's for the car, a percussion set full of maracas, a tambourine, cymbals, a triangle and other fun instruments, a puzzle and a push wagon, but by FAR her favorite gifts was a little piano that's just her size! She's already working on her Elton John impression. :-)

We had a big birthday cake that had a picture of her on it (thanks Grandma!), and I made her a sugar free/egg free apple spice cake that was DELICIOUS!! I liked it better than the big cake. :-)

Even though Bella didn't nap well that day at all and was SUPER tired, she had a BLAST walking around and hamming it up for everyone who was there. She's such a treasure and we are so blessed to have her in our lives.

Annabella Updates

Annabella is 10 months old! I can NOT believe it!! My mom already mentioned planning for her first birthday. This year has FLOWN by! Unbelievable. I thought I'd record a few of her milestones here in the past few months as there have been MANY (I hope I can remember them all):

1. 8.5 months - Started crawling forward but only toward something on which she could pull herself up to a standing position

2. 8 - 8.5 months - Started cruising (walking while holding onto furniture) around on anything she could pull herself up on (people included)

3. 9 months - Started crawling forward not just to get to something to pull herself up but also to get all over the place! She discovered there IS life beyond the couch. :-)

4. 9 months - Her first 2 teeth FINALLY broke through the surface! She's currently working on another one but no evidence of it yet.

5. 9 months - Decided she liked some solid food and now gets 3 "meals" where she mostly plays with her food, and feeds Asher, but if she likes it enough she'll eat a fair amount. Her favorites (green beans :-), raisins, chicken, buffalo, carrotts, sweet potato, avacado, spinach, and blueberries). She doesn't really like much fruit much except for blueberries. :-) And momma's milk is still by far her choice meal.

6. 9.5 months - Started standing unassisted for a few seconds.

7. 10 months - Can now stand unassisted for up to minute! When she really wants to ;-)... she doesn't do it very often.

8. 10 months - Started "walking" with mommy and daddy while holding onto our pant legs and peeking through our legs (it's pretty dang cute)

9. 10 months - Started clapping her hands!!!!! THE C-U-T-E-S-T!!!

10. 8 - 10 months - Says LOTS and LOTS of things that I don't quite understand yet. But she definitely understands a lot! Like, "no", "don't touch," "all done?," and a few others. She hasn't said any clear word yet, but she definitely communicates with us and makes her points clear! :-)

11. 9.5 - Started taking 2 naps instead of 3. Some times I think she's tired enough for a 3rd nap, but she refuses to take it. Most days she does great on 2!

Oh, and this isn't really a milestone by any means but it's adorable! She and Asher play together..... constantly! I really feel like I have two kids sometimes. They "fight" over toys! Bella totally knows which toys are Asher's and which ones are hers. When she gets one of Asher's she'll grab it and start crawling or cruising away as FAST as she possible can all the while LAUGHING hysterically trying to get away. Then Asher will come and gently pull it out of her hand and run away with it (at a MUCH slower pace than he ever does with us) so Bella (all the while laughing mind you) can crawl after him to them pull it out of his mouth! It's pretty darn cute to watch! Some times it's not so jovial, as Asher can pull it out of her hand a little too hard or Bella just doesn't want to play is grouchy about it.... but for the most part, those two are two peas in a pod! SOOO glad they love each other!

And one final fun thing, we took her to the zoo for the first time last weekend! It was a lot of fun, though she just looked a little wide-eyed at all the animals! It'll be a lot of fun to watch her when she's older. She got to hear the elephants drink up water (they were inside). VERY interesting sound!!! And she also got to watch her daddy feed a giraffe! First time for both of them. :-) It was fun. And we ran into some friends while were there! Josh, Lindsey and Cassie. Fun, fun day!

Just Let Her Cry

Wow.... that's really all I can say is wow. What a startlingly thought provoking perspective on the "crying it out" issue.

This is somewhat of a side-note but still related. The other day I was putting Annabella in her Moby Wrap (one of the carriers I use to wear her) on our way into the grocery store. As I was getting the car locked up and about to head into the store, a woman approached me and thanked me for holding my baby. I was very surprised to hear someone thanking me for such an innate simple thing! She said she was a nurse and that it just breaks her heart to see so many babies sitting in their carseats ALL the time (from car, to store, back to car, to doctors office, back to car, to post office, back to car, etc... all the while never being held). She said that human touch is SO important that my baby will be so much happier for the fact that I hold her, and she thanked me again. Annabella smiled at her. :-)

Wow... so profound. In an age when people are STARVING for community and connectedness and relationships and dare I say... touch, why is it that some can seemingly so easily deprive even the littlest ones of this fading commodity? In an age of people taking anti-depressants like candy and spending hours chatting online with people they've never even met half-way around the world searching for fulfillment and connectedness why must we continue to feed this monster of "separate-ness" and independence to our children when they're so young?

Will a hug fill these voids in peoples' hearts? No. Not entirely. Will holding a crying baby solve their every need. Possible, depending on the need. Will smiling at a stranger help save their life? Possibly? Who knows what they were thinking or what they were about to do.

I know more than ever as I get older that only Jesus can truly satisfy these deep longings for wholeness.... BUT..... He never meant for us to be alone, even with Him. He meant for His people to live in community, in relationship, greeting each other with a "holy kiss."

Oh that our culture would value people and relationships over convenience!

Start the New Year out right..... Go hold a crying (or not crying baby), give someone a hug, and give a stranger a smile!

Merry Christmas!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Things My Daughter is Teaching Me

During her nursing strike a few months ago, "Annabella, you're clearly hungry! You're sucking on everything but me! Why won't you eat?"

"Barbi, your soul is clearly starving. You're trying to fill yourself with everything but Me. Why won't you come to Me just for a moment and take in My word?"

Then Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me will never go hungry, and he who believes in Me will never be thirsty.

(John 6:35)

"Annabella, you're SO tired! Why are you fighting going to sleep? Just sleep baby girl!"

"Barbi, you're so tired. Please, come to Me and rest."

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

(Matthew 11:28-30)

"Sweetheart, just because you can't see me doesn't mean I'm not right here. Mommy will never abandon you!"

God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."

(Hebrews 13: 5b)

"Oh Bella! What do you want? You're fed, you just woke up, you're changed, Mama's holding you. What more do you want?"

Cease striving and know that I am God.

(Psalm 46:10)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.

(1 Timothy 6:7)

Oh Jesus, help me learn to let You love me like You want to so that I in turn can love Annabella and Nathan like You so love me. I know I'll never have the patience and the kindness and the love I need if I don't let You first love and take care of me. Thank You for Your patience with me. I'm ever so stubborn! But then again, You already knew that. :-)

Bella and I are more alike than I ever realized.

Bedsharing Nearly Eliminates the Risk of SIDS

Up until now, I haven't blogged about the different types of parenting methods Nathan and I feel passionately about, as I haven't wanted to offend anyone. I still don't, and understand that every mom is different, and every family is different. That being said, the more I research about the different ways of doing things and the more I learn about all the things we're doing, the more confident and passionate I feel about what we're doing. I often wonder if more people wouldn't try some of the things we're doing/discovering if they were more popular or well-known. So, I figured I would share. :-) If you know me, you know that if I feel passionately about something, I just have to share... so here goes with the first one. :-)

Annabella has slept in our bed since the day she was born. She's been safe, and has practically slept through the night since she was little! The first week she had some day/night confusion :-), but once that got figured out, she's slept so well! She does most of her eating at night, but she does it in her sleep and doesn't wake up for it, and I barely do. What this article says about the instinctual position of the breastfeeding mother is SO true! That is exactly how I sleep. She's super cozy!

If I had to pick the single best decision I've made thus far as a mother, it would have to be my decision to breastfeed. I feel as though I could write a book about it and so wish more mothers chose to do it, especially the ones that can or could with minimal effort. So, rather than writing a book, I'll try to post a few things about it here and there. There is so much I could write though, our blog might just become a breastfeeding support blog! :-)

One final thought on this article, this is only one of many I've found about the safety and benefits of bedsharing (but NOT in "mainstream" places); and in fact, one article I read said that the statistical presence of SIDS in Asian countries where bedsharing is the norm shows that SIDS is practically non-existent! And in countries where co-sleeping is the norm it's statistical presence is extremely high.

The AAP recommends that babies be placed to sleep on their backs with a pacifier in their mouths to help prevent SIDS. I so can't help but wonder if that recommendation was taken from observing the benefits of babies who bedshare and nurse frequently in their sleep. Oh how I wish American culture could be more open to the natural way of things instead of always wanting to force the artificial on us and especially our littlest ones.