Just Going With What Works!

Wow! We have been busy chasing a toddler all over the place these days!

11-13 months was rough time for Anslee. Not her parents favorite stage in the least! Molars, turning 2 naps into 1, and learning to walk really took our sweet girl for a crazy ride.

The 1 year molars had their way and broke through her tender gums, we finally are getting one good (and long) nap everyday after lunch, and walking is easy breezy now, (dang those developmental leaps!)

Anslee started Wee Kids a couple of months ago and we love it. She is doing great there and has amazing teachers and friends.







We were surprised to have to run out and buy this particular item! That's right! Tyler noticed Anslee saying "tee tee" while grabbing at her diaper, so hr thought well why not sit her on the pot. Sure enough, my sweet girl made her first tinkle in the big potty! Later that day, she did one more time and then she has 2 more times since then (so 4 times in 2 days). At not quite 15 months, we realize that she is still very young and really may not be fully ready for potty training. We decided that we would go off of her ques for now, and not stop her if she keeps up the interest, but will not stress or become frustrated if this is not the real deal. We will encourage the interest she is showing now without any pressure for more. We are so proud of her!

We held off for a long time with putting Anslee in a front facing carseat, but now that she is 22 lbs, and just tried it once in her grandparents car and LOVED it, we thought we could go ahead and make the switch. We still have not purchased one, but my parents are graciously letting s borrow theirs until we get ours. We decided on the Britax Kathryn style one. It is safe and will last another 3 years. That to me, is worth the $$$ it will cost us.

The spoon. Oh how I hate the idea of giving Ansleee a spoon. Oh how wonderful it will be when she can feed herself. Well, we are going to make this "must happen sometime" experience come on slowly and in the least messy way I can help (I know...there is no getting around it). She has successfully made about 2 spoonfuls into her mouth, but that is really all for now. I give her a spoon with an empty bowl every now and again, and she clearly knows what it is for, but her coordination has not caught up with her understanding. That's ok. I am in no hurry, and I am making that my universal philosophy for her from now on. It is all happening so fast.

She has so many words, and I feel like she adds another one by the day. She says: hi, bye, no,yeah, mama, daddy, bath, night night, kitty, cracker, shoe, turtle, baby, outside, play, light, uh oh, no, bow, Ninny, teeth, eyes, nose, meow, hey, whoa, slide,and says (and recognizes) "A" and "B".

She points to her eyes, ears, knees, belly, toes, and nose when asked too also! We can't believe was 14 month olds are capable of understanding! They are all like little sponges and can really do much more than I ever would have imagined! It's so fun to watch!

Funny story. Tyler and I have been taught a few of the baby sign language signs for more, please, drink, and all done. We have been slackers, and never used them with Anslee though. Well one night over dinner Anslee starts saying "moe moe" (her word for drink or food that sounds like more but just not quite)and she clearly starts SIGNING "more" we were amazed and were just sure we just had the smartest kid out there. Ha! Come to find out at wee kids they use basic signs with the kiddos. She had just simply caught on, she did not have the gift of knowing sign without ever being taught. None the less it was still a fun new thing for us to see her do!

Clealry it's been a full couple of weeks for us! We could not love life more right now!

What I would have done then

If I would have known what I know now.

I am far from expert. In fact, I still feel like a blank slate most days, but one thing I have learned in my experience of being mommy is to pay close attention to what did and did not work for our situation.

I have tried hard to do that. So here is my list of what I would have done/thought/tried then if I could do it all over again WITH ANSLEE. I emphasize her because each baby is different and she is the only baby I have patented to date.

1. Tried to nurse a little longer. I say this #1 with extreme caution. I say it because no one can argue that breastfeeding is the most nutrionally sound way to feed. However, I wish now that I would have known that if nursing becomes such a struggle that you don't enjoy parenting and if it is not facilitating the mother/baby bond the way it should IT IS OK. I say this with no guilt at all for having chosen to bottlefeed. It was clearly best for the happiness of our entire household, therefore the decision was made with good intention, and it was one of the better mothering choices I made. What I have learned since my nursing experience is that if you can try to stick with it through 12 weeks, you usually can go 12 months without skipping a beat. I would have maybe tried to find a way of coping through the hard times to get me through the first 3 months.

2. I would have implemented the feed/wake/sleep routine at 3-4 weeks rather than 6 weeks. I just didn't know about the babywise philosophy until then. There is a link to the babywise mom blog on the side of this blog. I wish I had known about that blog before birth!

3. I would have waited until closer to 6 months to introduce solid food. This has opened my eyes to something that is creeping up on me now...potty training. I will not push this until I am confident she is ready, and that I am ready. This is the same philosohy I wish I would have had for solid food.

3. I wish I would have found a mothers day out program for Anslee around 6 months rather than 13. Since I am at home with her, she did not get to be around others and reap all the benefits of being with children similar in age as early as I would have liked for her.

4. Oh how I wish I would have had newborn photos taken of her. I will never ever have them now.

5. Have Tyler home for more than a week. This is not reality for most, and it was not for us at the time we had Anslee. Next time around, it will be, and I am already thankful and excited about that.

6. I would have bought more size 2 and 3 diapers than newborns and 1's. I had tons of newborn and 1 diapers left over after she grew out of them. She has been in size 3 diapers since 5 or 6 months old and, well, we never have any of those left over.

7. Instead of buying baby all or dredt detergent in the beginning, to only wash Anslee's clothes in, I would have bought just a free and clear blend. Anslee's sensitive skin did great with HER clothes being washed in them, but her face still was irritated from being held up against our clothes that were just washed in regular detergent.

These are just a few. I know there are probably many more that I have already put back in the back of my mind. I am glad I will have documentation of all this as a reference for future use.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sometimes being a Mommy is just funny!

I love how Anslee can always keep me laughing. I find myself in a better mood becuase of her often. Ahhh what a blessing! Here are a few pictures I was able to snap while laughing behind the camera (ok iPhone camera, really)


I turned around and saw that she clearly could not pick one to play with, so the only thing thar made sense was to join them all.



She got a little tired one day while playing with one of her favorite toys. You can't really see it, but she has the ladybug's antnae in her mouth.



Here she is with BFF Sadie, under the entry hall table. It was funny enough to get a picture but I had to quickly shoo them out from under there!



This her immediate reaction to her green minky dot blanket. Blanket=insert thumb in mouth.




My sassy girl. I know that in coming years cute and funny will be the last words that come to my mind when I see that smirk. For now, I will enjoy it! While I can, right?!



Need there be commentary on this one?! I don't think so. Her dad mentioned that the dress may be a tad short.

I don't have pictures to illustrate the next couple of funny things, but none the less, I laughed and still do when I think about....

1. How she calls milk "mo".
2. How she used to "woof" at any type of animal she saw. Now, she only "woofs" at dogs, goats, sea lions, and deer. When she sees the tiger or the bunny rabbit or cat she says, "kitty".
3. How every letter in the alphabet is "A" or "B".

Life with her continues to be more and more fun. She walks and talks and smiles all day long. We have not loved all the stages we have been through so far but we have loved watching her grow from helpless newborn to happy infant to healthy toddler.

We are so blessed!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The 2nd Year

It's hard to believe, but believe it or not we have taken the dive into Anslee's 2nd year!

Now that my monthly posts or letters to her have come to a stop (for sake of 12 months being a good stopping point for us) I decided I would do a random post just on life with my toddler.

The 2nd year has certainly already presented itself with many challenges. When you hear the term "terrible twos" you may be lead to think that when a child turns two you have something to fear. Let me explain what " terrible twos" means at our house. It means the second year of life.

Don't read this and think I have an awful child. I am blessed with a happy, verbal, playful, not yet really walking, teething, loveable, and clingy little girl.

Anslee has become extra needy and clingy, but, only towards me. In her infancy days (I know...so long ago) she was far from a cuddler. Now, she just wants me to snuggle and hold her all day long. You all must be thinking "good grief, don't you just eat up every moment of it?" the answer is yes, of course it came to me as a pleasant surprise. I do take many extra lonnnggg moments each day to hold and love on her. The only problem is if she had her way all day long, my house would be a disaster and bathing would of course not be an option.

Fit throwing (usually in protest of me putting her down at any moment) has become a normal part of our day and I have been spured on into reading a lot about proper disicipline at her age.

She has changed so much in the just the last month. Mainly the change has been in her verbal skills. She has always been a talker (she takes after her daddy....hehe) and has had many words from a pretty early stage, but her words have doubled I feel like this month! Her words are so clear, and a few times she has even pit the words "hi daddy" together! She says play, bow, kitty kitty, puppy, mooo (does that count?) bath, and me in addition to all the other words she was saying before.

We are totally bottle free. I was extra nervous about this wean, but it went very smooth. We are liking table foods more and more each day and really prefer a sonic cup with a big persons straw than a sippy cup. She drinks milk,water, and juice now.

Sleep is still good, even though most of this month naps were sketchy. Night tome sleep has never been interupted.

We start wee kids school on Monday. Wow. I can't believe that! Mommy is excited and stumped at what will get done at home during those afternoons! I know she will do great and benefit from the experience. I will get through it fine myself, or I should, right?!

We are certainly in for a wild ride this 2nd year and loving (most) every second of it. Today I was reminded that children are one of Gods most precious gifts and it is our privlige as parents to pray for them. I thanked the Lord today for having the confidence in me as mother as to be chosen by him to parent my blessed child.

2010 has already been a year that will stand out from all others for our family, and we have become confident in recent days that the year is only going ro become so muchore rich for our family.

Here is picture of anslee's art project! It's on the fridge!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

A big change!

My sweet girl has always been a fantastic sleeper, and any mom would agree that in itself is a huge blessing. I have worked very hard and tried to be super consistent on sleep training and I think it has really paid off!

Of all the books I have read, i have gathered that most toddlers are ready to graduate to 1 nap a day around 14-16 months. Well not mine. The past week my little one has slept like a champ for her morning nap, but not at all for her 2nd. You can imagine my mind going in so many different directions when trying figure this out (growth spurt, change in diet, teething as we are cutting 5 more teeth right now, room temp, everything!) seeing as how she has been a baby that goes by the book in almost every way. Well after 8 days of basically not taking the nap even when having the full oportunity to do so, I have come to realize that at 13 months, she is ready for one nap.

Today was the day. Her morning nap was always around 10 am. So I realize in the transition, that the morning nap will need to be phased out slowly and will eventually turn into a 2 pm nap lasting about 2 hours (or I hope!). So today we pushed it back and my big girl made it until 10:48 am. She did so good making it almost 50 minutes later. She never fussed, she finally just looked at me and night night. Then she repeated herself, and I put her in bed! She did great! I am hoping that by 14 months we can have that 1 nap starting closer to 2.

I was hesitant at first, that this was the right time, but I finally came too...she is getting older and it was time! I also had to take into consideration that she get well over 12 hours of sleep at night (which I regard as the most important sleep) and so 1 nap during the day would still allow for getting all the sleep her busy little body needs!

This transition is just another reminder to me that she is not a baby at all any longer. I am so thankful for my happy, healthy, growing girl!





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

More than Thankful.

I have been thinking a lot lately about the many blessings the Lord has given our family. I realized that sharing those with others is good way to stay mindful about the gifts that we have been given. I also want sharing these blessings to be a documented reminder that its my responsibility to in turn bless others, with whatever I am able.


1. Salvation. I am so thankful I have been taught to love a sovereign Lord who forgives and is merciful when we are undeserving. The same Lord that saved desires an intimate relationship with ME, and I am humbled.
2. I am thankful for marriage. God has used my marriage to grow me indvidually, and to grow Tyler and I cohesivley as a couple unit. Everyday I have that precious gift, and everyda its easy to take it for granted. I am thankful that the Lord centers us, even when we forget that he does. Praise the Lord for Tyler, who could not have been a more perfect fit for my messy life.
3. The gift of motherhood/parenthood. There is not much else in the world we live in today that could teach me more about newness of life and innoncence, but most exciting of all, what pure joy really looks like. I understand now why Jesus made examples of Children when speaking about faith. Motherhood reminds me about how precious simplicity can really be. I have been blessed to experience a love like no other, and again, I am humbled.
4. A gift the Lord provided me before I was even born. My parents. Now being a parent I am able to appreciate their training me up. My life is a reflection on them, and that is a heavy burden to carry. It is my hope that the reflection they see of me is favorable in their eyes.
5. Financial Freedom. Don't read those two words and think for one second we are rich. We are not. What I mean by this is the ability to work and bring home the necessary means in which to live. We have enough and we want for nothing. I could not be more proud of Tyler and the integrity he takes with him to work each day. A lot of men are hard working, but I feel like he is exceptional when it comes to his working responsibilities, and he does not take for granted his ability to work above and beyond the standards set before him.
6. Health. Being alert and able bodied to enjoy life each day. I truly believe that though this is not our eternal home, the Lord is blessed by our getting fullness of life while we are here. I am so thankful that our bodies are in working condition. This is a gift (as each gift is) that bears responsibility. It should spur us on in discipline to keep our earthly bodies healthy to continue on with what the Lord has planned for us. I am thankful for the healthy child I have. I know that the Lord will get a lot of use from her, because she is fully able bodied even at such a tender age. I have not taken her health for granted since she came into this world 4 lbs heavy and 16 lbs ago. Even at her tiny birth weight she suffered no complications.

It is so easy to take each one of these blessings and turn them into something we just expect to have each day. My purpose in even blogging about them is to hold me accountable to using EACH of these gifts to bless others and to serve as a written reminder to NOT just expect them and accept them as a part of my day to day life. Each one is precious, and each one is worthy to be spoken of.

A lesson in staying filled with JOY!

Most would say that grandparents are more than a blessing to have in our lives. We learn so much from them, get spoiled by them, and have a totally different connection to them than we do our own parents. I would agree.

My grandmother, Kayo Cook, who I have always known as Cha Chon (she is the full Japanese blood in my family)has been all of those things to me. I have countless memories of her from as far back as I can even remember. She has been a wonderful constant in my life and to this day continues to be.

Cha Chon might be the most incredible person I know. I don't know anyone else who drinks green tea everyday just because of the health benefits it has for her. She is so disciplined. There are not a lot of grandparents I know that speak 2 languages fluently. She does! I dont know anyone else who has devoted every Tuesday for the past (insert big number here because I can't even count how many years it has been) to making sandwhiches for the homeless with Love and Care Ministries in Abilene. I don't know a whole lot of people who don't have much, but give what they do have away just because it makes them feel good. She does. Many people have to be put on medication when diagnosed with diabetes, but not her. She controls it with her disciplined diet and has kept it under control with just that. My Cha Chon spends a lot of time taking care of her sweet elderly friends, making sure they get to the doctor when needed. She has seen many of her friends lose their lives in the past several years, but I know she made a mark on each of them as they passed on. No one I know has a stronger faith than she does.

Not a lot of people can still find the joy that life has to offer after they have been diagnosed with stage 3a liver cancer. Last week, she did. Its hard to believe (for me and my mom) but she actually seems more energetic and full of life after having hearing of her diagnosis. Her life is beautiful, she is so strong. She came to the states several years before my Mom was born and still says that was the best thing that could of happened to her, because it was here that she found the Lord. Her family back in Japan has now heard all about Christ. There is so much to be said, and this blog post could probably go on and on about how I feel about her and who she is.

Our family is so hopeful, even after understanding what is going on with her liver. We are because she is. We are confident that she is in good care, and has many many years ahead to spend with us. She is an amazing woman, mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. I am lucky to say that there is much to be joyful about in my life. She taught me how. Please join my family in continued prayer for her, my sweet sweet Cha Chon