Our week in pictures

So happy :)

Still swallows her up...

Mmmm, sweet potatoes!

And avocado! Yummy :)

After demolishing a teething biscuit!

{Well, at least until a big chunk broke off... then I took it away, since she doesn't have any teeth yet...}

And this one is from a couple weeks ago when Grammy came to visit! So cute :)

Favorite things

Dear Cupcake,

You are the sweetest thing ever. I have been truly enjoying the time I've gotten to spend with you in these last six and half months. The last month has been especially exciting, watching you change and grow at such a rapid pace! Your little personality is coming to life.

Right now you are my life! We get to spend everyday together and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. The transition has been a little rougher than I thought it would be, going from a job outside of the home to being a full-time stay-at-home mommy. But the rewards now and they ones yet to come will make up for that and more!

I want to tell you a few of my favorite things about our time right now.

Your laugh. It's infectious and I can't help to smile when ever I hear it. It comes pretty easy these days, you are a happy baby! I love when I'm putting you down for a nap and I'm holding you in my arms to bounce you to sleep, when I lean down to kiss your sweet, soft cheek, you giggle and it makes me giggle. We go back and forth a couple times and just want to eat you up cause you are such a sweetie.

Your curiosity. You want to see, hear and do everything! You reach your hands out to feel and/or grab everything you see. You watch your hand as you open and close a fist and just study your feet as you rotate your ankle in circles. Today when we ran to the craft store for somethings, I let you sit in the cart for the first time {without your car seat} and you took everything in with a huge smile on your face. It really was a whole new world to you!

Your happy personality. Just yesterday at the store the sales clerk was talking to you and you gave her the biggest smile and chuckle! She asked me, "Is she always this happy?" and I told her yes! you sure are! I love to set you down in front of our closet door mirror and watch you get a kick out of your 'friend' on the other side! It's pure fun and entertainment for you hours.

These are just a few of my favorite things about you and our sweet time together.

I love you cupcake!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created byMckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.
If any of you have been reading my blog for very long, then you know plenty about how my little cupcake has been having difficulty sleeping {especially since at 6 weeks she was sleeping 10-12 hours at night and now at 6 mo she will wake up every 3-4 hours}, naps included!
Lately, I've discovered that the more active we are and the more stimulated {but not over stimulated} I can get her, the better she crashes sleeps soundly at night! So we make it a point to get out of the house at least once a day to either run errands or something fun! I've even found that she will fall asleep while we are driving around and will have the best naps that way too!
So....
Since my baby girl has been having sleep problems I would definitely not be messing up her sleep schedule by staying out later than the time she usually goes down for the night. No way, not me! I would be sure to keep her on a strict schedule to ensure she is able to sleep the best she can.
So last Thursday night, when I was invited to a dinner over at friends house with some other ladies, I definitely declined and stayed home to put the baby to bed on time!
And then after this dinner with friends that we did not partake in, it wasn't over an hour after cupcake should have been in bed that we finally headed home. And on that drive home that we didn't go on, cupcake absolutely no way fell asleep in the car seat practically as soon as the car started. She most certainly did not sleep the whole way home, even more soundly than she does in her crib!
When we finally got home from the dinner that we never went to, when I brought cupcake into the house she definitely did not stay sound asleep! And I would never, being the new and overly cautious mother, leave cupcake in her car seat, in her room. There is no way that I would leave her in there sleeping so peacefully and I would never hope that she stayed asleep all through the night in her car seat. No, I am a decent mother who would at least get her child out of the car seat to put her pj's on and put her in her crib to sleep!
And finally, I would never, ever lay awake wondering if I was being a bad mother and there for not even get to enjoy the sound sleep that my baby was not having in her car seat!
Nope! Not me! :)

Prayers needed!

Please keep this sweet baby girl, Layla Grace, in your prayers tonight and for her family in the next couple of months. She has been fighting cancer and was released from the Children's hospital just before Christmas. She has been going in for tests and just learned that aggressive tumors are growing in her one good kidney. The doctors gave her 2-6 months {6 months being a miracle}. But her family, and many other {myself included} are praying for a miracle.

Whether it's here on earth or in heaven, God will heal His sweet child. For the families sake I pray it's on earth! But to God be all the glory, how ever he chooses to do it!

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the Lord.

Isaiah 55:8

My heart is breaking for this sweet girls family and I know that God's heart breaks for them as well. If you would like to send this family encouragement, I know they would appreciate it so much. Send it to: fightforlayla@gmail.com . You can also follow updates on Facebook group: Praying For Layla or on twitter at http://twitter.com/laylagrace .

Well Baby Visit and pictures

We got pictures taken yesterday by E's Auntie Rachael. She did such a great job taking pictures when E was just a week or so old, we decided that she should do them again! We had a blast :)

'Ma ma and me'

I love her 'What guys?' pose in this picture.

Da da teaching E how the toy lights up!

She may be a mini Stud Muffin, but she is looking more like ma ma as a baby in this one!

'Da da can always make me laugh!'

Teething much?! Her mouth has become a broken faucet!

My necklace has become one of E's favorite things to play with...

But this was her favorite toy by far! The little balls inside would slide down and sound like rain on a window pane.

Love this face. :)

So today was E's well baby visit! Stud Muffin and I were making guesses on how much we think she weighs. And we decided whoever gets the closest would get to sleep ALL night on Friday night {right now we do shifts cause E is still waking up several times and has to be helped back to sleep... she is doing MUCH better though!}.

My guess: 18 lbs 8 oz

Stud Muffin: 19 lbs 4 oz

So who won?

Today Cupcake weighed in at.... 18 lbs even!! Here are all her stats:

Weight: 18 lbs {85 percentile}

Height: 27 in {90 percentile}

She is our big girl :) Happy and healthy!

So Dr G said that she is progressing just great! She could see that E is a 'talker', she talked to the Dr, the mural of dogs on the wall... everything! She was very curious and just taking everything in. When the Dr was listening to her heart and looking in her eyes, ears and mouth she just laid back and took it all like a champ! {She has her da da's laid back personality!}

The only issues I talked to the Dr about was her sleeping {she said to just keep on the track we are on, helping her to fall asleep on her own} and her eating solids.

We started her on cereal and then moved on to sweet potatoes and then, recently, to peas. She was doing great, all up to the peas...Ok so we went back to what she liked, sweet potatoes. No go... so we went back to cereal. She wouldn't have any of it! I was at a loss. So Dr G suggested, since E has excellent neck control and she is able to sit up by herself pretty well, to give her more whole food that are softened and that she can gum. She maybe she just doesn't like the puree type foods, but will go straight to the soft solids... I'm going to give it a try!

She is definitely teething as well, she showed me how her gums are quite swollen but no tooth just yet. Who knows, could be here any day now.

And on the last note, I just happened to mention to the Dr as we were packing up and leaving that E has started saying 'Ma ma ma' and 'Da da da', even though she isn't necessarily directing it at us. She was surprised and said that babies don't normally develop that until closer to 9 months! She said how bright she thought E was and she actually didn't want to leave the room cause she said she wanted to see what E would do next, she just loves her.

I do too ;) After the Dr office we went to Gymboree {love that store!} and used our 'Gym Bucks' that we earned last month! And then to Barnes and Noble to get a couple of new books for my little smart baby to start reading ; p

6 months ago today

My sweet baby girl. It was just 6 months ago today that you greeted us and this big world!

At exactly 12:29 pm you were welcomed into this world by us, mommy and daddy.

I remember that day like it were a week ago and I still enjoy looking through the pictures, bringing back the memories of the sweetest time in my entire life.

Oh what wonderful pleasure and joy you have brought to our lives!

Happy half birthday, Cupcake.

Love ma ma and da da

Nursery

Today was E's first day going to the nursery at church! They said she did great and she looked happy {but tired} when I picked her up.

Actually she mostly looked tired...

Apparently the other babies wore her out!

After church, we had a yummy lunch from noodles. Tomorrow we are going to get updated family photos and 6 month photos since E will be 6 months... TOMORROW!

Wow I can't even believe it!

If you give a mouse a cookie...

... {Same idea, but mommy version according to daddy!}

If you buy a woman a dress, she'll want a pair of shoes.

If you buy the woman that pair of shoes, she'll want a pedicure.

Then she'll want a necklace to go with her dress, and of course her hair will need to be done too.

So if you think you are just buying a dress, think again, cause your never buying just a dress.

But I bet she'll be the prettiest woman you ever did see. :)

Thank you, honey, for letting me get

all dressed up for you!

Love you.

Would I be...

Would I be lying if I said that staying home is easy?

It's harder than I ever thought it could possibly be.

Long hours.

No nights or weekends off.

Would I be a horrible mom if I said that there have been {recent} times that I've thought 'I don't want to have any more children' {because I don't want to experience this again}?

Sometimes this job is so hard,

I think 'I couldn't possibly want to do this again.'

Would I be wrong if I thought this job, being a mom, was really a way that God wants to continue to grow and to mold {prune really} my character?

I've never seen the ugliest side of my

selfish nature like I have these last 6 months.

Tonight was a rough one. For what ever reason sleep was fought. It was fought the strongest it's been fought so far. There were tears involved, by both of us. As much as I am against CIO methods, it got to a point where I'm not sure that it mattered if I was holding and bouncing her or if she was laying in her crib. The crying was intense.

As difficult as it is to admit, I lost my temper in the form of a growl of frustration. This in turn only sent the already on-the-verge-of-hystarical upset E into a startled uproar. Let me just say that it was not pretty. And I'm not proud of my lowest moments.

At this point I just had to stop. I turned on the dim light {the one we use in the night only if we need to see, it's actually a blue light bulb} and unwrapped E from her wrap that she sleeps in. She slowly started to settle down. However, no matter how I tried I could not get her to look at me. We sat in the glider and she leaned on me, completely relaxed, but wouldn't look at me for anything in the world.

After we rocked for a few minutes, in complete silence, my heart was softened and I couldn't hold back so instead I full on apologized for losing my temper. I kissed my sweet girl's head and caressed her foot {which she was using to distractingly play with the arm of the chair}. She looked up at me, only after I had apologized, and we finally made eye contact. She gave me a smile, her toothless grin that melted my heart like never before. Her little hand reached up and touched my mouth and she said something in her 'baby-talk.' And I knew that she had forgiven me. We had made up.

It was the sweetest exchange I had ever experienced.

We continued to rock and to quietly play together. And it was then and there that I decided to always, no matter what has taken place between us, to always apologize and ask for her forgiveness. To never ever let a wronging on my part go with out making it right. Making it right in her eyes, and in the Lord's eyes.

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psalm 127:3

Song for a Fifth Child*

Mother, O Mother, come shake out your cloth,
Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,
Hang out the washing, make up the bed,
Sew on a button and butter the bread.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?
She's up in the nursery, blissfully rocking.

Oh, I've grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue,
Lullabye, rockabye, lullabye loo.
Dishes are waiting and bills are past due
Pat-a-cake, darling, and peek, peekaboo

The shopping's not done and there's nothing for stew
And out in the yard there's a hullabaloo
But I'm playing Kanga and this is my Roo
Look! Aren't his eyes the most wonderful hue?
Lullabye, rockaby lullabye loo.

The cleaning and scrubbing can wait till tomorrow
But children grow up as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down cobwebs; Dust go to sleep!
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.

*I do realize that I do not have 5 children. Not even close really. I only have one, and she isn't even a year old.

But I love the words to this poem/song. And even as a first time mama I can relate to this so much already. There are days that I am so stressed because I haven't done a lick of cleaning and it's been 3 days. But it's in those times that I like to be reminded of the fact that there is a lot that I have been doing:

Feeding my baby~singing to my baby~bouncing my baby to sleep~playing with my baby after changing her diaper~playing with my baby while I'm changing her diaper~making baby food~teaching my baby to roll over~ teaching my baby to sit up~playing with my baby while she has 'tummy time'~singing to my baby~making my baby smile/laugh~going on outings with my baby~taking pictures of my baby~writing in a journal to my baby~making silly faces for my baby~comforting my crying baby~cuddling my sweet baby...

What is 'Bold Blogging?'

This isn't the first time that I have {in my humble opinion...} blogged boldly. There have been other times that I have written about my faith {here and here are a couple of examples}, and not to mention my opinions on vaccines and breastfeeding.

But lately I've been asking myself the question What is bold blogging?

I really started thinking about it after this fellow blogger wrote this and then in response to that blog another fellow blogger {and reader of the first fellow blogger :)} decided to start doing this.

So the conclusion that I have come to is that for my personal bold blogging {I know that everyone's bold blogging could look very different} it means that I will speak boldly for the things of the Kingdom of God. The things that I know to be truth. Those things which the Lord is working out and through in my life and in my relationship with Him. I hope that it will encourage me to seek Him in His word and all that I do everyday of my life! If my bold blogging is able to encourage, exhort, minister or simply speak truth to someone else in the world, Praise God!

But what I don't want bold blogging for me to be:

1. My opinions spoken as fact. Don't get me wrong, the truth of the Gospel message is, to me, indeed fact and I will proclaim it as such as long as I'm living on this earth. But things not pertaining to salvation of souls, I don't want to push those kinds of things.

2. Condemning or judgmental. Again, if anyone feels that my proclamation of the gospel message as being true is condemning others or judging anyone, then they have missed the true meaning of the message itself. Jesus came to bring Life and to bring it more abundantly! He spent His time with the sick and hurting people so that they would know that there is more than this painful and sickness stricken world.

3. Not honoring or giving all glory to God. He is the only one worthy of praise! And one day every knee will bow and acknowledge Him as Lord. I want to do that now!

So I ask of you, dear readers {all three of you!} to please keep me accountable and if you believe that I have done any one of these things in my future of bold blogging, please speak up and let me know. I pray that I will have a humble and soft heart to hear you out and respond accordingly, in a way that also brings glory to God.

"My Big Fat Greek Stuffed Peppers"

Yummy!

I made these for dinner tonight.

I got the recipe from a cook book I've been living by, "Saving Dinner." It's a great cook book for someone who doesn't know how doesn't have a lot of experience with making full dinners, main dish and sides, and with meal planning. This book does it all! It even gives you the shopping list for all the ingredients that you need for 5 whole meals.

So anyway, on to this yummy dinner :)

What you'll need:

6 bell peppers, halved & seeded

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1/2 lb extra-lean ground beef

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

2 large tomatoes, diced {I used a can of diced tomatoes and just drained the juice, worked great!}

3 cups brown rice, cooked {I used white for shorter cooking time, but prefer brown usually}

1 cup Feta cheese, crumbled

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a baking sheet and put peppers, cut side down, on the surface. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until they're tender and skin begins to brown.

While peppers are roasting, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat and add onion. Cook onion till translucent, then add beef, crumbling well; add salt and pepper to taste. Drain well and blot with paper towels (with this step the fat grams will be lower).

Add seasonings to beef mixture; then add the tomatoes and rice. Mix well. Add the Feta cheese and mix well again.

In a baking dish, place peppers cut side up this time and fill with meat and cheese mixture. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until heated through.

I personally, thought that this dish was delish! I served it with baked sweet potatoes and a fresh salad. It's a simple and healthy meal anyone can do, even a busy mom ; )

And just for kicks, my little helper:

Couldn't ask for better company :D

Fear tactics

Does anyone else have this problem? Maybe you can relate.

It seems like every time I make time to spend reading the Word and really focus on seeking God I am haunted by spiritual warfare. I've started to notice this trend lately and it's really starting to bother me even though I know that it shouldn't because God's word warns us about this very thing happening.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

When I have made time during my day {usually during cupcakes first nap time} for quiet time, to read my bible and to pray, it seem that through out the day and especially at night I am tempted with fear. For example, after I put cupcake down for the night {I'm alone until Stud Muffin gets home from work because he is working a swing shift} I spend time in the kitchen, cleaning bottles, loading the dishwasher and just getting ready for the next day. We have a window at the sink and then the front door is directly to my back. I get spooked so easily and feel like someone is watching me and thoughts of someone breaking in.

Some times the fear is greater than others, but no one should have to be afraid when they are in their house {especially with an alarm, which is always set}!

But even with this trend, even if the enemy continues to haunt me, to try and stumble me and tempt me from spending time in the word and seeking my God,

I will not cease.

Because my God is bigger than that. He is greater, He is mightier than any fear. I will praise Him for who He is. And no matter how the devil tries to scare me into not seeking my God, I know that God is the only one with true power and He will watch over me.

The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him. Psalm 37:39-40

I will take refuge in Him.

Snow flakes keep falling on my head

Not really. We are staying inside today!

I'm not exactly sure what the temperature is outside, but it looks cold with the snow flakes falling and wind a blowin' {a mirror contrast to the 48 deg and sunny weather we had yesterday}.

This isn't cupcakes 'First Snow' by any means, but it's the first time that I've taken her to the window and she was actually interested {more like in amazement!} and watched the flakes blow around. She would get so excited and take a deep breath {like she was gasping with surprise} and then 'tell' me how it was.

Yes, she is starting to 'talk'! She will actually say 'ma ma ma ma' over and over. {Of course I humor myself and reply 'Yes dear?'}

And she recognizes her name! This is the look I get when I call her name:

I also decided to pull out her high chair {a garage sale steal} and see how she fancied it...

She is still a little small for it, but I figure she can start getting used to sitting in it from time to time. :D