Can I Do It?

http://www.futuregirl.com/craft_blog/2007/06/sock-and-glove-love.aspx

These are so cute!  I really want to make one, but sewing is not my favorite thing to do.  Aubrey made one, but she is very handy with the sewing machine. 

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Thankful Thursday

My friend from gradeschool, Kirsten, writes a neat blog every day and Thursday is "Thankful Thursday".  I'm stealing her idea, at least for this week.  

I'm thankful today for having more energy.  I haven't been feeling well lately, but last night I slept well and I'm feeling a little better today.  I've been taking up to two naps a day for the last couple weeks but today I didn't even seem to need one.  I've been dreading a few housework items that needed to get done and today I was able to knock one of them out...filing!  It seems so miniscule but I've been letting bills and paperwork pile up since before Kinsey was born, and today I filed everything.  Not only do I have more energy, but I also feel a little bit de-cluttered as a result!

4 Month Appointment

Weight:  16 lbs, 4 oz - 90th percentile
Height:  25 inches - 70th percentile
Head circumference:  42 cm - 70th percentile

She's following the normal curve so that is a good thing.  Our pracitioner said there was no rush to start solids if we didn't want to, so I'm going to wait at least another month.  She said Kinsey still has a little bit of tongue thrust when she was looking in her mouth so she might not quite be ready anyways.

Oh, and I got peed on at the appointment today.  I picked her up off the table while David was getting a diaper ready for me to lay her down.  That's when she peed all over me, the floor, and the exam table. 

I bought a booster seat on craigslist today for $10, very happy about that.  Craigslist is awesome!  I don't think I ever wrote about it but I also got an extra car seat base a while ago for $5, and the lady had the Fisher-Price Rainforest Jumperoo she didn't want anymore, so she gave it to me for free.  It retails new for about $80, and used on craigslist I have seen it as low as $40.  I have no idea why she didn't try to sell it, but I'm not complaining!

4 Months Old!

This has to be the easiest age!

Kinsey rolls over from her back to her stomach almost every time I lay her on the floor.  She doesn't roll from her stomach to her back much, but she has a few times.  She can also hold on to objects for a short period of time on purpose.  She is starting to grab at things and put them in her mouth much more now too.  Right now, she is sitting in her bouncy seat grabbing at the toys.  It is really neat to watch her grab onto something and then look at it with big eyes!

The only minor difficulty I encountered this past month was with napping.  She started taking to cat-napping instead of her full naps.  I think it was a combination of her going back and forth from the babysitter's house and home, as well as my lack of discipline in the "cry it out" area.  The last few days I finally decided she needed to re-learn how to get herself to sleep, and it has been fabulous.  By yesterday, it only took her about five minutes to fall asleep after I put her down for her morning and afternoon nap, and she napped for an hour and a half each time.  I actually woke her up to feed her.  I find it is much easier to feed her when I wake her rather than when she wakes up on her own and fusses.

Sleeping at night has been the same, between 9-11 hours.  The cool thing is she will wake up on her own in the morning and just roll from side to side in her crib, talking a little bit until I come in and get her.  She hasn't been fussy in the morning at all this month.

She is starting to grow out of the 0-3 month clothes and into the 3-6 month size. 

I got her to sit leaning forward a little bit the last few days.  Here is a picture:

 

On Monday she has her 4 month appointment, so we will see how she has grown and also discuss starting rice cereal.  I am not in a hurry for it, so I won't necessarily start yet.  We'll see.  She won't be able to get her shots for another week and a half because our 2 month appointment was a week and a half after she turned 2 months, and we can't have this next set any sooner than August 3rd.  But I wanted to go ahead and get her appointment on time to get an accurate percentile for weight.  For shots we go to the immunization clinic on base and they are walk in, so it's not like I have to make another doctor appointment just for shots.

On July 4th Kinsey got to see fireworks for the first time on base.  She wasn't bothered at all by the noise, and it seemed like she was a little bit interested.  David and I also got to go out for our first date night this month, while my friend watched her.  It was nice!  We went to Texas Roadhouse and then did a little bit of shopping.  We have also been busy with summer parties and get togethers.

On the adoption front, we had our final home visit from our caseworker this month.  She said we should be able to get a court date around September 20th to finalize the adoption, yay!  So exciting!  Also, this month I sent a bunch of pictures and a letter to the birth mother telling her all about Kinsey's developments.  We should be seeing her next month sometime.

Here is a link to the pictures from the last month!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2181455&id=71210563&l=ed043d1cf9

Fasting for Squirrels

I keep wanting to write this post but then worry about whether it will sound pretentious.  But, I'm going past those worries and going to do it, because I'm curious.

I want to fast.  Someone in our life group talked about how fasting helped him have better focus on God throughout his day.  This is something I need.  However, fasting from food doesn't seem like a wise decision with my health problems (yes, I'm sounding old now).

So what have you fasted from besides food?

Thunder!

If my dogs had been in the movie, Up, squirrels would do nothing for them.  But thunder, yes!  This middle of the night post has little to do with my insomnia and everything to do with my dogs being unable to stop whining because of the thunderstorm.  I am quite thankful I don't have to work tomorrow!  The picture, by the way, has nothing to do with their current dilemma, it was just a recent picture of the two of them with Kinsey, of course.  Currently, Kinsey is fast asleep in her crib with no apparent awareness of the thunderstorm.

I was having a dream that I had rearranged the furniture in the house and needed to get outside to the car.  For some reason David and I decided we needed to sleep out there because of the storm.  The furniture was in the way and I couldn't get past it, so I started screaming for my sister, but no sound would come out.  I woke myself up and realized it was a dream, heard the dogs whining, but went back to sleep anyways.  I dreamt about the same thing again.  The second time I woke up I heard the dogs whining again and decided it wouldn't stop unless they got some attention.  Now they are quiet while I sit with them.

I never ate the Subway sandwich my husband bought for me tonight, so I figured now is as good a time as any!

I suppose there is no point to this post, so I will leave you with some great words from a friend's devotion.  She posted it on facebook without a reference, but I thought it too worthy not to pass along despite the lack of reference.  I don't know if they are her own words, paraphrased from her devotion, or taken straight from her daily devotion.  But they are good, and really something for me to ponder:

Who am I trying to convince? (copied from Desteni's Facebook note, July 19, 2010)



Another great devotional from today...

Trying to prove how good we are, trying to prove we're good enough, trying to show someone how much he or she has hurt us, trying to show someone we're understanding, are warning signs that we may be into our self defeating behaviors.


They can be an indication that we are trying to control someone. They can be an indication that we do not believe how good we are, that we're good enough, that someone is hurting us.


They can be a warning that we've allowed ourselves to get hooked into a dysfunctional system. They may indicate that we're stuck in the cloudy fog of denial or doing something that is not good for us.


Trying excessively to make a point with another may mean that we have not yet made that point with ourselves. Once we make that point with ourselves, once we understand, we will know what to do.


The issue is not about others understanding and taking us seriously. The issue is not about others believing we're good and good enough. The issue is not about others seeing and believing how responsible or loving or competent we are. The issue is not about whether others realize how deeply we are feeling a particular feeling. We are the ones that need to see the light.


Today, God, help me let go of my need to control outcomes by influencing the beliefs of others. I will concentrate on accepting myself, rather than trying to prove something about myself. If I catch myself in the codependent trap of trying to emphasize something about myself to another, I will ask myself if I need to convince myself at that point.

Squirrel!

Last night David and I went to church.  It was one of the most practical and inspiring sermons I have heard in a while.  I believe much of that has to do with my heart actually wanting to hear truth last night. 

The pastor showed a clip of the movie, Up.  If you haven't seen the movie, the cartoon dogs can talk but they get distracted and shout "Squirrel!".  I'm not sure whether they see a squirrel, smell one, or think about one, because I haven't seen the movie, but for now it is beside the point.  They stop everything they're doing, whether it is simply talking to one another or whether they are on some sort of mission.  Squirrels block everything out so they can't focus on what they were trying to accomplish.

Our pastor implied we get the same way.  Instead of focusing on God we get distracted and our attention gets caught by something else so much that we completely lose sight of our purpose.  I was so inspired last night and had more serious talks with God than I have had in a while.

However, I woke up this morning and apparently a squirrel was in my bedroom.  You see, last night I wrote an email in an attempt to reconcile/understand a troubling relationship from my past with a friend.  This morning I woke up dwelling on that relationship, being bitter about how it has caused me to feel, and completely lost sight of the desire I had last night to shift my thoughts and actions toward God.  Now I'm struggling to regain my focus and to remember than my significance and my security lies in God alone, not in how I am viewed by others, specifically right now this person.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie, even though I'm not a huge fan of cartoon movies yet (I know I will have to be in the near future).  I am curious about relating my life to these dogs who get distracted by squirrels!

Just a Cute Picture

"Maybe"

http://beingthatguy.vox.com/library/post/the-worst-word.html?_c=feed-atom

I like this post about the word "maybe".

Video of Kinsey Rolling Over

Friends is playing in the background, of course.

"I Remember When..."

At one of the satellite offices I work in, there is an OB/GYN doctor in the same office.  On Wednesday one of their patients brought it her newborn, who couldn't have been more than a week old.  He was fast asleep in his carseat, and he had a ton of dark hair.  I actually said to myself, "I remember when Kinsey was that little!"  Up until now, it felt like there were no babies newer than Kinsey.  That she was as new as they come.  Not anymore!

This past week Kinsey has taken to blowing raspberries instead of talking as much.  Here is a picture of her in the midst of it:

Today we are going to a 4th of July party, and I bought a cute outfit for Kinsey.  I haven't put it on her yet since she's been into a little spitting up phase.  I am looking forward to taking pictures though because my Aunt Lois makes beautiful quilts, and the first one she made for us was red, white, and blue.  It is going to make a perfect backdrop for pictures!  And oh, how I love pictures!

Speaking of pictures, I recently began a new hobby...scrapbooking!  I am having so much fun.  I went to a scrapbooking class a few weeks ago and was inspired.  I even bought the Cricut Expression machine to cut out letters and cute designs.  It was a gift to myself for going back to work ;)

David just had a birthday yesterday, and he bought himself a motorcycle.  I asked him what kind it was and he said, "If you're telling a girl what it is, tell them it's a Harley, but if you're telling a guy, tell them it's a Hog" (or is it Hawg?).  Anyways, here's a picture of his birthday/Christmas/anniversary (for the next several years) present.  I do think it is kinda pretty, I like the red, since it's my favorite color ;)