James & Andrea

The Birth of Lydia Grace

2011-09-11T15:23:00.002-08:00

I love birth stories. I’ve read hundreds of them and enjoy every single detail that the mother feels comfortable sharing. You may not. Consider this fair warning that you may learn more about me or our birth than you wanted to know. For others like me, ENJOY! :)

It is only by the grace of God that I can tell you this story. I have been so blessed by the birth of Clara. Her life brings me joy every single day I am blessed to share with her, but her birth story has been a struggle for me. After wanting and trying so hard for a natural birth, the long, unproductive labor and transfer to the hospital for a medicated birth was disappointing, to put it mildly. Don’t get me wrong, I thank God that it was such a blessed experience overall, that my baby arrived safely, and there were no long term repercussions of doing what we had to do, but deep in my heart, I felt like I had failed at birth, and I had no idea why.

So, from before the moment I knew that another baby was on the way, I had been praying, thinking, analyzing, reading, struggling over my next birth. I shed many tears over wonderful books like Birthing From Within and while delving into the heart of things with my wonderful midwife. I prepared my mind to welcome, accept, embrace the pain of labor. I decided to ignore my labor as long as possible. I read affirmations like “I can do this” “My body was made to have babies” and so on. I prepared to drink red raspberry tea and take calcium and magnesium to help my uterus work effectively. Most importantly, James and I gave my labor and birth over to God and asked for His will to be done. I knew His will and my will are NOT the same, and over and over we verbally and mentally accepted whatever He knew we needed.

So, five days overdue, on June 10th, James, Clara, Titus, and I went on a walk—with our umbrellas, as it was sprinkling. Mostly we were on a traffic engineer’s errand to see if our neighborhood connected to a certain cross street, so we walked a pretty decent distance. Once we returned, my big, pregnant body was exhausted, so I settled into a recliner and read books to Clara while James put dinner together. I was feeling all kinds of weird sensations as my big baby was wiggling all over inside me and my body was doing some of the mild contracting that it had been off and on for the past few weeks.

After dinner, I felt the contractions strengthening slightly and picking up, so I did some light straightening. The house didn’t need much as I had been in major nesting mode since April. :) I timed a few contractions and found them to be about 2.5 minutes apart and a minute long. I called the midwife to give her a heads up about 11 or so. She encouraged me to take a hot bath or shower and lay down to get some rest. I took a hot shower, but laying down was uncomfortable so I told James to get some sleep and I retired to the living room.

I labored through the night in the green recliner and on the labor ball. I was very chilled. I tried to drink the raspberry tea and the contractions got so intense, that I backed off. I did drink a wonderful “laborade” and took my calcium and magnesium. The contractions were pretty consistent a 6 minutes apart and 1 minute long. I read blogs online and tried to get an idea of what the symptoms and stages of labor were. I read a really neat article on assessing the dilation of a laboring woman without an internal check. I also read other women’s birth stories. When James asked me why, later, I said it was comforting to know that no mater what, all labors had an end! I was not in extreme pain, although I did have to focus and breath through those later in the night. I was calm and positive and doing a lot of praying. I knew I probably wasn’t very far along, but I was okay with the journey my body was taking. The room was dimly lit by the “midnight sun”. We closed the blinds and curtains, though, and left a small light on over the sink. It was cozy.

At five AM, I saw Clara pitter patter into the bedroom where James was sleeping. I knew she would crawl into our bed and go to sleep again. I was starting to need some moral support and help. I knew I should probably eat something, but did not feel like fixing it myself. Whenever I was up walking around (or in the bathroom) the contractions were closer together and more painful. James came down and made me toast, scrambled an egg, and sliced an apple for me. He started pushing on my back too which helped tremendously with the pain. Even better was when he pushed my hips towards each other, although it was irritating to coach him in this while contracting. By seven, Clara was awake and we called my parents to come pick her up. I was beginning to vocalize through the pain by this point, so I went into the other room to labor while James took care of Clara’s needs.

At this point, I was really tired. I was able to sort of doze between contractions in the wonderful green recliner. I timed contractions again and they spaced out to 8 minutes apart. At 9, my mom arrived for Clara and I said goodbye to my big girl knowing that when I saw her again, she might very well be a big sister. I called my midwife again to give an update. It was obvious to her that my contractions were more intense, but seeing how I was still hungry, chatty, and the contractions were spaced out, she said, “Well, Andrea. This might just be the way you labor.” This was discouraging to hear, but hopeful too. The verse, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” hit my mind and heart and I knew no matter HOW I labored, that God had made me to labor that way, and it was okay. My midwife told me to try to get in some more dozing on the recliner and to call her back when something shifted. We both knew that I did not want to be watched and laboring naturally would be my best chance for a natural birth. So I tried to doze in the recliner again, but after an hour when waking up to the contractions became too painful to tolerate, I got up again. James and I discussed walking, but as it was a busy Saturday with garage sales and dog walkers everywhere, I didn’t really want to walk down the street moaning. We decided to take a short drive and get out to walk somewhere else.

At 11, I discovered “bloody show.” This very good sign was totally depressing to me. I had been laboring 14 hours at this point, and I knew bloody show to be the sign of 2-3 cm dilation. My water still hadn’t broken, which I was thankful for, as this had started the clock ticking on my first labor. We got in the car and drove to a park. James jokingly suggested bringing the birth supplies just in case. I said, “Let’s not, then we might actually need them.” In my mind, the labor coming to a quick end was the best solution possible! The park was too crowded, so we drove to Mat-Su College campus, where our whole relationship had started as we fell in love between evening Russian classes. Driving over gravel was the worst, but even as we drove around for an hour, I only had 4 or 5 contractions in the car. We got out and walked a bit. It was VERY slow going, and I stopped frequently. We talked about my slow labor, and I cried a bit wanting desperately for one of those 3 hour labors some women have—or goodness, even a six hour labor would have been nice! James teased gently that 6/12 was a very nice number. I hoped he was saying 6:12pm, then hit him as I realized he was suggesting I’d be in labor past midnight! I remember saying that if my slow labors were due to emotional hang ups, I didn’t know why since I LOVED babies. Sniff. Sniff. :)

Just before 1 PM, I told James that I probably should go home again, since I needed to use the bathroom again. We both thank God that we didn’t do something dumb like try to find a public restroom! At home, I made a bee-line for the bathroom. Once there I felt a little pop and warm gush of liquid! My water had broken! I was at once nervous and excited—this was it, my baby would be born soon, but things might be more painful and intense and, if things WERE like my last labor, this could mean 30 more hours of labor and a transfer to the hospital. James suggested calling the midwife and I said, lets see what happens and watch a few more contractions.

James started heating lunch and I had another “normal contraction.” James suggested we time them, so I moved to the computer by the recliner. He held my hands as I contracted again. I started singing “God is so good” through the contraction, instead of moaning. But the contraction went on and on and on. James says I said, “Ouch!” towards the end. Then suddenly water was gushing. I was wearing an absorbent pad, but it just came and came and came. Suddenly I was barking orders for James to get me a chux pad to go on the floor and a towel to put between my legs and my shower cap. :) I was going to jump back into the shower to clean off. James said, “How about I call the midwife?” and I yelled, “Good idea!” over my shoulder.

Soon I was in the shower and the contractions were like waves in a storm: one on top of another with barely a break between them. I was leaning on the shelf built into the corner and groaning, yelling, and mooing with the intensity. James called the midwife but she was in the carwash and couldn’t hear what he was saying! So he called my dad and told him to send my mother over. The midwife called back and said she was heading for home to pick up one or two items, but don’t worry because she had called Stella, the assistant and left a message on her machine! James came over to the shower to see me and pressed on my back. I remember saying, “I am so glad Clara isn’t here!” Then the phone rang again. And he left me while I yelled, “Don’t leave me! Don’t leave me!” It was my mother asking if she should wait to come since she was in a crowd of Christian friends who might suspect what was up if she made a quick exit. She paused in the middle to try to figure out what that noise was (Me hollering) and said, “Do you need to get back to Andrea)?” He said, “Just come, I don’t think it matters now!”

I really didn’t know how long I would be in “active labor.” The “books” said 2-4 hours. I had suddenly felt like moving to all fours in the shower. James came over to see me, and I felt a little push at the end of my contraction. Since with Clara, I had been medicated at this stage, it was a completely new feeling, but there was no mistaking it! I told James, “My body is pushing!” My midwife called back to say she was stuck in construction traffic. James calmly said, “Well, then you better tell me what to do, because Andrea feels like pushing.” The midwife directed James to get me out of the shower and lay on the bed on my side. Somehow I waddled into the bedroom to follow the instructions, but I called for James to get the quilt off the bed first!

All of the birthing supplies were in a couple of boxes in the corner of our bedroom. I had intended for the midwives to set them up where they wanted them. Now there was no time for that! James laid a large chux pad on the end of the bed and I lay lengthways on the foot of the bed, my wet body sticking to the paper. The midwife asked James what he could see. And he said, “I see a head!” Then with the midwife calmly giving instructions over the phone, James relayed instructions on pushing (to hold my legs and tuck my tailbone into the mattress) and applied olive oil and a cloth to support me and keep me from tearing (I had to send him flying around the room looking for the olive oil and there were supposed to be hot compresses in a crockpot waiting for this stage, but the midwives hadn’t been here to prepare it! He got to watch the miracle of Lydia’s head being born (no mirror for me this time!) and the natural rotation of her head as her shoulders prepared to be born. He checked her neck for a cord and gently loosened it then helped her shoulders birth, one at a time. With one final directed push from me (the only “on purpose” push of my labor), Lydia was born and her daddy knew we had a girl. “Oh Andrea,” is all he said.

James handed her up to me on my tummy. Her slick body slid, but we both caught her, and I sat up to hold her better. She was rather blue and had not taken her first breath yet. We were both calm as we knew that the umbilical cord pumped oxygen rich blood into her system. We gently rubbed her, spoke to her and (eventually) I blew a little on her face until she took a little breath and made a little cry. We kept rubbing her and stimulating her as she was just a tad floppy. The front door opened and someone came up the stairs. My mom walked in. She was shocked to see us sitting there with a baby in our arms! She ran down the hall to wash her hands, then came back to help us rub her. Lydia was making stronger cries now and acting much more alert. Mom asked, “Is it a boy or girl?” I checked for the first time. “It’s a girl!” “What time was she born?” I laughed. Who had been watching the clock? 2:15 PM we guessed (official time was 2:17 by the midwife’s car clock)—just about an hour from the time my water broke!

The door opened again and another person came up the stairs, James walked out to see Stella, the apprentice midwife, had arrived. James said, “Hi, nice to meet you. Come meet my daughter.” Stella set to work assessing Lydia and me, checking my blood loss and Lydia’s heart rate. By this point we were laying down and Lydia had started nursing. A little bit of me felt like I had been hit by a train. I felt exhilarated and happy to be holding my baby in arms, but sore and achy too. I thought the relief of being done with the pregnancy and birth would mean I felt terrific, but I had a little ways to go! A few minutes later I birthed the placenta and we discovered that it had an extra triangle shaped lobe on it, meaning it was extra large. That plus my big baby (9lbs 12oz, 21 inches) meant that I was bleeding more than I needed to.

The midwife arrived soon. They were dosing me with bitter herbs, homeopathic remedies, and (eventually) two shots of Pitocin in the legs and a few Methergine pills to get me to stop bleeding. Eventually I did before it became necessary to transfer to the hospital. My midwife repaired a bit of tearing. The umbilical cord was cut after an hour (the placenta lay on the bed next to me for a while). Lydia was weighed and measured and given a newborn exam to check for the infant reflexes and any abnormalities (there were none). We both got into a warm herb bath together to help speed our healing. I was given a clean nightgown and settled into a clean bed to rest with my baby.

Then I had all the time in the world to reflect on the beautiful gift we had been given—an amazingly perfect little girl born completely naturally into her daddy’s hands. Through my ENTIRE pregnancy, I had had not one internal check, and didn’t have to lay flat on my back for that particularly painful (or discouraging) exam during my labor either. In my 17 hours of labor, I had no one fussing over me to check hear tones with a Doppler. I didn’t have an IV or any drugs or interventions of any kind. I birthed a baby. I feel so strong, capable, whole, and thankful to God for this gift of healing He’s given me. I will never doubt my ability to birth again!

Photo by Katie Cannon when Lydia was 2 Weeks Old

I love my midwife. If I am blessed with the opportunity of giving birth to another blessing, I will do my best to have my midwife attend my birth. I asked James if he wanted to catch another baby (with my midwife there in person!), but he said, “Nah. We’ve had this midwife for two pregnancies so far, and she hasn’t caught any of our babies. If we go for three, we’ll let her catch that one!”

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Little Girl!

Lydia Grace Plays with Toys

2011-08-18T16:56:00.001-08:00

I can’t believe Lydia is almost 10 weeks old and I have barely posted any pictures of her. I thought that having two children under the age of three would be difficult, and I discovered that I was right! There isn’t a lot of extra time for a *cough* perfectionist *cough* to post witty, creative blog posts. But I want you to know, I’m really loving being a mother to BOTH Clara and Lydia. They are two sweet, loving, beautiful girls and the rewards of being their mother just compound daily. So here is a regular, run-of-the-mill blog post of pictures I took today while watching Lydia play with some toys for the first time. If I get lots of comments, I will try to do this again really soon.

I’m sorry it’s so many pictures of the same thing, but I’m her mama! I can’t stop looking at her and I think she’s pretty cute!

Here she is in motion!

Lydia moves her hands to shake her rattle, but she can’t stop looking at mama!

It’s a Girl!

2011-07-02T17:13:00.001-08:00

On June 11, 2011 God blessed us with the safe delivery of

Lydia Grace Smith.

She weighed 9 lbs. 12 oz. and measured 21 inches long.

It’s been a fun adjustment for our family of three to be a family of four!

Clara LOVES being a big sister!

Daddy got something MUCH better than a tie for Father’s Day!

It is so much fun getting to know our new girl!

Guess What Our Baby Is!

2011-05-06T07:00:00.001-08:00

In honor of being one month from our due date, we'd like you to help answer a big question that is still on our minds:

Are we having a GIRL . . .

Or a BOY?

We don't know!

So, if you remember with Clara, we asked everyone to guess our baby's gender, when they will arrive, and how big they will be. All you need to do is go to this website, enter the game name JojoSmith and then fill your guess!

I hope everyone will participate. It was a lot of fun last time. We even gave out a prize! :)

We bought a house today!

2011-04-05T19:40:00.001-08:00

We bought our first house today! I can hardly believe it. Our nomadic life has ended and we are now settling into a place to call home where our children and pug dog can play. We also joined the ranks of those who have a mortgage and the responsibility of house repair and upkeep. But I think after all the frustrations of renting for 5 years, we’re ready for this new challenge. I wish we could show you a picture of our blue farmhouse style home with a wrap around porch and a fenced yard on a corner lot, but alas, I am only “with it” enough to share this good news with you all!

All I can say is I am so thankful to be so blessed to have been able to buy a home for our family to grow in before our baby comes. I hope to be able to share pictures soon. I can’t wait to get a little girls room painted for Clara, settle into my kitchen, and set up a little nursery! My nesting instinct is in full swing; I just pray I have the energy and ability to do as much as possible in the next two months.

Write and let me know if you would like our new address, but we are official Palmer residents now! Old hat for James, first time for me (a Wasilla Gal). We are excited! Sometimes in the long, difficult process of home buying we thought we’d never make it here. Thanks for sharing in our joy!

Join us for Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers!

We’re Expecting . . . A Baby!

2010-12-07T10:24:00.001-09:00

Yes, God has blessed us again with the hopes and dreams of a little baby coming into our lives!

We (okay, mostly Andrea) are 14 weeks pregnant now, happily over most of the first trimester queasies and uncertainty and into the second trimester of bliss and watching for the baby bump to grow (so we can put all of those cute maternity clothes to use!).

Our due date is in early June, a happy time for an Alaska baby to be born (no blizzard worries or cold car seats—for a while). We are working with our wonderful midwife and hoping for a home birth this time! The only hitch is, we’re not exactly sure where “home” will be, as our current housing situation is temporary (you’re welcome to pray about that!)

We’re so thankful that Clara will be a big sister. She doesn’t really understand what is going on right now, but she is happily involved with her baby dolls and is fascinated by any baby (i.e. child under the age of three) within any distance.

Anyway! We’re excited to be able to share the good news with you and ask that you’ll keep our little munchkin in your prayers. Thank you!

Adventures in Toddlerhood

2010-11-11T15:02:00.001-09:00

So this morning was eventful. Life has gotten interesting around our house. Our 21-month-old recently has learned how to flush toilets, open round door handles, lock door handles, along with getting into everything she can reach. Oh, and now she carries around a little step stool to get into MORE stuff that she can't reach. Anyway. It's been a crazy couple of days. I keep reminding myself, "She's a toddler, she's a toddler." but I am going a little bonkers.

So this morning, after my Clara had eaten her breakfast, while she was puttering around with her toys and things, I took the dog out on a leash around the front yard. Recently, she cries when I do this, but since there is six inches of snow outside, and I don't want to bundle her especially or have her run out on her bare feet, I closed the door behind me, and since she was happily doing her thing so I wasn't terribly worried. When I heard her at the door though, I remembered, "Uh-oh, she can turn the lock in the door handle, and I don't have my keys." So I went back quickly, but it was too late. She had locked me out of the house. I knocked on the door and asked her to "Turn it, Sweetie" but she kept saying, "Huh?" and turning the door handle. I stood there and kept turning the door handle and hearing her turn the door handle. Finally, I dashed over to our neighbor lady and knocked on the door. She didn't have her hearing aid so it took a really long time for her to come to the door and when she did, she didn't understand my frantic words. Finally, she got her hearing aid and let me use her rotary phone (it made me feel like was in Russia again waiting for the little click clicks on the line). I called everyone: James (who's cell phone went straight to the answering machine so I knew it was dead), my MIL (who works at a bank down the road--I forgot it was Veteran's Day), my Mother (who is 40 miles away but might have some advice), my Dad's cell, my parents' second phone line, and TWO locksmiths and NO ONE ANSWERED! Okay, one locksmith answered, but gave me a 2 hour wait. So I called 911. They said they would send an officer, but he would have no resource but to break the door down. . I told them I would wait on my own front porch and headed home, Titus still in tow.

When I got to my own front door, it opened as smooth as butter. She had UNlocked it while I was at the neighbors. She had also started my front loading washing machine with a pair of mittens in it. I quickly got my phone to call 911 again to cancel the emergency and MY phone was dead! Good grief! I got enough juice in to call and cancel my emergency, but a patrol car drove by a few minutes later anyway. I was so thankful that my ordeal ended without breaking my door down, but OH MY GOODNESS. I was so stressed out! What a morning! I am taking my keys with me when ever I step foot out of my house OR CAR after this!

Thank God He took care of all of us this morning!

Traveling

2010-11-09T22:15:00.001-09:00

In our travel experience, along with seeing new sites and having adventures, we got to stay in hotels, use elevators, use unfamiliar car, cribs, and car seat. Clara was great rolling with the experience. She slept in the car, cribs, and stroller, learned how to push the right buttons on an elevator, and explored each new place with interest and enthusiasm. It was a lot more fun having her along.

Here Clara is taking her Daddy’s place just minutes after he got up to do something else.

“Okay, let’s go! What shoe? I don’t need a shoe!”

This photo makes me think of little orphan babies. :( So glad she’s ours!

“Daddy! Daddy, Daddy!” Of course, this was before she knew the difference in our names. She could have easily been saying, “Mama!” But we knew what she meant.

Because we couldn’t get the seat snug enough rear facing (as we have it at home) Clara got to be forward facing for the first time in her life! Wheee!

Clara is not the biggest fan of strollers, but she did well on this trip. We sure did use the sunscreen we bought on the first day of vacation! Also hats! Also, I loved putting her in little short sleeved tops and dresses and not having to cover them up with a sweater. :) We all got our vitamin D on this trip!

Waiting for the elevator!

Also, she was in disposable diapers for the trip, so I dressed her in jeans once for fun. Uh, they came to a bad end. This is just a few hours before she gagged on something, and completely threw up all over herself and the (borrowed) car seat. We had no idea where we were, we were meeting someone to leave on a plane in a little over an hour, and we were looking everywhere for a Whole Foods store to visit before we flew out!

Well, we pulled into a parking lot, stripped the baby, put the clothes in a Ziplock bag in an outer pocket of my suitcase, cleaned up the baby, and then began baby wiping the car seat with all our might!

It cleaned up pretty well, but we put some paper down for her to sit on and apologized to the car seat owners later. We still did find the Whole Foods!

Clara thought this was pretty fun.

Clara’s a good traveler!

Clara Goes to the Zoo

2010-11-09T21:23:00.001-09:00

I am so far behind in blogging. I apologize, but I have to share these darling pictures we took back in August of Clara visiting the Denver Zoo. Maybe I’ll get on top of things and catch up to the present, but don’t count on it! :)

* * *

What does an Elephant say, Clara?

This picture was taken with no zoom. Yikes, Bear. You stay there!

My favorite people with my favorite zoo animals. Aw. Clara is two seconds from conking out. Oh well, we enjoyed the rest of the zoo without her. :)

You do not want to know what a hippo uses for toilet paper. Eww!

Don’t these guys look like they are business men waiting for taxis or something?

My favorite moment of the day! I could have cried watching the baby giraffe nursing. :)

And Clara woke up just in time to go inside the fish and reptile house.

She’s so much fun!

Our (not so) Water Baby

2010-09-05T21:49:00.001-08:00

In Colorado, we had the opportunity to swim at our hotel in Denver and at Glenwood Hot Springs, a special resort made with a huge beautiful pool. Clara doesn’t care much for water, so we weren’t sure how she’d react.

This is us a year ago (Sept 2009) swimming in the Aspen Hotel swimming pool in Soldotna. She wasn’t quite sure what to think, but not exactly protesting.

But here she was at the hotel in Denver, VERY sure what she thought about it—”Get me OUT OF HERE, Mom!” (Shows you how often I get new swimsuits. :) I think I definitely need a new one. The spandex is starting to become transparent—Oops!)

But we had one more chance at the Glenwood Hot Springs pool. They had a lovely warm swimming pool and a soothing hot pool and an unheated baby pool that was so shallow as to be quickly warmed by the sun. Clara seemed to think that was a little better.

This is how she spent most of the time at the pool, in my arms hanging on for dear life.

But the next day, at the baby pool, things were a little better.

The baby pool even had a fountain in it and was mostly deserted.

We can tell when Clara is nervous, she will totally clam up and not say a word. The first night, it took her to being on the elevator (she likes to punch the buttons) to warm up and start talking again. This time, she was happy just being by the side of the pool. We decided that we just need to go swimming more often as a family to get her used to water being fun. She sure is cute, though and the sky was so blue! What a nice last day in Colorado.

Clara goes to Sonic

2010-09-05T21:21:00.001-08:00

We had fun on our recent trip visiting restaurants that we don’t have in Alaska. It wasn’t as much fun trying eat there dairy free (no cream pie milkshakes for me!), but it was a special treat for our family.

Here is Clara appreciating part of my fruit slushy:

The HAIR Post

2010-08-27T00:17:00.001-08:00

This is us. (Aww!) And a good picture of my hair length over my shoulders BEFORE Colorado.

This is me (and Clara) and a picture of my hair in back. What a mane! It would be hardly bearable in a different climate!

And here, ta-da!, is my hair AFTER Great Clips. She took my mane and evened it and layered it, and my hair looks healthy and happily curled up without all the weight pulling it down! Notice, I’m not even wearing hair clips!

Here is an attempt to show the back of my head. Notice that I’m tilting my head back and my hair barely comes to my elbow. This is huge for me! :) I think I got at least 5 inches off at the longest. I am so glad I had a woman who knew what she was doing and really did a good job. I looked and asked around for someone recommended by others, but I finally had to just go some place for the sake of time (and a babysitter). I was blessed to find “Roxy.” I even left my coupon for a Great Clips $9.99 haircut at home. I really didn’t want a $9.99 value haircut, I wanted a $40 hair cut, just cheaper! I really think I got a good one! I think in the future, I will use the coupon, and give a better tip. She did a GOOD job. :)

Here is my hair in Denver. It responded a little differently, but was still fun and bouncy.

And THIS was the reason why I did it!

I loved having my hair up like this!

I made that flower myself out of a glue gun and some scraps from Clara’s dress—the night before the wedding! I’m crazy!

Ah. Princess for a day.

And I think I like my everyday look too. It’s still considered long, James likes it, I don’t feel like my hair’s all gone, but it looks and feels healthy, light, and bouncy. I won’t think about the fact that it will probably take 5 years to grow it all out again.

Oh, and a weird fact (since I’m still talking about my hair), I learned, once the heavy weight was gone, that a few strands of my hair refuse to curl naturally! I wet them, I gel them, I twirl them, nothing. So I give in and quickly curling iron those strands after showering and they stay long enough. I wonder though if they’ve always been that way or has giving birth or some other trauma made my hair straight! Weird. Something to think about. :)

Being the Bridesmaid (Matron—Whatever!)

2010-08-22T00:09:00.001-08:00

This last weekend, I had the honor to do something I’ve never done before . . . stand up in front at a wedding and participate in someone else’s wedding. It was an honor to be asked by my cousin and pen-pal from girlhood years, Kara Kuenning, to be a part of her wedding party, and I said yes right away.

There were lots of jokes flying around, but Kara was no “bride-zilla.” We chose our own dresses, shoes, hairstyles, etc. with the bride asking that we wear black and have some sort of “watermelon pink” accessory. The rest of the “Esther-like” beauty treatments were optional. I ordered a lovely dress I saw online, and Aspen helped me alter it to fit better. I bravely went to Great Clips and had several inches and layers cut into my long hair (I am glad I did). For my birthday, James got me my first Bare Minerals make up (I love it!). And I painstakingly picked out a pair of dressy black sandals (which I think I will probably never wear again.) Of course, the biggest part of all of this was the plane ticket south and packing my husband and daughter along. It was a lot. And it was all for me! I felt bad that while the other bridesmaids were throwing showers and shopping for dresses together, I was up in Alaska infrequently emailing the busy bride to pester her for more specifics!

When finally I landed in Denver, I hit the ground running I nursed my baby and kissed her good-bye while she and her daddy went to do Lego stuff and watch baseball. I was getting my nails done with the bridal party! It was hard on both Clara and I to be apart for so long. But I had the benefit of really getting to know the bridal party. The nails took nearly 8 hours for everyone and we sat in a tiny room talking and sharing stories. I tried hard to stay fully awake after a red-eye flight where I only slept about 20 minutes total. I don’t have any pictures, because James had the camera, but I met the groom (not getting his nails done, of course), his mother and sister, another bridesmaid, and became reacquainted with Kara, her mother, and her two sisters. Afterword, we went to a little French cafe where I tried hard not to face-dive into the soup, then back to my dad’s first cousin John’s house where I collapsed into bed and knew nothing until sleepy baby arms found mine, and we snuggled through the night.

The next day, Saturday, we slept as much as possible. At the rehearsal, Mom and James kept Clara interested in things while we walked through the wedding processional. As James said, I was stung on the hand by an aggressive little creature, but ice really helped and the sting didn’t last long. Ouch!

After this, we went to a little pizza place for dinner. Complicating everything, I am not able to eat wheat or dairy (essentially) right now. That pretty much eliminates pizza! Thankfully, I was able to eat as much salad as I could hold and the kind waitress brought me a plate of chicken to add a bit of protein, so I was fine. Traveling with food limitations isn’t fun!

Clara was so good! Everywhere we went people wanted to talk to her and touch her and ask her things, she was a little trooper through it all. I was very thankful for my mother and James while my time and attention was so divided with the wedding preparations. She was tired, off her schedule, and seemed like she might not be feeling well, but she smiled and talked and explored her world interested in every little thing.

Finally, it was the big day. After church, James dropped me off at the hair salon (where we had our nails done—I was praying that it wouldn’t take 8 hours!). Again, Clara and I were separated. It was so much fun getting my hair done up with little gems and loops in it and starched stiff. :) We chatted excitedly as we waited and oohed and ahhed over each other’s ‘dos. I got to know the fourth bridesmaid while we waited and really wished that we could have spent more time together.

Then Rachel, Kara, and I went to the grocery store (for a greeting card and some gum) and Wendy’s (for salads). It was such a silly position to be in, all coiffed and hair sprayed, but we were relaxed, giggling, and having fun.

We did get to the manor house in time for Kara to get her make done professionally . . .

But the rest of us had to sort of fend for ourselves . . .

It was fun sharing those moments of preparation and last minute prayers, toasts, and fond words up in the little room before going down with the bride. We helped Kara wire up so the words she spoke on her wedding day would be recorded. She gave us little hour glasses filled with tiny purple crystals to help us to remember the precious time we’d shared as friends. Then it was time to go downstairs.

I carried my gorgeous bouquet with the black feathers in it as my talisman—my proof that I belonged to this special event. I walked on the arm of a man several inches taller than me (thank goodness my two-inches of heel were not wildly inappropriate for a 5’10” woman). I stood in front of the gathering of friends and family and listened to my dad preach on love and marriage and vows and God. I loved being able to look into my own dear husband’s eyes and think of our own vows and love that have been so precious to us. And of course, seeing our sweet little girl in her darling pink and black dress (so carefully altered, sewn, and embellished by her aunt Aspen—what would we have done without her?) and thinking of how much better my life is now than when I stood up and said those same vows. I wish Kara and Jeremy the same happiness that James and I share. It seems impossible to wish them more, because our cup overflows.

From then, the party had only just begun! There were appetizers and drinks while the photographer captured the wedding party. Then the bridal party was announced, and there was a delicious dinner. Clara ate at the “bridesmaid” table until she gave up and fell asleep on her grandma. Then there was cake and dancing and bouquet tossing. And finally, we snuck away at 11, feeling old and tired, and went “home” with our own special memories and emotions nestled in our hearts.

My shoes and I parted ways fairly early in the evening. I loved how we had a summer afternoon wedding, followed by a gorgeous sunset, then a warm, dark (these things seem incongruous living in Alaska :) well-lit evening for dancing and sitting and talking and hearing crickets. It was fun.

In some ways, it seems a little silly and over the top to put so much energy and money and time and focus on the details of one day. But when you think of the joining of two lives into one family and the promises made, you kind of wonder why the whole world doesn’t stop to celebrate too.

Well, Jeremy and Kara, God bless you both as you start your new life together.

(This is Andy, he’s Kara’s youngest brother and the ring bearer—He carried the monster and the box with the rings in it).

For more pictures, see James’ post below. :)

Our First Three Days in Colorado

2010-08-21T22:38:00.001-08:00

(As Posted by James on Facebook)

Right after getting off the plane on Friday we went for a super exclusive tour of the game developer studios for Lego-Universe, but we signed an agreement saying we wouldn't take pictures. Just imagine, so many Legos. Like you dream that you are in a warehouse full of Legos and you are drowning, and then you wake up and you are actually in a giant warehouse drowning in Legos. That's how it was.

But from there we went to a baseball game. And they allowed pictures.

Robert caught a baseball with his bare hands during practice. The ball actually has "Practice Ball" printed on it. I assume the balls they hit at the actual game have "Ebay price $1,000" printed on them.

He caught the ball when it bounced out of the glove of a kid sitting in front of us. We felt bad that the kid lost his chance for a ball, but the next time that same batter came up on rotation, he hit one right to the kid, and this time he caught it.

The funnest part of live baseball is heckling the outfielders during practice. America's favorite pastime: Heckling.

Clara loved the baseball game. So, exciting.

There is nothing unusual about this picture.

The wedding rehearsal was so fast. Clara hardly had time to run three circles around the old Manor house and it's grounds with dad chasing after her with a camera.

During the rehearsal one of these stung Andrea on the hand. Either the bees or the sunflower, we can't be sure, because she never saw it. She just screeched in mid practice and started dancing. Everyone thought to themselves, "Who invited the dancing Alaskan girl?"

Thankfully, no one was stung by bees the following day. However, there was more than a weddings fair share of shrieking and dancing. Oh my goodness.

I'm glad Clara had a good hat to wear. It was so hot. She sits down in her car seat and say "Hot! Hot!" and we say, "Oh, is it hot?" and she nods her head and goes to sleep.

During the rehearsal, Clara defeated her uncles Adam and Isaac in a pinecone fight, with the help of her daddy. Pinecone fights are like snowball fights. Only the snowballs have a bunch of knives hidden in them.

Isaac beat the chef at a thumb war at the rehearsal dinner, which was held at a little pizza place.

After the rehearsal dinner, The Kuennings and Andrea and I went to Bill Kuenning's house to make a recorded history. Bill set up high quality audio equipment and recorded the family discussing stories and singing songs. Clara made animal noises, and then everyone had to repeat them, because that is just something that happens I guess.

I think more people should record their families telling stories.

Andrea, Clara and I stayed Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights with her cousin John Kuenning. They were amazing. Best free bed and breakfast in Colorado. Clara especially loved using a spoon. Spoons are so trendy. Spoons and iPods are top notch technology in Clara's opinion.

On Sunday morning we visited the Bear Valley Church of Christ. And of course Robert and Carol meet up with a friend of theirs that stayed with them 30 years ago in Germany. It doesn't matter where you go, and how big the congregation is. Someone always knows someone else from somewhere.

The wedding was outside. Very hot. Lots of rabbits all over. The sun was right in Robert's eyes and it was hard for him to read anything. He did a fantastic job though. I don't have pictures of the actual ceremony, because I was taking pictures with Robert's camera, but it was very smooth. I'm a guy though. Smooth is like the best possible description of a wedding.

Clara is surprisingly calm about people rubbing funny creams all over her face.
I enjoy pretending that Carol's hands in this picture are actually Clara's, and vice versa.

Clara loves exploring. For example, here she is discovering where all of the rabbits come from. Adam was playing the part of her trail guide, and I was documenting the discoveries.

Unfortunately, later in the evening we discovered burrs hidden in her stockings up and down her legs. No harm, but still... yikes! The hazards of exploration.

Here is Clara and her Sherpa guide on top of Mt.Everest.

Clara the Determined.

Clara the Triumphant.

Clara has a great habit of yelling "Momma! Mommma!" when she sees her mom across the room, or in the store, or walking down the aisle at a wedding, or during a wedding while she's standing with the bride. She was held back and effectively distracted for most of the wedding by her Grandma Kuenning.

Here is where the wedding took place. The "Manor House".
Isaac is seen here in full on dominance mode.

You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life. See that girl, watch that scene, dig in the Dancing Queen.

The bride and groom. Kara Kuenning and Jeremy Brown, seen here by their new names Jeremy and Kara Kinz. I don't know, just go with it.

The photographer was everywhere. I know they were probably paying her a bundle, but she really deserves every penny for the work she put into this evening.

Andrea fell in this hole and it was really embarrassing. She's pretty though, isn't she?

This is what Clouds look like in Colorado. Pretty normal. Later on in the evening there was heat lightening behind the mountains and you could point out the Alaskans because they were the ones that ran out on the hill and oohed and aahhed like there were fourth of July fireworks going off.

Andrea and her cousin Kara. Andrea was so pretty. they spent an hour on her nails the day before, while we were at the ball game. And then another hour or so doing her hair the day of the wedding. The dress was hard to come up with, and was altered by Aspen (Amazing Woman!). Andrea and her mom did her makeup. She had perfect shoes and her flowers were wonderful.
The bride also looked beautiful. I'm very happy for Kara and Jeremy. And it was an honor to be included in everything as it happened.

The party went on and on. It went from the ceremony, to a casual greeting time, to a dinner party, to cake and bouquet throwing, and then dancing (slow, and then fast), and then loud music and more fast dancing. At about 11:00 beer pong started and we realized that the bride and groom weren't going to be leaving any time soon. Clara had shut down several hours earlier. We left telling them we wished we could stay till they left, but Clara was tired and we had to go. They told us that at about 12:00 the party was going to move to a bar downtown for some "drinks" and we were invited to come along, and we could maybe come hang out with them tomorrow.

Hi!

. . . And here’s a Bonus from day 4 . . .

Clara loves hotels. We left the room for a moment and she got right up and started to business.

We had a message on a phone later telling Marco to "print the magazines and ship them out tomorrow." I have to assume this message was meant for Clara who goes by the name Marco from time to time.

And here is Clara posting these pictures to Facebook and writing descriptions for them while pretending to be her daddy.

We finally bought a car seat!

2010-05-11T23:08:00.002-08:00

We now own the Britax Roundabout 50 in Pistachio (beautiful tan color with light green dots). I’ve been eyeing it for sometime, but last week I saw it was on sale at Amazon! The seat is like the original Roundabout except for being more adjustable in the seat, and giving Clara 10 lbs and 10 inches more to grow before needing to upgrade to a booster. It could have comfortably held her since birth, since it starts a 5 lbs, but we appreciated our Graco SafeSeat for it’s comfort and convenience many times. We haven’t tried this one out yet in a car, but I think it is going to be a winner.

We are seriously considering buying a second car seat for the other car. We drive both regularly (we aren’t a mini-van family quite yet, my car is more roomy, his gets better gas mileage), and this seat will be difficult to move back and forth. Anyone think we should go for the “Cowmooflage” version? I think it would look terrific against the Saturn’s black interior. :)

Win a Car Seat

2010-04-23T20:28:00.003-08:00

Here I go again! Trying so hard to win a car seat. We REALLY need one--actually two, which makes things worse. I am just so scared to take the plunge. I guess I am probably WAY over thinking things, but we can't go much longer. Clara is almost at the height limit for our car seat.

So, for the next few hours, head on over to My Wee View to enter this great giveaway to win one of these:
You can also link with the button on the side of my blog. Thanks!

Blueberry Smoothie Mornings

2010-03-27T23:16:00.000-08:00

Clara and I have been enjoying smoothies several mornings a week. I try to pack it full of the good stuff: frozen berries and bananas, milk, yogurt, cinnamon, coconut oil, and (recently) this good stuff. Clara eats it up. Literally. She has gotten to be quite a pro with the straw, and she is over her aversion to cold things (she likes sucking on ice chips now!). My only difficulty is that this meal requires constant monitoring (Does anyone know of a sippy made of safe materials that would allow thick fluids through the straw?). Thankfully, Clara is a dainty eater anyway. Yes, she can make a mess, but she tends to do so in a very lady-like manner. :)

Yum. A nutritious and delicious way to start our day!

In Tribute

2010-03-26T22:51:00.002-08:00

. . . to the last birthday balloon. It remained on the ceiling for six weeks straight! Wow. This past week, it slowly fell and is now a static-charged-dust collecting-hair ball and will soon meet it’s demise at my hand. But wow. I am honoring this simple, inexpensive little luxury for giving my daughter so much pleasure.

The ironic thing is, when James went to pick the balloon bouquet up before the party, there was a mix up, and he was sent home with the balloons without paying for them (James made another small purchase and so didn’t notice the discrepancy). So, our little scrupulous family made sure to return to the store and pay for them (there wasn’t even an order slip hanging around, and I had to tell them how much we owed them!). Still, that was the best birthday present we could have gotten her, and like Abraham and David both said, “It isn’t much of a present if you didn’t pay for it” (my words, not theirs), so I’m glad we did. :)

Officially a Toddler

2010-03-20T00:45:00.001-08:00

Clara has been taking a step or two for a while now, but she has been totally resistant to the idea that she would give up this lovely mode of transportation called crawling for the scary, tottering, high-up-in-the-air thing called walking. Family tried again and again to get her to walk, but she stood her ground—on hands and knees! Even 10 month old Mollie stood her up and took off on foot while 13 month old Clara determined not to take big risks (totally a girl like her own Mama!).

Until this past week, we’ll just say the 16th, when Clara was one year, one month, one week, and one day old (ha!), Clara decided to give walking a chance. She walked to Mama, Daddy, Grandma, Granddaddy, Uncle Isaac, Uncle Adam, Titus, and nowhere in particular. Then, the day after at church (St. Patrick’s Day) she showed her stuff and toddled all over the place, joining the little ones playing. Wow. I could’ve bust my buttons with pride! But oh, my little girl is growing up!

So, today, I did my best to catch my little “toddler” in action, and this is what I got:

Very Good News

2010-03-06T15:44:00.002-09:00

Have you heard the good news? We, created by God, are so loved by Him, that He sent his only son, Jesus, to come to earth and be the perfect sacrifice. Jesus died to erase the sins of mankind forever if we choose to obey Him by being baptized and following after Him. You probably have heard it. Even typing it, I struggled to not yawn at the cliché wording. But it’s GOOD NEWS. I forget how good sometimes. Well, Sunday, I was reminded loud and clear when my little brother became my little brother—forever and ever and ever.

Isaac decided to put on Christ in baptism, Sunday afternoon February 28, 2010. Thankfully, James and Mom both had cameras to capture what we saw. It is so amazing that the baby brother that I witnessed the birth of, December 1, 1997, who I snuggled and rocked and sang to and love to pieces, I got to see being born a second time as my spiritual brother. I’m going to make myself cry! : )

“Isaac do you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?”

“Yes.”

While Isaac was getting ready. We sang some songs. “I have decided to follow Jesus” and “I’ve Been Redeemed” were two of them. I loved that Isaac’s young friend, Riley Scott, lead one of them. There were still a lot of people there. It was so exciting to see a young person choose to follow God for himself.

Then it was time for the baptism.

Here we were afterwards, singing and praying with our new brother (Clara was hanging out with Auntie Aspen).

At home (we spent the afternoon with my family), James showed Isaac the special features of his new Thomson Chain Reference NASV. The report is that Isaac has barely put his Bible down since his baptism. I am so proud of him and love his enthusiasm and sincerity.

And of course, no one can pull a camera out without pointing it at Clara. So here she is having commandeered Grandma’s apple and marked it up with her little teeth. Aww! : )

Clara watched her Uncle Isaac’s baptism with interest and curiosity. Someday, we will explain what it all means to her. I pray most fervently that someday her Daddy will be able to baptize her the way my Dad baptized my brother.

Thank you, Isaac for being a good example and for choosing Christ.

Fresh Farm Veggies

2010-03-03T11:58:00.002-09:00

This is 1/2 of a CSA share that I received last July! We ate so well last summer!

I just received an email from Spring Creek Farm saying that they still have CSA openings for this summer! If you don’t have an opportunity to grow a garden and live in the Anchorage or Valley area, please consider this! It is such a wonderful resource.

Here is the information from the email:

Spring Creek Farm 6404 N Lossing Road Palmer, AK 99645

What is Spring Creek Farm?
We are a 4 year old micro-farm providing naturally raised produce and pork in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley on Alaska Pacific University's Kellogg Campus.

What is a CSA?
CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Local food lovers pay the farmer up front at the beginning of the season in exchange for a weekly basket of vegetables grown on the farm.

What’s in the CSA basket? It will provide a week’s worth of vegetables for 4 people for about 19 weeks. Depending on time of the season, it will include lettuce, radishes, Asian greens, carrots, beets, peas, squash, tomatoes, and the like.

What are my options?
Full Share: $555
Salad Share: $135
Pig Share: selling halves and wholes for about $5/lb hanging weight

Where and when do I pick up my basket? There are pick up locations in Palmer and Anchorage on Monday afternoons May 31st to October 4th.

How do I sign up? Contact Mimi Rooney at 907-746-2795 or email at mrooney at alaskapacific dot edu (replace the “at” and “dot with appropriate symbols—this is to thwart spammers)

* * *

We have bought into this CSA for two summers now and have loved it. Each weekly share comes with a newsletter and recipes that use the organic, locally grown veggies in creative and delicious ways. There are two pick up points--one in Palmer (at the farm) and one in Anchorage (at APU). The cost for a full share is $555, but both years James and I split a share with a friend, 50-50, and had to work hard to eat all the vegetables. I have to say, it has challenged me as a cook, but just last week I pulled out my arugula pesto from the freezer that I made fresh last summer (their recipe) and made Chicken Pesto Pizza, and I was thankful all over again for fresh summer bounty.

I hope the farm always sells out of their shares! I am so thankful that we have something like this available in Alaska! Oh, and if you sign up, let me know. We can swap recipes and ideas and marvel over the delicious goodies together!

Britax Advocate CS Car Seat Giveaway

2010-02-20T17:26:00.002-09:00

I am so hoping to win a car seat, and this one is a goodie! I love Britax. They are comfortable, secure, and very safe! Go on over to Baby Good Buys to enter. Plus, they have a simple form to fill out to enter the giveaway that is nice and streamlined. Have fun!

Update: I’m sorry! I should have posted that the giveaway was ending Friday. If you are interested in a Britax, this is a very good price for a Marathon, and it has free shipping! Other patterns are also on sale. I hope this helps!

Clara eats Oatmeal with a Spoon

2010-02-16T10:09:00.002-09:00

Clara got several spoons for her birthday, so the day after her birthday, I decided to let her use it on my favorite breakfast: soaked oatmeal loaded with raisins, cranberries, raw milk, coconut oil, and cinnamon.

She did so well. I was proud of her for trying so hard. She knew what it was for and tried to make it work.

She would start to go for the oatmeal with her fingers, then stop herself and pick up her spoon. She tried one end of the spoon and then the other.

In the end, she decided that the easiest way was to hand the spoon to Mama. : ) I was so proud of her.

Titus is enjoying the process of Clara learning to eat on her own too. : )

Clara on Her Birthday

2010-02-15T12:17:00.002-09:00

On February 8, Clara and I had a relaxed day at home. We snuggled, nursed, napped, read books, played on the floor wit her new toys, and showed lots of balloon love.

*Can you tell we are hungry in this picture? Clara, sweet girl, is signing her version of “Please.”*

When Daddy got home, we went out to eat at The Greek Corner. We ordered a sample platter of all the delicious Greek food and Clara was wonderful at trying, and enjoying, all of it: eggplant, feta cheese, humus, kalamata olives, lamb, stuffed grape leaves, and so on. We even took a video of her trying all the new foods. People, especially the wait staff, could not keep their hands off of her. It was cute to see them interact.

Just a plug here, we used Swagbucks to get a Euphoria Baby $5 gift card to get a sweet doll for Clara’s birthday. With our purchase, they sent us this Safe Sippy cup. I’m loving it! She figured out how to use the straw-like spout very quickly and now we can offer her water anytime without worries of spilling. It is stainless steel on the inside (no BPA!) and keeps her drinks cooler too (not that she’s crazy about that feature yet, but I think she will like it someday).

(As a disclaimer, I don’t know that the gift card is available anymore, they sold out of the doll we bought her :( , and I know you can get the Safe Sippy many places. However, Swagbucks are still awesome –Read about them Here—I have earned around $50 so far in Amazon gift cards since every time I earn 45 Swagbucks, I trade them in for $5 Amazon GC. If you would like to sign up, please use my referral link as it does benefit me. And DO refer your friends, it makes a difference! Just try it! )

Anyway, back to birthdays, Clara helped Daddy pay the bill.

Then we came home and enjoyed some final Birthday goof off time. Clara loves this mirror. She talks to it all the time. : )

(Yep, those are diaper shells hanging to try on the shower door!)

Then it was “Good Night, Birthday Girl!” and we stayed up and ate leftover cake and ice cream. It’s so weird being the grown-up.

Andrea bakes a Cake

2010-02-11T12:25:00.002-09:00

This is my first true decorated cake (I bake pies for James every year for his birthday). Though I made a cake that looked like a stack of pancakes for Mom’s birthday once and a cake that looked like a Snicker’s bar for Melody’s birthday in Russia, this is the first time I wanted my icing to be smooth, my edges to be crisp and neatly bordered, and so on. It was a knee quaking attempt for me. But this is my first child and my first child’s birthday, I can’t imagine a better place to start! Thanks, James for not letting me wiggle out of this one. I would have regretted not doing this for my baby girl’s first birthday!

Titus’ favorite hangout in the kitchen--between Mama’s feet.

On Thursday, I made the butterflies and roses at my mother’s house. My mother also gave me a quick tutorial on the whole decorating process.

These butterflies were made with Colorflow icing (you can get the mix from Wilton’s) on wax paper over a coloring book printout we got off of the internet.

On Friday, I baked the cakes, layered them with raspberry jam between the layers (yum) and iced them as well as I could. I set them outside to harden before icing, but it was snowing and I had to dust off a few flakes before I could get started. Oops.

On Saturday, I decorated. The edging was a little challenging, and it really is a bunch of connected globs, but at least they are semi-consistent globs! The lettering was difficult too, but I followed a friend’s advice and wrote into the cake ahead of time with a toothpick. It doesn’t exactly flow gracefully, but at least it is neat!

Once the lettering and edging was done, the rest was a piece of cake (ha-ha)! Piping green vines and leaves was a lot of fun, and I got to add a little rosebud here and there. It was fun placing my roses and butterflies all over the place too.

I used extra cake batter and icing to make the little cake. I really am loving the rose and butterfly, pink-and-purple combination. It’s taking me back to my little girlhood!

The “Grandma” and the “5” were a surprise for my mother, who shares Clara’s special day.

So, is that enough pictures of my cake? I have more! Do I seem just a teensy bit happy with it? : ) Just wait. I already have plans for next year!

I think she liked it!

Happy Birthday, Clara Joy!

2010-02-08T07:33:00.002-09:00

Today, one year ago, at 7:33 AM, our baby girl was born. I think I have to keep saying it over and over to get it into my head. : )

I can’t believe that this sweet, 8 lb. 10 oz. 20 in. long, bundle of joy came into this world . . .

and now we have this adorable, 23.5 lb. 29 in. long, little girl who responds to her world in an entirely different way.

She doesn’t know what all the fuss is about: why all the people she loves came together in one place, why she gets balloons, why we are letting her tear paper, why we sang a song with her name in it. All she knows is her happy little world that she loves to explore and play in. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Happy Birthday, Clara Joy! You are ONE year old!

Clara’s 1st Birthday Party!

2010-02-07T22:39:00.002-09:00

When Clara got up from her crib this afternoon, Daddy had come home with a surprise. Clara was SO happy about her balloons that she didn’t let them go without me prying them from her fist!

She held them while she ate . . .

She held them while Mama tried to nurse her . . .

She held them while tasting her first birthday cake . . .

She even held them while opening presents.

She loooves her balloons.

* * *

We had a wonderful birthday party this evening. I feel so blessed to have a family so loving and flexible that not one of my four men-relatives uttered a peep of protest for me scheduling Clara’s party during the biggest football game of the season. Oops. It was so nice to have a party in our own home. Even though 15 people in our apartment was a little tight, it was Clara’s home and I felt so blessed to be able to welcome everyone to my house.

We had a dinner of taco salads/straw hats, whatever you call them. They were easy, flexible, and a good food for Clara (and the other kids, of course). I had fun setting the table all pretty with pink and lace, glass jars of juice and water, purple and pink plates, and butterfly napkins, but I don’t have a picture of that on my camera.

We enjoyed a cake made from scratch (Wilton’s recipes online are so helpful!) and my first attempt at decorating. I am SO glad I did. With mom’s help on the colorflow butterflies and roses, the rest of the cake came together really fast . . . and was actually a lot of fun!

Then Clara opened presents by tearing pieces of paper off bit by bit and giving them to Daddy (a few ended up in her mouth).

I was so glad that all of our local family was there. Here is James’ brother Jeremy’s beautiful family (and Clara):

The kids got to have some play time too—uncles and cousins.

Granddaddy Kuenning played with Clara and some of her wonderful new toys.

Grandpa Smith is already teaching Clara how to work a camera.

We finished off the evening with a goofy rendition of clay-Pictionary (courtesy of James) where everybody won!

(Here Granddaddy is doing a sculpting of a gorilla on snowshoes. Who thought of that? And who guessed it? : )

Everyone went home happy (I hope!) and braved the icy roads to the Valley while we cherished our little not-yet-one-year-old for a little longer.

Mama nursed while Clara showed her moves.

Then we cuddled and snuggled and kissed.

How I love my Clara-girl!

But Daddy rocked her to sleep. Our little princess was tired!

What a wonderful end to a special year. What an unbelievable gift and blessing God has placed in our arms.

We love you, Clara Joy!

Clara gets a Balloon

2010-02-03T17:49:00.002-09:00

So, with less than a week until Clara’s birthday, party planning is in full swing. Last Friday, I dragged James out with me to shop for party supplies (it’s a good man who will spend his Friday night giving his opinion on pink paper plates). When we checked out at Party Craft, they offered Clara a balloon. Usually I say no, but I was feeling festive so we took a yellow helium-filled balloon home with us. Clara loved having its companionship in the back seat, and we could hear her bopping it all the way home.

Here it is the next day, while we were making pizza:

There’s my whole family—even the balloon!

So cute even when she’s messy!

Five days later, the balloon STILL doing great! I’m impressed. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a latex balloon do so well!

I think it’s cute that she even knows how to crawl while holding it.

I thought that she was having a hard time holding the string the other day, but then I realized that she’s playing an opposite version of “let go-drop it-you pick it up” and had invented “let go-float it-you pull it down”. She’s one smart cookie.

When she’s on our bed, she can reach it herself.

Titus likes to pose in pictures I take of Clara. Poor dog. He’s not the baby anymore!

So, I think what this means is we will have balloons at Clara’s party. I just love watching Clara explore her world and learn the physics of things. Of course, we will use the utmost precaution with the strings and any popped pieces, but what cheap, innocent fun for an almost-one-year-old!

James and Clara make a video

2010-01-28T23:34:00.003-09:00

Hello friends and family. Last Christmas we bought a video camera that we could use to capture special moments of our daughter’s life. Learning how to best put this camera to use in our home has been a year long process, and we are only now breaking through the wall of finding out how to create and post videos on YouTube. That’s right, it took one whole year for us to finally closed the technology gap between ourselves and teenage boys that accidentally light themselves on fire.

So, here is our first video to share with the world of our daughter. Hopefully it will be the first of many. I apologize for the low quality and the cheesy effects. This is really a test in many ways as I figure out our video editing programs and find the best ways to transfer files from the software to the internet. I wanted to try as many things as I had time and patience for. Any feedback that you might have would be great! I will not be offended by any knowledge that you could possibly share.

And most of all, please enjoy our wonderful daughter. We are so proud of her! just one more week and we can post pictures (and maybe more video) of her One Year Birthday!

~James

Giveaway: Out of the Box Sampler

2010-01-25T21:52:00.002-09:00

Two people will win a really fun giveaway at Living Smart Girl an “Out of the Box” Sampler. I learned about these fun boxes while visiting all the sites looking for the Diaper Owl. They are filled with all kinds of goodies big and small. This giveaway is only entered by blogging about it though, so blogger friends, have fun!

I learned about this one from Getting All My Ducks In A Row. Have fun!

In case you didn’t catch it: ENTER HERE!!!!

Merry Christmas, Dear Friends!

2009-12-25T21:49:00.002-09:00

Thank you for following with us through a wonderful year. Our fourth year of marriage has been the best one yet! We have been so blessed in 2009: James has a good job, we have a comfy home, we are in good health, our cars are still running, we have loving friends and family all over Alaska and the world, and God gave us a precious little girl to join our family this year.

Clara Joy has been a joy this year. Each step of her development has brought new delights and blessings into our family. Our 10-and-a-half-month-old is crawling, pulling up on things, “cruising” along furniture, saying “Hi”, “Bye-bye” (and waving), “Uh-oh”, “Hey”, and “Mama.” She laughs, giggles, and smiles all day long. She loves to snuggle, dance (she determines what music is dance-worthy), and play with Daddy. I never imagined that a child of ours could be so beautiful, sweet, and smart, and we find ourselves challenged to be the parents she needs at each new step of her life .

We are excited about the year to come. Next year our parents will celebrate their 40th (Smiths) and 30th (Kuennings) anniversaries. My grandparents will celebrate their 60th (Kings), and we will celebrate our 5th. Someone in our family will have their 80th birthday, someone their 30th, and someone in our family will have their 1st! We have hopes and dreams of going to so many places and doing so many things, but we place them in God’s hands.

God bless you all. You have been good friends to us this year. We have been blessed by your wisdom, kindness, love, and support. It has been such a blessing to be a part of an online community this year when bringing a new little one into our lives. We appreciate you! And of course, hugs to all our “real life” friends as well.

Merry Christmas, All!

Love,

James, Andrea, Clara and Titus Smith

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme

2009-12-09T18:02:00.002-09:00

TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

First, I would love a personalized piece of mama jewelry like this pendant on Etsy.

Second, someday I would really like to have a Bosch mixer and a Nutrimill grain grinder.

Third, we badly need side tables for our bedroom, and I saw some lovely ones at Fred Meyer the other day.

Fourth, this isn’t for me, but it would be a huge help to receive Clara’s next car seat (maybe a Britax?) for Christmas.

Fifth, gift cards would be lovely. I really enjoy the process of shopping for something I need or want. Gift cards to craft places, specialty stores, or even just normal ones would be nice. We don’t normally do gift cards in our family, but I wouldn’t mind it!
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?

My grandmother made James and I a quilt for our wedding. It’s such a beautiful labor of love! I will always treasure it.
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?

Well, I can’t tell what first comes to mind because it just might happen next year, but I would love to make clothes for Clara. My mother made dresses for me, and I’d love to do the same for her.
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?

Well, in my memory, I received all the boring gifts as a child—books, blank journals, nightgowns, colored pencils and paper, while my brother got lots of exciting toys—remote control cars, build-it-yourself robots, Lego’s, etc. But that was because I was older, a girl, a bookworm, and, actually, liked it that way. My favorite gifts were books I hadn’t read—like Mandy books. One year, however, I received a porcelain doll who I attached to with a special connection. I was nine that year and my dad was sent off to Saudi Arabia to fight in Desert Storm. There is more to that story, but that was a particularly wonderful gift.
5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?

Clara doesn’t have a wish list because she doesn’t even know what Christmas is yet. We are getting her a few simple toys—wooden and bamboo. I am sure she will be showered with extended family love. And in two months, on her first birthday, we will try to get her something very special.
6. What is your favorite holiday food?

Mmm. Savory or sweet? I can taste delicious homemade artichoke dip with Fritos, but I also love Christmas sweets. Especially something with mint and chocolate in it, and maybe a tad crunchy with some crumbled candy cane? Mmm!
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?

I am not much at handcrafting anything these days. I hope to bake some festive treats for the neighbors, and I will do my best to make Clara a special “taggy” blanket lined with flannel satin.
8. What is your favorite holiday movie?

It’s a Wonderful Life—I love Jimmy Stewart
9. Favorite holiday song?

I love the lullabies—“Silent Night,” “Away in a Manger,” “All the Friendly Creatures,” and so on. “Mary did you know” can make me cry, especially this year.
10. Favorite holiday pastime?

Being warm and cozy by the fire with my family, drinking a cup of hot chocolate, listening to holiday music, and laughing about family memories. It never gets old. Bundling into the car to take the coziness on the road to look at lights is fun too.

An afternoon in the life of an 8 month old

2009-11-13T22:27:00.001-09:00

I took a lot of pictures of Clara one day a few weeks ago. She must have seemed particularly adorable that day, maybe I realized how close she was to turning nine months, or maybe I just had the camera handy. But these are the photos I got that day.

This is the sight I see when I go to get after her nap (We turned the crib into a “side car” to make it more of an extension of our bed. This has been working well for us, for now). I love her enthusiasm to wriggle to me as fast as she can. I can always tell when she’s had a good nap when she’s chirpy and giggly afterwards. : )

Look, you can see her teeth here. TOO cute!

So now Mama needs to do some things in the bathroom. Now that Clara can sit up well, maybe she can help me (I stepped back much farther than I was standing to snap these few pictures, don’t worry! I was guarding her tightly!).

Oh, and she always has to have her hands busy, so I gave her Daddy’s brush to hold. : )

“Oops!” She really did fall in!

Now it’s play time. Even though I retook this picture, I still think it’s cute! Silly Mama. : ) You can see I’m stretching her toys out with my pots and pans. She LOVES the Tails book and all touch and feel books. It’s funny though, we have been reading so many touch and even scratch and sniff books that she thinks she has too scratch and feel all of the pictures now. I’m trying not to feel guilty for confusing her!

There we go: more teeth and smiles. AND she sees me and the camera.

Look out! She’s coming for me! I think this session ended with kisses and tickles. I so love my little girl!

Well, there’s a few more pictures. Maybe I’ll keep doing this while going backwards until I either share all my pictures or we are ALL thoroughly confused! Thanks for hanging in there with me.

Clara learns how to eat a banana

2009-11-12T13:44:00.002-09:00

I am so far behind in blogging—well, I’m so far behind in everything, so who’s surprised about blogging?—but there is so much to share with you about her and about our lives. I give up. I’ve got cute pictures, and I’m going to share them. : ) So here you go.

One of the amazing things about being Clara’s mama right now is just how much she is learning, growing, and changing everyday. I can’t keep up with all of the new things she is doing and trying and mastering! I forget that one week ago I wondered if she would ever do something, and here she is, doing it like a little pro. Still, on the other hand, there are so many things she has yet to learn. So many, many, MANY things! Like, for example, eating a banana.

“ No, no, Sweetie. Not like that. Let’s try another way.” (For anyone cringing at this photo—the banana IS organic, this happened for a split second while I took the picture and no longer, and I had handed the banana to her and SHE decided to put it in her mouth).

“Alright, Clara, you have your bib on. Are you ready for the banana now?” Can you tell that I am not a fan of my highchair? Oh, and the outfits were because we had TWO banana eating sessions on different days.

“Here you go!”

“Do you like it?”

I think that’s a “Yes.”

Banana cheeks!

“All done!”

Bananas are really a neat invention of God. : ) They are soft, sweet, and lightly flavored and perfect for little people. Plus, LeiLoni Bowlus taught me this trick, they come in thirds. Did you know that? Take a portion of banana and gently press into the center of the top and tug down on a section of the banana and it will neatly divide into three sections. Amazing. : )

Well, that’s Clara’s post of the day.

The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt (updated)

2009-10-31T23:22:00.002-08:00

I need to write a post about finding the right diaper for your family and your baby and even one about the wonderful diaper/baby stuff giveaways I’ve been enjoying*, but this isn’t it. Instead, I wanted to draw your attention to something that I’ve never participated in before, but looks like a lot of fun.

The Great Cloth Diaper Hunt seems like a fun way for online diaper shops, diaper makers, and blogs to advertise goods and services while allowing participants to win free diapers and cloth diapering supplies. First you have to register. From there, we will be figuring this out together. I do know that I will be looking for this symbol on lots of different websites:

. . . and trying to win great prizes! Just so you know, I’m not earning or winning anything by sharing this with you; I just didn’t want to keep all the fun to myself! Oh, and it starts November 1st.

NEW! While searching for that cute little symbol above, I stumbled across Cute Caboose which is having its own special diaper giveaways all month for those who follow the clues and find the hidden diaper-owls on their site (and tell them about it). So, there you go (and this time I DO get something for telling you—an extra entry into their giveaway)!

*Yes, I’m a little obsessed with cute cloth diapers and winning prizes, but it’s a lot better for our budget for me to try to win theses fun goodies than to talk myself into buying them. James appreciates it!

Are you in the market for a car seat? Win one!

2009-10-23T10:54:00.002-08:00

Clara is going to outgrow her car seat within the next few months, and we are going to need something bigger that will still live up to my safety standards. I love the safety features of the Safety 1st Complete Air Car Seat as shared by The Shopping Mama. Right now on her blog (through November 16) you can enter to win a car seat of your own. If you have a little time, browse around The Shopping Mama’s other giveaways as well. You might find something you really want (and win it!). Have fun!

It’s still autumn in our yard!

2009-10-12T14:27:00.003-08:00

October 12th, a day when it would not be improbable to have snow, when all of our neighbors have already lost the leaves from the Alaskan birch and aspen trees, our yard is orange and yellow and golden and sunshiny. We have some pretty petunias, snap dragons, and pansies still surviving the frosty nights. There is a thick carpet of gold leaves from the mountain ash that just now decided to become a beautiful bower of autumn’s last stand. I am loving it. The gorgeous light reflecting off the leaves fills our normally dark living room with a warm glow. I don’t know why we have been blessed with one of the most beautiful summers and now autumns of my memory, but I am thanking God for it

When winter comes, as it must, I will let out a contented sigh. This Autumn seems to be like the “finale” in a fireworks display or the encore at a concert. The soft, pure snow will seem as perfect as the silence after the last firework crackles in the sky or when the lights come on after the lovely strains of concert music die away. I thank God for His design in nature. And I hope I will always have a mountain ash in my yard to enjoy in the autumn.

Happy Birthday, James!

2009-10-06T00:51:00.002-08:00

James celebrated his 29th birthday on October 3. I made him a cherry pie. Here are a few photos we took to remember his first birthday with our sweet daughter.

Our family. Aw!

Here Clara realized that those things look like fun for grabbing! Yikes! (Today she upended a bowl of hot soup on my lap, splashing herself as well! I’ve got to watch that girl!)

She was really enjoying the dinner.

Especially since she got to sample lots of things from Mama’s plate!

We love you, James. Thank you for being such a special husband and daddy. May God bless you with many, many more special years to come.

Three Quick Plugs

2009-09-28T14:41:00.002-08:00

I have become terribly addicted to entering online giveaways recently, because . . . it works! God has been so good in giving us some special things for our family: cloth diapers, an EmmaLu carseat cover, and an ecousable water bottle, for starters. As I said before, I do not want to bug you all (mostly friends and family hoping to learn more about our life and see pictures of Clara) with notices of giveaways and baby stuff blogs to link to, but every once in a while I find something that is either too fun to pass up, or something you all might enjoy too. Here are three quick things I’d like to share with you (hint: if you like to do Where’s Waldo and I Spy all three things are right here on our blog if you can find them).

Ugg, the makers of soft, comfy, warm, sheepskin lined boots are giving away a free pair of Whooga boots every month to people who have a link (like the one above) on their blog or website. Click on the link to find out how you can enter. It’s very simple.

Madsen Cycles is doing something similar in giving away one bike per week to people who link, tweet, and subscribe to their website. Look at what a neat bike that would be for going on family bike rides or picking up groceries! Check out how you can enter as well. If you notice in my sidebar, my Madsen link is small and unobtrusive, so they have many varieties to fit your blog style.

Last but not least, Swagbucks is my new favorite thing. Swagbucks is a search program (I believe it runs through Google) that allows you to search for anything you would normally search for, but rewards you randomly with Swagbuck “bucks” which you can save up and redeem for all kinds of things. I’m amazed at the gift cards. Save 45 Swagbucks and turn them in for a $5 Amazon gift card or turn 70 Swagbucks in for $5 Paypal dollars anywhere! Wow! Just for using a search engine! It’s fun! I downloaded their new toolbar, and I have received special Swagbuck codes to plug in to get free bucks all month.

My tip for maximizing your Swagbucks earning is to download the toolbar and use the Swagbucks search engine instead of the web address window. For example, when I want to go to gMail, Facebook, Amazon, etc. I “search” for them instead of inputting “www.facebook.com”. Very often, I’ll earn one, two, or even three Swagbucks just for going somewhere that I go to all the time anyway.

If you’d like to be nice to me, joining Swagbucks from my referral link, helps me win more Swagbucks. I do hope you’ll give it a try. So far, I’ve earned $15 in Amazon gift cards and $5 from Euphoria Baby. At the rate I’m going, I will be able to get a significant discount on Christmas gifts this year!

P.S. Do you think I said Swagbucks enough in these three paragraphs? Swagbucks!

Take me out to the fair!

2009-09-09T17:51:00.002-08:00

Last Friday, my family (mom, dad, brothers, sister-in-law, brother’s mother-in-law, husband, and daughter) ALL converged on the Alaskan State Fair. For Alaskans, the state fair is a BIG DEAL. We have no theme parks, children’s museums, walking streets, or petting zoos in our area, so it is pretty hard to resist the one time of year when we can go to a place and eat lots of greasy foods, pet sheep noses, and ride Farris wheels. Although many years it can be rainy and miserable, we were blessed with a lovely day. And all of us had a lot of fun together.

This year too, we had a new church booth at the fair which my parents put a LOT of work into. I wish I had gotten a picture of it; it was pretty neat looking. I spent part of the early afternoon (while James and Brady were still at work) helping at the booth and talking to people while Clara slept or went around the Fair to experience it with different family members. Here she came back with her very first balloon. This day had a lot of firsts for Clara.

Later, Mom, Aspen, Oletta (Aspen’s mom), and I went around looking at some of the sweet specialty shops available while Mom carried Clara in the Mei Tai.

We went to check out the giant vegetables too. Alaska cannot grow many warm climate vegetables well without a lot of help, but it sure has the cold varieties down. Plus, with our super sun exposure, they can get REALLY big. We commonly break records for giant rutabagas and turnips and such.

But this year was a big one for us Alaskans as we broke the world record for giant cabbages twice! Once with a 125 lb cabbage and again with an 127 lb cabbage! Here’s the photo taken by yours truly of the biggest cabbage in the world EVER (can you find my shadow : )

Here are the other large veggies Alaskan farmers brought in. AND, big news for our family, there in front, that green bowling ball thing with the red ribbon? That says “Kuenning” on it. Yep! Its a kohlrabi grown by my own mother! It weighed in on the official scales at 5.31 lbs. The sad thing is that we ate the really big one before Mom knew that there was a second veggie entry!

Yay, Mom!

About this time, James and Brady arrived, and then the party really got going. Hi, Sweetie!

The day was “Aviation Day,” and we got to watch hot air balloons and helicopters and such fly over.

We also ate lots of yummy food. Here Dad is enjoying one of the best fair treats available: a custardy cream puff drizzled with chocolate. Mmm! Too bad Adam isn’t interested.

I LOVE Adam’s expression in this one. James and I crack up when we see it. “Please Sir, can I have some more?”

There were all kinds of events and animals to see. I am kicking myself for missing the photo opportunity of Clara seeing, hearing, and (sometimes) touching live barnyard animals for the first time. Her eyes got so big when she walked into the big barn and heard the animals. These pigs are getting ready for a race (that we missed). There was just so much to do!

Here they had an entire building set up for kids and families to explore that was FULL of reptiles and amphibians flown up for the occasion. Like I said, we don’t have aquariums and children’s museums, so stuff like this is really exciting.

And creepy? Many were poisonous. Um, I live in Alaska because there are NO snakes. We don’t need to import them thank-you-very-much! : )

Hey I got a picture of Brady and Aspen. Hi, Guys! Dippin' Dots, Huh? Mmm.

Then we all walked over to the carnival part of the fair.

We actually watched someone WIN that giant tiger. Oh my. It was as big as the man carrying it!

Then we tried putting Clara on my back. Do you think she likes it?

Well, she fell asleep . . .

Even through the screaming and commotion.

Here is a photo of Justin Spurlin’s (Aspen’s brother) beautiful bronze cast artwork (I hope I got that right). Instead of being put on display with the crocheted doilies and amateur photography in one of the buildings, it had it’s own special display outside of the art guild building. Impressive!

Then we saw some hula hoops laying randomly on the ground and Mom had to show us her stuff. She’s good too! Giant kohlrabi growing, hula hoop rotating, is there anything she CAN’T do? : )

Go Brady!

Way to go, Adam!

And then Clara got to see her first fireworks. I’m not too sure what my little monkey thought of that here, but at least she’s snuggled into my chest again and could burry her nose in my shirt whenever. She’s so cute!

And Isaac watched the end of our fair day explode in the sky.

Good day. Good memories. I’m glad we shared that together. Can’t wait for next year when I get to experience it with an 18 month old! Won’t she adore the cows! Aww!

Look What I Won!

2009-09-01T23:29:00.002-08:00

So entering giveaways really does pay off! About a month ago, I saw a notice that said Today’s Mama was hosting an Oxiclean sponsored giveaway (anyway, I think that’s how it worked). After registering for a Today’s Mama, I answered Oxiclean’s question about what was the most surprising thing about being a mother (or something like that). I answered:

Being suddenly on call 24/7. No time off, down time, or quit time. It was a shock with an infant. I do get breaks, but I love it.

The next day, I received an email telling me that I had won (I’m sure my name or number was drawn at random) 6 brand new bumGenius diapers (3 organic, 3 regular) from Banana Peel’s Diapers! These have a value of $123.05!

A few days ago I received my special “fluffy mail” package containing these:

I was so excited to receive a fun variety of colors AND the organic diapers came with snaps, which are the hip new thing (they are fazing out the organic ones with Aplix—Velcro type fastener—and they are on sale everywhere). So I felt honored, blessed, special, and taken care of all at once.

For those NOT in the cloth diaper world, bumGenius, although developed at home by a mama, like most other brands, is essentially the “Pampers” (dare I say it?) of cloth diapers. They are high quality, cute, from a well reputed company, cute, and every cloth diapering mom knows the brand well. The basic diaper has a waterproof outer shell, sewn to an inner stay-dry fleece liner with a pocket where an extremely absorbent micro-fiber insert can be put in (or two for night times) to soak up the wetness.

Clara in her FIRST bumGenius!

I have been avoiding synthetic materials on Clara since she was born (except for disposable diapers :( ), so I didn’t jump on the bumGenius bandwagon right away and wanted to try their organic diaper first. We bought a used one to try a few weeks ago. Their organic variety has the same waterproof shell, but with layers of stitched organic cotton for absorbency on the inside and no pocket. The layers are cleverly added so as to allow air between the layers so they don’t take forever in the dryer as one dense mass.

After trying the regular diapers, however, I can see how nice it is to have no worries of having wet fabric against Clara’s baby soft skin and of being able to double the absorbency any time I want by adding more layers in the pocket. For these reasons, they work great as nighttime diapers for us right now. I don’t have to stumble out of bed at five AM with the worry that maybe she’s fussy because her diaper is too wet or because of damp pajamas. They would also be good for outings for some of the same reasons (pockets and fleece do not guard against poopy diapers though!).

However, I don’t think that in normal use, having wet cotton against her skin is awful. She doesn’t get rashes or irritations because of it. The organic diapers are even easier to use than the pocket diapers because there is no stuffing after washing (or un-stuffing before washing). They are slightly trimmer and aren’t bumpy (as when a novice like me stuffs the inserts badly). And they are organic and perfectly free from anything to do with petroleum!

These aren’t my everyday diapers, especially since I only have seven : ) ( I’ll share with you soon what I DO use all the time). These are a very nice treat, though. They are wonderful for outings, baby-sitters (i.e. grandmas), nighttime, and looking cute (We brought our pink one to a professional photo shoot the other day)!

Mostly I wanted to write this as a great big THANK YOU to the lovely people who made this all possible for me. : ) I am a very happy owner of my new bumGenius diapers. I will take good care of them so as to enjoy their soft fluffiness for a very long time.

Clara’s 6th Month

2009-08-27T17:50:00.002-08:00

From July 8 to August 8, Clara did quite a bit of learning, growing, and changing.

During this time, Clara gained true mobility when she learned that she can roll over more than one time in any direction. In this way, she rolls, with ever increasing precision, to any particular corner of the room she wants to and get into whatever she can find there. With her rolling, a blanket on the floor didn’t cut it anymore, so then we began using queen sized sheets. Now, I have to be more diligent on just vacuuming the whole room because she’s going to just roll all over the floor anyway! She particularly likes to roll over to the fireplace hearth, book case, desk, and easy chair so she can explore those interesting surfaces with her feet. Those little toes like to explore too!

Clara has also become more vocal this month. Strings of adorable babbling syllables, “Wuwuwuwuwu,” “Mamamamama,” “Babababa,” and even a whisptered “Papapa” are tried out one at a time then discarded for the next new sound. “Mama” seems to be the only one she shortens, but she tends to reserve it for grouchy moments. When I KNOW she’s using it to call me, I will dance for joy, but right now I’m just quietly celebrating her growing verbal skills. Oh, and her favorite sound over all, is still the raspberry. : )

On August 8, her six month birthday, I measured and weighed her and found her to be 27 inches tall (measured standing against the bookcase, Aw!) and 20lbs!

So, here is Clara in pictures. These photos are strictly in sequential order, so although they may appear extremely random, this is how our girl grew this month.

Clara and her daddy cuddle and reconnect every day when James gets home. It is very sweet to see their excited reunion. I never get tired of it!

This picture was taken when I was getting ready one morning and left my night nursing *ahem* bra on the bed. Clara in her curious way had to examine it, of course, and ended up putting it on! It was backwards and upside down, but I had to get a picture anyway.

And here’s a levitating Clara in her bouncer. She really loves it.

Here is one cool chick in her Hawaiian shirt, sun hat, and shades. Grandpa Glenn brings home all kinds of adorable clothes and gifts from his many trips all over the globe.

Gran Sally and Clara. Too bad the clouds are grey outside!

This is my front porch after a typical Monday run to get our fresh farm veggies and groceries from Fred Meyer and Costco. This is what I end up toting up to the front door. Surely my arms must look like Popeye’s by now! (The blue bag on the end is full of spinach too : )

Here my little model is trying on some Baby Legs with a little jumper Grandma Carol picked up for her. No, you’re not leaving the house with that on, Young Lady. ; ) But she sure is cute!

Happy Birthday, to Mama! It’s so much nicer to have a birthday as a mother. I got to cuddle my little girl and get wet slobbery kisses all day. I think it gets even better when your children actually know what a birthday is. : ) Here we are at Red Robin for my birthday. Isaac and Adam were spending a couple of days with us and we all met James for lunch. I got a free burger, but I DID NOT get a free sundae, would you believe, I stayed completely sugar-free through my birthday?

So I did a naked baby photo shoot. She was so adorable! I have to have SOMETHING to embarrass her with when she’s older. : )

“Happy Six Month Birthday, Clara!”

A quick family photo while packing to go to our party.

Our two families assembled (except Grandma Carol who was in Ohio) to celebrate my birthday. Aspen and Dad took over hosting duties. It was a lot of fun.

Starting on the left, there was Sheila, Sheila’s Mama from Peru, Sally, Glenn, Robert, Brady (the silhouette), Aspen, me, Clara, James (taking the picture), Drake (not in the photo) and Jeremy.

The “kids” table: cousin Niqui, Uncle Adam, and Uncle Isaac, with cousin Drake in the background in the highchair!

My little Family. Aspen made the cute cake. I also finally broke my sugar fast with a little cake, some homemade Ben and Jerry’s ice cream (I own the recipe book!), and a wonderful vanilla ice cream made with maple syrup. Yum!

I had fun making sure that Clara had gifts to open too. She did great with the tissue paper. She got an organic bamboo stuffed bunny to cuddle, a phthalate free squeaky ball, and a wonderful wooden and rubber string flexible toy. She’s six months old now! It was time for real toys! She loves them all. . . .

Especially to eat!

But Grandpa Glenn’s security tags work well too!

Uncle Isaac and Uncle Brady entertain Clara too.

And later, James had a little birthday just for me. : ) Aren’t those the prettiest roses ever? They opened and dried so lovely too.

“In other news . . .”

Our non-Clara portion of the month was busy too. To highlight a few things . . .

Our CSA share of farm fresh veggies has been going great this summer. I think it peaked at the end of July with a beautiful, Alaska grown variety of fresh yummies, but I expect it to go through September, ending with more root veggies like potatoes.

James and I hosted a very authentic Greek birthday dinner at our house for Granddaddy Robert (cooked by all the ladies of the family). Did we get a picture of all of the wonderful food that we slaved over? Or the (almost) immaculate house that we haven’t showed you yet? Oh no. But we did get a picture of the baklava “cake” and the impromptu “birthday candle” that we used. : )

Clara and I also met a few members of Sheila’s family. You may not know that James’s sister-in-law is from Peru, and this summer both her mother and her sister (who actually lives in the Netherlands now) came to visit her in Alaska. Sheila’s mother didn’t speak any English, either, that’s why Clara looks so confused in this picture below. : )

A big part of Clara’s six month was taken up by her mama stressing about, preparing for, and teaching a VBS class on God’s Amazing Creation: Insects. I focused on butterflies and bees, although I really could have gone HUNDREDS of directions. I also am very aware that spiders are NOT insects, but the web added a cool effect. These are a few pictures of my classroom, and the 4 and 5 year olds who came to see it on the last day. Oh, while Mama was teaching, Clara stayed with Grandma Carol, and they had lots of fun together.

That’s about it! Whew! With the marathon out of the way, I hope to feel more free to just post more about our day to day life. I’ll try anyway!

(First) Day in the Life of a 5 Month Old

2009-08-11T22:46:00.001-08:00

When Clara turned 5 months old (July 8, 2009), she weighed 19 lbs and measured 26 inches long. We were still sleeping with her in the bassinet next to our bed, although she was able to stretch her tippy-toes out to touch the bed from head to toe, and she used her sharp little nails to dig a hole in the mesh on the inside of the bassinet covering (silly girl!). She had started to roll over and over across the floor in a line, so she never fussed at tummy time, she just flipped! She also began to use her hands more and more to pick up and hold things, and, of course, if she could hold it, it went straight into her mouth!

On her 5 month birthday, I took pictures all day long to share with you. I’m sorry that it took so long to get them to you. Dare I hope that I’ll actually post 6 month pictures in August? : )

~ ~ ~

Okay, so to start off the day, Clara woke as usual in our bed snuggled somewhere under my arm. I hadn’t planned the pictures at that point, so you’ll have to imagine the rumpled bed sheets and sleepy mom and baby duo for yourself.

Then, I decided to take a shower while Clara entertained herself in a bouncer. She loves her pink star squishy thing (it crinkles). I poked my head out occasionally and got this adorable scene. So when I was done with my shower (note wet footprint and toes), I recreated the situation to get this photo:

Mid morning, we nursed. That photo didn’t turn out so great because the flash made Clara let go quickly which sprayed milk everywhere and revealed a little more than I was planning to in the photo. Oh well. I snapped this one instead:

Clara took a nap and now she’s up again! “Hi, Mama!”

Aren’t you going to pick me up?

Play time!

(For contrast, here is the same outfit on her as a 2.5 month old. Note, the coloring of the photo is deliberate—Daddy playing with the camera settings. You might not be able to tell, but the little dress comes past her knees.)

Clara likes her jungle gym. She even uses her feet!

Not quite as thrilled about the tummy thing. She got her arm stuck on her roll over too. Oops.

Not a happy camper anymore. Jungle gym time is over.

But Jumperoo time isn’t!

Look at that grin!

At the end of the afternoon, Clara was a little cranky (probably needing another nap, but we were going to be leaving to go to Wednesday night services very soon) so I took her outside. Being outside calms her right down. She loves to “pick” the flowers too! : )

Clara in her car seat waiting to go to Bible class. At least she’ll get a good nap during on the hour long drive!

In Mama and Daddy’s arms during and after Bible class.

Saying “Hi” to Gran Sally and Grandpa Glenn.

Getting a manicure from Grandma Carol (how many babies get to see ALL of their grandparents on their 5 month birthday?)

Playing with Uncle Isaac, Uncle Adam, and Nate.

Getting to know Colonel Pratt (up from Ohio/West Virginia to preach for us that weekend).

Clara likes being with all the people at church, even when it cuts into her sleep!

~ ~ ~

This section could be called: Anatomy of a Blow Out Diaper (or Why Cloth Diapering Appealed to Me So Much)

On our way home from Church, we stopped in Eagle River (about halfway) at Walmart for a pack of diapers (our last pack of ‘sposies, I hoped). Ironically enough, Clara who had been sleeping in the car, decided to choose that moment to wake and get our money’s worth out of her diaper—and more.

This is her delight at seeing Mama and Daddy through the rear window.

This is me assessing the best approach.

Yup, it’s bad.

Readying materials.

What in the world are you doing James? Oh, capturing the light at 10:30 PM and the sort of visible distant mountains.

Ew. Ick. Put the camera down, James. I need help here.

(undocumented section)

Putting Clara back together again

All better. And we even scrounged some clothes to wear from two other outfits.

Irresistible, kissable cheeks.

As a side note, that was one of the worst car diapering jobs I’ve ever done. Clara came though just fine. My lap didn’t. Ugh!

But we both came though just fine. We went home, Clara and I cleaned up and changed into jammies, then it was time for bed.

Good night, sweet 5 month old!

July 18: D-day (or CD-day)!

2009-07-19T00:20:00.005-08:00

July 18, Clara wore cloth diapers all day long! About a week ago, I made my last cloth diaper order, and Friday, our last cloth diaper box arrived (the most important one, containing the recommended detergent to use to wash them!), so finally, Clara was able to be a cloth diapered baby all day long. There were no leaks or issues at all. Clara seemed happy with the whole experience. I was tickled pink at the adorable covers and the ease of using prefolds. I am hoping that right now as she is sleeping in the one sleep diaper we bought for the occasion, she will be equally as happy (and dry on the outside) in the morning! I am hoping even more that on Sunday with our full day of driving an hour to worship with the church, services, and other activities that the cute covers will do their job well. I'd love to discourse with you on my new favorite subject: prefolds & AIOs, sized & OS, newspaper & twist fold, and on and on, but I need to go join my darling daughter in dream-land.

. . . oh, and Happy Birthday, Dad/Granddaddy Kuenning!

Note: Nighttime and Sunday went like a dream! No leaks yet. Yay! If only we could now solve all of our sleep issues as easily. : )

May Medley Part 3: Ohio Travels

2009-07-18T01:27:00.002-08:00

Finally! Let’s finish up May, okay? Then maybe I’ll feel free to post about my exciting life in July. : ) Oh, and James downloaded a really cool program that might make this blogging thing easier. Let’s hope so. This one is going to be picture crazy!

Grandma Carol and Clara on Clara’s very first airplane ride!

So, the day after Mother’s Day, Mom Carol, Clara, and I flew to Ohio so that Clara could meet her Great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins (or more accurately, they could meet her). On the plane, someone had a medical emergency and they called for any doctor or EMT on the plane to make themselves known. We saw a man lying on the floor of the airplane and looked at each other thankful that it wasn't Mom (the man seemed to recover okay).

Clara was a joy on the plane. She slept in my arms, ate discretely when hungry, sucked contentedly on her pacifier during take offs and landings, and hardly let out a peep at any time. I was blessed to have an open seat beside me on the long flight to Minneapolis and only Mom next to me on the short leg to Columbus. All in all, a perfect trip. If Clara hadn't picked up the virus somewhere on the way, it would have been even better. Thankfully, she beat it quickly and we got on with our trip.

The two Clara’s getting to know each other.

Papaw meets his first great-grandchild.

Grandma and Papaw were thrilled with their first great-grandbaby. It got confusing as to which mother and grandmother we were referring to, but great-grandma just isn't a name you can use to call someone. Clara saw so many people! She saw two great-great aunts, one great-great uncle, five great aunts, six great uncles, at least 12 cousins, and many other long-time family friends. Mom loved it. She was so proud to show off her grandbaby at church or to whoever was around. Sometimes, I felt a little like the wet nurse, but at least every three hours, Clara and I got another snuggle in before other loving arms held, bounced, cuddled, and rocked her again.

The Walker Family meets Clara: cousin Hannah, Aunt Susan, cousin Able, cousin Samuel, and Uncle Archie

Cousin Melissa came with her little boys to meet Clara too.

Sunday services: Clara meets Grandma Carol’s kindergarten teacher . . .

And one of our Daggett cousins (on Papaw’s side of the family).

Clara’s great-great uncle Bruce & Aunt Sally (Grandma’s Brother)

When we weren't spending time with family, Mom and I were buying up Ohio! I guess I hadn't realized it before, but my mother is quite a bargain shopper. She had a long list of special stores she wanted to go to and ALL of them specialized in really great bargains. We went to Tuesday Mornings, Marshalls, Home Goods, TJ Maxx, Once Upon a Child, Half-priced Books, Big Lots, and even a fancy dollar store along with Good will, Ohio Thrift, and Ohio's Best Thrift Store. We also made a special trip to Whole Foods (my eyes about bugged out at such a massive organic food store), took a day long detour through Amish country (visiting special stores there too), and one mad dash trip through the mall to see some adorable baby boutiques!

Truly, it was overwhelming: to have specialty stores within reasonable distance that sold just about everything we'd ever want, to go into thrift stores and find rows and rows off nice things priced for only a dollar or two, to find gorgeous antique furniture for the same price you'd find a cheap imitation version at Wal-Mart. Sometimes I'd just have to walk away and remind myself that I love my life in Alaska and do not neat stuff or cheap prices to make me happy. So, we went down with one reasonably weighted bag each and came back with one suitcase and a plastic bin each--loaded with 48 lbs of stuff per container! Plus we shipped two boxes! Phew! I came back with a new summer (nursable) wardrobe for me, a winter wardrobe for Clara, about 20 lbs of Amish cheese, a new stroller, a beautiful pink rosebud wreath to inspire my nursery decorating, a few books, several baby gifts, and a few little trinkets for James.

While in Ohio, we drove up to Sandusky/Castalia to see James' aunts and uncles. The three of us were greeted and made so welcome by the Limberious clan (Sally's brothers and sisters). They even threw a dinner in our honor. Aunt Sharon gave us a room for the night, and everyone showered us with kindness, appreciation, hospitality, and even baby gifts! It was so much fun. I got to meet James' cousin Sarah too, which was a treat.

Uncle Denny holds Clara, and Aunt Sharon shows off a delicious chocolate covered strawberry bouquet made in our honor.

Aunt Jill and Aunt Sue cuddle with our girl—Sorry, Aunt Tanya, we missed out on a photo op. :(

Grandma and great aunts admire Clara.

The “uncles” table

More of the family in Aunt Sharon’s lovely kitchen

We also drove down to Parkersburg, WV to visit my great Aunt Helen and a few cousins. So Clara got to add another state to her experiences—and at only 3 months old!

Aunt Helen and Cousin Verna (plus our borrowed car seat—I do not miss it one bit!)

Clara even got to take a traditional bath in Grandma’s Kitchen sink (where we accidentally scrubbed a bald patch in her hair—oops!).

Three Generations

However, the trip finally came to an end. It had been a lovely and blessed 11 days together, but Daddy was waiting at home for “his girls,” and it was time to go home to Alaska. Even though it was hard to say good-bye . . .

We were soon waiting for a plane back home to Alaska and arrived safely and without problem hours later. God is good.

So, THAT, my dear Readers, is what happened in May. Now, we resume with daily life again. : )

Happy 1st Father’s Day, James!

2009-07-14T13:29:00.001-08:00

The first time you held our little girl on her first day in the big wide world, I knew you would be a wonderful daddy.

But you prove it every day by your love and devotion to our sweet girl.

Happy Father’s Day! I hope you feel loved and honored every day as the very special daddy you are.

Clara really is a Daddy’s Girl!

She even got you a cute card. : )

And she even looks like you. Definitely the eyebrows and forehead. Maybe the nose?

We love you!

Our Sweetheart at 4 Months!

2009-07-08T17:02:00.011-08:00

"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!

2009-07-03T19:46:00.007-08:00

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

2009-06-04T13:12:00.004-08:00

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

2009-06-03T15:44:00.014-08:00

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 . . .

2009-06-01T11:05:00.005-08:00

. . . 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!

2009-05-30T00:25:00.011-08:00

( . . . 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

2009-04-20T08:39:00.006-08:00

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.

Easter Weekend Celebrations

2009-04-13T09:24:00.006-08:00

I can't believe I didn't even pull out the camera for the gorgeous Easter themed breakfast and egg hunt at Grandma and Granddaddy Kuenning's house on Saturday morning. Everyone looked so nice and Clara received her first Easter basket! What was I thinking? At least Daddy had the presence of mind to snap a picture of Clara at her first wedding--right before she fell asleep in Grandma's arms and missed the whole ceremony.

You can barely see the aisle, but it was sweetly decorated in lavender gauze and lilacs. I'm glad Clara's not ready to go down one yet! I'm very content with having a couple of decades to go before then!

This is my sweet little girl in her Easter outfit--complete with pink ruffled tights and pink trimmed onesie. The bonnet was made for Clara by her great-aunt Kathlene and is actually a bridal handkerchief that Clara can save and carry in her own wedding someday--a LONG time from now. When I finished putting everything on her, I sat back and laughed so hard at how many frills and ribbons and layers I had put on her. I even left off the little satin diaper cover because it was just too much. She was a cherub throughout the whole ordeal.

This is my family. Isn't it amazing?

We captured these pictures on Easter afternoon at Gran and Grandpa Smith's house. We had a delicious ham dinner (with peach pie for desert) and the kids did a simple egg hunt in the yard after playing with their Easter toys. It was wonderful and relaxing. I think that as much as I used to enjoy holidays as a kid, holidays as an adult have their own charm and may even be more rewarding.

We have several sweet pictures with Gran, but we liked this one, because it looks like Clara is saying, "That's my Gran!" As she's pointing her little finger at her.

I thought this was cute as Grandpa captured a picture of Daddy recording Clara, and Mama gazing adoringly at Clara, while Clara gazes off into the distance (probably looking at Roan--the dog).

Jeremy and Sheila (James' brother and sister-in-law) were there with the kids. This is Sheila and Niqui (5 yrs).

Here is Drake (15 mos) caught in Grandpa's legs so he can't run off and get into trouble. I love how Drake's little hands mimic Grandpa's!

Here's Jeremy pulling his kids in the wagon. Isn't break-up beautiful?

These are the Smith ladies ooing over Clara while Jeremy does something with a hoola-hoop in the background.
And this is the sweetie that they are admiring--finally released from her ribbons and satin. Too adorable. And, for the record, we finally determined after extensive searching through baby albums--Clara has Daddy's nose. Good. Now people can stop making jokes about the milkman.

Clara is two months old!

2009-04-09T00:11:00.004-08:00

Eight Weeks Old

Seven Weeks Old

Six Weeks Old

Five Weeks Old

What a blessing it is to be mother to an adorable, happy little girl! I love little boys, but our little princess is an absolute ray of sunshine. Plus it's kind of fun that she's one of the only baby girls at church right now after a whole passel of baby boys have come along. I feel so undeserving of her and so honored to be a special person in her little life.

Each morning I wake up to little coos and gasps of joy. When I look over at Clara, she smiles the biggest, gummy grin and kicks her legs in delight. I am amazed that my groggy, squint-eyed self could put that much excitement in anyone in the morning. What a beautiful way to wake up! After breakfast for both of us and some quick chore time for me while she happily babbles to her toys in the bouncer, we usually end up taking a nap together in the recliner.

I love this life! Sure, I don't get much done, but no job could pay better than dimpled smiles or have better benefits than snuggles. I thank God for a sweet husband who doesn't stress or fret when the dust bunnies multiply and pitches in with dinner or helping with Clara in the evenings if I wasn't able to get things going on my own. I honestly have no idea how people do it with a baby and a toddler!

At Clara's six week check up, she weighed in at 12 lbs. 9 oz., almost exactly 4 pounds more than at birth, and 23 inches long. I have to find an accurate way of weighing her at home so I can continue to track her growth. It's wonderful to know that all of her growth in her life so far came through my body providing her nourishment. I love that she's getting chubby from my milk! Amazing. God's plan is so perfect. I think I'll feel sad when I am gradually replaced by mashed peas and applesauce, but hopefully we will both be ready for the transition when it comes.

Anyway, that's a little update. She's perfect and adorable! What's new? : ) Thanks for putting up with my mushy sentimentality. I'm still so in love!

Ashes, Ashes

2009-04-02T09:44:00.004-08:00

Photo by Heather Bleick

Photo by Neil Sutton

So, you might have heard: one of our volcanos has been VERY active these past few weeks. Mt. Redoubt, just about 100 miles away from Anchorage, has been huffing and puffing and spewing ash all over Alaska. Depending on the wind and the height of the ash cloud, it hits various sections of Alaska each time it blows. At first, there was mild seismic activity each time it was about to blow and scientists had some warning, but once the volcano "cleared its nose" (the scientists term not mine), it could "sneeze" at anytime without warning. So it has "sneezed" over 20 times in the past two weeks!

Saturday was the most dramatic for us as the ash hit Anchorage in the afternoon (as many of our youth and members were attending a youth forum there) and drifted up the road to the Valley during the night. On Sunday morning, our cars were covered with a fine layer of grit. Dad Kuenning said that he went outside while the ash was falling and immediately got grit in his teeth. Isaac said it made his throat hurt. The stores are stocked with face masks and special tarps for vehicles. The ash is made of fine glass-like particles which are dangerous to breath in, especially for the young, old, and frail. It can also cause havoc on engines. In 1990, the last time this volcano was active, a plume of ash caused all the engines of a plane flying by to shut down and forced the plane to an emergency landing! No one was hurt, but the plane was toast! Airlines have been canceling flights right and left and even the entire airport shut down once!

It certainly makes life more interesting. The last time Redoubt was active, it blew over a period of 4 months. It's a little frustrating thinking of being wary of ash fall for 3 more months--covering computers, carrying masks with us, having emergency back up plans, etc. But as it hasn't complicated our lives as much as made them more interesting, we can't complain much. Scientists say that it looks like Redoubt is building a new lava dome (http://www.adn.com/volcano/story/745033.html). Feel free to check out some pretty interesting photos and updates at http://www.adn.com/.

For now, we're being careful and protecting our sweet darling from any possible harm.

Clara is one month old!

2009-03-12T22:17:00.006-08:00

. . . and a few days. : ) Here are a few pictures Grandma Kuenning took of Clara on her one month birthday. Isn't she cute?

She's got dimples!

And Mama, never too far away.

Five Things for Katie

2009-03-12T17:10:00.004-08:00

These fun lists have been buzzing around our church family's blogs. I found a tag for James and I (from Katie) and a tag for "Bobo" (from Marie Williams). So I'll have to follow through.

5 Things We Were Doing 10 Years Ago
1. In February, 10 years ago, James and I were at the teen winter retreat. Brr!
2. James and I had barely been "dating" 3 months, and I was enamored with my sweetheart!
3. I helped James bake bread for his home ec. class (a senior "fluff" class) which was a disaster!
4. We were taking Russian 102 at Mat-Su college.
5. We were helping the church get ready to host the Alaska State Lectureship.

5 Things on Our To-Do List Today
Andrea:
1. Take care of all of Clara's needs. (checking)
2. Change out of pajamas before noon while tending Clara. (check)
3. Find an opportunity to feed myself while tending Clara. (semi-check)
4. Make the bed. (no check yet!)
5. Get dinner started. (Yay! CHECK!)
6. Consider anything else accomplished a bonus!

James:
1. Go to work. (Check)
2. Go to meeting. (Check)
3. Get mail on the way home.
4. Cuddle Clara while dinner is being prepared.
5. Give Andrea a wonderful shoulder massage (okay, so I'm taking liberties here!).

5 Snacks we like
1. corn chips with melted cheese, salsa, and sour cream
2. cheese, summer sausage, and water crackers (our favorite picnic food)
3. ice cream
4. pear and apple slices
5. oatmeal cookies

5 Things We Would Do if We Were Millionaires
1. Buy a nice piece of property and build a house with a yard for Titus and a room for Clara and a washer and dryer for me and a garage for James!
2. Help the church in Alaska
3. Support missionaries
4. Set up retirement
5. Travel!

5 Places James and I Have Lived for Various Times
1. Born in Maryland and Louisiana
2. Both lived in Fairbanks and Lubbock at different times
3. Lived in Palmer and Wasilla at the same time
4. Worked as missionaries in Ukraine and Russia
5. Live together in Peterscreek, Alaska (Awww!)

5 Jobs That James and I Have Had
1. baby sitters
2. grease monkey at a tool rental shop/store clerk at a candle shop
3. janitor and carpet cleaner/book seller at Waldenbooks
4. English tutors at UAA (James also was a grader for a drafting graphics class)
5. AutoCad technitian and EIT at several engineering firms/ESL tutor at two high schools

5 People We Tag
1. Holly
2. Cynthia
3. Kristina (if she hasn't been tagged already)
4. & 5. And anyone who doesn't take themselves or their blogs too seriously. :)

Things I never want to forget . . .

2009-02-27T14:00:00.004-09:00

. . . about Clara as a baby.

- The way her downy head is softer than the softest velvet and how both of us find peace and relaxation when I gently stroke her head with my hand or cheek.

- How my milk let down too fast for her at first, and she'd pull back her little head and "yell" at my breast before eagerly trying again. Thankfully, this is mostly resolved now, but it was incredibly frustrating and cute all at the same time.

- The little dark hairs that grow over the shell of her tiny ears, that covered her shoulders at birth, and swirl on her forehead. They are fewer every day.

- Her tiny fingers that grasp tightly to my fingers, necklace, or clothes or "knead" me while she's nursing.

- The dark blue gray of her eyes--will they be blue or brown as she gets older?

- The way she lets out one or two half hearted cries of protest as we soothe her after she fusses. It sounds like a tiny cooing "meh" and is too adorable. We really need to video tape it sometime soon, but videoing her crying just seems too heartless!

- The itty-bitty "o" her mouth makes when she's consentrating on something.

- All the different faces she makes while sleeping. How am I supposed to "sleep when the baby sleeps" if she's too cute for me to ever want to close my eyes!

- The quiet alert time she has after she's eaten well and before she falls alseep again. We spend that precious time staring into each other's eyes, singing songs, and doing little dances.

- The little "nibbling" motion she makes while nursing as she's falling asleep.

- The way she falls asleep into my hand as I sit her upright to burp her.

- They way I cheer and praise her for burping. I want to remember this when she's 4 and we're working on table manners. : )

- Her favorite sleep position: with her head on my heart.

- The little "sitting froggy" position her legs take when her head is on my chest. It makes me think of the way she was inside me, only upside down!

- The body jolting hiccups that she gets on a regular basis and remind me of the time, not long ago, when she was still inside me.

-The way she does a "trial run" sneeze before she does an effective one--and how cute they are!

- How much I love watching her in the arms of her adoring daddy--I never dreamed anyone could make me love him more, but she did. She made us a family.

-How watching her grow and change every day is the sweetest and the saddest thing all at the same time. I want to bottle her babyness up and keep it forever, yet I can't wait to meet the little girl and young woman she will become.

I am totally, adoringly, head-over-heels in love. I thank God for her, kiss her a thousand times a day, and appreciate the feel-good hormones that negate not enough sleep, achy muscles, sore nipples, and a home that looks like it has never seen a cleaning rag. : ) But for now:

Quiet down cobwebs,

Dust go to sleep,

I'm rocking my baby,

Cause babies don't keep.

Thank you, 2nd Womb Slings!

2009-02-24T14:26:00.003-09:00

This is a belated thank you to Rixa at 2nd Womb Slings for handmaking and sending me a beautiful sling for Clara and me after her giveaway last November. She let me pick out the fabric too, which was too fun! I love the lovely details on the sling such as how the bronze rings coordinate with the dots, the careful pleats that are designed into the pattern, and the ornate stitching that holds everything together. I am supporting Clara in the picture, but I really don't have to. The rings hold the fabric very securely. I was able to unload the dishwasher and do several other household tasks while wearing her like this (and not just one handed). Clara and I are still on a learning curve with using it, but she loves the tummy-to-tummy hold as she can listen to my heart with her head on my chest, and we are learning how to use the other holds (thank you, YouTube!). I look forward to the day when we'll be able to breastfeed privately with her inside it.

For anyone looking for a sling, I definitely recommend 2nd Womb Slings. At least go to the website to check out all the beautiful fabrics! Thanks, Rixa. Your gift will get a lot of love!