The Love Dare journey is a process, and the first thing you must resolve to possess is patience. Think of it as a marathon, not a sprint. But it's a race worth running.
For our first wedding anniversary, we received the book The Love Dare from my parents. I have a confession, I glanced at the book, and then put it on our bookshelf only to collect dust for several months. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate the gift, or wasn't interested, it was more that I didn't think Derek and I needed a book on how to love each other. I didn't want to take the time to read this book with my husband and see what it had to say.
You see, we had read another book not too long ago, Sacred Marriage, and had read great reviews on the book. After reading the book we were pretty disappointed with what we had read and didn't feel as if it really helped us see something new or change our relationship at all. In fact, we felt slightly ripped off and wanted our money back.
Where am I going with this? Since we've had a baby, Derek and I have had a difficult time finding time for us, just him and I. Between working, changing diapers, feeding Dax, putting Dax to sleep, playing with him, and getting in sleep to do it all over the next day, we seem to have left ourselves in the dust, and have forgotten that we need to make our marriage a priority as well. Not getting enough sleep, having new responsibilities, and trying to adjust to one of the biggest changes that we have ever gone through can sometimes leave us a little stressed, tense, and crabby - especially with each other. Without wanting to spend a lot of money, but recognizing that we need to do something to spend more time together, a light switch went off in my head - we have a book, and we can read it together!
This is a 40-day challenge, we will read each day together, read the Bible verse(s) that they share, and then after the 2 page reading, there's a dare or challenge that each person has to try and do for the other. Today's dare, "Love is Patient". I'm excited for this new journey, to see where this takes our marriage, and more importantly I'm excited about the time Derek and I will be spending together to strengthen our marriage and fall even more in love with each other.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
Cracking Up
The other night Derek and Dax were talking, and all of the sudden Dax started cracking up, he was laughing so hard it was adorable. I managed to grab a quick video without him noticing, although he seems to be warming up to the video camera - the regular camera, not so much. I'm still having a difficult time capturing his precious smile, but don't worry I will prevail!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Baby Weight Update
It's been about 3 weeks since I've been trying to lose the last 10 pounds of baby weight, and I can successfully report that I have lost 4 pounds! I have 6 more pounds to go by March 29th. After that I have an additional 7 that I'd like to drop by June 5th - just in time for swim suit season :)
What have I been doing to lose the weight? Well, I'm a big slacker when it comes to working out, but I have been doing Wii Fit of EA Sports Active about 3-4 times a week. Along with breastfeeding, I've been trying to make healthier choices about what I eat. This means no more impromptu brownies, cookies, or other sweets, and instead eating salads and veggies for snacks in between meals. I've also been trying to eat more consistently throughout the day so that I'm fuller longer, and have increased my water intake.
I will say that despite being 6 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, my body shape has completely transformed thanks to Dax. Clothes that would have fit when I was 10 pounds heavier than I am now, do not fit anymore because my body has redistributed my weight. Although I have more energy, and can tell that I am losing weight, it is slightly discouraging and frustrating to have boxes full of clothes that just don't work with my body yet. I'm hoping that as I continue to shed the next few pounds, my body will start to cooperate with my jeans again - those Lucky's will fit again one day!!
What have I been doing to lose the weight? Well, I'm a big slacker when it comes to working out, but I have been doing Wii Fit of EA Sports Active about 3-4 times a week. Along with breastfeeding, I've been trying to make healthier choices about what I eat. This means no more impromptu brownies, cookies, or other sweets, and instead eating salads and veggies for snacks in between meals. I've also been trying to eat more consistently throughout the day so that I'm fuller longer, and have increased my water intake.
I will say that despite being 6 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight, my body shape has completely transformed thanks to Dax. Clothes that would have fit when I was 10 pounds heavier than I am now, do not fit anymore because my body has redistributed my weight. Although I have more energy, and can tell that I am losing weight, it is slightly discouraging and frustrating to have boxes full of clothes that just don't work with my body yet. I'm hoping that as I continue to shed the next few pounds, my body will start to cooperate with my jeans again - those Lucky's will fit again one day!!
Friday, January 22, 2010
3 Months Old (and 4 days)
On Monday Dax was exactly 3 months old, 1/4 of a year already, holy cow!! I weighed him on my Wii Fit and he came in at a whopping 15.2 pounds - he's up exactly 2 pounds from December 18th. This would explain my increased back pain over the past couple of weeks. Over the past couple of weeks Dax has been talking non-stop, and I still think he knows how to say "hi". He LOVES to talk with his daddy, they sit there and coo at each other and then Dax just cracks up laughing. Our best method to get him to calm down when he's upset, is to start "talking" to him, the way he talks to us, and he finds that funny so he'll crack a smile and start talking back. It's amazing and melts my heart everytime I hear it. He seems to have inherited my smile - which means his eyes disappear when he smiles and from here on out, people will probably tell him what I've been hearing all of these years: "your eyes are closed, we need to retake the picture" me: "let me look at it....no they're not closed, that's just how they look when I smile", my poor poor son - the hardships he will endure because of this smile :) I have a good feeling that he will survive.
Maybe it's just me, but he sure is getting cuter and cuter every time I look at him! He still is 99% dad and 1% mom, but that's alright - he has my brains and his dads looks, he's going to go places with that combination!
On a random side note, we're not starting solids and won't be doing so until he's 6 months old, but I found this online and have decided we will be getting this in March/April when we're getting ready to start solids:
What is it? This is Squirt it's a spoon that you fill with 3 oz. of baby food, and you squeeze the sides of the top of the spoon for food to come out onto the spoon. AKA mess free feedings, no bottles of baby food being spilled over on to the floor, oh I could go on. The BEST part, it's only $7.99, and I found 2 stores in Michigan that aren't too far away. They have 3 colors, Orange, Hot Pink (let's hope I have a girl next so I can get this color some time hehe), and Blue.
Maybe it's just me, but he sure is getting cuter and cuter every time I look at him! He still is 99% dad and 1% mom, but that's alright - he has my brains and his dads looks, he's going to go places with that combination!
On a random side note, we're not starting solids and won't be doing so until he's 6 months old, but I found this online and have decided we will be getting this in March/April when we're getting ready to start solids:
What is it? This is Squirt it's a spoon that you fill with 3 oz. of baby food, and you squeeze the sides of the top of the spoon for food to come out onto the spoon. AKA mess free feedings, no bottles of baby food being spilled over on to the floor, oh I could go on. The BEST part, it's only $7.99, and I found 2 stores in Michigan that aren't too far away. They have 3 colors, Orange, Hot Pink (let's hope I have a girl next so I can get this color some time hehe), and Blue.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Cloth Diapering 101
This post is for my friend, Beth , who is not sure if she wants to start using cloth diapers for her 3rd child (a girl!!) who is due in May. I told her that I would put together a little tutorial to show her how easy and mess free it really is. Now, if you're like me, the word cloth diaper brings this image to mind:
And if you're also like me, your parents STILL have those cloth diapers and use them as cleaning rags. So when I first heard of people who use CDs these days, I immediately thought of the rags and safety pins.
When my sister-in-law showed us the diapers she used, I realized that CDs, like everything else has kept up with the times, no more safety pins, no more plastic pants, now they look just like regular diapers and save me a TON of money, wooo hoooo! Oh, and they give Dax some junk in the trunk, but that's ok :) We use the Bum Genius brand, so Beth, here are your step by step instructions on what they look like and how to use them:
Step 1: The diaper all folded up
Step 2: How to expand the diaper as your baby grows
There are neat little snaps on the front, these will fit your kid from birth through appx. 50lbs, just an FYI, Dax is probably 16 or 17lbs and we're still on the smallest size, we may move up soon.
Step 3: How it works (excuse the skid marks lol)
This is the diaper opened, now notice by the velcro, you have what appears a little overhang of material - this is a pocket where the insert gets put in the diaper.
Step 4: The insert
This is what gets shoved into the diaper's pocket, and keeps the baby dry
Step 5: The pocket
This is where you put the insert into the diaper, and they come with an extra one that you put in once your baby sleeps through the night.
Just a small note: Dax rarely leaks through with these, we have the MOST accidents, blowouts/diaper explosions, when he is wearing disposables. Our overall invest on these was about $200 - we were given several for gifts, we started out with 24 which was great, I only have to wash them every 2 days, and if I ever get irritated about having to wash them, I just remind myself of the amount of money I am saving.
And if you're also like me, your parents STILL have those cloth diapers and use them as cleaning rags. So when I first heard of people who use CDs these days, I immediately thought of the rags and safety pins.
When my sister-in-law showed us the diapers she used, I realized that CDs, like everything else has kept up with the times, no more safety pins, no more plastic pants, now they look just like regular diapers and save me a TON of money, wooo hoooo! Oh, and they give Dax some junk in the trunk, but that's ok :) We use the Bum Genius brand, so Beth, here are your step by step instructions on what they look like and how to use them:
Step 1: The diaper all folded up
Step 2: How to expand the diaper as your baby grows
There are neat little snaps on the front, these will fit your kid from birth through appx. 50lbs, just an FYI, Dax is probably 16 or 17lbs and we're still on the smallest size, we may move up soon.
Step 3: How it works (excuse the skid marks lol)
This is the diaper opened, now notice by the velcro, you have what appears a little overhang of material - this is a pocket where the insert gets put in the diaper.
Step 4: The insert
This is what gets shoved into the diaper's pocket, and keeps the baby dry
Step 5: The pocket
This is where you put the insert into the diaper, and they come with an extra one that you put in once your baby sleeps through the night.
Just a small note: Dax rarely leaks through with these, we have the MOST accidents, blowouts/diaper explosions, when he is wearing disposables. Our overall invest on these was about $200 - we were given several for gifts, we started out with 24 which was great, I only have to wash them every 2 days, and if I ever get irritated about having to wash them, I just remind myself of the amount of money I am saving.
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Day in the Life of Dax
Thursday Evening:
Go to bed 8:30pm
I decided to surprise my parents and wake up at midnight instead of sleeping through the night. I got a snack and went back to sleep.
Friday:
I was hungry so I woke up at 5:00am for another snack, mom put me back down to sleep.
I wanted to say bye to daddy before he left for work so I woke up to eat at 8:30am and daddy changed my diaper. I decided I really wanted mommy to change it, so after dad left I dropped a bomb in there just for her to clean up.
After a clean diaper, it was time for some play time while mommy made breakfast and coffee. Then around 9:30am I decided I wanted a snack before taking a power nap. I slept for a little bit, and when I woke up mommy and I went to Target and the bank! We got home around 12:00 pm and I was ready to eat and snooze again. I surprised mommy by only napping for 45 minutes, and I wanted to play when I woke up!
Mommy and I played for a long time until I wanted to eat again around 2:45pm, and then she put me down for another nap, I'll probably just do another power nap because that's how I roll
...and the rest of the day is to be continued :)
Go to bed 8:30pm
I decided to surprise my parents and wake up at midnight instead of sleeping through the night. I got a snack and went back to sleep.
Friday:
I was hungry so I woke up at 5:00am for another snack, mom put me back down to sleep.
I wanted to say bye to daddy before he left for work so I woke up to eat at 8:30am and daddy changed my diaper. I decided I really wanted mommy to change it, so after dad left I dropped a bomb in there just for her to clean up.
After a clean diaper, it was time for some play time while mommy made breakfast and coffee. Then around 9:30am I decided I wanted a snack before taking a power nap. I slept for a little bit, and when I woke up mommy and I went to Target and the bank! We got home around 12:00 pm and I was ready to eat and snooze again. I surprised mommy by only napping for 45 minutes, and I wanted to play when I woke up!
Mommy and I played for a long time until I wanted to eat again around 2:45pm, and then she put me down for another nap, I'll probably just do another power nap because that's how I roll
...and the rest of the day is to be continued :)
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Camera Shy!
Every time I turn my video camera on in front of Dax he stops talking, smiling, and laughing. The best I can get is the end of a smile/laugh, and then as soon as the camera is away - Dax is back in action. The little stinker!! This week I will get a video of him laughing, but for now enjoy this one I took when I was changing his ridiculous diaper this morning. His name is about to be changed to Dax-a-poo!
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