Do you Butter?

I love butter. Its true. However, for the vast majority of my life I have settled for “Buttery Spreads” because I thought it was better for me. But then I started looking at ingredients. Here they are for Smart Balance:

NATURAL OIL BLEND (PALM FRUIT, SOYBEAN, CANOLA, AND OLIVE OILS), WATER, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF SALT, WHEY (FROM MILK), VEGETABLE MONOGLYCERIDES AND SORBITAN ESTER OF FATTY ACIDS (EMULSIFIERS), SOYBEAN LECITHIN, POTASSIUM SORBATE, LACTIC ACID (TO PROTECT FRESHNESS), NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS, CALCIUM DISODIUM EDTA, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN B6, VITAMIN B12, VITAMIN D, VITAMIN E (DL-α-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE), BETA-CAROTENE COLOR

I like eating things I can pronounce, and I made the switch to real butter. It taste better, cooks better, and it only has two ingredients.
However, I know its high in fat and such but I don’t care. Now comes the exciting part. (drum roll please) We are going to have the first ever Life in C-2 poll. Please vote on what you prefer to cook and eat!

The Peanut has Skills!

Josiah has a new skill! He is trying to hold his bottle. Although, at this point, it is much to heavy for him he is still trying. The funny thing is, he only does this when Grandma is feeding him. When Donnie or I feed him, we are on his own!

Diaper Update

A few people are asking about the diapers, so I thought I would give an update. Seeing that the peanut turns 6 months on Friday we should be half way through the diapers. Well, we have a lot more than half of the diapers left, so hopefully the diapers will last more than a year!

I think we still have a lot of diapers because the peanut wore the newborn size for awhile after he was born, and that was not in the 3,000 that we had bought. However, there is a problem. Where do we keep all these diapers? All the size two diapers (the size he is wearing right now) we try to keep in his room. Sizes three and four are still in the basement.

Right now, some are behind the rocker.

Some are under the crib,

And some in the closet!

Question

I have a question for all of you. Do you like the peanut might be able to see things that we can not? I’m starting to think he can. While I don’t believe in ghost, I do believe in angles.

Here is an example. A while back I put the peanut down for his nap, and I went to do laundry. The washer and drying are in the basement, right under his room, so you can hear everything that happens in his room. So I went to do laundry and I could hear him just laughing away! And this was before he would even laugh for us! So what could he be laughing at? He does not have a mobile or anything fun around his crib. So I have come to the conclusion that he can see things that we can not. What do you think?

Pictures

I would like to add something to the post about pictures. I know some people are concerned that we will never have professional pictures taken of the peanut, but there is no need to worry. Our wedding photographer is going to do family photos of us (and grandma and grandpa!) around Josiah’s first birthday. I know she is super busy, so about 2 months ago we set a date for September. I’m looking forward to it!

Striding

As I have talked about before, I attend Stroller Strides, and I love it. Its great being with other moms, while doing something good for your body. However, there is a problem. When we go to Stroller Strides the peanut misses a nap. Normally he spends part of the time at Stroller Strides very upset, and then he is super cranky for the rest of the day because he missed that nap. Sadly I decided that I could no longer put myself and my peanut through this every week.

Then I got this in the mail.

The teacher send me a note telling me how great it is that I come, and how it sent a great example for the peanut. I swear she knew I did not want to come back! Now I feel guilty if I don’t go back!

Pictures

I am a photo snob. I know it’s horrible, but I’m very particular about pictures that I’m paying someone to take. I think this is because I love taking pictures, and I think some of them come out somewhat decent. In fact there is only one person I would pay to take the peanuts picture, and that would be our wedding photographer.

Here is the problem. My mom (and many others) think that the peanut should be taken to studios (like Target, Wal-Mart, Sears, JC Penny, etc) to have his picture taken. I’m very against this, because of me being a photo snob. The funny thing about this is that I get coupons from these places ALL the time in the mail. Each add confirms my feelings against these places. Take this example.

It looks fine from far away, but if you look closer the big brother is sleeping on the baby! Who wants a picture of the big brother suffocating the baby? I will be taking pictures of the peanut, thank you very much.

The Joy of Vaseline

I have found a cure for all of the peanuts skin problems. Vaseline! I use it for cradle cap, diaper rash, chapped skin and lips. It has gotten to the point that if the peanut has any red mark on his skin the Vaseline goes on it! Remember the Windex cure from My Big Fat Greek Wedding? Vaseline has become my Windex!

Worry

I have discovered that I worry about the peanut, a lot. Well...maybe not a lot, but more than I should. My current concern is his sleeping. He sleeps a lot. I looked in my books and for his age he should be sleeping about 15 hours a day. But not our peanut, he sleeps a good 20 hours a day. We do try to keep him up longer, but he will get super cranky and then we put him down and he is asleep right away. So I keep telling myself that all kids are different. That calms me down for me bit. :-)

Update

I know, I have not posted in almost a week. How sad. :-) Donnie's been working 10-12 hour days for the past 12 days, so things have been a bit different! However, today he is not working. Yeah! That means that I can go to the library, and a birthday party alone! :-) I do love the peanut, but it is nice to have some time off!

We have a bumper!

I never registered for a crib bumper because some people said that they can cause SIDS. However, in the past month or so, the peanut had been getting him arms and legs stuck in the bars. Once again my mom came to the rescue! She bought him a breathable bumper, and now his arms and legs stay nicely in the crib!

Lost

Hi, my name is Stacey and I’m addicted to Lost. Seeing that we do not have internet anymore, I have been watching a lot more TV. Every week I want to watch lost, but I know that if I start watching now I will have no idea what is going on. So my mom came to the rescue! She went to her library, and rented most of the first season for me. I have to say I’m hooked! Sadly the rest of the season is checked out, so I have to wait till someone returns it.

I have so many questions! And sadly from what I hear, many questions never get answered. Is any one else addicted to lost?

Octomom

I’m sure everyone has heard about the mom who just had 8 kids, with 6 more at home. How crazy is that? I listened to some of her interviews and she said that she was an only child growing up. That made her want to have lots of kids, so they would have playmates.

Now Donnie and I are both only children. And surprisingly, (or maybe not surprisingly) the VAST majority of our friends are only children. And know what I think? Being an only child can be a great thing! As of right now, we are planning on the peanut being an only child.

What do you think? Is being an only child a good thing, or bad?

Happy (late) Valenties Day!

I have to say the peanuts first Valentines Day was very exciting. It started on Friday when our neighbor Mark Anthony, brought over a huge raccoon for the peanut. Its great for the peanut to practice sitting up on. That was so nice of him!
On Saturday the Peanut got to open his Valentines present from my mom. He did a really good job opening everything, and then promptly putting it in his mouth. It was very cute.
My mom got him two new books. He LOVES books, and is starting to try and turn the pages. Well, that is when he is not chewing on them!
I hope everyone had a great Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday!

Today the Peanut turns 5 months old! He is growing up so fast! hehehe He is officially putting everything in his mouth now. His favorite thing to chew on is his fathers fingers.

I'm also happy to report that he is sleeping so much better now a days. Over the past few weeks, he was not sleeping well during the day at all. But now, we put him down and within a couple of minutes he is asleep! Yeah! The good Lord answers the prayers of his people!

Baby Love

Does anyone out there watch the baby story on TLC? I have seen the show many times, and every time the new mom goes on and on about how much she loves her new baby. Many mom’s comment that they could never imagine loving anything as much as they love their new baby.

However, I read in “What to Expect When Your Expecting” that that is not always the case, and it was not the case when I had the peanut. After hard pushing for three hours, the first thing I felt was relief, not love when I met him. Then after having no sleep for 30 hours, I was expected to help care for him. Love was not the first word that came to mind.

The weeks that followed were equally as hard. No sleep, and the constant demands of a baby did not add to loving feelings. But then I realized something. Love is a choice. And as I choose to love him, loving feelings soon came.

So what about you mom’s out there? Was it love at first sight with you and your baby? Or like me, did it take awhile?

New Love

I have a new love. Not really a new love, but a renewed love. In college I developed a fondness for avocado’s. However, seeing that I only shop at Aldi’s avocado’s was not something that I could buy. But things have changed! Aldi now sells avocados! How cool is that? So this is what I do with them, I cut up the avocado, add some tomatoes, onion, and enjoy! Yummmmy. Does anyone else out there love avocado as much as I do?

Weekend Fun

Our family had a very busy weekend! On Saturday we attended a very fun surprise party for our friend Steve, and then Sunday was the dedication for Josiah.

My mom and I planned on bringing some food for the dedication, so on Friday my mom and I baked about 7 dozen muffins! Let me tell you, that's a lot of muffins! My mom also brought fruit, bagels and juice to church, so everyone was well fed. (I'm very upset that I did not get a picture of all the food.)

I was very nervous about Josiah during the dedication. He enjoys screaming during church, and we prayed and prayed that this would not happy. And you know what? He did really great! Sure he was a bit cranky, but no screaming!

So during church we were asked to come up front, and vow that we would raise the peanut in a Christan home. My parents also got to go up with us to vow that they would help us in raising him as a Christan. And then Pastor Chris took the peanut and the whole church prayed over us. It was a really cool thing! The church gave him a bible with his name on it, and a letter from the church for him to open on his 12th birthday! What a cool idea!

The Shack

My mom loaned me the book "The Shack" to read. I know its on the New York Times bestseller list, but I had not heard of it.

I always enjoy a good book, so I did read it. However, I'm not sure really what I think. I did enjoy it, and I have been pondering on it a lot. However, I don't think it shows the whole picture of Jesus, or what he did on the cross.

Has anyone else read it? You have to let me know what you think!

Change of Pace

I'm so sad I have not got to blog for almost a week! What is the world coming to?

In that time the Peanut has started using his ultra-saucer. It all started at grandma's house. She had a little wheelie chair for him, and he really enjoyed it.

So when we got home, we knew it was time to get out the ultra-saucer. I thought he was too little for it, but Donnie said he was alright. And you know what? He LOVES it.

I love taking pictures of him in it!