Almost December!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We celebrated with all the Mahaffeys-there were over 20 of us there. It was great. We have so much to be thankful for. Parker had a great first Thanksgiving-although he was way overstimulated. Not a minute went by someone wasn't in his face. I know he's hard to resist, but Parker was so. over. it. He slept pretty poorly last night, but he's taking a great nap right now.

I went to Walmart at midnight. It was crazy! I have never been Black Friday shopping. I may never go again.

Here are the kid's wishlists this year:

Lily:(condensed)







Parker: (in the works)




I can't believe it's almost December! What a wonderful time of year.

Cloth Hiney!

I have a surprising announcement.

We have switched to cloth diapers.

Don’t freak out. Most people I have told do. It’s very odd to me. I have heard, “You’ll regret that,” “Ew,” and even, “Are you bored?” I’ve tried not to take offense to these comments because I have to remember that people don’t really know how cloth diapers are now. Although, let’s be honest, of course I took some offense. Shane and I made the decision because it’s better for our baby, our wallets, and of course, the environment (pretty important). I purchased Simply Cloth diapers from Simply Baby, online. They were really inexpensive, and they seem to be great quality. They are one size, adjustable-they will last until he is potty trained. Amazing. And they have the cutest designs. Loooove them.

I don’t need pins, I don’t have to fold them. They are pocket diapers-where you stuff inserts into the diaper. To wash them, I run them on a cold soak in the washer, and then wash in hot with free and clear detergent (Shane got All). And then toss them in the dryer-though, I’m thinking of letting them hang outside to dry when it’s warmer outside.

The thought that I won’t be buying disposables anymore is amazing. And Parker looks adorable-per usual!

Quick Stats/ Homemade Baby Food

From the doctor last Thursday...

1. Parker weighs 15 pounds, 2 ounces, putting him in the 50% (I know, I was shocked too. I thought he was huge).

2. Parker is 24 1/2 inches long, putting him in the 31%.

3. Parker got two shots and one oral vaccine. (slightly fussy, but overall, AWESOME!! So proud of him) He nursed afterwards, which really seemed to help IMO. Endorphins and what not.

4. The white spots I thought were teeth were NOT teeth. I forget what they called them, but I stand corrected!! No teeth for this baby yet.



Also, I am now officially making baby food! I started on Monday, and I made a few batches of bananas. It was super easy. For most foods, you have to steam or bake them and then puree them, but with bananas (and avocados and a few others), you don't need to steam or cook them first. I learned everything from dear friends and www.wholesomebabyfood.com. Today I made a BIG batch of sweet potatoes that will last a long time. All you do is steam or bake, puree, put in ice cube trays, freeze, and then pop out and store in a freezer bag. It's super easy to pull out a cube or two and heat them up when it's meal time. I hope he likes them! We'll be starting those Monday. I'm planning on introducing one new food a week for now. We're still moving slowly. I need to get some funny pictures, but I never seem to have my camera by me when he's eating.

Finally, a SUPER belated Halloween picture-my little witch and little skelton!

Belated 4 month post

So much for a four month post. We actually had to cancel Parker's four month checkup last week due to insurance ISSUES, but luckily, things have been resolved and now he is going tomorrow.

So...at four months-Parker is still eating every three to four hours (breastfeeding four months and counting, confident that we will go much much longer!) We have very casually introduced some rice cereal (made pretty soupy with lots of mommy milk). He looooves it, but sometimes it stops him up, so I am slow to really start it. And shocker-it didn't change his sleep patterns at all! People say babies will STTN after they eat baby food, but I really don't believe it now. He still wakes up once a night to eat around 3, or he'll sleep til 5 30 and then eat. Much better than the insanity that was last week. We've been doing some sleep boot camp, and he has been STTN more and more. Being positive WORKS!

He has three little teeth still coming in, the only thing you can see are the little white buds. Could be why he was fussing during the night last week. But I just got him an amber teething necklace from the Inspired By Finn website, and we looooove it. I would recommend them to anyone. And they look insanely adorable. Lily got one too, even though she obviously isn't teething. There are lots of other health benefits to wearing amber.

We've been attending church, and we're going to a informational class on Sunday about becoming members, which is really really exciting for our family. We know a great couple with three kids and one on the way who introduced us to the church, and I am so thankful that they did. Parker went to the nursery for the first time Sunday, and of course, he was an angel. I snuck a peek during the service, and he was snuggled up with a lady in a rocking chair. He won't do that with me!

I can't wait to scan in the kid's portrait from The Picture People last night. $9 for six sheets! I'm excited to share!