And Nobody Got Crushed

We are getting ready to embark on a big HUGE house project.  In three months time (hopefully, hopefully), our stinky, scary, wet, moldy, old house basement will be gone and a brand new, clean, fresh, finishable basement will be in its place.  And while our house and yard are being torn up, we will be adding geothermal heating and air conditioning.  Good-bye window units, hello central air!

Now if we had known that this process was feasible 5 years ago, we probably would have held off putting on a large deck and landscaping around the house.  Lucky for us, Zach's dad has a save-the-deck plan.  A good plan?  Maybe.  A safe plan?  Definitely not.  A successful plan?  That remains to be seen.

For Mark's plan, you will need:

One tow truck, two fearless men, one massive deck, and lots of ingenuity

New book idea:  The multiple uses for a flatbed

Hmmm...Zach 'holding' up the massive deck while Mark works underneath it.

Nope, nothing unsafe about that.

Well, it's out in the yard.  Now what?

Is this more or less redneck than a washing machine on the front porch?

Backyard BBQs will have to wait.

Step one complete.  The deck is off the house, in one piece, and waiting patiently in the backyard.  And, most importantly, nobody got crushed.  Now we just have the super-quick, super-easy, super-safe step of putting the deck back on the house.  What is the plan for that?  We're still not sure.  Stay tuned...

    

Staley's First Easter

Pretty Easter dress?

Check.

With butterflies to stare at?

Check.

Easter basket?

Check.

With something other than a stuffed rabbit?

Check.

Quality time with cousins?

Check and check.

And lots of family pictures?

Check.

A wonderful day celebrating the joy of the resurrection.  Check!

Happy Easter

Frogs are Hilarious!

Staley has been talking and laughing a lot over the past week.  I don't always get the jokes, but life is just really amusing for Staley right now.  She has one specific toy that has always held her attention.  When she was a month old, she would always look at this particular toy, even if I'd move its position on the toy bar over her bouncy seat.  When she was two months old, Staley would just sit and smile at this toy.  And now, this same toy always makes her laugh.  We generally only put Staley in her bouncy seat during meal times, but now she is our dinner entertainment.  She will spend the entire meal talking to, squealing about, and laughing at her toy.  It's too cute!  Since this toy always seems to make Staley happy, I thought I'd help brighten your day as well.

Talk.  Squeal.  Laugh.  Enjoy!!

Spitting Up

I commend you, reader, for actually choosing to read a post entitled 'Spitting Up.'  Unfortunately for you, the title isn't a fun play on words.  And there won't even be any cute pictures since spit up on the chin and a drenched onesie aren't exactly picture-perfect moments.  But now that you are in this far, you'll probably just continue reading and, in the end, question why you felt the need to read a post all about spit up.

I don't want to forget anything about Staley's life.  I want to record all her new skills, her cute expressions, her emerging personality.  Spitting up is a constant in Staley's life right now, so I feel the need to record it too.  We don't get little dribbles right after feedings.  We don't get the occasional accompaniment to a burp.  Oh no.  Spitting up is an all day, every day event.  The first time Staley got a little spit up on her outfit, I quickly changed her clothes.  I think back on that and laugh.  There are not enough outfits in her closet to continue with that trend.  Burp cloths are in constant use, blankets are necessary for floor time, and Staley has 'christened' many of those she loves.

Things that make Staley spit up:
1.  Sitting up
2. Lying down
3.  Always, always, always tummy time
4.  Being held
5. Tightening carseat straps
6.  Swinging, bouncing, dancing
7.  Being still
8.  Burping
9. Not burping
10. Putting on a super-cute outfit, getting ready to leave the house, or preparing to take pictures

Things that make Staley not spit up:
1.  Sleeping

Luckily, none of this bothers Staley.  She doesn't stop playing just because she has spit up running down her sleeve or smeared across her cheek.  She can spit up while smiling without losing the grin.  So do I have to do Staley's laundry multiple times each week?  Yes.  Do Staley and I always have a faint smell of sour milk on us?  Probably.  Does Zach spend most of his time walking around (even in public) with a burp cloth on his shoulder?  You bet.  Does any of this bother me in the least?  Not at all.  I love every little thing about my Staley, spit up and all.

Playing with Your Food

Staley has invented a new game.  It's a very cute game, but I may be encouraging bad behavior by playing along.  When Staley is eating, she is starting to take breaks to look up at me and smile.  She will eat for a few seconds, look up at me, smile really big, sometimes talk or laugh, eat for a few more seconds, look up at me, smile, talk or laugh, eat for a few seconds...  It fills my heart, and I can't help but smile and talk back.  Of course, now feeding her takes that much longer since we've turned meal time into play time.  And in a few years if my daughter is the child at a restaurant building castles out of her mashed potatoes and sword fighting with french fries, it will be all my fault.

An Official First

I never want to label anything 'Staley's First' until I am convinced that it wasn't a coincidence.  So although she's been rolling from her stomach to her back for about a month, I couldn't officially give her credit.  Initially I had to position her arms underneath her for tummy time and pushing up on her arms would cause her to roll over.  (No credit.)  For awhile, she had a strong preference to turn her head to the left during tummy time which would often cause her to tip over and roll.  (Nope.  Doesn't count.)  I've started to challenge her more during tummy time, positioning her arms out to the side so she has to pull them under herself to push up.  (Does this make me a mean mom?)  She rolled over one time like this, but I still didn't want to give her credit as I thought maybe the position I put her arms in made it too easy to pull them under herself.  (Now I'm just being picky.)  But on Wednesday I put Staley down for her nap in her crib on her stomach (don't worry back-to-sleepers...we have a movement monitor) with her arms splayed out to the side and when I went in to get her up from her nap, she was on her back smiling up at her mobile.  So I'm making it official...Staley can roll from her stomach to her back all by herself! 

And I know this picture has nothing to do with rolling, but I thought it was too cute not to post.

Worth the wait!