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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

John's Cigar

When John was a small baby, we really only used his pacifiers when we were in the car and couldn't console him any other way. So John never got attached to using a pacifier and at this point he really has no clue how to "properly" use one. He has two of them and I keep them in his toy basket in the living room. Lately, the way he chews on them reminds me of a cigar:

Friday, March 26, 2010

7 Quick Takes ~ Vol. 17


1. I have caught the spring cleaning bug! My house isn't that messy, but for some reason, I see every little speck of dirt and it's driving me crazy!

2. Company tomorrow: Mom and Dad St.Hilaire are coming to visit us this weekend. I always get so excited to have them come! =D We can't wait!

3. John's bed: We've tried many different sleeping arrangements for John. Poor little guy has to put up with novice parents! Right now, he is in his own bed on the floor, next to my side of the bed:
4. Collecting prayers: Tomorrow, Andrew, John and I will be joining other members of our church for a door-to-door ministry - it is part of the Catholics Come Home campaign. We are going to visit houses in the neighborhoods surrounding Star of the Sea and a) invite people to come to Church during Holy Week and b) ask them if they have anything for us to pray for. Andrew and I did something similar to this when we lived in Bellingham. I enjoyed it because asking for prayer intentions transcends religious denominations, so I felt like I could reach out and be connected to people of other faiths without the pressure of discussing our differences. Leave a comment and let us know if you have anything you want us to pray for during Holy Week!

5. On Wednesday, I began my day by calling Poison Control! Don't worry, John is fine. I just has a scare because he got a hold of his liquid vitamin bottle and managed to unscrew the "child-proof" cap - spilling it all over himself! I he had some on his face, so I thought that he may have swallowed some. So, just to be safe, I made the call. The assured me that he will be fine. Whew!

6. The retreat: The retreat I went on last weekend was really great! John was very well-behaved and all the ladies loved him. I had a lot of help from women who wanted to be with him so I could listen to some of the meditations and spend time in prayer. The main light I got from the retreat was that I need to pray more. I know that seems obvious, but it is something I know I need to do, yet it is SO hard to make time to pray during the day. Right now I have a quote up in our kitchen from Fr. Hilary Ottensmeyer that says, "Until you are convinced that prayer is the best use of your time, you will not find time to pray." How true that is!

7. My sweet friend, Becky, came over yesterday and brought over her supplies for a pedicure! She knew I have been having a rough week (weening John from night nursing, helping John get through his cold, calling poison control...) and she wanted to make me feel better with a good ol' foot soak! That is exactly what I needed! We also watched Julie and Julia, which I thought was a really cute movie. Thanks Becky for the much-needed girl time!

Friday, March 19, 2010

7 Quick Takes ~ Vol. 16

Hosted at Conversion Diary

1. Night weening (This may be a "long" quick take): I haven't slept through the night for over ten months now... John still wakes up two, sometimes three or four, times each night to nurse. Each nursing session wouldn't really end. John would just fall asleep while suckling for who knows how long (I would fall asleep too). Needless to say, John has still been sleeping in our bed during the night. As of late, it has been getting a little crowded in our bed and John is becoming a wiggler. So Andrew and I decided it was time for John to be weened to his own bed to stop all this night nursing. We have a twin mattress on the floor next to my side of the bed and that's where John has been taking his naps. Now our goal is to have him spend his nights there as well! Boy has it been a long week! I think we just completed night #4 of the weening process (it's all a hazy, sleepy blur...). Two nights ago, I got close to no sleep. Even when John was asleep, I was up worrying about him (hey, give me a break, I have been sleeping right next to him his whole life!) or thinking about silly random things.

On to the good news: Last night John went to bed at 8pm and he did not nurse until 6am. That's ten hours!!! This is a huge FIRST for him! He did wake up for his regular nursing times but he is learning to go back to sleep with just some snuggles from Mommy. He still wasn't in his bed the whole night, but I see this as a step in the right direction! I am determined, no matter how much sleep I lose, that John will be in his own bed, and he won't need to be pacifying himself on me the whole night.

2. Fun with a box: Yesterday, my mom came in to watch John while I did some clean up around the house (Thank you, Mom!!) We received some hand-me-downs in this diaper box - which turned in the perfect car for John! He and Grandma had fun driving it all around the house:



3. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD! Andrew's dad's birthday is today (and it is the feast day of his namesake - St. Joseph)! My New Years resolution was to send birthday cards to our close family members, but I have already failed on a couple. We missed sending out Jenna's card in January (sorry!), and now I have no time left to send Dad's card; though, I have been thinking about it all week (see #1 as my excuse for being absent minded!).

Dad, we love you and we hope you have a wonderful day! I will be praying for you this weekend (see # 7) and we can't wait to see you next weekend!

4. Fun with friends: John and I have been going on play dates with a mommy/son pair, Emily and James. John and James are only three months apart (James is older), so it is pretty fun to get the boys together. We are planning on going to the city pool every other week and the library on the alternate weeks. It's been great getting out and doing fun stuff with John and our friends! Last week we went to the pool. James had a blast - he was splashing all over the place! John had his legs wrapped around me like a koala bear and was shivering the whole time... maybe I shouldn't make his nighttime bath so jacuzzi-like!

5. Soup supper and conversion story: John and I helped host the soup supper at our church on Wednesday night. While we were there a couple from our parish gave their "witness talk" (testimony) to everyone there, as part of the Catholics Come Home campaign. They are both recent converts to the Catholic faith from Protestantism. The wife spoke about how they embraced the Church's teaching against contraception. She said that she was impressed to learn that before the 1930s, all Christian churches were against the use of contraception and that the Catholic Church is the sole remaining Church who has stayed firm in this teaching. At the time of their conversion, they already had four children and she felt like she couldn't handle any more. She prayed to Our Lord, telling Him that she couldn't handle more children - emotionally and physically. She felt God answer her prayer by saying "I know, but I can." She cried... I cried. It was beautiful! How true it is that in our humanity we can feel so overwhelmed and burdened, but if we place all our hope and trust in God, He will help us through any challenge we may face. Today, they have been blessed with six children and they are open to God's will in planning their family.

6. Pizza cutter (multi-use): Our pizza cutter has become my new best friend. When cutting up bite sized finger foods for John, using the pizza cutter is so quick and effortless! Right now he enjoys eating pieces of cheese, bread, carrots, and pancakes. I love not having to spend money on those expensive, made-for-baby finger foods!

7. Silent retreat: Today at 1:30pm, John and I will be heading down to Beaverton, OR for a silent retreat. It will be at Our Lady of Peace retreat center. I have been there several times and I am really looking forward to a weekend of contemplation. The last time we went, John was only about an inch big and he was nestled inside me, so he may be more of a distraction this time. Let's be honest... I'll be lucky if I get any contemplation or silence in this weekend!! But I am sure God will bless me for my effort to have some exclusive time with Him.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Undressing at the Dinner Table

Yesterday, John kept trying to take his shirt off. He was almost successful at dinner time!

Monday, March 15, 2010

7 Quick Takes ~ Vol. 15

I know I'm supposed to do these on Friday... but oh well! They're just as good on Monday, right?

1. ACP Kickoff: Two Saturdays ago we had an Anti-Choice Project (ACP) kickoff party in our apartment. It was well attended and I think everyone had a good time. Then on Sunday, we had our first protest of the season. John and I went out with Andrew and every one else. It is always hard to be out there, exposing the horror of abortion. I have so much admiration for my wonderful husband, who is able to get over any fear he may have and stand up for the defenseless unborn! He's my hero.

2. Lullabies from Aunt Jenna: After John was born, his Aunt Jenna gave him a CD of her singing lullabies. For the last few months, I have been using the CD as John's bedtime music. We have a CD player right by his bed, and I press play whenever I am putting him down to sleep. We hear it three times a day, but it never gets old! It makes me sad to think that there are only two babies in the whole world that get to hear Jenna's lullabies (John and Jenna's other niece) - everyone else is missing out!

3. Visit from cousins: Two weekends ago, Ben and Angele, our cousins from the Kennewick area, came to visit us. Ben generously shared his skills and manpower to prune all of my parents' fruit trees. It's great being related to such talented people! ;) We also had a nice time visiting with them and playing some Tile Rummy. We hope they come back soon!

4. Clean kitchen: I've been trying to keep our kitchen cleaner... it has been a long battle, because I really enjoy getting it messy (aka. cooking and baking). Last week I did a pretty good job of keeping it clean throughout the day and then also cleaning up after dinner. I proud of myself! =D

5. "Springing Forward": John and I definitely slept in until 9:30 today... but hey, our bodies think it's 8:30, right? Plus, we were up until 1:30am, so I think a late wake up time is OK for today.

6. Productivity: Even though it's only 12: 45pm right now, John and I have already accomplished so much! (Sense the sarcasm here?) While I was getting ready this morning, John found his liquid bath soap and managed to unscrew the cap and pour the contents on the floor! - Great start to the day!

7. John turns 10 months old today! It's hard to believe that he will be a year old in two months!! Here are some pictures I took this morning. I think he looks particularly bald due to the bad lighting... but he's still super cute!

Strike a pose, John!

Nice, looking good!

Wow, 8 teeth!? You're so handsome!

"Mom, enough pictures, already!"

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Pictures and Videos Galore!

Sorry I haven't been posting many pictures or videos of John. This should make up for it:

John with his friend James - who is 4 1/2 months younger, but almost as big!!
(and we thought John was a big boy!)

Getting ready for bath time!

What a cute little bottom!


Playing with a finger puppet

Cute smile! (Check out all those teeth!)

Cruising on furniture:


Eating finger food: