Longest Day

This little sweetie is 7 months old today and it is such a blessing to spend everyday with her. 

And...

Yesterday was the longest day of the year, right? Let's spend these long days together in the sunshine, baby girl!

 The sun!?!? (Read: pale people problems)

It's true. My own skin is so pale that I really do limit my time in the sun. Shade, please. Sunhat, yes. Long sleeves in summer, often. Sunscreen, everyday. 

And what do I lather the beautifully sweet baby skin of my two little ones with? 

Well, first let me say that I prayed that each of my children would inherit Keith's skin, but the jury is really still out on that... so we protect them like they have my sun-averse skin. 

I am not a fan of spending big bucks on anything but I have found that the sunscreen that isn't "toxic death cream" (winkwink, Carrie) is quite costly. As in, over $5 per ounce! Yikes! But let's put it in perspective... fewer burns, fewer rashes, and a decreased risk of skin cancer seems worth it. Plus, you don't need to use a ton of it. A little goes a loooong way with these.

Here's the deal. It is not necessarily about a high SPF. Look for Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide as the ingredients. It is that simple. Products made with these are becoming easier to find. 

Brands that I have used:

California Baby

Goddess Garden

Neutrogena Pure and Free Baby

Water Babies

Oh, these little children of ours! They surely LOVE the water. 

The water table we bought last year is a HIT, again. But this year it brings hours of fun (versus minutes). Sprinklers are more exciting for Eva this year. And heading down to the beach at the Lake is certainly a new summer highlight. 

Don't these sunny days just make you want to be outside and cool off with a little H2O? 

It is always fun to include friends when we play. We know Lucia is a friend for the swimming pool but she also likes the water table out in our yard. James and Charlie make splashing in the Lake soooo much more memorable. 

I predict a summer full of swimsuits (hand-me-downs welcome) and lots of sunscreen. 

The Blessing of Waiting...

... while we wait for our little blessing. 

We are now past the point in pregnancy that we were with Eva. We really don't know what it is like to be 39 weeks, 3 days or beyond.  But we can rest easy because God has the date and time already picked out for Baby Girl Hallas #2. 

When we were waiting to become pregnant with Eva, I often had to remind myself that there IS blessing in waiting. In fact, if God gave us everything we wanted exactly when we wanted, we would miss out on so many blessings that our lives would be dull. 

Waiting allows us to be productive. 

Waiting allows us to be excited in anticipation.

Waiting often provides protection of our emotions. 

Waiting requires self-discipline. 

Waiting helps us mature. 

Waiting allows us to cling to our Sovereign Lord. 

I will use this current gift of waiting to practice patience. I want to see and appreciate all that the Lord has in store for us. If I choose not to be content with this waiting period, I might miss out on the true blessings. 

"The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

-2 Peter 3:9

We've discovered Play-Doh

I can't believe we are there already but we are. Eva can play with Play-Doh. Her attention span for it is about 5-10 minutes but I think that is pretty good. She still likes rolling it in her hands and flattening it out.

Using cookie cutters with the Play-Doh.

My grandma used to use phonebooks
as booster seats for us. This seemed to
fit the bill today. 

This was when I said, "Smile and show Mommy your Play-Doh."
Obviously, not willing to deviate from the task-at-hand.

So, the traditional store-bought playdough is easy to come by but there are a few homemade recipes out there that do the trick, too.
This is one like my mom used to make for us kids:

• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup salt
• 1 tablespoon cream of tartar
• Food coloring
• Saucepan
• 1 cup flour

Directions

1. Combine water, oil, salt, cream of tartar, and food coloring in a saucepan and heat until warm.
2. Remove from heat and add flour.
3. Stir, then knead until smooth. The cream of tartar makes this dough last 6 months or longer, so resist the temptation to omit this ingredient if you don't have it on hand.
4. Store this dough in an airtight container or a Ziploc freezer bag.

My wonderful friend, Ruth, who spends two days-a-week with Eva, made something similar to this recipe for our little girl one week.

1 cup oatmeal baby cereal (or rice cereal for a gluten-free option)
1 cup cornstarch
1/2 cup apple sauce (one packet of the squeezable kind)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Food coloring of choice

Mix the baby cereal and cornstarch together well. Add in the apple sauce, vegetable oil, and food coloring and knead with hands until the dough is a thick, moldable consistency resembling play dough. Repeat for additional colors. Dough can be refrigerated when not being used for up to 4 days. Simply microwave it for approximately 15 seconds or however long to warm it up to where it is moldable. 

Harvest Fair at the Farm

What a beautiful autumn Saturday morning to meet up with Stacie (along with some other moms and kids) at Stratford Ecological Center for their Harvest Fair 2015.  The farm is an organic working farm and Nature Preserve.  I wish I had taken a photo on the drive to the entrance of the farm - such beautiful trees and trails. 

The Harvest Fair had so much for the kids to do. There was a toddler play area in which Eva wanted to commandeer the toy tractors from every other child.  There were also plenty of farm animals to see:  llamas to pet, donkeys and horses to ride, sheep and goats to look at, as well as chickens to feed.  We ended the morning by spending a large portion of time playing in the "games" area where Eva discovered a bin of dry beans to scoop endlessly.  

This is a must-go for next fall. We will have to save our cute handmade kerchiefs that Stacie brought for everyone.  

First Day of BSF and 17 months

Today was an exciting day. It was the first day back to Bible Study. I switched to the day class so I could take Eva with me. Last Friday, I got a call from her teacher. She called to explain that I could bring her sippy cup, an extra diaper, and wanted to know if there was any comfort item Eva might need for the morning. So sweet. Eva doesn't really have any comfort items but I mentioned if she get fussy that singing songs always help.

I arrived a smidge early so we could find the room. This was to be our "first" real drop off. There was a little name tag for Eva outside the classroom that said "God Loves... EVA". Tears started to swell in my eyes. I couldn't help it. The emotion hit me.

Unfortunately, there was another early-comer child who was already crying. Eva was too sympathetic to let that not affect her. Her lip started to curl. I handed her to her teacher as her teacher said many kind words to reassure me that everything would be fine as Eva learned about the love of God. I assured the teacher that Eva would calm down soon (though I wasn't 100% sure).

As I walked away, Eva looked at me with a look of Are you really leaving me, Mom?

I found my way to the sanctuary for opening. I felt excited to learn about the Book of Revelation. It all starts and ends with God. It is fun to anticipate that so much of Revelation relates to Jesus (but what doesn't?). I learned that from Genesis 12 through Revelation is about God restoring the broken fellowship we have with Him through our sinful nature. What a beautiful thing. More tears.

Then, we prayed a prayer. The leader spoke clearly as I reached for more tissues, "... and we pray for the children to feel the love of Jesus. We pray for the moms and grandmas who may have not been ready to drop off their little ones... ." Bawling.

What an exciting day. Love this little 17 month old girl and all that God has in store for her.

Ready for the first day of BSF !!!!

Hi! I am 17 months old today.

Diapering Dilemma

Diapers.

In Eva's first year, we used 1650 diapers. That meant a little over 4 diapers per day. That's a lot of diapers for a tiny little bum.

Our sweet little girl got some diaper rash earlier this summer. She didn't seem super uncomfortable but I became very concerned about finding the right diaper to stave off this rash. My brain was obsessed with diapers for a whole month.

Probably no one that reads this blog will benefit too much from what I am going to share about my findings with diapers but I will give you my review of the diaper brands that I tried...

Target (~$0.11 /each) - I had been using Target brand, as a happily satisfied consumer, when this all happened. So perhaps the combination of summer humidity and cheap diapers was the culprit. I am not 100% sure. They are great diapers and we'll continue to use them through the cooler months.

Huggies Little Snugglers (~$0.28 /each) Being warned against Snug N Dry, I had used and will continue to use Huggies Little Snugglers on Eva in various sizes. They keep her bum dry and soft... if that is possible from a diaper. However, finding size 3 at a store is always the challenge. 

Seventh Generation (~$0.42 /each) Then we tried Seventh Generation which made me feel good about the earth (which is hard to do when you use disposable) but didn't seem to completely absolve the rashy issues. 

Honest Company (~$0.38 /each) A friend at a baby shower told me these are the best, best, best diapers. It is most certainly true that they are very good. And within the past two years Target as started carrying them so they are easy to run out and pick some up. Similar to Seventh Generation, they are made with sustainable materials but are way cuter. These seemed the best disposable brand at resolving diaper rash issues and didn't cause any further irritation on the sensitive bum. 

CVS or Walmart (~$0.17 /each) Both these store brands are affordable and seem to a good job with a non-irritated bum. They are slightly softer than Target brand, so I would be more inclined to use them on a sore bum. 

Cloth Diapers (~$18.00 /each) I have a few Charlie Banana brand cloth diapers as well as BumGenius brand cloth diapers. Both are very similar in set-up. They are the all-in-one type that has an insert but you wash the whole thing each time you change. Now, for a rashy, irritated bum... this is the way to go. Soft. Resists and heals further diaper rash. Since I have just a few, I use these on our little girl at night to help out with the moisture issues for the longest period of time. 

Bottom Line... No diaper is perfect. Summer months and humidity make them worse. But frequent changes (maybe with a cloth diaper or two in the rotation) are key and should help out. 

I also used a coconut oil salve (similar to Burt's Bees Multipurpose ointment $9) that I got at our pediatrician's office that sped up the healing considerably. 

In the 12th month...

[Jesus said,] "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you 

and your joy may be complete." - John 15:11

In the 12th month . . . 

. . . Eva gives hugs and kisses on command (and sometimes voluntarily). She is a joy to be with everyday. We consider her a true blessing in our life. 

. . .We visited Grandma and Grandpa Hallas at their house which is always fun! 

. . .We saw and danced to Daddy's Jazz Band at the Parent Preview Spaghetti Dinner. It is sure to be a  good time when we get to hang out with the CCHS band family. 

. . . Eva's vocabulary now includes more consonant sounds but "gawg" is still the only word spoken with meaning. 

. . .We visited Great Grandma and Grandpa's house twice- once during Spring Break and once for a an Easter weekend brunch with family. 

. . . She went to her first friend birthday party. It was so fun to celebrate with Larkyn and Rhys!

. . . We celebrated our second Easter with Eva. Christ is Risen! He is Risen indeed!

. . . Eva uses any assistance she can get to stand or walk. This girl has got to move. Crawling is still her fastest mode of travel. 

. . . Friends James and Charlie (and Auntie Carrie) came for a visit. These two little ones had so much fun chasing each other up the stairs!

. . .She loves her veggies and fruit but BOY was that birthday cupcake a hit!

. . . Eva has begun to "blow" kisses when asked. This is just one more way she seems to her to show her joy for life and love for others. 

Hi! I'm 12 months old.

I'm 12 months old...
did someone mention cake?!?!

Now Boarding...

Ah . . . Spring Break. What is better than heading to Florida for a little fun in the sun? ! ? ! 

Except this time I was bringing my favorite carry-on item, Miss Eva. 

I haven't flown for two and a half years so I was a little nervous but had done my research and some Facebook crowd-sourcing. I packed super-minimally; made sure I put our address on the child carseat; gathered up an umbrella stroller, Eva's birth certificate, bottles with water, bottles with breastmilk, some books, and some raisins. Okay, let's roll...  

We made it through TSA.

Woohoo! A Jeni's vending machine!
(Stacie, did you see this!?)

A plane! A plane!

Climbing all over the CMH boarding area chairs.

Ohio from above.

Among the fluffy white clouds. 

Getting some sleep on board. 

Hello, Florida!

The planes at RSW.

Back on solid ground . . . with Christin !

 A Florida Highlight: Visiting Cousins

A Florida Highlight: Heading out to the Gulf with Jason and Christin.

In the 11th month...

"Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things."

Colossians 3:2

In the 11th month . . .

. . . Eva seems to really understand a lot of what we are saying. It is a joy to see her respond to our requests.

. . . She knows lots of the motions for the songs we sing at the library's story time. So cute.

. . . She also knows where her head, hands, toes, and nose are, when prompted. So smart.

. . . Still loves Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood as her favorite and only television show. I remember the days of comparing my life to the characters on Friends or The Office but now I see parallels to the lessons learned by Daniel Tiger.

. . . The grocery store is still a favorite hangout spot. 

. . . Grandma and Grandpa Hallas came to visit. She loves spending time with them but the real treat was hanging out with Fisher, a real live "gawg."

. . . Eva enjoyed watching and hearing Daddy's Symphonic Band earn a Superior rating at District contest. Next . . . on to STATES! 

. . . We rode in an airplane to Florida to visit Christin. What fun! (Follow up blog post forthcoming.) We were also able to visit with 2nd cousins, Teyla and Paige while we were there. 

. . .We still read books every chance we get. Favorites are: Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Brainy Baby's 123, Pat the Bunny, My First Counting Book, Joshua, and First Words.

. . . She smiles with her whole face, as Ruth says. But it describes this little girl's sunny disposition on her life. 

Hi. I'm 11 months old!

I'm 11 months old and I look good in my swimsuit.