Thursday, August 11, 2011
Coffee anyone?
A few years ago I got this great deal on a Hamilton Beach Brewmaster.
And that coffee pot has been fantastic but recently the coffee started to to drips into the cup much slower and Jason tried to wash it to help the flow. In the process something broke so that left us with a few choices. 1. We could order a new part (for half the price of the a new pot)...2. We could replace the Brewmaster with a new one (I basically got the old for free and now the price had gone up)...3. We could get a KEURIG!
We chose choice 3 and I am so happy about it. I am a little addicted to buying the cute little K-Cups and I love having so many choices everymorning. To offset the price of the K-Cups I have drastically (totally) cut out my coffee shop trips and now I have coffee dates at home or at neighbors where the kids can play! Oh...what could be more fun that trading KCups with the nighbors and friends? I love this coffee pot!!
Monday, August 8, 2011
Day 2 (July 2) of Block Leave...Were leaving on a jet plane
We had set the alarm clocks for 4 to get everything in the car and ready to go in time but Charlotte had a different plan. She woke up at 3:30 to eat...I hate when I wake up or am woke up just before the alarm goes off. The kids were supposed to sleep until the last minute but instead they were wide awake.
We drove ourselves to the airport, but we needed the car to stay at the hotel so....we checked in our luggage and Clayton and Jason rushed the car back to the hotel while the baby and I waited, then they took the shuttle back to the airport and we all cleared security together. Funny story...as we were clearing we told Clayton to take his shoes off and we turned around to take ours off and put our tons of stuff on the little belt, Jason hears "do I have to take my underwear off too?". Clayton had taken his pants off! Everyone was laughing at us : ) Security was not as bad as had expected with all of our crap! But our bags did get flagged for further inspection becuase of our wipes, DVD player but the sipy cup of juice, formula (unopened) made it through just fine...weird!
Once we cleared security we had to find some breakfast ASAP! Once we found breakfast and got settled in for the wait to board. We actually got through security super early and had AWHILE to wait. Clayton decided to take a nap.
I have to say Southwest is a great airline. It was first time flying them since they don't fly into ATL. We decided to fly into Jacksonville, FL in order to start our trip in South GA. They flight attendent was great and very helpful with the kids...offering multiple snacks and drinks and checking on us several times. We sat in the very back row to be closer to the bathroom but the best part of being back there was listening into the attendents conversations :) The kids was awesome and I could not have been happier with them.
Once we got to JAX we met up with J's stepdad and he droves us the long 3 hour drive back to Sylvester. The kids and I slept the whole way back to recouperate from the flight. J's grandparents and some family were at J's moms when we got there. Several of them were meeting Charlotte for the first time so that was nice. We swam and ate and talked and went to bed early.
Hey C, Where are we going?....To GA!!!!!!!!
Charlotte hates the extra strap for the stroller even more than she hates the stroller!
We drove ourselves to the airport, but we needed the car to stay at the hotel so....we checked in our luggage and Clayton and Jason rushed the car back to the hotel while the baby and I waited, then they took the shuttle back to the airport and we all cleared security together. Funny story...as we were clearing we told Clayton to take his shoes off and we turned around to take ours off and put our tons of stuff on the little belt, Jason hears "do I have to take my underwear off too?". Clayton had taken his pants off! Everyone was laughing at us : ) Security was not as bad as had expected with all of our crap! But our bags did get flagged for further inspection becuase of our wipes, DVD player but the sipy cup of juice, formula (unopened) made it through just fine...weird!
Once we cleared security we had to find some breakfast ASAP! Once we found breakfast and got settled in for the wait to board. We actually got through security super early and had AWHILE to wait. Clayton decided to take a nap.
Once we got to JAX we met up with J's stepdad and he droves us the long 3 hour drive back to Sylvester. The kids and I slept the whole way back to recouperate from the flight. J's grandparents and some family were at J's moms when we got there. Several of them were meeting Charlotte for the first time so that was nice. We swam and ate and talked and went to bed early.
Before we got there I had some stuff shipped ahead from diapers. com. One thing I bought was the Kidpod tent and I could not wait to try it out on Charlotte. The plan was for her to sleep in it the whole time we were in GA but we ended up having a little crib in SOWEGA and pack n play in N.GA. Clayton slept with some one random every night!
Day 2 was tiring but fun to get the trip started!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Week 13 July 27-August 2
I'm posting this a day late but it is completely intentional. Now that Charlotte is 3 months old I am going to blog her updates monthly instead of weekly. I know that you all just patiently wait around weekly to find out the feeding, pooping, sleeping schedule of my princess but lately there has been so much more eating, playing, pooping than sleeping equalling less blogging time for mommy! So this is my last weekly update the next update will be on her 4 month birthday and I will be typing through tears :(
I am still going to use Your Baby's First Year Week by Week as my reference and combine the 4 weeks into one post covering more development at a time. As far as the rest of the family we will get our blog time in too, promise!
Week 13...
Schedule: Same as last week
Eating: She is still eating every 3 hours until 6 pm and then I wake her between 9-11pm and that was carrying her though until at least 5:30 but lately she can only make it to 4. I have experimented with waking at different times and she still gets up 4-4:30 so I'm just going with it right now. But in the end she is still getting the same amount of feedings. She is getting 2 formula bottles a day per her pediatrician. She needed a little help gaining weight and processing food so instead of supplementing a few ounces randomly through the day I give 2 whole bottles and pump. She did move to the medium flow nipples on her bottles.
Sleeping: She sleeps great at night until 4am and she goes right back to sleep after I feed her. Napping has not been great. There are several naps that only last a 30 minutes or so and she will cry the rest of the time...45 minute intruder? At night she is CIO and that is working great. She never cried more than 15 minutes and if she does it is usually an indication that something is wrong. She no longer sleeps with a swaddler and that was her choice. The nights she has it take much longer to fall asleep!
YBFYWBW
-laughing more...she will "talk" to us and toys
-smiling...she is smiling in response to people other than family
-tummy time...still screams and because of it she has not even attempted to roll over or push up on her elbows or arms...I'm getting worried :(
-toys... loves her mobile, and still loving Lilly the Lion but her favorite toy is her fingers!
- Pacifier...she needs her paci when she is going to sleep but she has starting taking it out and sucking her fingers instead. When we see her we try to give her the paci back but she likes her fingers
-started napping in her room
- skin getting a little better now that she is on medicated lotion and running the humidifier
-getting excited...she will get super excited and kick and laugh and then in the next second burst into tears. I'm guessing she is getting over excited and doesn't know how to calm her self back down.
-sitting...she can sit in her Bumbo and against the Boppy or pillows
-grasping...has learned to grasp but not always to let go
- bubbles..she is blowing bubbles like crazy!!
Clayton: Finished up Space camp last Friday and has a little break until school starts on Friday. He is getting a new teacher AGAIN. This is the 5th time he has changed teachers! Got to love the Army life. We have been spending more time with friends such as he twins that live next door and our new friends Anora and Anya. He will be going to school (not in the same class) with Anora and Anya and is very excited about it!
This is our neighbor Faith
Me: I am feeling smaller after 2 weeks of workouts but numbers are not reflecting :( Maybe its muscle maybe something else but I do know that WW is not working in my favor! My milk supply is suffering and I am not taking in enough calories for a good weight loss from working out. So I am just writing down what I eat so that I am holding myself accountable but not worrying about the points and focusing more on healthy eating and taking in enough protein.
I am still going to use Your Baby's First Year Week by Week as my reference and combine the 4 weeks into one post covering more development at a time. As far as the rest of the family we will get our blog time in too, promise!
Week 13...
Schedule: Same as last week
Eating: She is still eating every 3 hours until 6 pm and then I wake her between 9-11pm and that was carrying her though until at least 5:30 but lately she can only make it to 4. I have experimented with waking at different times and she still gets up 4-4:30 so I'm just going with it right now. But in the end she is still getting the same amount of feedings. She is getting 2 formula bottles a day per her pediatrician. She needed a little help gaining weight and processing food so instead of supplementing a few ounces randomly through the day I give 2 whole bottles and pump. She did move to the medium flow nipples on her bottles.
Sleeping: She sleeps great at night until 4am and she goes right back to sleep after I feed her. Napping has not been great. There are several naps that only last a 30 minutes or so and she will cry the rest of the time...45 minute intruder? At night she is CIO and that is working great. She never cried more than 15 minutes and if she does it is usually an indication that something is wrong. She no longer sleeps with a swaddler and that was her choice. The nights she has it take much longer to fall asleep!
YBFYWBW
-laughing more...she will "talk" to us and toys
-smiling...she is smiling in response to people other than family
-toys... loves her mobile, and still loving Lilly the Lion but her favorite toy is her fingers!
- Pacifier...she needs her paci when she is going to sleep but she has starting taking it out and sucking her fingers instead. When we see her we try to give her the paci back but she likes her fingers
- skin getting a little better now that she is on medicated lotion and running the humidifier
-getting excited...she will get super excited and kick and laugh and then in the next second burst into tears. I'm guessing she is getting over excited and doesn't know how to calm her self back down.
-grasping...has learned to grasp but not always to let go
- bubbles..she is blowing bubbles like crazy!!
Clayton: Finished up Space camp last Friday and has a little break until school starts on Friday. He is getting a new teacher AGAIN. This is the 5th time he has changed teachers! Got to love the Army life. We have been spending more time with friends such as he twins that live next door and our new friends Anora and Anya. He will be going to school (not in the same class) with Anora and Anya and is very excited about it!
Me: I am feeling smaller after 2 weeks of workouts but numbers are not reflecting :( Maybe its muscle maybe something else but I do know that WW is not working in my favor! My milk supply is suffering and I am not taking in enough calories for a good weight loss from working out. So I am just writing down what I eat so that I am holding myself accountable but not worrying about the points and focusing more on healthy eating and taking in enough protein.
Jason: J changes command on the 31st and then back into his second command on the 6th of October. He is looking at some options for future in Army and needs prayer that we make/are given the best option for our family!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Day1 (Friday July1) of block leave...headed home sweet home
Jason had to work on Friday (7/1) morning so I took Clayton to school and got busy cleaning the house packing and getting the car ready to head out as soon as he got home. Of course things never work out like you imagine and Friday morning was no different! Charlotte was being a pooper. I'm not sure if she sensed that something was going on or what but she was super needy and very whiney...looking back I think she is going through a growth spurt and therefore hungry ALL THE TIME!! I was pretty much done when Jason got home much later than he thought he would and then he realized that he needed a haircut and some stuff from the PX so that set us back yet again. We finally got on the road around 4:30 headed to Las Vegas.
We drove to Vegas the night before our flight and planned on leaving our car there while we were in GA so I needed to find a hotel that would let us leave the car on there property for no cost. It being 4th of July weekend I knew the big casinos would be packed and super expensive! But I found an off the strip hotel that had a "sleep and park" option for just few more dollars than just sleeping. Homewood Suites at the airport is my new favorite place to stay if we are not looking for the casino feel and lets face it with children that is always a good option! Anyway...on the way there we stopped at Arby's had some dinner and arrived at the airport in just enough time to unpack everything and get the kiddos bathed...
...and in bed.
We drove to Vegas the night before our flight and planned on leaving our car there while we were in GA so I needed to find a hotel that would let us leave the car on there property for no cost. It being 4th of July weekend I knew the big casinos would be packed and super expensive! But I found an off the strip hotel that had a "sleep and park" option for just few more dollars than just sleeping. Homewood Suites at the airport is my new favorite place to stay if we are not looking for the casino feel and lets face it with children that is always a good option! Anyway...on the way there we stopped at Arby's had some dinner and arrived at the airport in just enough time to unpack everything and get the kiddos bathed...
I had the hardest time with this but still insisted on pictures from Jason instead of help : )
They didn't have cribs so we improvised. She lasted about 2 hours and ended up on my chest so needless to say it was not a success!!
We had decided to unpack everything because there was a shuttle that would take us to the airport but after thinking about how hard it would be to take 4 people, a car seat, a double stroller, 4 suitcases and 4 carry-ons on this shuttle with who knows who else we were not feeling it. Plus it only left at the top of the hour and with the kids we were worried we were not going to make it and then have to wait another hour and risk missing the our flight. We set our alarms for 4 am and hit the sack.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Week 12 July 20- July 26
It has been a rough week! We were getting back into the groove of things and it was super hard. To adjust Charlotte decided to go on a nursing strike and is currently in a huge napping strike...grr :) But overall we are getting back to normal.
Baby wise and schedule: We have moved into phase 2 of the BW "plan". This mean that she should be dropping her late-evening feeding (11:00 pm) leaving 6 feedings, she should average 10-12 hours of sleep at night (she goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes around 6). It also says that she should have 3, 1.5-2 hour naps but she has 4 right now and is doing her best to drop the earliest one (7:30 am) so I am just letting her lead on that and laying her down when she is sleepy. So her schedule looks like this:
6 wake up and nurse
7:30 ish nap
9 bottle
1030 nap
12 nurse
1:30 nap
3 nurse
4:30 nap
6 nurse
9-11 I let her chose but never later than 11 a small bottle of night time formula
Sleeping: She does great at night and loves to watch her jungle crib light thing as she falls asleep. She is sleeping in a sleep sack now and starting to move away from the swaddle. Naps are still a bit of an issue and part of it is the 2 morning naps are interrupted to go get Clayton from school but there is really no way around it right now. She has been sleeping in her swing more than I really like.
Wake time: We have introduced music time and at first I was making it when Clayton was in school but Clayton joined in one day and they both had a blast so I have moved it to a wake time that he can participate. Tummy time is still awful and I am really trying but she HATES it!!
Eating: As it said in the schedule above I have added 2 formula bottles to her diet and at first I was really struggling with it but I honestly believe that by adding these 2 feedings I have extended breastfeeding. She could not seem to stay full after the 9am feeding and it would set the stage for fussy all day. With the bottle at that time she seems to be able to handle the day with more smiles!! The bottle at night is to carry her through the night and because by then I am empty. I pump at night to store some for times I am not around so there is not much left for her. There are times though that she wants to nurse for comfort and I will let her for a few minutes and then back to bed!
Growth: YBFYWBW says that she should be around 12 lbs but she is only 11 max. But filling out t the point that I packed up the newborn stuff and she is now in 0-3 month clothes and size one diapers.
YBFYWBW:
-We listen to music all the time..the book says although this may not make her smarter she will enjoy it and she does. It brings a great calm to her.
-she can lift her head but not from her tummy for very long at all
-she seems to be able to see from a farther distant and reacts to me when I am farther away from her.
-she makes so many facial expressions now
-she is started to babble a little
-holds her hands open more than in a fist and is very into them...looks at them all the time
-starting to but things in her mouth
-reacts differently to speech than other sounds
-seems to see Jason and Clayton and I as different people
-her soft spot is getting thicker
-is in a great routine
-has a favorite toy...Lilly the lion
-is not really able to do the "mini push up"
-loves to play song/games that involve hands and toes...this little piggy and loves when Clayton does it with her
She has been having some bloody snot when she wakes up so we put the humidifier in her room at night and it seems to be helping.
Clayton sings ALL THE TIME...he loves "Hush Little Baby" and changes the words. He will also talk to us in song, its like living in a musical.
When I was pregnant with Charlotte Clayton was "pregnant" with a puppy and we worried that when I had the baby he would want a puppy but it turns out he is still pregnant : ) When we ask what is in his tummy he tells us Himpey the Hawk...which is also what he calls this toy he got from Burger King. And there are times when he is tired or just not into whatever is going on around him he will say he is wishing bout Himpey the Hawk but will never tell us what it really means...weird !?!?!
He is finishing up his last week of camp (Space Camp) and starts preschool again on Aug. 5. He has one more year of this type of school and will then move on to actual Pre-K. I am getting together some prep stuff together for him to practice before school starts. We are working on drawing shapes and faces, recognizing sounds and matching them t the correct letter, writing letters and his name. He is really a smart boy and I hope he continues to love school and the school setting and really flourishes from it. We started him so young I worry that he will burn out!
Clayton is such a big boy that we took down the lower level gate this weekend so now we are just trapped upstairs. He has also learned to put his lower clothes on...we are still working on the top half!
And he has found a new love for Care Bears. He could watch it all day!!
Baby wise and schedule: We have moved into phase 2 of the BW "plan". This mean that she should be dropping her late-evening feeding (11:00 pm) leaving 6 feedings, she should average 10-12 hours of sleep at night (she goes to bed at 7:30 and wakes around 6). It also says that she should have 3, 1.5-2 hour naps but she has 4 right now and is doing her best to drop the earliest one (7:30 am) so I am just letting her lead on that and laying her down when she is sleepy. So her schedule looks like this:
6 wake up and nurse
7:30 ish nap
9 bottle
1030 nap
12 nurse
1:30 nap
3 nurse
4:30 nap
6 nurse
9-11 I let her chose but never later than 11 a small bottle of night time formula
Sleeping: She does great at night and loves to watch her jungle crib light thing as she falls asleep. She is sleeping in a sleep sack now and starting to move away from the swaddle. Naps are still a bit of an issue and part of it is the 2 morning naps are interrupted to go get Clayton from school but there is really no way around it right now. She has been sleeping in her swing more than I really like.
She was so tired but so not wanting to sleep
Finally sleeping
Wake time: We have introduced music time and at first I was making it when Clayton was in school but Clayton joined in one day and they both had a blast so I have moved it to a wake time that he can participate. Tummy time is still awful and I am really trying but she HATES it!!
Eating: As it said in the schedule above I have added 2 formula bottles to her diet and at first I was really struggling with it but I honestly believe that by adding these 2 feedings I have extended breastfeeding. She could not seem to stay full after the 9am feeding and it would set the stage for fussy all day. With the bottle at that time she seems to be able to handle the day with more smiles!! The bottle at night is to carry her through the night and because by then I am empty. I pump at night to store some for times I am not around so there is not much left for her. There are times though that she wants to nurse for comfort and I will let her for a few minutes and then back to bed!
Growth: YBFYWBW says that she should be around 12 lbs but she is only 11 max. But filling out t the point that I packed up the newborn stuff and she is now in 0-3 month clothes and size one diapers.
Packing away NB clothes and organizing her closet
YBFYWBW:
-We listen to music all the time..the book says although this may not make her smarter she will enjoy it and she does. It brings a great calm to her.
-she can lift her head but not from her tummy for very long at all
-she seems to be able to see from a farther distant and reacts to me when I am farther away from her.
-she makes so many facial expressions now
-she is started to babble a little
-holds her hands open more than in a fist and is very into them...looks at them all the time
-starting to but things in her mouth
-reacts differently to speech than other sounds
-seems to see Jason and Clayton and I as different people
-her soft spot is getting thicker
-is in a great routine
-has a favorite toy...Lilly the lion
-is not really able to do the "mini push up"
-loves to play song/games that involve hands and toes...this little piggy and loves when Clayton does it with her
She has been having some bloody snot when she wakes up so we put the humidifier in her room at night and it seems to be helping.
Clayton
He is really into hand washing these days...or maybe it is water play! He seems to remember everything. For example I tell him he can not have another snack until after dinner, as soon as dinner is over he asks for the snack. He is also learning to ignore me and it is not a fun stage at all! I'm not sure how to discipline that but I need to do something soon!! 
C and his scentsy buddy
When I was pregnant with Charlotte Clayton was "pregnant" with a puppy and we worried that when I had the baby he would want a puppy but it turns out he is still pregnant : ) When we ask what is in his tummy he tells us Himpey the Hawk...which is also what he calls this toy he got from Burger King. And there are times when he is tired or just not into whatever is going on around him he will say he is wishing bout Himpey the Hawk but will never tell us what it really means...weird !?!?!
He is finishing up his last week of camp (Space Camp) and starts preschool again on Aug. 5. He has one more year of this type of school and will then move on to actual Pre-K. I am getting together some prep stuff together for him to practice before school starts. We are working on drawing shapes and faces, recognizing sounds and matching them t the correct letter, writing letters and his name. He is really a smart boy and I hope he continues to love school and the school setting and really flourishes from it. We started him so young I worry that he will burn out!
Clayton is such a big boy that we took down the lower level gate this weekend so now we are just trapped upstairs. He has also learned to put his lower clothes on...we are still working on the top half!
Me
I am into week 2 of the Firm Express and I am still loving it. It is a hard workout but is so much packed into 20 minutes that I feel like I am getting so much and not taking up hours that I don't have to do so. I am not keeping up with WW as well as I should be but I have lost 2 more pounds but more importantly my clothes are getting closer to fitting!! My milk supply is starting to suffer from the dieting and working out so I am really looking into changing my diet to adjust for that. Most importantly I have to drink more water!!!
Jason
J is back to work out and trying to spend as much time with us as possible.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Week 10 and 11 of the Phillips gang...July 6-July 19
First of all as I say every week how did my baby turn 11 weeks already! Second I am combining 10 and 11 because we were only home 1 day out of those 2 weeks and I have 17 blogs waiting to be written covering our trip!!
I could sum up the past 2 weeks with "so much fun" and "complete loss of anything scheduled and Babywise and routine" and "this week is back to business...as soon as I recover from vacay!"
Babywise: 100% my fault but every one's schedule was completely messed up while we were gone. In general I guess things stayed the same...eating, napping and bed time were roughly the same but there was WAY more flexibility than normal.
Sleeping: She slept in her own "bed" (a crib in S.GA and pack n play in N.GA) But overall she slept through the night. Naps were rough and I'm not sure how long she slept for each one.
Wake time: Filled with new faces and new places! She was so into seeing so many different things and stayed pretty occupied.
Growth: At her 2 month well baby visit she weighed 10.11 and was 22 inches long. I can tell a big difference in her growth! Her cheeks and thighs are getting so chubby : ) and her newborn onsies are too small and her new born outfits are almost there :(
Eating: We tested out some formula while we were at home and as much as I hate to say it she loved it and was so happy after the formula bottles and not nearly as gassy! This doesn't mean I am giving up breastfeeding and at this point I am still putting on the boob every 3 hours but there are times she is getting formula and I'm not totally against it anymore. The extra formula is decreasing my milk supply I think but it could also be working out, wearing more sports bras, not drinking enough, not getting enough calories....etc
Diaper Duty: Has picked up a lot since last update. It may not be everyday but it is at least every 2 now. The gas is as usual...often and smelly! We are still using Mylecon and Gripe Water and when we do bottle feed we use the Playtex drop ins or Playtex Ventaire
2 month Well Baby: She received her 2 month shots and got a full look over by the doctor who said she looked great. She is growing well and meeting all of her milestones. I was a little concerned that she doesn't lift her head when she is on her tummy as much as I thought she should but he said that was normal and to keep up the tummy time. She was diagnosed with pretty bad eczema and was given a cream to put on at least once a day. The air here is so dry and that is not helping at all! She did have to take Tylenol for the first for a slight fever from the shots but otherwise handled them well.
YBFYWBW:
-she has excellent control of her head when held and when sitting with assistance
-kicks and swings arms all the time
-swings arms to reach objects
-she will hold her chest and head up while on her tummy but only for a few seconds
-when picked up she pulls her body in compactly
-she will bring her hands together
-follows slow objects with her eyes
-explores her own face with her hands
-stops sucking to look around and listen
-makes some noises but is usually a silent smiler
-she will mimic my facial expressions
-she will let me know when she is bored of a person or an activity
-she loves hanging toys that jingle or rattle when she moves them and really likes the rattles that go on her arm and leg
-she loves her baby bouncer now and when she is super fussy due to being tired I can lay her in the bouncy and she is right out!
-she is learning to control her cries and will stop them if distracted
-she can sit propped against the bobby or a pillow
-she will turn her head looking for sounds
-she has not gotten up on her elbows during tummy time yet
-she can hold a toy and wave it
-she is beginning to show favoritism for me over others
-she will allow you to capture her attention and will hold eye contact
Clayton: Loved being in GA was not excited about coming back! He has asked me everyday if we can go back :( He took a week off of camp to get readjusted and will start back next week.
Playing in the bounce houses
Taking a much needed break
indoor playground at the mall
He loved Kayla!
Blowing bubbles with Aunt Karen (Doobee)
Cousin Blair
Cousin Jessica
Playing with new toys
silly faces
Reading with Nana
Me: I love vacation but I will be glad when everything is back in place. I restarted Weight Watchers and start the Firm Express...after day 1 I Love it!
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