19 months old

The months just fly by with this girl!

At her dr appointment this month she weighed in at 23 lbs 12 oz and 30.5 inches (however at her WIC appointment they said she was 32 inches).  She's in the 50th percentile on both.

She has become so much more independent recently.  She throws her diapers in the trash, puts her plate and silverware in the sink when she's done, and is using a spoon/fork really well. 

We have recently transitioned Sam from a bottle to a sippy cup for her milk when I'm at work.  It took 3 different cups to find one she would take the milk from but she hasn't had a bottle in over 2 weeks, in fact I just packed all her bottles up:( 

Right here -->

                                        

This is what she's having for lunch today, she loves grilled cheese and peaches.  I recently bought some spinach for her to try at home because anytime we go to the Chinese buffet she loves the spinach there so we'll see if she eats it.

Some funny things she's started doing is randomly putting her fingers in her ears.

Dragging boxes around telling us "bye"

We also decided to finally cut her bangs, I was so tired of them always being in her  eyes so we just had the lady who cuts Howie's hair trim them.

Getting rid of her bottles, it really hit home that she's not a baby anymore:(. Time goes by so fast, we are trying to soak up every moment.  

Now time to get ready for grandma and grandpas visit tonight and tomorrow!

Christmas weekend recap

I already over loaded Facebook with pics from Christmas morning so I'll try not to go too crazy here;)

This was one of my favorites though.

Christmas Eve we ended up spending the day and night at Howie's parents, I get homesick around the holidays so it's nice to be around his family.  My mom does usually try to make a trip down to see us either before or after Christmas which is always fun.

It was so warm down here this is what she wore on Christmas Eve!

So many bubbles

We really didn't do much except wrap presents, lots of presents!  And after  Sam went to bed, I got to catch up on one of my hallmark shows "When Calls the Heart", Howie loved getting to watch it with me;)

For some reason we stayed up until almost midnight!  Not smart since we knew Sam would be up at 7 as usual.  After breakfast we let Sam open her presents from us before everybody else came over.  She took forever to open them, she kept getting distracted!

When the rest of the family showed up, Howie read the story of Jesus' birth then it was time for gifts.  It was a bit of a madhouse with the 4 grandkids but so fun.  The 3 youngest just wanted to play with each other's gifts, funny to watch.

After Sam went down for her nap, it was time to get some baking done.  Of course I didn't get any pictures but I made an Oreo dessert and Hershey kiss/pretzel/m&m treats.  

We headed to one of Howie's cousin's house for dinner with his extended family.  Sam enjoyed running around with the other kids and the food was delicious!

On Saturday Howie had worship practice at noon so we just had a lazy morning until he left.

When Sam woke up from her nap we went to the church to meet Howie and head to St. Augustine to see the lights.  There were SO many people there!  But it was fun just walking around and showing Sam the lights.

After church on Sunday, had leftovers for lunch and dinner and another lazy afternoon/evening.

Tried to get a pic of these two cousins in nursery but Sam was not having it.

And that was our fun weekend, so glad I was able to have a little time off work to enjoy it with Howie and Sam.  We would also like to thank everyone for their prayers, words of encouragement, and support this past week. It has meant so much to us!  Feel free to share, like or subscribe to our blogs:)

Saving money

My finance degree has proven somewhat useful in that for the last few years, I've set up my paycheck so that 10% goes into an emergency savings account.  While we do use that every 6 months to pay car insurance we do have some saved up for emergency situations.  We are hopeful that Howie will find something soon so that we don't have to dip into it but it is nice to know its there.  

Thankfully I had most of our Christmas shopping done before this all happened and I don't think I spent more than $7 a piece on any one gift for Sam:). 

We've always been somewhat frugle but we've been brainstorming ways to save even more money.  Here are some things we've come up with so far.

1.  Howie found a deal on our internet to downgrade and save around $15/month.

2.  Going back to cloth diapers (provided we can figure out why they were giving Sam a rash.)

3.  No more eating out on the weekends.  As you can tell from my weekend recap post we tend to eat out a lot on the weekends, usually never during the week though.

4.  Eating leftovers better.  Utilizing all the food in our pantry to lower our grocery bill.

5.  Packing snacks from home better so I'm not making impulse purchases at work.

The other thing we're contemplating doing is the cash envelope system to help stay within a budget.  This would especially be important with our grocery budget because I tend to impulse buy when I do the shopping and end up spending more money.

Anyone have other money saving ideas??  

Like A Child

I took this picture of Sam this morning as I looked at her and realized she doesn't have a care in the world.  She doesn't know that daddy just got laid off from work, she just knows mommy and daddy will take care of her.  And it gave me hope in my heart because I know our Father will take care of us no matter what.  I realize He has plans for our life just like everyday I have a plan for Sam and would do absolutely anything for that girl.  

Matthew 7:11

“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

So while yesterday was one of the toughest days we've had in awhile I know our Father has a better plan for us.  Please pray for us to have faith and wisdom as we walk through this trial and that we would have a great testimony to glorify Him!

Weekend recap!

Friday night we went and had dinner at China Buffet, love buffets with a baby, no waiting on food!  Sam loves the spinach there.  Her reward...cake:). 

Then we headed to Christmas on Crystal Springs, it's a house that does an awesome light/music show.  This was our second year seeing it and this year they shared the gospel as well, so cool!

Saturday was a bit of a wash as Howie had worship practice and then he's also helping the kids with the Christmas song they're doing Sunday so they had practice for that as well.  Sam and I did make it to the park for a little while, it was cold!

.

Then went to La Nopelera for dinner with Howie's parents and ice cream at Steak 'n Shake.

Sam actually slept in until 8 Sunday morning which made us run late but so worth it! 

 After church we headed to Gator's for lunch (we ate out a lot this weekend!)  I had hoped to do something Sunday evening but we ended up being lazy and just hanging out at Howie's parents.  Although we did take Sam around their neighborhood to see the lights.  

So our last weekend before Christmas was not terribly productive, but did get some good family time in and that is more important anyway:)

Pinterest win or fail?

I found this little project on Pinterest last year and wanted to give it a shot.

Nativity Scene

 It was definitely a lot more work than I was expecting!  The first day I was doing it all freehand (not an artist AT ALL) so the stable, manger, tree, and star were all done that way.  The second day I decided to print out the templets, way easier!!  Still took a third day to finish it up.

All different colors of felt.

Templetes

Work in progress...

Last step!

All Done!!

I used a hot glue gun instead of sewing like the original person did because, to be honest, I don't have the patience for all that! 

My favorite part ended up being the wise men, I was dreading making them but they actually turned out the best.  I'm hoping this will last a few years so Sam can tell us the story of Christmas using it:)

Santa Claus?

This topic actually came up before we were even married in one of our premarital counseling sessions.  I just assumed we would do Santa with our children someday because that's how I was raised and I have a lot of great memories from it (thanks mom!).  Howie on the other hand did not grow up believing in Santa, in fact I hear he ruined it for some of his neighborhood friends!  This is definitely a personal choice/conviction and the following just explains our decision😊


Question: "What should parents tell their children about Santa Claus?"

This is mine (but mostly Howie's) answer to the question. You first need to go back to the history, and how the mythical figure began.
The answer in turn, comes from www.gotquestions.org who do a wonderful job explaining the history and theological issues with our old friend Santa.
Comment, question, complain, whatever it is we would love your feedback.

Answer: Although Santa Claus is a mythical figure, his creation is based in part on a great Christian man named Saint Nicholas of Myra, who lived in the 4th century. Nicholas was born to Christian parents who left him an inheritance when they died, which he distributed to the poor. He became a priest at a young age and was well-known for his compassion and generosity. He had a reputation for giving gifts anonymously, and he would throw bags of money into people's homes (and sometimes down their chimneys) under the cover of night to avoid being spotted.

Nicholas passed away on December 6 sometime around the 340s or 350s AD, and the day of his death became an annual feast in which children would put out food for Nicholas and straw for his donkey. It was said that the saint would come down from heaven during the night and replace the offerings with toys and treats—but only for the good boys and girls. There are many different versions of the legend of Saint Nicholas, but all are the inspiration for the jolly, red-suited gift-giver that we now know as Santa Claus.

Many Christian parents are torn as to whether or not they should play the "Santa game" with their children. On one hand, he makes Christmas fun and magical, leaving wonderful holiday memories for years to come. On the other hand, the focus of Christmas should be on Jesus Christ and how much He has already given us. So, is the story of Santa Claus an innocent addition to Christmas festivities, or is he a subject that should be avoided?

Parents need to use their own judgment in deciding whether or not to include Santa during the holidays, but here are some things to consider: Children who believe that the gifts they receive Christmas morning are from a magical man with unending resources are less likely to appreciate what they have been given, and the sacrifices their parents make in providing them. Greed and materialism can overshadow the holiday season, which is meant to be about giving, loving, and worshiping God. Children whose parents are on a tight budget may feel that they have been overlooked by Santa, or even worse, deemed one of the "bad" boys or girls.

An even more troubling aspect of telling our children that Santa comes down the chimney each year to leave their gifts is that it is, obviously, a lie. We live in a society that believes that lying for the "right" reason is acceptable. As long as it doesn't hurt anyone, it is not a problem. This is contrary to what the Bible tells us. "For the Scriptures say, 'If you want to live a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies'" (1 Peter 3:10, NLT). Of course, telling our children that Santa is real is not a malicious deception, but it is, nevertheless, a lie.

Although it is probably not typical, some children honestly feel deceived and betrayed by their parents when they find out that Santa is not real. Children trust their parents to tell them the truth, and it is our responsibility not to break this trust. If we do, they will not believe more important things we tell them, such as the truth about Christ, whom they also cannot physically see.

This doesn’t mean we must leave Santa completely out of Christmas. Children can still play the "Santa game" even if they know it is all pretend. They can make lists, sit on his lap at the mall, and leave out cookies and milk on Christmas Eve. This will not rob them of their joy of the season, and gives parents the opportunity to tell their children about the godly qualities of the real Saint Nicholas, who dedicated his life to serving others and made himself into a living example of Jesus Christ.

   Christmas on Crystal Springs

Diaper deal of the week

Since switching to disposable diapers from cloth diapers (post on that soon) about 6 months ago, we've mainly been using Luvs.  However I've noticed lately that they tend to leak at night so in an effort to get a different brand and save money I look for deals on Huggies or Pampers.

This week at Walgreens, Huggies were on sale buy 1 get 1 50% off and on the app there is a coupon for $1 off Little movers and $2 off snug and dry.  Plus I get an employee discount of 15% so that really made this a good deal for us.  I ended up paying $6.67 (tax included) per pack!

                                                            Originally priced at 11.99!

Stocking ideas for a 1 year old

At our house we don't do the whole Santa thing (post coming soon on that), however we still do gifts and this year I'm doing a stocking for Samantha.  With 9 days left until Christmas I have her gifts but nothing for her stocking!  So here is what I'm thinking of doing for her stocking:

1. Coloring book-  I bought her crayons awhile back but she just colors on blank pieces of computer paper right now so I'm thinking a veggie tales (which she is obsessed with right now) coloring book.

2.  Plastic snow globe-  I found a Minnie Mouse one at work that I think she would love just need to make sure it's not breakable!

3.  Toddler friendly treats-  no candy bars but maybe some sweet treats.

4.  Piggy Paint-  non-toxic of course and mainly because I just want to paint her toenails;)

5.Veggie Tales Plush toy- like I said earlier she's obsessed with them!

6.  Measuring spoons/spatula etc-  so she can pretend to cook.


That's all I've got so far, anyone have any other ideas??

And here's a random picture from today, just cause she looks like boo from Monster's Inc:)

18 months

Sleeping patterns:  Finally consistently sleeping through the night!!!  We've been on a pretty good schedule of sleeping 7-7 and napping from 12-2 or 230.

Eating habits:  Still nursing 3-4 times a day, although if we're home and I'm sitting on the couch or in her room she takes that as an open invitation to nurse all she wants!  Gets a little annoying but I can easily distract her if I'm feeling touched out.  Still have a hard time getting her to eat meat but pretty much anything else she goes to town on.

Every morning she has some banana/egg pancakes and then has what we call her" 2nd breakfast" of oatmeal.


New discoveries:  She found her belly button and loves to point at it and say "belly button".

Accomplishments:  Sam can say around 20 words, however there are some words such as Nana that I know she can say but is so stinking stubborn that she refuses!  She loves to help in the kitchen, anytime she sees me start to make something she pulls up a chair and climbs up to help.

 Places we went:  We went to see Veggie Tales live and Sam loved it!  She was dancing in the aisle and did not take her eyes off the stage, so fun!  We also recently got season passes to the zoo so we've made a couple trips there, Sam loves to ride the carousel and is not happy when it's over.

Teeth:  Finally some teeth are making an appearance, although out of order!  So far she has one of her bottom teeth and 3 molars!  She surprisingly hasn't been too cranky with them coming in:)

Thanksgiving Day, Grandma sent a pretty dress for her to wear and the other picture is Howie's crazy family!

Few more pictures from her 18th month

14 months old!

So since it's taking a little longer to get caught up on the other months, I'm skipping ahead so I don't forget everything Sam is doing right now!

Food:  Sam's favorite foods right now are scrambled eggs, strawberries, pancakes, rice, green beans and zucchini.  She loves almost any fruit of course and will eat most veggies you give her but meats not so much.  Each meal we give her either beef, chicken, or kidney beans (those she'll usually eat) but the meat for some reason she doesn't really seem to like.  We did have her iron checked in June and it was a little low so have been trying to get more iron rich foods for her.  She is still nursing and has one bottle of pumped milk while I'm at work and sometimes a sippy cup of milk.  She gets the bottle when she's either going down for a nap or bedtime depending on my shift.  Still no teeth so we aren't too worried about weaning her off the bottle yet.

Sleep: Night weaning a couple of months ago was successful so she now sleeps through the night!  However right now we are struggling with early wake ups which messes up nap time, its a delicate balance.  She dropped her second nap almost 2 months ago but now with her waking up between 6-7 she only last until about 10 before needing a nap which means she's awake around 1130-12 and then bedtime between 6-7 but 6 hours is too long of a wake time for her so we try to squeeze a second nap in around 3 or 4 but that pushes her bedtime back but she still wakes up early so she's just a tired girl!  It's a terrible cycle!

Play:  Right now it's all about what she's not supposed to play with!  She loves the dog bowl and bathroom.  She's also recently discovered hide and seek, so much fun playing that with her!  She loves to dance with daddy and I holding her.  My mom got her a swing for her birthday and that is definitely one of her favorite things to do, she'll grab out hand and pulls us to the door so she can go swing.

Fun times:  We house sat for Howie's parents for about 2 1/2 weeks in July so Sam had a lot more space to roam and play.  Trips to the park, library, and the zoo this month too.

8 months old

Sleeping patterns:  She is doing really well in her crib however when she wakes up I'm the only one that can calm her down.  If Howie goes in there she just cries and looks at the door waiting for me to come in then I have to nurse her to get her to calm down.

Eating habits:  Eating all kinds of baby food now.

New discoveries:  Cords!  Ugh she tries to get them all!  We literally cannot take our eyes off of her or she goes straight for them.

Accomplishments:  She started crawling and pulled herself up in the crib.  We did finally lower the crib after that.

Places we went:  First trip to urgent care.  She had been sick off and of since december and on New years day the wheezing and coughing was just too much so we went to carespot and they gave her a breathing treatment and prescribed an inhaler.  We had a follow up with her pediatrician who diagnosed her with asthma and got a nebulizer for home.  Was not easy giving her breathing treatments.  She also had a double ear infection:(

Special memories: She finally said mama and dada although I hate to say it she did say dada first.  She also had her first cousin sleepover with Harley.  And got a new cousin, Scarlett.  Sam did not like Howie holding the new baby, definitely a jealous girl!

7 months old

Sleeping patterns:  Finally transitioned Sam to her own room and her crib.  And she has started falling asleep on her own instead of us needing to hold her.

Eating habits:  She is nursing around 5 times a day and 2-3 times at night.  Usually have oatmeal with milk and fruit for breakfast and a veggie later in the day.  I had hoped to do baby led weaning and skip purees but I chickened out for fear of choking.

New discoveries:  She's started scooting and getting into everything!

Accomplishments:  She plays with her toys, puts her toes in her mouth and moves wherever she can.

Places we went:  We survived her first plane ride.  My grandpa Kottwitz passed away so we flew to Missouri for a few days right before Christmas.  She did really well on the flight actually.  We also went to Silver Dollar City while we were there with my mom, Laurie, Isaiah, Levi, and Aubri.  Loved seeing all the lights, it was a late night but so worth it.

Special memories:  We got to spend Christmas with my family which we haven't done in YEARS.  Saying goodbye to Grandpa, seeing ALL of my extended family and they all got to meet Sam.  Sadly it didn't snow while we were there, maybe next time.

6 months old

Sleeping patterns:  We finally got tired of bouncing her to sleep so Howie let Sam cry it out for the first time.  So glad it wasn't me!  We are also finally on a nap schedule.

Eating habits:  Still breastfeeding and have let her try a few other things like bananas, peas, lemon, tomato, and sour cream.

New discoveries:  She loves to grab at anything she can get her hands on.

Accomplishments:  I finally let her stay in the nursery on Sunday mornings at church.  For the last couple months I've felt guilty leaving her in there since I miss so much while I'm at work but I finally let her.  She has also figured out how to scoot backwards.

Places we went:  We took Sam to North Carolina to meet Howie's grandma and grandpa.  It was not a fun 7 hour drive, Sam would not fall asleep in the car.  Thankfully she didn't cry to much so it could have been a lot worse!  It was freezing up there but beautiful, we got some nice pics of her playing in the leaves.  Grandma just wanted to hold her the whole time and Sam of course cooperated with that. We got back to town just in time to go out to lunch for Howie's birthday.

Special memories:  First Thanksgiving, got to try mashed potatoes, started drinking a little water out of a sippy cup.

5 months old

Sleeping patterns:  We finally transitioned Sam to the pack n play from the rock n play, still waking up at night, 3 naps a day and bedtime is a little earlier between 7-8.

Eating habits:  Nursing/bottles around 8-9 times a day, tried a few solids but waiting till 6 months to really get started on that.

New discoveries:  Her feet, love when she sticks her toes in her mouth so cute!

Accomplishments:  Rolling all around the floor and very close to sitting up all by herself!

Places we went:  We took her to the park for the first time, she loved the swing.  Also we went to the Amazing grace crop maze, they had all kinds of stuff for kids to do.  Pumpkin patch, corn crib, petting zoo, etc.  She's going to really love it next year when she's a little older.

Special memories:  We've moved her to the big bath tub and she loves it!  When we rock her to sleep she reaches up to touch our faces, so sweet.

It was a bit of a rough month in that she rolled off the changing table!  Ugh I felt so horrible thankfully she was fine just scared her:(. And we ended up at the dr office for a bad rash around her chin, jaws and cheeks that wouldn't go away and really seemed to bother her.  Dr said it was eczema and prescribed a cream to help, which it definitely did!

4 months old

Sleeping patterns:  We finally have Sam on a schedule of sorts, bedtime is at 8 and she's usually up for the day at 7 am.  She's taking 3 naps a day which we end up bouncing and holding her the whole time:(

Eating habits:  Still nursing the same, she does seem to go longer between feedings while I'm at work, we think she prefers her milk from the source:)

New discoveries:  She is actually playing with some of her little toys and loves peek a boo!

Accomplishments:  Started rolling over more often!

Places we went:  Sam does not like riding in the car so we pretty much go to church and Howie's parents house.

Special memories:  All the laughter, she thinks her daddy is hilarious.

She weighs 14 lbs 2 oz and is 24.5 inches

3 months old

Sleeping patterns: The nights of sleeping through the night are gone:(. The 3 month growth spurt happened so she has started waking up for extra feedings.  Also only taking short cat naps which are not fun.

Eating habits: Still going strong with nursing.

New discoveries:  She sucked on her thumb finally.

Accomplishments:  At church one morning, she was laying on the floor and just randomly rolled over!  I'm pretty sure it just scared her cause she hasn't done it since.

Places we went:  Well Sam is quite the fussy baby when she doesn't get her naps so we stay home a lot!

Special memories:  My sister, nephew, and parents came down to visit the week before I had to go back to work.  They spoiled Sam like crazy!  And Sam went swimming for the first time at the hotel they were staying at.

She now weighs 13.3 lbs and is 24 inches long

2 months old

Sleeping patterns:  Pretty consistently sleeping 8-10 hours at night!  Ah sleep:)

Eating habits:  After sleeping so long at night she is starving in the morning!  Then in the evenings she is eating about every 1 1/2-2 hours.

New discoveries:  She loves when we read to her especially Dr. Seuss books.

Accomplishments:  She is getting much better at holding her head up and held onto a toy for the first time.  She's also started cooing and smiling at us.

Places we went:  I took her on her first trip to the library and she stayed awake with no fussing the whole time:)

Special memories:  We got family pictures taken and they turned out so good!

Samantha is now 11 lbs 9 oz and 22 1/4 inches all on mama's milk!

Samantha's birth story

Samantha Ayn Butler
May 29, 2014
5:26 pm
8 lbs 3 oz
20 1/2 inches
Blue eyes
Full head of black hair


It's funny but it definitely didn't go as planned, it rarely does I've heard. My plan was to stay at home and labor as long as possible, have a friend from church come over and help us decide when to go to the hospital, no drugs, etc... Well I started having some contractions Wednesday night but they were pretty far apart and I was still able to go to sleep so I figured just Braxton hicks. Then I got up around 3 am to go to the bathroom and I had bloody show so I started freaking out a bit cause that usually means baby will be coming sooner rather then later, then at 330 on my way to the bathroom again my water broke! So there went my plan of laboring at home because they want you to come in as soon as your water breaks because of risk of infection. So we head to the hospital at 4 and by that time the contractions were 1-2 minutes apart (evidently when your water breaks the contractions speed up). We got checked in and when they checked my progress I was only 2 cm dilated! Seriously?! 1-2 minutes apart and back labor because she was sunny side up, and they had me hooked up to everything and sitting in a bed (not a comfortable way to labor btw) I decided shortly after that to try the IV pain meds to get some relief and that worked for a couple of hours but they contractions were still so stinking close together that around 4-5 cm I decided to just get the epidural. I'll be honest I'm so glad I did! Besides them screwing it up and having to do it twice anyway it was amazing to be able to sleep and have relief. I do think it slowed the labor down a bit, it took forever to go from 9 to 10 cm, that's when I started getting a fever and they gave me IV antibiotics. By the time the nurse wanted me to start pushing I was able to feel some pressure so I could tell when a contraction was coming which helped with the pushing. At first she said it could still be a couple of hours but then after pushing through 3 contractions she tells me to stop so she can call the dr she didn't know I was going to be such a good pusher lol, so the dr comes about 30 minutes later and the next contraction she was out. She came so fast that I had a 3rd degree tear (not pleasant) and she had a 103 degree fever which is why she was in the NICU. They did give us about 30 minutes with her after we were both all cleaned up so I could nurse her.

So lesson learned if you want a natural birth don't let your water break;)

1 month old

Better late than never but I've been keeping up with Samantha's baby book so I'll be transferring it here:)

Sleeping patterns:  For the first 3 weeks, Sam definitely had her days and nights confused but after that she started sleeping 4-6 hours at night, sometimes longer!

Eating habits:  Oh my she eats so much,  I feel like I'm always nursing her.  I am glad that we haven't really had any issues as far as breastfeeding goes, she nurses like a champ.

New discoveries:  Her thumb!  She's been trying to get it in her mouth for a week.

Accomplishments:  At 3 weeks, she slept for 5 hours straight in the bassinet!

Places we went:  When Sam was one month old we road tripped to Missouri for a week.  It was an 18 hour drive and she traveled so well!  On our way back she actually slept for over 8 hours in the hotel room, it was amazing!

Special memories:  In Missouri, Samantha got to meet all her great grandparents and most of the family on my side.