Dayton the Counter

This month I decided to work with Dayton on his numbers. He can count to three all by himself now but I want him to work up to counting to ten. Obviously he is too young to recognize the numbers or write them but I think counting is the first step. So we started today. Watch this video, he really is doing well. I'm so proud of him! I just have to mention that he took the initiative to play this counting game, I did not force it. He also asked to do a matching puzzle with numbers today. I helped him find the pieces that went together and he put them together. He does have awesome fine motor skills for his age. Did I also mention that he holds his pencil and crayons the right way, he does!!! It's nuts how naturally bright Dayton is. He is a special boy!

Lighter

I am thrilled to say that between counting my calories on my phone using "my fitness pal" app and exercising 3-4 times a week, I'm lighter! 7 pounds lighter in 3 weeks actually. I'm thrilled about my progress. I am still 6 pounds from my starting weight and 16 pounds away from my goal weight but every pound counts.

During the doctor visit yesterday I talked to him about how I'm loosing my milk. I have noticed a decrease since I started being healthy three weeks ago. He said it's definitely due to eating less and probably the stress of exercise on my body. He said I need to up my daily calorie intake by 300-500 calories and do less strenuous workouts. I guess Jillian Michael's isn't very low key? Nope, this lady is crazy and works me hard. He also gave me a pill to take to help my milk come back in. I take two a day for two days is all. It's working too!

Anyway, I'm a bit discouraged about the news because I have been trying so hard to loose my pudge and I know only eating 1500 calories a day has had a lot to do with that. Hopefully still exercising will at least let me maintain or loose 1 pound a week, I'd be happy with that. Bottom line is my baby comes first and she needs more milk so I need to not be selfish and eat so I can provide for her. Even more truthful is formula is too expensive and it constipated our little sis. :(

I'm still shooting for my starting weight by May. I think I can loose 6 pounds in 3 months even by eating more each day IF I keep exercising. I sure hope so.

2 months old and growing!

Rachel had her 2 month check up today and is healthy! Dr. Firth said she is a chunk! After looking her over he said she is very strong, she holds her head up well, she uses her legs to push and stand, she smiles and coo's at you. He said he isn't worried about her one bit! She got vaccines and screamed! Dayton never screamed like her. She cried for a good ten minutes even after I got to hold her and comfort her. I felt simply awful! It does help them and I wouldn't ever not vaccinate my kids, especially since it is required for Kindergarten but it breaks my heart every time. Here are her stats...

Weight 12.6 lbs. 90%
Height 23.25 in 82%
Head 15.7 in 80%

We just love our little Rachel! She is getting interactive and social which I really love! Good job today baby girl!

It is true

Today I found a very long and very white hair on my head! I pulled it out in hopes to hide the sign of aging. My mother had to start dying her hair in her early twenties because she was going white like her mother and older brothers. I guess it's looking about the same for me. White hair at 24, jeepers!

New

We just splurged and got a wall mount for our Samsung TV. We bought this TV when we got married (for $700, they are so much cheaper now) and have always just had it on the entertainment center. Well, Mama Sue recently brought us her old TV so now we have 2. So, we decided to put this one in our bedroom and use the other one in the living room. Last night Adam put it up and we watched a movie in bed. Seriously, it was totally worth $60 for the mount. We loved it! Plus it's great for Adam who has a hard time falling to sleep because he can't turn his brain off. What better way to turn it off than a movie, right? We are happy about it!

Rachel's Blessing Day

Yesterday we blessed Rachel. It was such a sweet day! The luncheon was held at our house before church. It worked out nicely I thought since we have 1:00 church this year. This way everyone could start driving home around 2:30 instead of 6pm or 7pm. I served soup and rolls. My Mom and Mama Sue helped with desserts, thanks Mom's for helping.

Grandpa Chandler was just loving Rachel! I think he held her pretty much the whole time.


Cousin Evelyn loved the fish tank!


My family and Sue on the end.


Davee with our kids. Dayton was loving Grandpa Chandler the whole time. He kept getting treats off the table and bringing them to Papa with no promptings, all on his own. He would say, "Here papa!" He even took treats off my plate and gave them to Davee as if to say, "No, Mom the treats are for Grandpa not you."


Nate and Jared


My Mom and Dad


Breezy with Rachel, Davee, and Adam.


Clint, Kaitlan (4 months pregnant) Me and Adam. We sure love these guys!


Our family, don't we look so good together? I think so!




My darling baby!










She was perfect during her blessing and wide awake. She didn't even make one sound. My Grandpa said she was just looking around and alert. Adam gave a beautiful blessing and I really felt the spirit. He blessed her to know right from wrong, when the time comes find a worthy young man to take her to the temple, be able to be a mother someday and to look to me (her Mom) as an example, and he also blessed her to be an example to those around her. We love her so much and we are so happy she is part of our family. The dress she is wearing is actually my blessing dress that I never got to wear. Because I was premature and very sick they just blessed me in the hospital. My Mom crocheted the flower for her hair. I added the small flower on the front of the dress because I thought they were cute. Only close family and Clint and Kaitlan Allen were invited. In the circle were Grandpa Barker, Grandpa Day, Grandpa Chandler, Uncle Josh, Uncle Jared, Uncle McCord, Dad (Adam), and Clint. Adam held her up really high after the blessing with a huge grin on his face. He did a wonderful job!

Rain rain go away!

It has been raining for three days now and our little town of Mendon is really getting hit hard. They have called all the men to help fill sand bags twice, closed the road between Mendon and Wellsville, and told everyone to keep a close eye on their basements. So far so good at our house. Just look at the ditch in our front yard? It's crazy how much water is rushing down it. The park down our street is a low spot and it is just a lake now. We are grateful we saw snow today and hope to see more because this much rain in January just isn't good.

Dare I say it?

Rachel has slept through the night two nights in a row. Yesterday 8-4am and today 9:30-5:30am. Oh, it's so nice! Bonus too, she went back to sleep after eating both times. I hope this lasts! Good girl Rachel! 2 months old and sleeping through the night! Hopefully posting this doesn't jinx it.

Family of 8!

Here are pictures of our 9 days spent with 6 kids under age 7. It really was fun and I think I could totally handle six of our own. The only hard part was Dayton getting sick with a fever for 4 days. That was rough. The two oldest were very helpful. The boys were super rowdy, loud, and crazy as boys are. I found it interesting that all the kids together really overwhelmed Dayton. He would get upset over all the shouting, crying, fighting, loud singing, laughing, and constant noise. He normally chose to just hang with us or play with just Cannon (age 3). I guess that's the beauty of having your own family, you grow into it but so do the kids. We had a good time but are happy to be home again.

Something that should not be forgotten

How helpful Dayton is at this age. With everything including vacuuming, taking out the trash, picking up toys, throwing away diapers, washing his own body during baths, putting on his shoes, helping me cook or bake, and bringing me things for Rachel when I ask. What a good boy he is!

Just a taste

For the past six days we have gotten just a taste of what it's like to be parents of 6 kids. Not only that but all under the age of 7. We have been busy, rarely leaving the house since it takes 10 minutes to load all the kids and two vehicles to get us all there. But this Saturday we braved the ice cream shop. Everyone loved it! It was their reward for doing all their jobs and an extra job to help me out. :) It has been fun so far except Brigham and Cannon both have colds that started Thursday night, nothing major just cough and runny nose. Well, apparently they shared with Dayton and in the middle of the night Saturday he woke with a fever and raspy voice (my guess, sore throat) to go with the cold. Bummer! I'm glad it's Sunday so Adam is home and can stay home from church with D to rest. :) We are with these kids until Thursday morning so wish us luck!

Rainbow colors

We had more practice with colors today during preschool. The kids all got a bag of frootloops and a cupcake tin with colors in the bottom of each spot. They needed to place each frootloop in the matching spot in the tin. My students loved it! Of course they got to eat them afterward. D matched orange three times with no help at all. He needed help with most of the other colors. I think having multiple correct options of where to put them confused him. Yes, it was probably too advanced but I figured practicing wouldn't hurt anybody. We had fun with it!

The second game was putting the color chips in the baby food jars with that color on the bottom. He rocked this game!! He matched them all perfectly and really favored yellow. He'd pick out all the yellow chips from the pile. It was so fun to watch him do so well.

Our phase of life

Just the other day I looked outside my side door and actually took notice of how many diapers were sitting in our "throw away" box. I had just emptied it the day before and it was nearly full again. Yes, in 48 hours it was almost full! I bet there were at least 15 diapers in there. With a newborn and a 22 month old I guess that is how it goes. :)

I also have a laundry day. I learned it from my mom and didn't really stick to it until I had kids. I guess Adam and I just didn't produce that much laundry so I felt like a load here or there or two loads every other week was working for us. Not now! Laundry day is Wednesday at our house. Not for any special reason it's just a day I don't teach preschool and not a weekend day so I felt like it was a good day to pick. Pretty consistently I do 4 loads of laundry every Wednesday with two kids! Yes, it is a lot of wash and when I wash sheets it's another load. It takes up most of my day but I only have to do it once a week. Folding laundry is probably one of my least favorite household chores and matching socks is worse. So I can't bring myself to be doing it daily, I'd cry! Why is it that kids produce so much laundry? If it isn't spilled on, puked on, pooped in, or covered in dirt and grass stains it's a MIRACLE! Anyway, I like the feeling of getting it all done in one day and then having it out of the way for a week. It works for me!

One more thing about our phase of life. It's tiring. It is so full of joy but so exhausting. Having two children is wonderful and challenging. Every day brings something new. I love being home with my kids! However, at the end of the day I'm worn out. Probably part of this is because Rachel is only 6 weeks so she still wakes around 2am each night to eat. I'm just grateful D is still napping and I hope he will at least until Rachel is sleeping through the night. Why do I wish this? Because D napping usually allows for me to feed Rachel, get her down, and put myself to sleep. If it's a good day I can nap for an hour. That helps!

Our phase of life is wonderful! I just wanted to document a few thoughts.

My Darling Daisy

I bought this cute dress at DI. I just think it is so darling. Check out the cute daisies on the pockets and the matching bow that I made. I was just oozing over how cute Rachel looked in this Sunday. :)









We get to be on a adventure as a family starting tomorrow for 9 days. We will be tending the Allen kids (4 of them) while their parents are in Hawaii. It will be a blast! They have two girls who are older and helpful. They have two boys who Dayton will love to play with. We can't wait! I just hope Dayton will sleep somewhere new. :) Wish us luck! Have fun Julie and Stanton!