Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Jam jams
The grand kiddies got matching jammie's this year. It was funny to catch a glimpse of Paul and think somebody had Cleo. Very fun Christmas spent with family, which is always the very best part.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Elimination Communication
Alright friends, open up your minds. Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. Now read on.
Who? The Moody's! (And the rest of the unindustrialized world.)
What? Elimination Communication. Infant Potty Training. Natural Infant Hygiene.
Why? It is all about better communication with your infant. Just like meeting her needs when she is hungry or tired, her elimination needs need the same kind of attention. I was first introduced to this idea by Mayim Bialik's book Beyond the Sling Chapter 7 "Baby Needs Potty" (a book I highly recommend by the way). Chris is very open to all/any new ideas so he was all for trying it so we did!
When? Started Cleo at 6 weeks. And we don't practice this at night right now, though if we did I know Cleo would sleep better. She wakes up a few times each night really squirmy and I know she has to go, but I feed her instead to get her back to sleep.
Where? Anywhere and everywhere. It is most easily done at home, because we can leave Cleo's bum bare and catch 90% of her going, but we do it at church, at my mom's, at The Browning Center during Nutcracker. It's hard not to do it when she is uncomfortable and I know why! We have her in a diaper when we're out and about just in case, but if there is a bathroom nearby we try her.
How? Tri-fold cloth diaper, elastic around the waist, leg warmers and socks. Fall/Winter doesn't seem like the best time to start, but we did it anyway. I tried her twice with nothing no results, but third times the charm!! Once we started there was really no turning back. And here we are 5 weeks later.
One cool thing that we noticed was an immediate change in Cleo's demeanor after starting this. It is all about having good communication with your child and meeting their needs as quickly as you can, which is why it was a pillar in Malim Bialik's book on Attachment Parenting. I feel like it was a piece of the puzzle we were missing, and so Cleo would cry often where she didn't seem hungry and she didn't seem tired, but after EC (Elimination Communication) her temperament improved dramatically. The idea is that infant's never want to be sitting in their own waste, so they instinctively don't like going in a diaper. We train them to go in a diaper then 2 or 3 or 4 years later we retrain them not to go in the diaper, where if they stay aware of their elimination needs they end up being more comfortable and a bonus is that you end up spending less on diapers in the long run. I don't feel like I am saving tons of $$ on diaper usage yet, but if she is mostly out of diapers by age 1 instead of 2 or 3 that's a good chunk of money.
We are now on week 5 of this method and it is great. She still pees in a diaper often, during naps and in the night, but she pretty much hasn't pooped in a diaper since mid-October and based on cleanup duty alone it has been totally worth it.
Of course, there are skeptics and people who think we are crazy but nobody has voiced their opinion too strongly and we've kind of gotten used to some people thinking how we live our lives is incorrect, so we've gotten over it.
Resources:
Boucke, Laurie. (2000) Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living
Bauer, Ingrid. (2001) Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene
Who? The Moody's! (And the rest of the unindustrialized world.)
What? Elimination Communication. Infant Potty Training. Natural Infant Hygiene.
Why? It is all about better communication with your infant. Just like meeting her needs when she is hungry or tired, her elimination needs need the same kind of attention. I was first introduced to this idea by Mayim Bialik's book Beyond the Sling Chapter 7 "Baby Needs Potty" (a book I highly recommend by the way). Chris is very open to all/any new ideas so he was all for trying it so we did!
When? Started Cleo at 6 weeks. And we don't practice this at night right now, though if we did I know Cleo would sleep better. She wakes up a few times each night really squirmy and I know she has to go, but I feed her instead to get her back to sleep.
Where? Anywhere and everywhere. It is most easily done at home, because we can leave Cleo's bum bare and catch 90% of her going, but we do it at church, at my mom's, at The Browning Center during Nutcracker. It's hard not to do it when she is uncomfortable and I know why! We have her in a diaper when we're out and about just in case, but if there is a bathroom nearby we try her.
How? Tri-fold cloth diaper, elastic around the waist, leg warmers and socks. Fall/Winter doesn't seem like the best time to start, but we did it anyway. I tried her twice with nothing no results, but third times the charm!! Once we started there was really no turning back. And here we are 5 weeks later.
 |
| EC Day 1 - Cleo 6 weeks - 10/8/12 |
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| Cleo 8/5 weeks - 10/23/12 |
One cool thing that we noticed was an immediate change in Cleo's demeanor after starting this. It is all about having good communication with your child and meeting their needs as quickly as you can, which is why it was a pillar in Malim Bialik's book on Attachment Parenting. I feel like it was a piece of the puzzle we were missing, and so Cleo would cry often where she didn't seem hungry and she didn't seem tired, but after EC (Elimination Communication) her temperament improved dramatically. The idea is that infant's never want to be sitting in their own waste, so they instinctively don't like going in a diaper. We train them to go in a diaper then 2 or 3 or 4 years later we retrain them not to go in the diaper, where if they stay aware of their elimination needs they end up being more comfortable and a bonus is that you end up spending less on diapers in the long run. I don't feel like I am saving tons of $$ on diaper usage yet, but if she is mostly out of diapers by age 1 instead of 2 or 3 that's a good chunk of money.
We are now on week 5 of this method and it is great. She still pees in a diaper often, during naps and in the night, but she pretty much hasn't pooped in a diaper since mid-October and based on cleanup duty alone it has been totally worth it.
Of course, there are skeptics and people who think we are crazy but nobody has voiced their opinion too strongly and we've kind of gotten used to some people thinking how we live our lives is incorrect, so we've gotten over it.
Resources:
Boucke, Laurie. (2000) Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living
Bauer, Ingrid. (2001) Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Double Double Toil 'n Tuble
Turns out that little Miss Cleo loves the bath. And for at least a couple of days it was a good place for Camden and her to play. It has since turned into Camden try to inch her out of her own bath. C'est la vie!
Monday, November 5, 2012
Farewell Kennedy's
Joni and Dave up and moved to Texas last month. Saddies. In the midst of all their crazy packing they threw a little shin-dig and ain't nobody misses a party at the Dickson home. The food was a-mazing and the company even better. We miss you guys!
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| Like husband like wife. Face touchers. |
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| Janie and Camden |
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Gugsies Wugsies
Erica just does stuff. She jumps right in. We were sitting around at 89 one day (I know what you're thinking. What else is new??) and she pulls out the ladder. Dad had mentioned that he didn't like that some of the tree branches touched the house. So, while Paul is sleeping on a blanket on the front lawn she whips out some large shears and a ladder. Up she goes on the roof and gets rid of those branches. No biggie. Obviously, Camden also wanted to get on the roof. I was hesitant at first, but he promised to stay close by Gug and listen closely to what she needed him to do.
Then all those extra branches became a very cool fort on the front lawn.
Thanks for making our lives a little more interesting Gugsies.
Then all those extra branches became a very cool fort on the front lawn.
Thanks for making our lives a little more interesting Gugsies.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Mini Golf
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| Beautiful form right? |
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| Baby on the front. |
We were laughing our heads off afterwards over this beautiful face.
It was a fun little date night, that ended with WAY too much money being spent at Wendy's afterwards. One of the many things that started our spending reform.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Halloweeeeen!
Monday (Carving Pumpkins)
Tuesday (Jack O' Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie)
My wolf costume, courtesy of Clytie Adams School of Ballet. For work the next day I added a brown shirt, so it was a little less "bare"
Wednesday
Chris worked 2:30 - 11 so it was just me and the kiddos. We went around our neighborhood with friends. Breck got candy for Camden at every door, because he would not go up to the door get candy from a stranger. Very interesting little child. The first bowl he personally took candy out of was Aunt Jennifer's near the end of our night. Then we went to 89 and hung out. This one day of wearing makeup reminds me of how awful it is. One day of the year is enough for me. I was so happy to scrape it off that night!
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| digging out the guts |
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| my carving expertise |
Tuesday (Jack O' Lantern Sloppy Joe Pie)
We did a test run on our costumes Tuesday night, and went to visit Grandma Roselyn, Grandpa & Grandma Adams, and Robinette's.
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| The wolf guard shooting Robin Hood. |
Wednesday
Chris worked 2:30 - 11 so it was just me and the kiddos. We went around our neighborhood with friends. Breck got candy for Camden at every door, because he would not go up to the door get candy from a stranger. Very interesting little child. The first bowl he personally took candy out of was Aunt Jennifer's near the end of our night. Then we went to 89 and hung out. This one day of wearing makeup reminds me of how awful it is. One day of the year is enough for me. I was so happy to scrape it off that night!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
The Beatles!
Camden is walking around saying (not singing)
"I want to hold your hand. I want to hold your hand. Please oh please oh please. I want to hold your hand."
It's funny to hear it stated so matter of factly.
"I want to hold your hand. I want to hold your hand. Please oh please oh please. I want to hold your hand."
It's funny to hear it stated so matter of factly.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Circle of Life
Erica got us all rarin' to go about family pictures, so here we are at Andy's Pond.
Sneak Peek
Remind you of anything???
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Weblog
What does it tell you about my diet/lifestyle/poor-ness that I am psyched to be eating some Trail Mix right now. I found it hidden in the pantry. I think I bought it after Camden was born, because I had trail mix (capitalized last time, but not this time!) in the hospital and really loved it. That tells you something else about me.
I have implemented a CASH ONLY system (for non-bill items) at 905 S Main Street starting this month. Chris gets paid Thursday so . . . hopefully we have some $$ then. Nothing like a CASH ONLY system to make you realize how many dumb dollars you spend on dumb things.
I did yoga and worked hygiene at my Dad's office today. My husband, whom I love, made me a deal. If I took a yoga class he would clean the bathroom. What does that tell you about how much he values physical activity? How much does that tell you about how annoying I am when I have not exercised and been home with the kids nonstop for the past 5 weeks? But really it is the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! My husband who has not touched a Clorox wipe (or anything else anti-bacterial) to a toilet since we've been married (maybe/probably not before that either) will be cleaning the hall bathroom this week. AND the second yoga class I take is good for the bathroom in our bedroom.
I have implemented a CASH ONLY system (for non-bill items) at 905 S Main Street starting this month. Chris gets paid Thursday so . . . hopefully we have some $$ then. Nothing like a CASH ONLY system to make you realize how many dumb dollars you spend on dumb things.
I did yoga and worked hygiene at my Dad's office today. My husband, whom I love, made me a deal. If I took a yoga class he would clean the bathroom. What does that tell you about how much he values physical activity? How much does that tell you about how annoying I am when I have not exercised and been home with the kids nonstop for the past 5 weeks? But really it is the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS! My husband who has not touched a Clorox wipe (or anything else anti-bacterial) to a toilet since we've been married (maybe/probably not before that either) will be cleaning the hall bathroom this week. AND the second yoga class I take is good for the bathroom in our bedroom.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Spewing
This is a fabulous video, very fun, funny and refreshing. Never gets old.
Deets. Jemaine and Bret were asked to write a charity song for Red Nose Day NZ 2012 in aid of CureKids - a charity that funds medical research into life-threatening childhood illnesses.
The lyrics incorporate interviews with school kids that were recorded before they wrote the track.
The song, produced by the legendary Printz Board, was recorded at Roundhead Studios in Auckland, New Zealand and features numerous New Zealand artists.
Camden now also sings it around the house, pretty well. :)
Deets. Jemaine and Bret were asked to write a charity song for Red Nose Day NZ 2012 in aid of CureKids - a charity that funds medical research into life-threatening childhood illnesses.
The lyrics incorporate interviews with school kids that were recorded before they wrote the track.
The song, produced by the legendary Printz Board, was recorded at Roundhead Studios in Auckland, New Zealand and features numerous New Zealand artists.
Camden now also sings it around the house, pretty well. :)
Monday, September 17, 2012
CJAC
Missing Clarkie today.
But here he is at the Ciudad Juarez Temple doing some good in the world.
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