18 Months!

I was thinking it had been an insanely long time since I posted... I thought it was January 30th. I realize that July is still an incredibly long time, but nowhere near January! Faye's first tooth cut in July. Followed by three more, one a month. In October she cut her first top molar and the second one came not too long after that. They are still only half way through. She cut another molar about a week ago and has five other teeth that seem like they are going to come through any day now.

Faye is such an amazing child. She is pure trouble, but not the kind you get frustrated with or mad at... she really makes me laugh. She is such a bright little girl with so much determination (and some pretty big muscles for a baby!).

The night before last, Maddox, Faye and I were saying numbers in the bathroom while they took a bath together. One of us would start with one, the next would say two, and the next would say three. All of us went around until the numbers got too high for Faye, then it was just Maddox and myself. I was amazed at all the numbers she knew. She definitely knew 2 and 3, but the rest I thought she was just copying us, until yesterday afternoon. I started her with one and she finished up for me. Two, three, four, five, six, eight, nine, ten. She missed number seven, but holy cows! My 18 Month old just counted to 10 only missing two numbers!

I got a letter in the mail about a week ago reminding me to bring Faye in for her 18 Month check up. It said that a child her age should say 15-20 words and that "they may throw tantrums"... well she certainly threw tantrums! I figured she could say at least 30 words, but I thought it would be fun to count what she could say, so for a couple hours I listened to her talk and asked her what different things where to see if she knew and if she could say them and I ended up counting over 90 words not including names (Mom/Mommy/Mama, Dad/Daddy/Dada, Maddox/Maddie, Clayton, Keri, Buddy, Blue-Blue, Faye-Faye, Grandma, Bepaw, Aunty, Amy, Susan, Uncle, Lewis, Eric, etc etc etc...)

Faye also walks around singing the first couple words to her favorite song "Open, Shut Them", it is really cute. She says "A B C" over and over again haha and she LOVES to dance, shimmy, shake, and wiggle! She loves to make people laugh, she loves puppies and horses, she loves to torture her big brother and she loves to give him kisses too.

I really am the luckiest Mom in the world!

August 2009


September 2009


October 2009


November 2009


December 2009

Tension Headaches

People with tension headaches commonly report these symptoms:

Episodic Tension Headaches (occurs less than 15 days per month)

• Pain is mild to moderate, constant band-like pain, pressure or throbbing
• Pain affects the front, top or sides of the head.
• Pain usually begins gradually, and often occurs in the middle of the day
• Pain may last from 30 minutes to several days

Chronic Tension Headaches (occurs more than 15 days per month)

• Pain may vary in intensity throughout the day, but the pain is almost always present
• Pain affects the front, top or sides of the head
• Pain comes and goes over a prolonged period of time

Associated Symptoms of Tension Headaches include:

• Headache upon awakening

• Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep

• Chronic fatigue
• Irritability
• Disturbed concentration
• Mild sensitivity to light or noise
• General muscle aching

Migraines

The symptoms of migraine headaches can occur in various combinations and include:

• Moderate to severe pain (often described as pounding, throbbing pain) that can affect whole head, or can shift from one side of the head to the other
• Sensitivity to light, noise or odors
• Blurred vision
• Nausea or vomiting, stomach upset, abdominal pain - Sometimes
• Loss of appetite - Sometimes
• Sensations of being very warm or cold
• Paleness - Never paid attention before?
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Fever (rare)
• Bright flashing dots or lights, blind spots, wavy or jagged lines (aura)

Cluster Headaches

• Intense one-sided pain described as having a burning or piercing quality that is throbbing or constant
• Pain is located behind one eye or in the eye region, without changing sides
• Pain lasts a short time, generally 30 to 90 minutes. But, it can last from 15 minutes to three hours. The headache will disappear only to recur later that day (most sufferers get one to three headaches per day during a cluster period).
• Headaches occur very regularly, generally at the same time each day, and they often awaken the person at the same time during the night. - Only because I wake up with them and they don't go away.

Breakfast Proteins

Is your breakfast low on protein? Get creative. Add one of these protein sources every day:

* Eggs, cooked any way you like them (hard-boiled eggs are easy to have around for a quick protein boost)
* Unsweetened yogurt or cottage cheese with berries
* Refried beans spread on whole grain toast or tortillas
* Nut butters
* Burritos with eggs or beans and cheese on whole grain tortillas
* Breakfast steaks, lean pork chops or turkey bacon
* Chicken or vegetarian breakfast sausage
* Hummus on whole grain or corn tortillas
* Nuts added to oatmeal, yogurt or cereal
* Tempeh
* Scrambled tofu
* Unsweetened kefir
* Cheese sticks
* Cream cheese on whole grain crackers

Ideas for Inspired Lunches

Stuck in a peanut butter and jelly rut? Try these ideas for a little something different:

* Whole wheat tortillas spread with peanut butter sprinkled with raisins or dried cherries, rolled up and cut in two.
* Pizza quesadilla or a tomato cheddar soup and cold antipasti spread including tortellini, meats, cheeses and green beans served with grapes any other fresh, bite-size fruit.
* Hummus and spinach wrap, cherry tomatoes with string cheese, and yogurt.
* Baked corn chips, black beans, cheese wedges and fresh pico de gallo with jicama sticks.
* Whole wheat or buckwheat noodles with peanut sauce, sugar snap peas, a pear, almonds and a fortune cookie.
* Tuna salad with grated carrots, served with crackers or in a pita.
* Cheese triangles served with pepperoni and whole wheat crackers for stacking.
* Crostini (toasted French/Italian bread slices) served with chopped olive salad, roasted turkey and hard-boiled eggs.
* Vegetarian brown rice sushi rolls with soy or ponzu sauce.
* Smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumbers on mini bagels.
* Shumai dumplings/potstickers packed cold with ponzu sauce or peanut sauce.
* Vegetable fried rice (make the night before or use dinner leftovers).
* Chocolate almond butter with graham crackers.
* Fruit kabobs made from assorted colors of melon balls and other fruits on a bamboo skewer, served with yogurt for dipping.

Grab-and-Go Natural Snacks

One thing that differentiates snacks from meals is that they should be easy and quick. Pack your pantry and fridge with the following foods so kids can grab and eat them without needing any help or prep work:

* radishes, pre-cut or baby carrots, pre-cut bell peppers, squash, celery (with optional dips or spreads)
* “finger fruits” like grapes, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, cherry tomatoes
* easy to handle fruits like apples, pears, plums, bananas
* nitrate-free deli meats
* smoked or canned salmon
* soy milk
* string cheese, cheese cubes or pre-sliced cheese
* low-fat yogurt
* hard-boiled eggs
* nuts and seeds/dried fruits/trail mix
* cereal/granola
* popcorn
* soy or rice crisps
* high-fiber whole wheat crackers
* applesauce
* fruit leather
* dark chocolate

Peek-A-Boo

Faye can play Peek-A-Boo! She's been pulling stuff over her head for several months and waited for us to say Peek-A-Boo, but about a week ago she started doing everything all on her own. It started in the bathroom when she stood on the other side of the doorway and peeked her head out and I said "Boo!", then she peeked her head out and said "Boo" on her own. She loves it when you scream when she "scares" you. Now she is covering her eyes with her hands and then opening them and saying "Boo". It is the cutest thing ever! I am trying to get a video of it, but she's not very cooperative with the camera!

Happy Birthday Faelyn!!!

Yesterday was Miss Faye's birthday and she really took "It's my birthday and I can cry if I want to" to heart. She was SO crabby! She got a birthday present in the morning from her cousin Logan. A pretty hooded dress from Gap. She got 6 animals from the Little People Noah's Ark set from her Grandma and BePaw Miller. And in the evening, Maddox, Daddy, and I took her to the Build-A-Bear Workshop where she made a Bunny named Penelope!

The best I could get yesterday morning LOL


Giving her Bunny's heart a kiss and giving the heart to the animal stuffer lady.


Maddox stepping on the animal stuffer pedal and Faye giving the lady stink eye after we took the Bunny from Faye. Don't know where Maddox's head went!


Registering her Bunny and naming her.


And it's Love!


This Saturday, June 13th, is her birthday Party. It is a Hawaiian Luau. Let's all pray that it is sunny and warm!

Happy Firth Birthday Faye!

Top Left Corner going Clockwise: June 2008 - May 2009 (Birth-11Mo). Center: June 2009 (One Year Old!)

Our Birds

We first noticed these little guys on May 3rd. Two little eggs sitting in a nest on the potting bench on our patio. And then soon after that, we saw three eggs.



The next day, I caught a picture of Mama sitting on her nest, through the window of the garage door - that's why it's so foggy looking.



And then there were FOUR eggs!



Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, around 12:30AM it was so windy that our neighbors tree blew over. I was a little worried about the poor little Robin and her nest.



They were not harmed at all! Yay!

Fast forward two weeks. May 16th. We have some babies! Two weebit babies! Scraggly looking things!



May 17th, we have two more! One is still halfway in it's shell.



Look at those giant eyes!



Bummed that this one didn't turn out clear.



Mama bird got rid of the final shell. I think the one bird got all tuckered out waiting for food!



We're trying to stay off the patio and to go out the front door and around the house if we need to go in the backyard but it's really tough. Especially since it's BBQ weather and the kids want to play outside! Hopefully in two more weeks the babies will be all grown up and leaving the nest!

Our baby birds are getting big already. Here they are two days later and they are already bigger and darker and have dark little spines.



This is a picture of where their nest is. On the first shelf above the Ice Cream bucket. The potting bench is on our Patio and the door on the house goes into our garage. This is our main door into our backyard.



Faye and I went outside today to take a picture of the babies and to check on the gardens. I didn't notice the Mama and Papa birds in the nest when we came out and they flew away right away. We looked at the gardens first and stood in the yard to watch the birds. They were flying from tree to tree and along our neighbors fence watching us. The Papa bird came to the patio and had a mouth full of food. We stayed out in the yard so that we did not disturb them. My father in law came out of the garage and the Papa bird flew away, but not too far. They waited until everything was clear and slowly made their way to the nest. We watched them and when they went to their nest, we went around the other side and took pictures from a distance that was OK with the birds.

The Papas on the left on the patio and the Mama on the right on the fence.


Here is the Papa waiting on the patio with some grub!


Mama feeding, Papa waiting his turn


Mama checking us out


The Babies!


These little guys (or girls) are getting so big! Here they are on May 22nd. 5 and 6 Days old!


Begging for food!


After they realized that I wasn't their Mother or Father, they decided to nap!


May 24th, 7 and 8 Days old!


The hollow shaft of their feathers are very long now and they have started to sprout the barb.


They are opening their eyes now!


AND This evening I got a video of Papa feeding his little babies! And taking some poop out of the nest!





It's almost over! We have a fledgling now. This evening - May 28th, one of the little chicks hopped out of the nest, flapped down to the ground and walked and flapped into the garden. His/her mother found him/her, fed her, and took off. We haven't seen the little one since! We still have three birds in the nest (as at 9 PM).

Here they are, all snuggied up on May 25th.


I love this picture!


They've become quite skiddish around us. Whenever we go out, they popped their little eyes open. If they are fluffing their feathers or doing anything at all, they'll stop as soon as they see us and try to sink as far into the nest as they can.

Here they are on May 26th. All lined up in a row!


and on the 27th, they're so big they are stacked ontop of eachother!




And now, for today's pictures! Their feathers are turning orange! This big guy on top is probably the one that left today. It's hard to tell because they all look alike!


Those poor little birds on the bottom are probably glad that the top on left!


Here he goes!










S/he then took off into the gardens and mommy was waiting with a worm!


The mommy was calling for the baby and every couple whistles you could hear the baby chirp. The baby went into the garden and all you could see was leaves on one of the plants moving. Birdy got stuck! S/he turned around and mommy saw him, ran up to him with a worm, fed him and then took off. The baby is in the green plant on the left side of the mommy.


And now there are three!


Original Post: Sunday, May 17, 2009 10:14 PM
First Edit: Thursday, May 21, 2009 5:55 PM
Second Edit: Sunday, May 24, 2009 9:07 PM
Third Edit: Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:28 PM

She's Walking!

It's official! She has been walking around for the past two days! About a month or so ago, we were up to two steps. As of 2 weeks ago we were up to three steps. Last week she went six steps! After that we just stopped counting! She would walk to me (Mommy) and walk to Daddy. Then she started walking to other people and now she is walking just to walk. And turning! Today she even turned a few times!

Tampontification

Tampons are a big part of the monthly female lexicon. American women spend about $2 billion on them annually and will use about 11,000 during their lifetimes. But they are a product that few people regularly discuss.

That dynamic needs to change: Tampons, which come into contact with some of the most sensitive tissue in a woman's body, aren't as straightforward as they seem.

Tampons are typically made from a variety of materials including conventional cotton, rayon, or a blend of both fibers. Conventional cotton is one of the "dirtiest" crops in the modern world. According to the USDA, in 2003 U.S. cotton farmers applied an eye-popping 55 million pounds of pesticides to their fields. And global cotton production also uses high levels of pesticides.

Many of these agricultural toxins are classified as "extremely or highly hazardous" by the World Health Organization. In addition to polluting groundwater and soil, seven of the 15 most commonly-used cotton pesticides have been identified as possible human carcinogens by the EPA. (Others are known to damage the nervous system and are suspected of disrupting the body's hormonal system.)

When we buy tampons made with conventional cotton, we are contributing to these kinds of environmental pollution.

Rayon also needs further scrutiny. The wood pulp that forms a base material for most rayon is typically treated with chlorine-based bleach. This manufacturing process results in the creation of chlorinated toxins, which can accumulate in the environment over time.

Conventional tampons can also contain any number of other ingredients that women might not want to be intimate with. These include absorbency enhancers, synthetic deodorants, and artificial fragrances.

Add it all up and the term "feminine protection" becomes a bit of a misnomer. An alternative is to use 100% organic cotton tampons. These products are made from pure natural cotton that hasn't been grown in a soup of pesticides. They don't contain rayon or synthetic additives, and most have been manufactured using a chlorine-free process that doesn't create chlorinated toxins. When you purchase 100% organic cotton tampons you make a statement that you want to prevent the accumulation of toxins in the environment and that you want to make the world a safer, healthier place for you, your family, and generations to come.

Choices like these do more to protect our world and the people who live on it. They're part of the conversation about safer alternatives that parents need to have with their daughters and women should have with one another. Having the conversation today will keep everyone healthier tomorrow.

My oh My! Has it really been that long?

So I guess I got March Pictures up, but now it's May... Where has the time gone?!

First Up, Easter egg coloring!






We colored Eggs the first weekend in April.


Faye's first time of course!




Faye is little Miss Trouble (Miss T for short lol)


This picture cracks me up! With the Blur, Shadows, and Motion of him jumping up and down and he looks completely misproportioned (is that a word?).


She's got Sass too.


Tearing up leaves.. I think!


They are so cute together!






Easter Morning!



First we had to set them in front of her and when that failed, we had to put an egg in her hand. Just not ready for the egg hunt yet LOL








Poor kids LOL


Beautiful April Day





Chowin' Down


Watching TV, Feeding Logan


Trying to call Grandma Mary


Girly Girl


Putting on and taking off the sunglasses was a fun game for her


They are her brother's old sunglasses


The best thing about summer - some good ol' fresh air to knock em out early!


LOL


She climbed all the way up!


Showing off


This is actually from Tennessee, but I uploaded it in April and haven't shared it yet!



Messed up all my piles, pulled some books out of the box and then set on the remaining books in the box and played with Maddox's Star Wars pencils....


Put her in here while Sarah was over, picking up Logan, and she actually passed out in it! She was so tired though. Logan wouldn't let her take a nap and She wouldn't let Logan take a nap.




Helping in the Garden!


She likes to stomp on plants! Haha!


Nice outfit Faye!


PJ for a Shirt.. lol


Maddox had a Spring Sing at school on May 7th... It was sooooo cute! He hummed to all of the songs and sang I know a Chicken. I think he forgot that he likes to hum instead of sing. He was singing all of the other songs at home... weirdo!















And he kept yawning through the whole thing!


The little cutie in the black dress with pink dots is Maddox's friend Mina. The bug eyed little girl next to him is Anya, but Maddox doesn't even know her name.

My little grease Monkey!


If anyone finds Coveralls in any size around 4-8 in boys, PLEASE get them. Maddox wears a 4 or 5, but if I cannot find them that small, I don't mind a little big.

Faye helping in the Garden again!


Playing Monster Trucks in the bin


Faye trying to escape LOL


And that's all so far. April and May!