35 weeks

Here is what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's getting closer and closer to full-fledged walking. She can probably crawl up stairs and cruise, moving around upright while holding onto furniture. A baby this age may even take a couple of steps. (A few actually do walk now — and some don't walk until well into their second year. There's a wide range of ages at which children meet this milestone.)  Your baby's also learning how to bend her knees and how to sit after standing, which is harder to master than you might think! She might get "stuck" standing up in her crib. If this happens, gently show her how she can get back down.  There are ways to help your baby with her walking efforts. Stand or kneel in front of her, and help her walk toward you by holding both of her hands. Eventually just hold your hands out to her in encouragement. Some babies enjoy pushing a toddle truck, which provides both support and mobility. Look for one with a wide, stable base.

Babyproofing your home is a necessity now. One good place to start is to put latches on the doors of off-limits cabinets — babies inevitably make a beeline for such things. (You could also move all cleaning supplies or potential poison hazards to higher cabinets.) Also, your baby's crib mattress should be at the lowest mattress setting.

Once your baby starts standing and cruising, you may wonder if shoes are necessary. Until your baby is walking around outdoors regularly, most pediatricians and developmental experts don't think so. It's normal for your baby to walk a little bowlegged or with her feet turned out, and her feet may look flat. Going barefoot can help strengthen your baby's arches and leg muscles, and feeling the textures of what she's walking on can help her balance.

So far every age and stage feels like the most fun age.  Noah is so much fun!  He is such a sweet baby, and filled with personality.  He's usually shy for the first few minutes around strangers or a large group of people, but will then warm up and be silly eventually.  Although I do think there's a certain side of him that only comes out when he's alone at home with Jeremy and I in his comfort zone.

A few times recently Noah has let go of the furniture that he's holding onto and been able to stand for a second or two before plopping to the floor.  He hasn't taken a step yet when he's not holding onto furniture, but he gets around our living room just fine by holding onto the coffee table or couch while he "walks" around.

Noah LOVES other kids.  Whenever he sees other kids in stores he stares at them the whole time.  I had two weeks off from watching Luke and Noah was quite thrilled to have Luke back again this week to play with.

This week was the first time that Noah cried and seemed to know that I was gone when I left him with Jeremy's mom.  She told me that he only cried for a minute, but that he was just a little somber the whole time I was gone, and wasn't very interested in eating his lunch.  That is sweet, but I think that I may make more of an effort to leave Noah with others at least once a week so that he doesn't get too dependent on me, and that he learns reassurance that when I leave I'm coming back.

This week we added watermelon, cooked broccoli, and cooked apples to his diet.  Noah continues to nurse 5 times a day, and eat 3 solid meals consisting of combinations of ground up tofu, egg yolks, brown rice cereal, fruits, yogurt, and vegetables.

Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

Maple Mustard Vinaigrette

For years I've heard of variations of maple inspired salad dressings, and after having eaten the same one for the last month straight I was ready to come up with something new.  I served the dressing over a salad of spinach, smoked gouda, peanuts and dried cranberries, but I think blue cheese, pecans, dried cherries, and fresh apple or pear would pair very nicely with the dressing.  I loved the smoky creaminess of the gouda, against the tart chewiness of the cranberries, with the salty crunch of the peanuts, and they all went very well with the maple and mustard flavors.

-1/2 c maple syrup
-1/2 c balsamic vinegar
-1/2 c olive oil
-1 Tbsp dijon mustard
-1 Tbsp lemon juice
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp dried basil
-1/4 tsp pepper
-1 clove garlic, minced

Whisk together all ingredients, chill until serving.  Will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks.

an act of worship

At community group this week we had a discussion on using our bodies as instruments of righteousness (Romans 6:12-14).  This led us to a discussion on making things that we do an act of worship.  An example that was given, was of one of our friends who runs, and who is constantly praying in gratitude along the way, making it all an act of worship. 

This has all led me to realize just how compartmentalized my life is... I have my gym/ exercise time, I have my "me" time, God time, family time, cleaning time, cooking time, crafting time, hanging out with friends time and so on.  I've been pondering what it looks like to use all of this time for God's glory, to make all of these activities an act of worship to Him.

To realize that I exercise and eat healthy because my body is God's temple, to be used for His purpose.  That I create, because I was made in the image of the ultimate Creator, and through creating I am displaying His character and glory.  To seize hold of the fact that all of "my" time is God's time, to be used for His purpose and to really surrender my day to Him, and be in constant communion with Him, aware of what He is doing in, through, and around me... because He is always doing something, but only a portion of the time do I slow down long enough to be aware of His presence and work.

So here's to doing all to the glory of God, and worshipping Him through even the seemingly mundane, or nonspiritual

How do you make your day to day activities an act of worship?.

34 weeks

Here is what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's vision — previously about 20/40 at best — is now almost adult-like in its clarity and depth perception. Though your baby's short-range sight is still best, his long-range vision is good enough to recognize people and objects across a room. He may see a toy on the other side of the room and try to crawl toward it. His eyes are also probably close to their final color, though you may see subtle changes later.

Your baby may start looking for dropped objects and may use his index finger to point at them. He can easily use his fingers to rake up a piece of food and hold it with his fist closed, and he's learned to open his hand to drop and throw objects with greater precision. He's probably beginning to master the pincer grasp, too — the delicate maneuver that lets him pick up small objects with his thumb and first finger.  Your baby's also a fan of poking things and getting his little fingers into holes, making this a great time to cover outlets around the house.

There'll be times when your baby is afraid of things he can't understand. Even things that didn't bother him before, like a ringing doorbell or a whistling teakettle, may frighten him. When this happens, the most important thing you can do as a parent is comfort and reassure him. Tell him that you're there and he's fine — a hug or a snuggle may be all he needs.

Noah is so much fun!!!!  He's continued to pick up speed crawling, and now he follows me around from one room of the house to another.  He continues to use any stable object he can reach in order to pull himself up to standing.  Every now and then he'll let go and stand for a second or two before plopping down.

 

He is quite curious, and since he's mobile he can get into anything so we've started working on setting some boundaries.  We were worried that "no" might be hard for him to understand since it's so close to Noah, so we say "no no" when we want him to stop doing something.  Overall he is a very obedient kid (so far) and almost always when I say "no no" he will stop what he is doing, even if I am across the room.  His biggest temptations are shoes, cords, and the trashcan.

 

Within the past few days he has murmured a few "dadas, dads, or dadadas".  His most used "word" is still mama and he repeats it over and over most of the day.

 

This week we introduced watermelon and broccoli, both of which he is enjoying.  He also had a fruit puree with apples, blueberries, strawberries, banana and some other fruits.  He loved the puree, but it didn't seem to do so well on his stomach, so I think I'll stick to introducing foods one at a time for now, and maybe wait a little longer on the fibrous berries.

 

Happy Father's Day

Here's Jeremy's Father's Day gift from Noah.  We took a white coffee mug that we already had and used porcelain paint to stamp Noah's hand and foot prints around the mug.  Once sealed and dried this mug is dishwasher safe and will be fun to use for years to come.

Happy Father's Day!

33 weeks

Here is what is going on with Noah this week according to babycenter.com;

Your baby's now exploring objects by shaking them, banging them, dropping them, and throwing them before falling back on the tried-and-true method of gumming them. The idea that you do something to an object is beginning to emerge (using a comb to tidy her hair), so an activity center with lots of things your baby can bang, poke, twist, squeeze, shake, drop, and open will fascinate her.

  Your baby will also be fascinated with toys that have specific functions, such as phones. If she can't hold it up to her ear herself, do it for her and pretend to have a conversation. Over the next few months, she'll start to use objects for their intended purposes — brushing her hair, drinking from a cup, and babbling on her play phone.

Watch for her to start pointing or looking at the correct picture when you name an object — especially if it's something familiar (such as eyes, nose, or mouth) or beloved (like a dog or a rubber ducky).

Also, at this stage, your baby likes to see things fall down, get picked up (by you, of course), and then get thrown down again. She's not trying to drive you mad. She just finds the spectacle interesting and naturally wants to see it again and again.

Noah is very mobile and gets around well on his own.  He loves to wave his hand and say some version of mom, mama, or mamama over and over again.  I can sometimes get him to give me a high five also.  He also loves batting and slapping at objects.  He loves it when we stack boxes into a tower for him and let him knock them down.  In all he is still a very smiley and happy baby, but he has been a little irritable over the last week due to his lower two teeth cutting through his gums.

This week I introduced him to green beans and they seem to be going well.

Quick "homemade" frozen yogurt

I hardly think that this qualifies as a recipe, but it's a trick that my mom taught me for when I'm craving some Pinkberry.  Just combine some plain yogurt and frozen fruit (and sugar if desired) in a food processor or blender and puree until smooth.  I'd say to use about a 2:1 ratio of frozen fruit to yogurt so that you end up with a thick consistency and not a smoothie.  This was mango and it was delicious.  I even gave Noah a few bites and he absolutely LOVED it.  It's a great quick, easy, healthy, refreshing summer dessert that is much cheaper than going out for yogurt.  Of course, Pinkberry is as much about the toppings as it is the yogurt, so top with your favorite fresh fruit, nuts, granola, shredded coconut etc.